Copyright ©2020 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved.
A little while ago, I had spoken with my wife about the scripture upon which this message is based. Also considering Proverbs 16:4, we were discussing how/why a person could/would be led to an inglorious end by God Himself for His purposes. This may happen when a person opens himself up to certain influences and resists what he knows to be true in order to save face and/or serve his ego. When faced with challenging situations or difficult decisions, the choice is ours whether to embrace an humbling truth or believe a comforting lie.
When I was younger, I learned about a cliché that says, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." As a kid, it didn't make much sense to me. Of course, as I came of age, this seemed like a no-brainer. And yet, I discovered that many people do this on a regular basis; most often, when the pain of being wrong is more than a person can bear. Instead of learning from (or admitting to) a mistake, some people will ride that mistake until it crashes and burns.
I suspect that such people hope that their "opposition" will give up the fight before the crash happens; but, of course, this is not always the case. While pride (or the shame of embarrassment) may compel one to try and save face, compounding it with obstinance is foolish, because the truth always comes out. Such people can be difficult to get along with. They tend to be rigid and closed-minded (at least with certain topics). They may not be this way with every thought or idea, but with those with which they are, it is like talking to a brick wall or watching a train wreck.
The worst cases are those in which the person's obstinance negatively impacts not only his/her own well-being, but also the well-being of others. We see this presently, for example, among those who support the Administration's policies regarding immigration, health care, taxation, food safety, and the environment (just to name a few). It seems that the people who support these controversial initiatives, or more correctly, who support the man himself, don't realize that they are among those who are being hurt the most by these policies. They cling to privilege as if it were endowed by our Creator as an unalienable right that makes them "better than", not realizing that it is a completely manufactured ideology developed by an elite cabal in order to weaken the people--both so-called privileged and oppressed--by turning them against each other. By the time they realize how flimsy and ephemeral this construct is, the damage will have already been done many times over (just look at the current inequity between "the races" in wealth, health, housing, employment, and incarceration, just to name a few).
Sadly, this dysfunction is not confined to politics. It is present in all institutions, from education, families, and yes, religion.
The real life drama that is presently playing out in what has become a gripping, emotional, daily experience reveals to us one way that the only real spiritual choice is presented to us. When facing choice in life, the question is always this: do we prefer to accept the humbling truth, or a comforting lie?
This Biblical story may not be so well known, because it presents to us a view of God's Will that is uncomfortable, and even scary, for many people. In particular, it reveals that God can deliberately cause even His prophets to be led astray.
This account does not provide room for the staunch religious believer to offload his discomfort by conveniently placing blame on a devil who is responsible for all bad and evil. Instead, it forces us to consider the implications of why God would mislead even His prophets. Besides, as God makes abundantly clear to Isaiah, as recorded in chapter 45:
[7] I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
To the religionists, especially those who want to do right and good, such an act might be extremely terrifying, because one might wonder, if God would mislead His prophets, then what hope do we "regular folks" have in finding and following the right way?
Yet, this scripture also offers a ray of hope to dispel such fears. For while the LORD sent a spirit to be a lying spirit to the prophets of Ahab, king of Israel, there is another person who was not deceived: Jehoshaphat! In fact, when Jehoshaphat arrived on the scene to offer assistance, he knew that something was off. After hearing the word from Ahab's prophets, the scripture records Jehoshaphat's response (1st Kings 22):
[7] And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?
[8] And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
As the story continues, we read that Jehoshaphat's righteousness saved him, even though he was trying to help his brothers, who themselves were misled. Ahab tried to disguise himself to avoid detection, and he was still hit! There was nothing he could do to avoid his fate, a fate, ironically, that he brought upon himself.
Ahab brought this upon himself because of how terribly he led his people astray. In fact, the LORD sent Elijah to prophesy against him (1st Kings 21):
[19] ...Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
[20] ...
[21] Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
[22] And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
Because of his own deeds, Ahab opened himself up to the wrath and destruction of God; for as our tenet states, "We believe that God rewards and punishes."
In order to accomplish His will, God allowed the lying spirit to give Ahab's prophets a lie that he might believe it, and thus, subject himself to the punishment/judgment of God. Furthermore, it didn't matter that Ahab disguised himself. He was still shot and killed. Ahab's prophets were misled, because they, likewise, opened themselves up to this deception; because they were supporting a king that they knew was corrupt.
One could argue, "Well, they did that in order to preserve their lives." That may be true; but, as a prophet, how could they stand for God when they did not believe that God would be their refuge and strength? Who would find a word of encouragement, strength, and faith in God from a prophet who himself did not demonstrate that very strength and faith in God?
Lest we forget, Obadiah (a righteous prophet) was able to hide 100 faithful prophets from Ahab and Jezebel, in spite of their reign of terror! No matter how bleak the odds appear to be, "God and one is the majority!"
Conversely, Jehoshaphat, although well-intended in his desire to help his brothers in Israel, found himself in the midst of a mess. Yet, because of his spirit, he sensed that something was "off" and was moved to ask to hear the Word from another true prophet. Then, in the heat and chaos of battle, Jehoshaphat, who looked like a king, was not attacked; whereas Ahab did not look like a king, and was still attacked and killed.
In our own lives, we can attest to the fact that we've been saved while being in places or situations where we had no business being. And, sadly, there are countless stories of people who were hanging with the wrong crowd when the police raided, or when a drive-by took place, etc. Although we are certainly buoyed by the prayers of the righteous, at some point, every tub has to stand on its own bottom.
The Almighty God is the Creator, and by virtue of having been created in His Likeness, we, too are creators. It may not yet appear what we shall be, but that appearance somewhat depends on the choices we make. And, if we are to truly be like Him, then at those pivotal decision points in life, it becomes our duty to embrace the humbling truth rather than going along with a comforting lie.
The blessing of be guided by goodness, even in the most bleak situations, or to be led to our own destruction due to our own iniquity, will ultimately be due to the choices we make. So again, we must consider that old cliché, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." We must consider again the essence of the choices that lie before us. Will we embrace a comforting lie, or a humbling truth?
The purpose of life is for us to learn and come into the knowledge of God, and of ourselves. God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, so each choice we make to embrace truth draws us closer to God. Each choice we make to remain comfortably complacent or resist truth moves us further away from God.
Of all people, Israel cannot say that it does not know the truth. And, we have been given this truth so that we may not only navigate through this world, but so that we may grow (Ephesians 4):
[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
[13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
[14] That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
[15] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
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