Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!” So 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 fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.” ’ ” But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!””

I Kings 22:24-28 NKJV

When Jesus was being examined by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin in Matthew 26 they spat on His face, beat Him, struck Him, and then mocked Him by saying, “Prophecy! Who is the one who struck You?”

Do you remember Zedekiah who put on the show for Ahab and Jehoshaphat with the bull horns (v.11)? That same Zedekiah was still around for Micaiah’s prophecy and responded by striking Micaiah on the cheek and mocked him as Micaiah’s Savior would be mocked and beaten in years to come. 

Jesus calmly told the High Priest he would see the Son of Man on the throne of power. Micaiah told Zedekiah, he would see about the lying spirit on the day he would hide in his home for fear of his life. The wicked may look like they are winning for a moment, but the end is already written. They will be destroyed. The righteous have nothing to fear when God is on His throne, ruling and reigning and bringing all His enemies under His footstool.

For his prophecy, Micaiah was taken and thrown into prison with, at best, terrible tasting-bread and water. He was to be there until Ahab returned because of his unhelpful prophecy. In front of all the gathering, Micaiah boldly declared that if Ahab returned from Ramoth Gilead then Micaiah was not a true prophet of the Lord. But if Ahab did not return, then all the people should take note that Micaiah had previously told of this from the mouth of the Lord Himself.

Micaiah reminded the people of the Word of the Lord in the days of Moses.* If Ahab returned in peace, Micaiah was not from God because his prophecy did not come to pass. But, the opposite was also true. If Ahab did not return from Ramoth Gilead alive then Micaiah was a prophet of the Lord. Let the people judge.

Why should we trust the promises (prophecies) of the Lord concerning those things which we have not seen because they have not yet come to pass? Why should we believe that the resurrection at the last day and the life everlasting is true? I have seen many die but I have never seen any come back to life. Why should I believe God’s promises for the future?

Because all that the Lord has promised concerning past events in history has come to pass. All that the Lord has purposed, He has also done. Consider God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would bring them to the Promised Land – even after bondage in Egypt. He did as He promised. Consider the prophecy of Isaiah, “the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son…” and Mary gave birth to Jesus. Consider Jesus who said, “I have power to lay down My life and to raise it up again…” and did. Consider Ahab who was told he would die in Ramoth Gilead. Lord willing in our next study we will see that to be true as well.

The Lord is faithful in all His ways, true in all His promises. You can rest assured in the promises of the Lord for the future because your God has been faithful and true in all of His promises in the past. All that He has said He would do, He has done, is doing, and will do. On that great day of the Lord you will see with your eyes what you now see by faith. May all the world take heed!

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*But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die… when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken (Deut. 18:20-22). 

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