REMINDER: Who Are You Of One Spirit With?
- Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
- May 21, 2020
- 4 min read
"The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, 'There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.'" -1 Kings 22:8
King Jehoshaphat amazes me, and not in a good way. I see him as a foolish king. First, he says to Ahab, (the most wicked king to ever live,) “You and I are as one.” Wow! What does righteousness have in common with unrighteousness? What does godly actions have in common with evil actions? What was King Jehoshaphat thinking in making that statement? Definitely, not thinking from a godly mind. In this story we learn much about his level of intimacy with God.
Secondly, he asked King Ahab to inquire of the Lord if they should go into battle. The interesting thing was they hadn’t been attacked, so why start a war? Well, let’s see, King Ahab always wanted something. He wanted to recapture Ramoth-Gilead. King Jehoshaphat has the good sense to inquire of the Lord. However, he failed miserably on taking God’s warning. Why ask God to begin with then? Was he truly interested in doing what God said? No, he was not.
The problem was King Ahab wasn’t interested in doing what God required. There were 400 prophets King Ahab summed to inquire of the Lord. All said, “Go God will give you the victory.” King Jehoshaphat, didn’t believe them because he asked, “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question.” This statement right here tells me he knew the king was being lied, too. He knew those other 400 prophets weren’t telling the truth. In fact, he called them out by his statement, “Isn’t there a prophet of God?”
King Ahab hated the prophet Micaiah because the Lord was actually with him. He spoke only what God said, bringing the entire truth which was not what King Ahab wanted to hear. As the story goes, God warned King Ahab he would die in this battle. One would think he would thank Micaiah. Instead he has him arrested and thrown into prison. King Jehoshaphat, who said, “You and I are one,” didn’t try to stop King Ahab from having a godly man arrested nor did he try to stop him from going to war. You see, they were of one spirit in that moment. Be careful what you say. Is it possible to be deceived because you are “in one spirit” with someone? Yes, as we see here.
King Jehoshaphat deeply disturbs me. First he asked for God’s thoughts and will, but he didn’t do it. Secondly, he understands what got prophesied by about 400 men wasn’t truth, but he ignores the obvious. Thirdly, he goes to war knowing King Ahab would die, putting himself in danger of being killed, too. Does anyone else see what I see? Foolish king who was deceived along with the man he said he was, “one in spirit.” Please catch this today.
Here comes the scariest part of this story. “The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” And King Jehoshaphat does this. Of course, the army thought he was King Ahab and almost killed him. He had to shout he was King Jehoshaphat. Like what was he thinking? You don’t think straight when you're bent high in doing what God warned you of. His actions are disturbing.
King Ahab was killed at random even in His disguise, a random arrow shot killed him just as Micaiah had said. Imagine, Micaiah, tried to warn him, tried to save his life. What was his reward? Prison. He sent the prophet to prison as if Micaiah was a horrible criminal.
Listen please, when we align ourselves with people who are stubborn and bent on doing evil things we get ourselves into trouble. When God shows us what we need to do and then not do it, we get ourselves into trouble. I believe, proven by this story, we can recognize what’s truth and still be dumb enough to not do it. Wise people take heed. Wise people do what God shows them immediately. Wise people don’t put their lives in danger nor those who are under their care. King Jehoshaphat was not wise, but then, neither was the king he said he was of one spirit with.
WHO ARE YOU OF ONE SPIRIT WITH?
Pay attention to this today. Be careful who you are of one spirit with. Sometimes those closest to us are not of the spirit we think they are. Don’t go through the motion of asking what God’s will is and then do the opposite. Don’t listen to ungodly counsel. Don’t align yourself with people who practice evil behaviors. It really does matter who you hang out. Who you are with will determine outcomes in your life. We clearly learn this from the lives of these two well-known kings.
Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro Founder and President At Thread of Hope, Inc.
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