Outnumbered VII

 Some men believe they can ignore the word of the Lord, or the messengers thereof, without consequence or repercussion until they come upon one they’re willing to acknowledge or give their approval to. They’re always looking for a new word or a fresh word without having followed through or done what the previous word instructed them to do. The weight of obedience to God’s word is not to be taken lightly.

It’s not enough to hear a word from the Lord; you must act upon it. For instance, if God’s word calls for forgiveness, we should forgive. If it calls for love, we should love. If it calls for repentance, we should repent. For the past three years, Ahab had ignored, rejected, or disregarded the words spoken to him by Micaiah, but now he wanted Micaiah to confirm that the course before him was the right one.

We cannot be selective in obeying the word of God. We can’t pick and choose which scriptures we adhere to and which we ignore wholesale because they don’t fit our lifestyle or their demands on the flesh are too taxing. The consequences of selective obedience are severe, and God is not going to conform to man. It is man who must conform to God, His will, His word, and His purpose for their lives.

Whether prince or pauper, king or beggar, we must all submit to the word and will of God. No one is exempt from the need to humble themselves and follow God rather than their own desires. Ahab wasn’t interested in what he needed to rectify or repent of in the sight of the Lord. The only thing he wanted was reassurance that he would have victory on the battlefield. Humility and submission are crucial in our relationship with God.

It’s when men don’t fear the Lord that they allow themselves to fall into all types of sin, which later finds them out and serves another black eye to the household of faith. I’ve seen a handful of the apology videos some of these men have put out after the fact, and what they were sorry for is that their sin was discovered and exposed, not for the sin itself or the rebellion they’d allowed to take hold of their hearts. I’m sorry I got caught is neither repentance nor contrition.

Exodus 20:20, “And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”

Somewhere along the way, Ahab had lost his fear of the Lord. His singular concern was whether he would be successful in expanding his kingdom, not realizing that God had already decreed that his kingdom would be taken from him and that he would soon lose his life.

1 Kings 22:17-18, “Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me but evil?”’

Some people say they want the truth until they hear it, and if, perchance, it is not in line with what they’ve heard previously or refutes their preconceived notions, they bristle and react violently. It’s not so much that they wanted the truth. They wanted confirmation of their own biases and how they view certain topics, and although their insistence that they wanted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth seemed genuine, they’re quick to backpedal, obfuscate, and deny it because it’s too unpalatable for them.

Ahab’s reaction to hearing the word of the Lord was, see, I told you so! He only prophesies evil concerning me. But you made him swear to tell you the truth. Deep in your heart, you likely knew that the rosy picture the four hundred prophets were painting regarding your immediate future wasn’t quite right, yet here you are justifying your hatred of the man of God because the word of the Lord wasn’t flattering.

In modern parlance, Ahab was saying he didn’t bear witness to Micaiah’s message, not because he didn’t believe it to be true but because he didn’t like what it had to say. You cannot know yourself to be far from the light, far from the truth, far from repentance and righteousness, yet balk at receiving a word of warning or a call to repent from the Lord.

You are responsible for acting upon the word you receive from the Lord once it has been delivered to you. You can no longer claim ignorance or surreptitiously insist that you didn’t think whatever God pointed out was an offense to Him was such a big deal once the word is spoken.

The danger in hearing a word from the Lord and dismissing it because you didn’t like what it said is that you’re still accountable for the word you heard. You can go in search of other words, and you are likely to find them, but they will not originate from God. God doesn’t stutter. He doesn’t feel the need to repeat Himself. He spoke repentance to you and is waiting until you follow through and do as He commanded.

The reason so many dismiss God’s counsel is because they’ve been taught that they are on even ground with Him. The Lordship, sovereignty, and majesty of God have been leeched out of modern-day Christianity because it’s the only way men can convince themselves that they are little gods, can play by their own rules, and do as they will without repercussion or consequence.

It’s not that God doesn’t speak; it’s that man doesn’t listen. It’s not that God doesn’t warn; it’s that men and nations do not heed His warnings. When He spoke, we deemed it too blunt, too judgmental, not loving enough, soothing enough, encouraging enough, not realizing that warnings aren’t meant to be any of those things but loud and strident, a means by which you get someone’s attention to stave off a disaster. You don’t whisper a warning when you see someone is about to collide with a freight train. You don’t gently take someone by the elbow when you’re trying to keep them from getting hit by oncoming traffic.

Rather than heed the word of the Lord, we complained about it being too abrasive or uncharacteristically direct and to the point. We told ourselves a loving God would not so speak judgment upon a land or a people, even though He has time and again, and that’s why we are in the mess we are in today.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.