1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.”
Pete and Repeat went up a hill. Pete fell down. Who was left? “Repeat!” … Pete and Repeat went up a hill. Pete fell down. Who was left? “Repeat” … and so the brain teaser goes. It has been said that “repetition” is the mother of learning, but let’s face it: repetition can become wearisome. So it was for one of the most notorious kings of Israel – King Ahab. You see, there was a prophet during Ahab’s reign who repeated the same message over and over again; his name was Micaiah. It wasn’t unusual for a prophet to basically bring the same message to the leaders of Israel for decades. In fact, every prophet’s message was basically twofold: repent of your wrong doing and return to the LORD with all your heart soul and strength. This was Micaiah’s message to Ahab. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Ahab hated Micaiah because he constantly ‘called him out’ and exposed the evil lifestyle that both he and his wife Queen Jezebel lived. In 1 Kings 22, Jehoshaphat (king of the South) and Ahab (king of the North) inquire of Ahab’s false prophets regarding whether or not they should make an alliance and go to war against the Syrian nation. All of the false prophets prophesied victory for Ahab and encouraged him to proceed forward. Jehoshaphat, who was a godly man, asked, “but is there a prophet of ‘the LORD’ to which we can inquire?”
“Yes,” was the reply; his name is Micaiah, but he always repeats the same message – evil for Ahab! Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Sure enough, Micaiah prophesies the exact opposite of every false prophet and predicts that Ahab will go out to war and die in battle, to which Ahab replies to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” (1 Ki 22:18) Although Ahab doesn’t heed Micaiah’s warning, he takes extra precautions and dresses like a common soldier rather than wearing his royal regalia. And yet, he is fatally wounded by an arrow from a “certain man who drew his bow at random.” Everything Micaiah prophesied came true. Ahab dies. Rather than receiving the repeated message from God’s prophets to repent from his evil ways and turn to the God of mercy and forgiveness, Ahab despised God’s recurrent offers of mercy and loving correction. To Ahab, the repetition was an annoyance and a loathed inconvenient reminder that he was accountable to a higher authority.
How about you? Has God been repeating a message to you? Perhaps a message of endurance? Perhaps a message of forgiveness? Perhaps a message of patience? Perhaps a message of repentance? Perhaps an invitation to return to Him?
You would be wise to heed God’s voice knowing that, even in correction, God’s intentions for you are “only good all the time.” If God is repeating it then it is obviously important. Don’t ignore the repetitions of God. They are not meant to beat you down, but to remind you whose you are. God loves you, Christian. And sometimes, the only way to convey that is to repeat, Repeat, REPEAT!
– Bruce