“Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.” And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” 2 Chronicles 18:26-27
Most of the stories we consume, whether books or movies, are quite formulaic. There’s a good guy and there’s a bad guy, and by the end of the story, the bad guy gets what’s coming to him, while the good guy is vindicated. Occasionally, a story comes along in which the bad guy never gets what he deserves, which is maddening, because we crave justice in our stories. Today’s passage is one of those frustrating stories, because in it, God’s prophet Micaiah suffers injustice at the hands of the evil King Ahab and his false prophets.
In the narrative, Micaiah predicted disaster for King Ahab’s upcoming military campaign, while all of Ahab’s false prophets predicted success. Micaiah knew however, that King Ahab would be defeated and die in battle. After Micaiah’s dire prediction, one of Ahab’s prophets mocked him and struck him, while Ahab declared that Micaiah be thrown in prison until Ahab returned victoriously. Ahab and his cronies, smug in their self-confidence, felt confident that they could mock and abuse Micaiah, but Micaiah knew the truth. If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.
Micaiah knew that they couldn’t mock God indefinitely and they couldn’t escape judgement forever. At some point, their evil was going to catch up with them. For Micaiah though, this had to be a bitter realization – He was going to languish in prison until Ahab returned victorious, which would never happen. So, Micaiah did what was right, despite knowing that he may spend the rest of his days unjustly incarcerated. Again though, I’ve got to think that Micaiah took an eternal perspective, knowing that eventually, all would be made right – if not in this life, then in the next. His job was simply to do God’s will.
And that is the lesson of the passage for me. My job is to do God’s will and leave the results up to him. When I think I can defy God and get away with it, I’m fooling myself. When I’m frustrated that others defy God and appear to get away with it, I can rest assured that they’re also fooling themselves. God is not mocked. Eventually, even if it’s in the next life, justice will be delivered. So, if I want to be on the side that is rewarded in the end, then I must do as God asks, even when it appears, as with Micaiah, that I’ll suffer for it here and now. God is not mocked and all will one day be made right.