Truth With the Bark On

16 But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord.  17 And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.  18 (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)  19 And he added and said: Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left:  20 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise.

1 Kings 22: 16-20

News that I missed, courtesy of The Babylon Bee:

SAMARIA — According to insiders, King Ahab of Israel lamented a recent meeting he had with the prophet Elijah, admitting that just once he would like the prophets to say God is pleased and that everything is fine and dandy.

Prophets are always telling him about droughts or lost battles or that he will die, and it’s not fun, says the king. “Just once, I’d really like God to say I was doing a good job, you know?”

Ahab recalled in his first meeting with the prophet Elijah, that he had tried to be friendly as he greeted the prophet, asking him if he liked all the cool statues of Baal he had built. But the prophet only answered: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

At the time Ahab had been blindsided. “What? Why?”

Elijah had been undeterred by the king’s outburst. “I mean, it’s the Baal worship mostly,” he had said, taking his leave.

Ahab has met with many prophets: Elijah, Micaiah, and some other guys he can’t remember the name of. According to the king, they all bring him terrible news and he’s really tired of it.

“Would it kill God to say He was pleased and that everything was just dandy?” Ahab reportedly told his wife Jezebel. “These prophets are really harshing my buzz.”

At publishing time, Elijah returned saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’… In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood — yes, yours!”

Go here to read the rest.  The unsparing way Scripture treats the rulers of Israel, including King David, is quite unique in the chronicles of the East in that time, with boastful rulers proclaiming their deeds and power.  The Kings of Israel and Judah were left in little confusion as to how small they were in the balance compared to God.

 17 All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

Isaiah 40: 17