Did God Deceive King Ahab?



Is God a Liar? 1 Kings 22 in Context (Part 1)

Posted by chris on August 28, 2013

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1 Kings 22 tells the story of Ahab’s final battle and death at the hands of the Syrians. Just before Ahab goes up to Ramoth Gilead with Jehoshaphat in v 29 there is an interesting scene that has been the subject of much scholarly discussion. According to v 10 Ahab and Jehoshaphat were sitting at the gate of Samaria and 400 prophets were prophesying before them and telling them that the Lord would deliver Ramoth Gilead into Ahab’s hand (v 6). But at the request of Jehoshaphat another prophet named Micaiah was brought before the two kings. He initially echoed what the other prophets had said but when pressed by Ahab told him the truth – Israel would be defeated and Ahab would die (v 17). Beginning in v 19 Micaiah then provided a rare behind-the-scenes look at what happened in the heavenly realm:

And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you.” (vv 19-23)
 

One of the big questions this scene raises is: how can God be involved in deception? How can God deceive Ahab so that he will go up to Ramoth in Gilead and die? Is God a liar who actively plots Ahab’s death by means of deception?

While I don’t claim to have a full explanation for all the details of this intriguing scene, I do want to point out a couple of things. First, as scholars have noted, it is important to remember that God actually informs Ahab of the deception and of the consequences of going up to Ramoth Gilead before Ahab goes into battle. If God had actually wanted to deceive Ahab he obviously never would have done this because it would have made the initial deception pointless. By telling Ahab about the deception God was instead clearly showing Ahab that his prophets were liars and that he should not listen to them. In this way God was actually giving Ahab a chance to avoid the disaster that would befall him if he chose to go up. Rather than being a mean God intent on destroying Ahab through questionable means, a closer look at the text thus shows a loving God who is trying to save Ahab from disaster and certain death.

Yet the question remains why God chose this particular way of dealing with Ahab. Could he not have simply told Ahab not to go up? Why does he involve himself with deception?

In the previous post I argued that rather than deceiving Ahab, God actually gave him a chance to avoid disaster by telling him about the heavenly scene with the deceiving spirit (1 Kings 22:19-23). Yet as I pointed out at the end, the question remains why God chose this particular way of dealing with Ahab. Could he not have simply told Ahab not to go up to Ramoth Gilead? Why does he involve himself with deception?

I think the answer becomes clear once the immediate context is taken into consideration. Notice first of all that the scene Micaiah describes is similar to the scene at the beginning of the chapter. Just as God sits on his throne and has a dialogue with the beings around him, so Ahab and Jehoshaphat are sitting on thrones and have a dialogue with the prophets before them. The scenes are also connected through the motif of deception. In the first scene the prophets are speaking deceptive words to Ahab, but then God comes along and claims that he is actually responsible for it.

I believe these two scenes are also connected to another scene involving deception in 1 Kings 21. In that chapter Ahab and Jezebel have Naboth murdered in order to take possession of his vineyard. In the central scene of the chapter Naboth is seated at the head of the people and two men witness against him. Note the similarities between chapters 21 and 22:
 

 

1 Kings 21

• Ahab wants to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard
• Naboth is seated at the head of the people
• Men appear before him and deceptively tell lies (lit: “Naboth has blessed God and the king”)
• Naboth dies

1 Kings 22

• Ahab wants to take possession of Ramoth Gilead
• Ahab and Jehoshaphat are seated before the prophets
• Prophets appear before them and deceptively tell lies
• Ahab dies

What these parallels suggest is that in chapter 22 God is acting towards Ahab like Ahab (and Jezebel) acted towards Naboth in chapter 21. Just as Ahab and Jezebel used deception and lies to cause the death of Naboth so God is using deception and lies to cause the death of Ahab. Thus it appears as if God is giving Ahab some of his own medicine. However, the big difference between Ahab and his wife and God is that God informs Ahab about the deception and thus gives Ahab the opportunity to avoid death. By revealing to Ahab the heavenly scene God seems to be saying to him: I will treat you like you treated Naboth but I’m telling you that I’m doing it so that you don’t have to end up like Naboth. (That God would treat Ahab this way is all the more amazing given the fact that Ahab – in contrast to Naboth! – is guilty and deserves to die!) The great tragedy of the chapter is that Ahab chooses to reject God’s message of warning to him. He goes up to Ramoth Gilead and is killed, thus proving that God has spoken the truth.

Homework

What other connections can you find between 1 Kings 21 and 22? How do they help you to understand the two chapters better?

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Taken from: http://fascinatedbytheword.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/is-god-a-liar-1-kings-22-in-context-part-2/