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I Kings 22: 8 The king of Israel answered
Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord,
but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always
bad.” (NIV)
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Killing the messenger is a long and dark tradition.* |
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I was hospitalized for a week and a half before my twins
were born. My first roommate while I was there was only a few weeks along in her
pregnancy but she had been so sick that she was weak and dehydrated. An
ultrasound revealed that she, too, was having twins. After she was stabilized,
they sent her home, only to have her return while I was still there. Another
ultrasound, and guess what . . . she was having triplets! I made my laborious
(no pun intended) way down to her new room to give her some wise advice: “Don’t
let them look again! Every time they do, they find another one!”
Ahab, the king quoted in this verse, is notorious for being
Israel’s worst king ever. He is also notable for the evil influence of his
wicked wife, Jezebel. His lament in this verse is a clue that he also might not
have been a deep thinker. Refusing to listen to the prophecies of Micaiah
because he never said anything good about him made as much sense as my advice
to my expectant roommate. Deliberate ignorance of the truth doesn’t transform
the truth into something more palatable. Truth doesn’t change.
We might be guilty of the same attitude as Ahab if we
“church shop” until we find a preacher whose sermons we find pleasing. Paul
warned Timothy about people who would not put up with sound doctrine, choosing
to associate with teachers who say only what they want to hear (II Timothy 4:
3). The Bible is full of sweet passages about love and hope and kindness, but
you aren’t getting the whole picture – the truth – if you ignore those about
judgment and obedience and rejection. Don’t turn your back on the truth – and
don’t hate the messenger who delivers it. Examine scripture yourself and let
the truth convict you of your sinfulness and encourage your faithfulness.
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The preaching and teaching of the modern church often leaves people unmoved and culture unaffected.* |
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