Second Opinion

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"There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he never prophecies good concerning me..." - (2 Chron. 18:7, NASB)

   The conversation taking place between Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel is very interesting. They joined forces and were preparing to go to battle. Jehoshaphat was a godly man. Before he went to battle, he wanted to hear from God. Ahab, was not so much, so he called 400 "prophets" to seek God concerning the upcoming events. They all prophesied victory. However, something was amiss. Scripture is not clear as to what, but something did not sit right within Jehoshaphat about their words, so he asked for a second opinion, from a real man of God. Ahab was reluctant because his man of God never seemed to have good news for him. Nevertheless, the prophet of God is brought forth, gives an unwelcome prophecy, then is imprisoned by Ahab. However, the end of the story finds his words were right on the mark, despite Ahab's attempts to circumnavigate God's plans. He dies from a random arrow that manages to find the seam of his armor. 

   What got my attention this morning as I read this passage is just how callously Ahab wrote off the LORD man. He did not like the message, so he never sought him out; and when he did seek him out Ahab punished the man because the message stung. Does this sound familiar? We are living in an age where we can find a "second opinion" for anything: physicians, mechanics, contractors, and preachers. What is interesting though is that we want physicians, mechanics, and contractors to tell us the truth, but when it comes to preachers we want them to tell us good news, those things which we want to hear, whether they are true or not. I realize that no preacher, teacher, or church has all the answers. There are some areas of Scripture and spiritual life in which we can disagree, but let's face it, there are many "prophets" out there that will tell you precisely what you want to hear (see 2 Tim. 4:3-4). In Ahab's case, the fact that he disregarded the man of God's words did not exempt him from the end result. And that is where I see many today. We disregard the Word of God for something that sounds good, soothes the mind, and numbs the spirit. However, we need to learn the lesson of Ahab: God's Word is God's Word, whether we like it or not.

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