Don’t measure truth by popularity. There were times when the vast majority of the culture were convinced that the sun revolved around the earth, or that bleeding people with leeches cured all kinds of diseases. If you are a Christian, there is a great deal of evidence that backs up what you believe.

In 1 Kings 22, King Ahab had a decision to make. The king of Syria had promised to return a series of cities to him, and after three years one key city had not been returned to Israelite rule. Should he ignore this breach or go to battle over it? He sought advice from four hundred false prophets, who all told him to go into battle. They were convincing, with Biblical imagery, enthusiasm and unity. When asked to seek the word of a real prophet, Ahab reluctantly sent for a man named Micaiah.

We don’t know anything about Micaiah before or after this episode, but imagine the scene he was called into. The messenger who brought him before Ahab told him that he should agree with the false prophets if he knew what was good for him. When Micaiah entered the room, there were two kings in all their finery and four hundred prophets all saying that Ahab would be victorious if he went to battle. There was so much pressure to agree.

Yet Micaiah spoke what God told him to. He did tell Ahab to go into battle, but told him that he would lose and he would die. This message came at a cost. He was sent to prison on meagre rations. He was struck in the face by one of the false prophets. And his message was disregarded, even though it came true. Micaiah is a wonderful picture of what faithfulness in a difficult circumstance looks like.

1 Kings is full of these kinds of situations. Elijah was up against all the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel in chapter 18.

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