A Lying Spirit from God

Does God Give Bad Advice?

1 Kings 22 is one of the most curious stories in the entire Bible. King Ahab is planning a war to regain control of the city of Ramoth Gilead. He asks King Jehoshaphat to partner with him in this venture. After the kings have rendezvoused but before they have actually launched their campaign they seek advice from the prophets. The prophets advise the kings to move forward with their plans.

Jehoshaphat is not satisfied. He wants a prophet who is identified with Yahweh, the Hebrew God. Ahab says there is on more prophet he can call, Micaiah. But, says Ahab, he never prophesies anything good.

“Call him anyway.” Jehoshaphat insists.

So Micaiah is called. When asked for his advice about the planned campaign to retake Ramoth Gilead, he immediately agrees with the other prophets. March on. Be victorious!

Ahab can see the prophet is being facetious and orders him, on oath, to speak the truth. Micaiah then predicts disaster. After giving his prediction the prophet explains why all the other prophets have been inspired to advise the kings to proceed with the campaign.

There was a council in heaven. God asked the gathered spirits, "Who will lure Ahab into launching an attack on Ramoth Gilead?"

One said this and another said that. Finally, a spirit came forward and said, "I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets."

"That’s a great idea," God said. "Go and do it.”


What’s this about? Given our cultural background, we are scandalized by the writer’s statement that God sent a lying spirit. But in our sophisticated concern to protect God’s reputation we miss the writer's point: Ahab received the advice he was looking for. He had spent the 22 years of his reign constantly insisting the world bend his direction. On this final occasion he asked for advice from prophets he could count on to tell him what he wanted to hear. (Like a certain president consulting his lawyers so they could confirm his judgment.) Ahab only called Micaiah because King Jehoshaphat insisted.

Both the prophets who counseled “forward march” and Micaiah who warned of disaster said exactly what Ahab expected. He was free to “follow” whichever advice he preferred.

So does God give bad advice? Yes, in a sense. If God responds in any way to a narcissistic person like Ahab, the person will twist the response into approval. A masochistic person will twist every communication from God into condemnation. In either case, “God’s word” will be used by the person as an occasion of evil. In the hands of evil people, “the truth” becomes a weapon not a tool.

There is an important truth here for all of us. The difference advice makes in our lives is not primarily the quality or specific content of the advice that is given. It is the attitude we have toward advice that matters most.

If we are looking for wisdom, for help in cultivating holiness, for skill in loving, we will find the advice we need for life and growth. If we are looking for justification of laziness, the status quo, self-aggrandizement, we will find advice that makes self-destruction and selfishness seem wise. It is the attitude of the advisee not the wisdom of the adviser that matters most. Jesus taught similarly in his parable of the sower and the soils.

The world of religion and “spirituality” is full of advice. Advice on how to live and pray, what to eat and how to express our sexuality, how to manage our money and how to understand the Bible. As we make ourselves at home in the world of church, it’s easy to become an expert on advice–especially on how to give it. However, giving advice is highly ineffective.

The only really effective way to use advice is to receive it, to seek it, to put it to work in our own lives. My prayer is that as I preach, God will send a truthful spirit to be in my mouth. Even more, I pray God will help me heed my own sermon.