Micaiah the Prophet

Micaiah the Prophet once stood up to four hundred alleged prophets who claimed to speak for God. When King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Ahab of Israel want to go to war against Syria, Jehoshaphat insists on asking the prophets first. Ahab calls together his stable of prophets—all four hundred of them—and they prophesy with one voice in favor of the kings’ plan.

Jehoshaphat somehow discerns that something’s not quite right. Ahab reluctantly admits there’s another prophet, Micaiah, but Ahab left him out because he never had anything nice to say about Ahab. Jehoshaphat wants to hear from him.

Micaiah shows up and agrees with the others, but Ahab can tell he’s being mocked and insists Micaiah tell the truth. So Micaiah does: if Israel and Judah go to war with Syria, they will be defeated, and Ahab will die.

The other prophets are shocked! They believed they had the word of God. Micaiah explains that God was deliberately misleading them to defeat Ahab.

The kings go to war anyway, and they are indeed defeated. Ahab is killed by a stray arrow, fulfilling Micaiah’s prophecy.