Listen to the Lord or Pay the Consequences

Prayer – Lord, as I look in the Old Testament for examples of the Holy Spirit—I am finding examples of the lack of the Holy Spirit. It grieves my heart that the people of Israel and Judah—Your chosen people—turned their backs on You. Open the eyes of my heart Lord that I would never turn away from You—even in a small way. Forgive me for not challenging others to seek You first in their lives. Fill me with a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit that I would be bold for You.

 

Then Micaiah continued, "Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?' "There were many suggestions, and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, 'I can do it!' "'How will you do this?' the LORD asked. "And the spirit replied, 'I will go out and inspire all of Ahab's prophets to speak lies.' "'You will succeed,' said the LORD. 'Go ahead and do it.' "So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom." Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. "Since when did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?" he demanded. 1 Kings 22:19-24

 

Meditate. Read God’s word, pray for understanding, and listen to what He is saying.

 

Are you in a spiritual battle...
or are you at peace with purity of the Lord?

Watch out for “spirits” that are of Satan, not of God. In this story of the prophet Micaiah there is a spirit involved with lying—so you can pretty much guess that it is an evil spirit. How can we tell if there is an evil spiritual force trying to influence our lives? Seek the Lord as Micaiah said…“Listen to what the Lord! says?” Pray, read God’s word, talk to Christian friends, and if you feel peace, it likely is of the Lord, but if there is turmoil, stress, a real lack of peace, then watch out. You may be in a spiritual battle.

 

Micaiah got slapped in the face. Literally. That was a very rude thing to happen—especially right in front of the King. Did the Spirit of the Lord really leave Zedekiah? That is what he said. The Spirit of the Lord was definitely with Micaiah as he prophesied for the Lord—pronouncing the doom of Israel’s King Ahab. Ahab died in battle against the Aramean army, even though he disguised himself to hide his identity. Read it for yourself in 1 Kings 22. Punishment of death at the hands of his enemies was his consequence for not following the ways of the true Lord God of Israel. His life was cut short because of his disobedience. Is there a lesson to be learned from this?                                                                                       

Verse of Salvation ~ For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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