Micaiah- Speaking God’s Truth Without Spin
Pastor Pete Amerman- Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church
Succasunna, NJ July 3, 2005
Ephesians 4:25- “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor...”
Continuing our series on Unknown Faces from the Bible, remember that there are unknown characters in the Bible whose names and faces we may not recognize, but whose stories are significant in God’s plan and purpose in history. Today, we will look at a man named Micaiah, a prophet who stood alone and spoke the truth when the majority of the king’s advisors were presenting what we now call “SPIN”.
A major company was looking for a new Marketing Director. After much advertising and many applications, three candidates entered the final selection process.
The first one in for the final interview was asked him a simple question: “What is 2+2?” He was surprised, thought about it for a bit, wondered if it might be a trick question and then simply answered 4. The Managing Director looked at the Board, shook his head and thanked him for coming, but he wasn’t the candidate they were looking for.
The next one in was again asked this simple question: “What is 2+2?” He paused, thought about it for a bit and then replied that statistically it was a number between 3 and 5. The Managing Director smiled and Board was quite impressed. The candidate was thanked and ushered out.
The last candidate was also asked the simple question: What is 2+2. Without batting an eyelid he replied: “What do you want it to be?” And he was hired on the spot.
We have a word for this “fudging the truth”, this inclination to make truth what you want it to be- we call it, “SPIN”. "SPIN" was originally an acronym, "Significant Progress In the News." “SPIN” refers to the highly manipulative tactics used to sway audiences away from a true presentation of the facts. The techniques of SPIN include:
--Selectively presenting only the evidence that supports one’s position
--Non-denial denials OR non-affirming affirmations
--Phrasing in a way that assumes unproven truths
--Euphemisms to disguise one’s real agenda
--Disguising bad news by placing it on the back of more important or more favorable news.
Skilled practitioners of SPIN are sometimes called "spin doctors". We have another name for them- we call them, “politicians”.
The danger of SPIN is that it can serve to make the audience quite content with the illusion of truth rather than the reality of truth. Unfortunately, in our culture, many seem to be content to live with illusions and SPIN rather than with the truth. David Wells in his book, “Losing Our Virtues” observes, "This is the first time a civilization has existed that, to a significant extent, does not believe in objective right or wrong." In other words, when we lose any objective measure of what is right or wrong, true of false, we are far more vulnerable to give and receive “SPIN” rather than truth. We are far more likely to make truth “what you want it to be” rather than what it is.
SPIN is nothing new. In 1 Kings 22, there was a King named King Ahab, a king of Israel who was described as “doing more evil than all the kings who went before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) Notice how the story begins- vs. 1- Israel had a period of peace for 3 years. They were not attacked; they were not provoked into battle. But, rather than rejoicing over the abundance of the land that the Lord had given to the people of Israel, King Ahab became discontent that there was a little corner of land, Ramoth-Gilead, that they did not have. This tract of land was a thorn in his side. Ahab was not called upon by God to possess this land; rather, it was his own idea, prompted by his own selfishness.
Vs. 4- Ahab met with the king of Judah, King Jehoshaphat. He asked him to join him in this campaign. Fortunately, his friend said to him, vs. 5- “First seek the counsel of the Lord”.
Here’s where the “SPIN” comes in. There is a great struggle between King Ahab and the prophet, Micaiah (and in a greater way, between “SPIN” and God’s truth). God’s truth was available to the king and to the people of Israel. God’s truth was presented to the king and to the people. And, God’s truth was presented to protect the king and the people of Israel. But, they were not ready to receive it. The same thing happens to you and me sometimes. God’s truth is available to us, it is presented to us, and it is sent to protect us, but we are not ready to receive it. So, what do we do? We SPIN God’s truth rather than receive it. In 1 Kings 22, we see at least 4 ways that people use to “SPIN” God’s truth rather than receive it:
1) We SPIN God’s truth by accepting false assurances regarding our plans or purposes rather than God’s warnings
Vs. 5-6- King Ahab had already decided what he wanted to do. His mind was made up. He was going to enter into battle with Ben-Hadad, the King of Aram, whether God called him to do it or not. The only reason that he called upon the prophets was because his important military ally, Jehoshaphat, told him to do it. So, the king found 400 prophets that were his “SPIN-doctors”- 400 “Yes-men” who would confirm his plans. It didn’t matter if they spoke the truth or not. Ahab had not only made up his mind about his plans, but also about what the Word of God would be regarding his plans.
Have you ever met people like that? Have you ever done that yourself? We have figured out exactly what we think God ought to say about something, and we won’t hear anything else. If the word of God agrees with our ideas, if it agrees with our plans, if it agrees with our practices, that is good enough for us! We’ll take the Word of God regarding forgiveness, but not His word regarding repentance. We’ll take the word of God regarding salvation, but not His word regarding certain sins that we still want to continue to practice. We’ll take the word of God regarding Christ’s lordship over the world, but not His word regarding His lordship over my life. We must take God’s word in its entirety, not just selectively pick and choose what we want to hear from God’s word.
Notice a few things about these prophets- vs. 6- They are 400 in number, all who agree in their testimony (as if by sheer numbers, they will make a lie to be the truth. Truth is not majority rule).
Notice that they come in the name of Jehovah as their God. The most seductive enemy we face is not the one who comes to us bearing the name of another god; it is the one who comes to us in the name of the Lord. He looks and sounds just like us, bears the same name as we do, uses our language and our own words; but, he is not of us.
Notice also that these prophets are very demonstrative, dynamic people. Vs. 11- Zedekiah even acted out some of his prophecy to “gore the Arameans until they are consumed.”
But, notice something else about their prophecy- it is actually quite vague- vs. 6 & 12- “Go up and prosper, for the Lord will give it…(Give what? The battle? The city? The army? Your life?)…into the hand of the king (What king? Ben-Hadad? Or King Ahab?) Now, I ask you—what kind of prophecy is that? It is a deliberate “double meaning”—a prophecy that can go both ways, so that even if the king loses, the prophecy doesn’t lose its credibility. Then, the prophets could say, “We weren’t wrong; we were just misunderstood.”
My friends, there may be a vague word said to be representing the word of the Lord, said by the majority, said demonstrably, said with conviction, and it sounds so certain; but, it is not the Word of God, and you know it. Then, there is God’s Word, spoken by only one, spoken quietly, mocked and opposed and scorned by the majority- but, it touches a chord within. It is God’s Word. It is a clear word; when you hear it, for the first time, you feel like you can see things clearly. You know it is a word from God, and you know that you can’t hide from it. Don’t try. Seek it out; test it in your life; obey that word, and live.
2) We SPIN God’s truth when we choose to close our ears to God’s truth rather than opening our hearts to hear and do what He says
Vs. 7-8- Jehoshaphat recognized that he had not yet heard the Word of the Lord; and so, he asked if there were any others of whom they might inquire. “One”, says Ahab, “His name is Micaiah- but I hate him…” Why? Because he has been proven false? Because he comes in the name of a false god? No, “…because he never prophesies anything good concerning me.” Jehoshaphat responded, “The king should not say that.” In other words, don’t prejudice yourself. Maybe your desire to hear only something good about you has prevented you from hearing the truth about you.”
Vs. 13-18- Micaiah came to Ahab and Jehoshaphat. Notice the warning of the messenger to Micaiah- “The words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king”—that is, “Micaiah, in this city, truth is majority rule. Truth is according to the vote of those who say what the king wants to hear. So, don’t blow it by your lonely, puny, solitary voice upsetting the way things are being done. You should say what we say.” How many times have you heard somebody appeal to the same authority- “Everybody’s doing it. We have the votes. The majority wants it that way, so that’s the way it is. Why don’t you just conform?”
And, when that happens, may we have the courage to speak as Micaiah did- vs. 14- “What the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” Thus says the Lord! May our testimony agree with God’s Word, not the statistical majority at that given time. Martin Luther was asked at one time if he knew that the whole world was against him because of his uncompromising commitment to God’s Word. His answer? “Then, I am against the whole world!”
Vs. 15- Micaiah stood before the king; and Ahab asked him, “Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead in battle?” Micaiah could read him like a book. He knew that Ahab’s question was insincere. He knew that this whole scene was a charade; so, he answered- vs. 15- “Go ahead, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” That was exactly what the king wanted to hear, exactly what the other prophets had said. You can sense strong sarcasm in his response.
Vs. 16- Ahab’s response was an interesting one- “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” Notice, he did not say, “speak your mind” or “speak your opinion of what God’s Word says.” He knew deep down that the response he had just heard was not the truth of God. So, he said, “speak the truth.”
Vs. 17- Now, Micaiah’s tone changed. He said that Israel would lose their king (like sheep without a shepherd) and the people of Israel would be scattered and would retreat.
Vs. 18- Ahab responded- “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” Can you beat that response? You can’t ever win with a fellow like that! Here he is, caught between truth and its consequences. He knows that the assuring word from Micaiah was not a true word from God; but, he cannot accept the truth either because he knew that it disagreed with his plans, disagreed with his lifestyle, and was not a good word toward him. No response would be satisfactory for him.
Have you ever had that happen to you? Sometimes we hear the word of the Lord, but it disagrees with us and our plans and our attitudes and our sins. We recognize that the knowledge of God’s truth puts a claim on our lives. It requires not just our affirmation, but our obedience. So, we are caught between truth and its consequences, and we don’t want to accept those consequences. So what do we do next? We rationalize it away. I heard an excellent definition of rationalization- rationalization is “finding reasons in your mind to justify what you know is wrong in your heart.” We know in our heart what God wills; we know in our heart what is right- but it costs too much. So, we come up with very rational sounding arguments to justify our behavior: “It feels right, so it must be right.” “But, my friend does it, and he is a Christian.” “I’m not really hurting anybody.” “That’s not technically illegal, is it?” Maybe today, you are caught between truth and its cost. Know this for certain: it costs much more to walk any way other than the Lord’s way. It cost King Ahab his life, for a battle that didn’t matter much anyway.
3) We SPIN God’s truth when we seek to contain and confine it rather than setting it free to do its work in our lives
Vs. 27- Ahab had Micaiah put into prison until he returned in safety- as if by putting him in prison, he could “contain” and “confine” the Word of God. Ahab’s anger was directed upon God’s messenger, Micaiah. It is as if he thought Micaiah wished this defeat upon Ahab; or, that because he spoke it, that would make it happen. He may have even thought that the prophet was not just a mouthpiece for God, but an influence upon Him. If he spoke about Ahab’s victory or his defeat, that would make it happen. Ahab may have thought that the prophet was judgmental and not very loving toward him. But, the fact that he spoke God’s truth without compromise was the most loving thing he could do. He warned him about the decree of death that would result from his foolish course of action- a decree that came not from him, but from a sovereign, all-powerful God.
My friends, sometimes people vent their anger upon you. Sometimes, when you try to warn people about disaster that will certainly follow their foolish course of action, they may say, “You are being judgmental and unloving”, when in fact, nothing can be further from the truth. If you and I are in a courtroom, and the judge says about you, “guilty”, and we leave that courtroom, and you ask, “What did he say?” And, I say, ‘guilty!’” You may respond, “You are being judgmental! You are being unloving!” But, I did not judge you by repeating what the judge said; I just told you the truth- “He said, ‘guilty’”. You may have an issue with the judge; you may disagree with the judge; you may be angry at the judge- but, I only repeated what He has said.
And, when we repeat what the Judge of the Universe had said in His word, even if it disagrees with someone’s lifestyle, and we say, “This is true- this is false; this is right, this is wrong”—they may respond in anger- but, their anger is really directed toward God, the Judge of the Universe. We only need to say, “Your issue is not with me; it is with Him.” A person may be inwardly frustrated because he knows the truth, but he is not willing to obey it. So, he may “vent” on you. Don’t be discouraged by it. Recognize that it may be a sign that you are getting close, that you are hitting the mark.
4) We SPIN God’s truth when we attempt disguise ourselves to try to hide from it, rather than facing it as we are
Vs. 30- It is interesting to note that 400 prophets said, “Go ahead, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king”, and only 1 prophet said, “You will be utterly destroyed”—yet, the words from Micaiah, the lone prophet haunted the king, and prompted him to take action. He disguised himself as one of his soldiers. It was a foolish action. It was obvious that he was not doing this to hide from the Arameans, but to hide from God, and from His Word.
How many people respond to God like that! The Word of God haunts them and they can’t escape from it. Even though it may be a “still small voice” from a small minority of people, they are still troubled by it. So, if one is not ready to change his life, what other option does he have? Disguise himself- disguise his behavior- take the sting out of sin, and perhaps even call it a virtue. So, homosexuality is not called sin, but “gay- an alternative lifestyle”. Adultery is not called sin, but “an affair of the heart”. Greed is not called sin, but “profiteering”. Racism is not called sin, but “concern for our neighborhood”. We are attempting to disguise ourselves from God’s truth.
But, be assured, no disguise will hide you from the penetrating Word of God. Jesus said, “There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known…what you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner room shall be shouted from the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3)
But, now, notice vs. 34- “But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor.” That is a great illustration of what the Word of God does. God penetrates deep, and penetrates the “armor” that we put up to try to hide ourselves from it:
-God will use the arrow of CONVICTION to penetrate our armor- vs. 7-8- both Jehoshaphat and Ahab agreed that these words, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king” were not the Word of the Lord. There was an inner conviction as to the truth of God, whether or not they chose to act on that truth. How about you? You know that when you hear the Word of God, there is an inner voice, an inner conviction about God’s truth. It is an inner witness from the Holy Spirit- John 14:26- “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things and remind you of everything I (Jesus) have said…” The question is- am I willing to allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate my armor, and guide me in God’s truth? Am I willing to obey what I already know in my heart to be true?
-God will use the arrow of HIS WORD to penetrate our armor- The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12- “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Micaiah’s message was a true and faithful word from God that penetrated deep into the king’s soul. God’s Word is always true- Romans 3:4- “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” It penetrates all the armor, all the defense mechanisms that we use to “SPIN” truth.
-God will use the arrow of JUDGMENT to penetrate our armor- Vs. 34- Despite Ahab’s false hopes, false assurances, his attempts to close his ears to God’s truth, imprison God’s truth, and disguise himself to hide from God’s truth, God’s truth did prevail. Ahab’s armor was penetrated, and he died according to God’s word.
And, in the end, only one prophet was vindicated. One man among the 400 stood out and passed the test- Deuteronomy 18:21-22- “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken…” May we also “pass the test”. May we speak God’s truth without SPIN, despite being in the minority, despite being mocked, scorned and even rejected because of it. May we speak it because of our love for God and our love for those who do not know Him. Whether we succeed or fail in bringing that person around isn’t the primary issue; the primary issue is, “Was I faithful to do what God wanted me to do? Was I faithful to say what God wanted me to say?” SPIN-doctors will come and go; God’s truth will remain forever.
