Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 22:19-28.

“Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD.  I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.  The LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’  And one said this while another said that.  Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’  The LORD said to him, ‘How?’  And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’  Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail.  Go and do so.’  Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets;  and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?”  Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.”  Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son;  and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’”  Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely the LORD has not spoken by me.”  And he said, “Listen, all you people.”  1 Kings 22:19-28.

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“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”  Matthew 24:11-14.

But, there is hope!

The LORD is sovereign even over false prophets.  

In today’s Scripture, we see that the LORD was sovereign over the false prophets to accomplish His goal of the defeat and death of Ahab, king of Israel, as we will read in the following Scripture (I Kings 22:29-40).  Micaiah, the true prophet, prophesied to Ahab:  “Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets;  and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you.”  Verse 23.

And, so more generally, we can take comfort today that even though “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”, the LORD can protect us, His children, and also accomplish His purpose of justice.  

“The LORD has made everything for its own purpose,
Even the wicked for the day of evil.” Proverbs 16:4.

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them;  because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  They are from the world;  therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God;  he who knows God listens to us;  he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”  1 John 4:4-6.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39.