Bible Questions Answered:
“...if God can send an evil spirit,
does this not make him the author of sin?...”
Bernard/ Sao Paulo, Brazil (South
America)
Bible Answer:
Bible Text:
I Kings 22:1-40 NLT Jehoshaphat
and Ahab
1 For three years there was no war
between Aram and Israel.
2 Then during the third year, King
Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.
3 During the visit, the king of
Israel said to his officials, “Do you realize that the town of
Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? And yet we’ve done nothing to
recapture it from the king of Aram!”
4 Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and
asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of
Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your
troops, and my horses are your horses.”
5 Then Jehoshaphat added, “But
first let’s find out what The Lord says.”
6 So the king of Israel summoned the
prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war
against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?”
They all replied, “Yes, go right
ahead! The Lord will give the king victory.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there
not also a prophet of The Lord here? We should ask him the same
question.”
8 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.”
Jehoshaphat replied, “That’s not
the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say.”
9 So the king of Israel called one
of his officials and said, “Quick! Bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”
10 King Ahab of Israel and King
Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on
thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of
Ahab’s prophets were prophesying there in front of them.
11 One of them, Zedekiah son of
Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what The
Lord says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!”
12 All the other prophets agreed.
“Yes,” they said, “go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious,
for
The Lord will give the king
victory!”
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went
to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising
victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise
success.”
14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely
as The Lord lives, I will say only what The Lord tells me to say.”
15 When Micaiah arrived before the
king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against
Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?”
Micaiah replied sarcastically, “Yes,
go up and be victorious, for The Lord will give the king victory!”
16 But the king replied sharply,
“How many times must I demand that you speak only The Truth to me
when you speak for The Lord?”
17 Then Micaiah told him, “In a
vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep
without a shepherd. And The Lord said, ‘Their master has been
killed. Send them home in peace.’”
18 “Didn’t I tell you?” the
king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. “He never prophesies
anything but trouble for me.”
19 Then Micaiah continued, “Listen
to what The Lord says! I saw The Lord sitting on His throne with all
the armies of heaven around Him, on His right and on His left.
20 And The Lord said, ‘Who can
entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be
killed?’
“There were many suggestions,
21 and finally a spirit approached
The Lord and said, ‘I can do it!’
22 “‘How will you do this?’
The Lord asked. “And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and
inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’ “‘You will
succeed,’ said The Lord. ‘Go ahead and do it.’
23 “So you see, The Lord has put a
lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For The Lord has
pronounced your doom.”
24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah
walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. “Since when
did the Spirit of The Lord leave me to speak to you?” he demanded.
25 And Micaiah replied, “You will
find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret
room!”
26 “Arrest him!” the king of
Israel ordered. “Take him back to Amon, the governor of the city,
and to my son Joash.
27 Give them this order from the
king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and
water until I return safely from the battle!’”
28 But Micaiah replied, “If you
return safely, it will mean that The Lord has not spoken through me!”
Then he added to those standing around, “Everyone mark my words!”
29 So King Ahab of Israel and King
Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead.
30 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.” So the king
of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.
31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had
issued these orders to his thirty-two chariot commanders: “Attack
only the king of Israel. Don’t bother with anyone else!”
32 So when the Aramean chariot
commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him.
“There is the king of Israel!” they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat
called out,
33 the chariot commanders realized
he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him.
34 An Aramean soldier, however,
randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of
Israel between the joints of his armor. “Turn the horses and get me
out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I’m
badly wounded!”
35 The battle raged all that day,
and the king remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans.
The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as
evening arrived he died.
36 Just as the sun was setting, the
cry ran through his troops: “We’re done for! Run for your lives!”
37 So the king died, and his body
was taken to Samaria and buried there.
38 Then his chariot was washed
beside the pool of Samaria, and dogs came and licked his blood at the
place where the prostitutes bathed, just as The Lord had promised.
39 The rest of the events in Ahab’s
reign and everything he did, including the story of the ivory palace
and the towns he built, are recorded in The Book of the History of
the Kings of Israel.
40 So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah
became the next king.
Ahab and his wife,
Jezebel, were Baal worshipers. Ahab had built a temple for Baal
worship. At the East of the Jordan, was Ramoth in Gilead, which King
Ahab claimed belonged to Israel. Having joined Judah's King
Jehoshaphat, they sought The Lord's wishes. The prophets of King Ahab
said only victory lay ahead, to this King Jehoshaphat responded...
I Kings 22:7 NLT
“...“Is
there not also a prophet of The Lord here?...”
And Micaiah, a
prophet of The Lord, was called.
I Kings 22:17
NLT
Then Micaiah told him, “In a
vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep
without a shepherd. And The Lord said, ‘Their master has been
killed...”
Our choice every
day is to obey The Lord, or to disobey Him. To obey, is to be in His
blessings, to disobey Him, is to be under His judgment.
I Samuel
15:22,23 KJV (The Prophet Samuel to King Saul.)
22 And Samuel said, Hath The Lord as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the
voice of The Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because
thou hast rejected The Word of The Lord, He hath also rejected thee
from being king.
Matthew 7:21 KJV
Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven.
Who was it that decided to be under
God's judgment, why of course it was King Ahab!
Who was it that decided not to
listen to the Godly Prophet Micaiah,
who of course it was King Ahab!
Did
God send judgment upon King Ahab without cause? Of course not, King
Ahab had sentenced himself!
Other
Examples:
Matthew
8:28-34 KJV Jesus Heals Two Men Who Are Demon-Possessed.
28
When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of
the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met Him. They
lived in a cemetery and were so violent that no one could go through
that area.
29
They began screaming at Him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son
of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed
time?”
30
There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance.
31 So
the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of
pigs.”
32
“All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of
the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the
steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.
33 The
herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to
the demon-possessed men.
34
Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged Him to
go away and leave them alone.
Did
Jesus cause Jewish herdsmen to loose their livelihood? Was He the
author of monstrous evil?
Absolutely
not!
In the
first place, it was not Jesus who told the evil spirits to possess
the swine, it was the evil spirits idea!
In the
second place, it was against Levitical laws for Jews to eat or handle
pork!
Leviticus
11:7-8
And
the pig, because it has a cloven hoof that is completely split, but
will not regurgitate its cud; it is unclean for you. You shall not
eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are
unclean for you.
Deuteronomy
14:8
And
the pig, because it has a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it
is unclean for you. You shall neither eat of their flesh nor touch
their carcass.
In the
third place men had been set free by the power of God!
Second
Example:
John
13:21-27 KJV
21 When Jesus had thus said, He was
troubled in Spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, that one of you shall betray Me.
22 Then the disciples looked one on
another, doubting of whom He spake.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus'
bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to
him, that he should ask who it should be of whom He spake.
25 He then lying on Jesus' breast
saith unto Him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom
I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when He had dipped the
sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan entered
into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
Did Jesus suggest
to Judas to do something evil?
Absolutely not!
Jesus knew well the
heart of Judas, and He told him to do what he had already purposed to
do in his evil darkened heart.
Did The Lord send
an evil spirit to King Ahab, NO, Ahab, called the spirit, himself, by
his actions!
II Chronicles
19:7 KJV
Wherefore now let the fear of The
Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with
The Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Proverbs 5:21-23
KJV
21 For the ways of man are before
the eyes of The Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the
wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction;
and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Proverbs 13:21
KJV
Evil pursueth sinners: but to the
righteous good shall be repayed.
Proverbs 17:13
KJV
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil
shall not depart from his house.
Isaiah 3:10,11
KJV
10 Say ye to the righteous, that it
shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be
ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Jeremiah 2:17-19
NLT (Result of Israel's sin.)
17 And you have brought this upon
yourselves by rebelling against The Lord your God, even though He was
leading you on The Way!
18 “What have you gained by your
alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to
you are the streams of the Nile or the waters of the Euphrates River?
19 Your wickedness will bring its
own punishment. Your turning from Me will shame you. You will see
what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon The Lord your God and not
to fear Him. I, The Lord,
The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies, have
spoken!
Jeremiah 32:19
KJV
Great in counsel, and mighty in
work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men:
to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit
of his doings:
Romans 2:9 KJV
Tribulation and anguish, upon every
soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the
Gentile;
Galatians 6:7
KJV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
The God we serve
is holy, blameless A God of love and mercy, yes, but of judgment as
well.
Exodus 15:11 KJV
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among
the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
I Samuel 6:20
KJV
"...Who is
able to stand before this holy Lord God?..."
Psalm 99:9 KJV
Exalt The Lord our God, and worship
at His holy hill; for The Lord our God is holy.
Isaiah 6:3 KJV
And one
(Seraphim) cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is The
Lord Of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.
Habakkuk 1:12,13
KJV
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O
Lord my God, mine Holy One?...
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity..."
Revelation 4:8
NLT
Each of these living beings had six
wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and
out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy,
holy, holy is The Lord God,
The Almighty—The One who always
was, who is, and who is still to come.”
Revelation
15:2-4 NLT
2 I saw before me what seemed to be
a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had
been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number
representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given
them.
3 And they were singing the song of
Moses, the servant of God, and the song of The Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your
works, O Lord God, The Almighty. Just and True are your ways,
O King Of The Nations.
4 Who will not fear
you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations
will come and worship before you, for your Righteous deeds have been
revealed.”
