The king’s messenger was quite blunt when he approached Micaiah. The text says, “And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good” 1 Kings 22:13.

King Ahab was set on going to battle against Ramothgilead. Four hundred prophets gave him their blessings assuring him it was the Lord’s will. We are uncertain as to who these four hundred prophets were. There were four hundred prophets of Asherah who ate at Jezebel’s table in addition to the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal put to death by Elijah (1 Kings 18:19). Is it possible these are the four hundred called on by Ahab to get the Lord’s blessing? Perhaps. Scripture does not give their identity, but one thing is certain, these men were not speaking for God. It seems King Jehoshaphat recognized this since he asked for another prophet of the Lord to prophesy (1 Kings 22:7). Zedekiah even put on a show complete with visual aids to try to convince the kings they would triumph in Ramothgilead (1 Kings 22:11-12).

In spite of the crowd who gave their endorsement to what they thought the king wanted to hear, Micaiah was unmoved. He stood alone though encouraged to go along. He could not be swayed by popular opinion. He marched to the beat of a different drummer and that drummer was the Lord. He was no pragmatist even though it would have worked out better for him in the short term to go along with the kings false prophets.

How sorely we need more Micaiah’s today who refuse to scratch the itching ears of the crowds (2 Timothy 4:3). We need men who do not go along to get along. We need men who will stand before a lost humanity and with love in their hearts preach the unadulterated Gospel. Though our goal is not to make enemies, we should be willing to speak the truth even though some might become our enemy when we do so (Galatians 4:16).

In a day of “political correctness” in not only the social realm, but also the religious realm we need men who will speak with an independent and committed voice. Many may, like Ahab, say “I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1 Kings 22:8), but we must not be deterred from our duty. Jesus told His apostles: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Mark 13:13). Lord, Give Us More Preachers Like Micaiah!