Weird Stuff in the Bible

How God Uses the Divine Council to Rule the World
I Kings 22

Introduction
You’ve been in those boring staff meetings before, right? The excruciatingly long staff meetings. Staff meetings that make you want to go read some Leviticus, just to live a little. Yes, we’re all familiar with a staff meeting.
Did you know that Heaven has staff meetings? In fact, Heaven’s staff meetings are where the affairs of earth are dictated. They involve various spiritual beings who are assigned authority over various territories. And they all get together and hash out their plans.
And unlike your workplace’s staff meetings, I’m sure the ones in heaven aren’t boring at all.
Now, perhaps you’re hearing all this and you’re thinking: I think if God had staff meetings, He would have told us something about it in the Bible.
And if that’s you, you’re in the right place. Because guess what: this is all through the Bible. So if you listen through to the end, I’m going to demonstrate three outlandish things, and you’re probably going to be skeptical that I can really do this, but give me a chance here. In the next 20 minutes, I’m going to prove:
That God has staff meetings to determine the affairs of man
That both good and evil spiritual beings are invited to attend and contribute at these meetings
That this is mentioned in various places of scripture
Pretty wild, right? But if you’re willing to listen until the end, I’ll back it all up with Bible.
And we’ll start with I Kings 22. Turn there in your bible, and let’s get weird.
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(Continued)
Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today we’re going to continue the discussion we started last week about the divine council, these beings who are known as lowercase-g gods in scripture.
If any of this sounds familiar today, I actually did do an episode on I Kings 22 back in the first month of this podcast. However, that was so long ago that I’m sure the vast majority of you listening today never heard that episode, and so I’ve decided to revisit it and build upon it today.
So if this sounds vaguely familiar, that would be why. But if this is your first time, or if you’d just like a refresher, let’s talk about how God uses the divine council in His decision-making.
Why doesn’t God just sit on His throne in heaven and dictate to everyone what is to happen? I wish it were that simple, because that would be simple. That would be easy for me to wrap my mind around. After all, God is God. God knows everything. God is all-powerful. Why would God need to seek anyone else’s input or ideas? Wouldn’t God already know best?
And yet, we could ask the same question about our prayers. Why would God solicit our opinions when determining how to rule the world and over our lives? Doesn’t He already know best? And yet, He does, and I can’t explain it, but I’m thankful for it.
And so just like God will accept our prayer requests, God will also interact with other spiritual beings to discuss how to manage the earth. This is the divine council, which I introduced last week. But today, we’re going to observe them in action.

Ahab and Micaiah- the earthly drama
This story takes place in ancient Israel during the time when it was split into two kingdoms- north and south- with two kings: Ahab over the north, and Jehoshaphat over the south.
Ahab also doesn’t strike me as super bright. He wanted prophets who just told him what he wanted to hear. Just hired a bunch of Joel Osteens bouncing around his throne and whispering sweet nonsense in his ear. And then he took those words as truth, because they made him feel good. Ahab and Jehoshaphat- the king of the south- are getting ready to partner in battle at Ramoth Gilead, and Ahab consults the prophets to learn how it’s gonna go. All the prophets tell him he’s going to win this fight. Note that Ahab is referred to as “the king of Israel” rather than by the name Ahab throughout this story.
I Kings 22:5-7
5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?”
King Jehoshaphat is a little smarter. He’s like, “Hey, we’re Israelites, we’re Jews. Why are we asking the prophets who don’t even follow God what we should do? Why not ask a prophet “of the Lord.” Jehoshaphat is right on to ask this.
Verse 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.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
Jehoshaphat is like, “Come on now Ahab, don’t be like that. Let’s hear him out.”
Verses 9 through 12
9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
I know this is not a comedy, but it cracks me up to imagine this. You have these false prophets who are doing their best imitation of the true prophets like Elijah or Elisha and making up sign acts to impress the king. And it’s all lies.
Verse 13
13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”
I love this; even the messenger is like, “Micaiah, everybody else is being positive and saying we’re going to win this fight. Can you please just toe the party line here and join with the other prophets?”
Micaiah is like the Thomas Massie of the prophetic class. He is just always that guy who’s going to be saying something different than the rest of them are saying. Honestly, all these people just want to hear something that’s gonna pump them up and make them feel good; they really don’t care about the truth.
To use another political analogy, it’s kind of like how in every presidential election, the candidates always like to tout the polls that make you look good, that make you look like you have momentum. Doesn’t matter if they’re true. If they make you look like you’re surging, you share the poll; if they make you look like you’re losing, they’re fake polls.
Both sides do it. Both of their supporters do it. Now, I’m fine saying the polls are fake. I think a lot of it is manufactured nonsense. But I’m not going to sit here and say the polls are suddenly reliable just because they make my side look like its winning.
That’s basically what Ahab and his people want to do. They want prophets, but only prophets who will speak things that make Ahab look like he’s going to win this conflict.
I Kings 22:14-15
14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
Now since we are reading this, we don’t hear the sarcasm in Micaiah’s voice whenever he says this. He comes up and in the most sarcastic voice possible, Micaiah just mimics the other prophets who said Israel would be successful.
Now, why did Micaiah do this? I believe he’s trying to make it obvious that he’s lying to see if Ahab will even call it out. He’s giving Ahab an out here to say that yep, even Micaiah agrees with the false prophets.
I Kings 22:16-18
16 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
Micaiah’s prophesy- if you read between the lines- is that the king will die if he goes into this battle. Ahab will die.
Ahab hears this and turns to Jehoshaphat and says, “See, I told you Micaiah has it out for me.” Right after telling Micaiah, “Just tell me what God says.” And when Micaiah does exactly that, Ahab is like, “See, I told you he just doesn’t like me.”
Micaiah isn’t saying what he’d like to have happen. Micaiah is saying what will happen. But instead of taking this as a warning and trying to save his life, Ahab just takes it as an insult. It’s like he’s saying, “My doctor told me I have cancer, wasn’t that rude of him?”
Just a side note here: some people will get offended when you tell them facts they don’t want to hear, as if the facts are a slap in the face. But listen: those people are just not interested in truth. They only want to hear what they want to hear. And as Christians, we need to be willing to hear things that we don’t always like.

God and His Council: The Heavenly Drama
Now that is what’s playing out on earth. But what is going on in heaven while all this is happening? Well as a prophet, Micaiah is going to tell us:
I Kings 22:19
Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.
This is the divine council I was telling you about. Micaiah calls it “all the host of heaven.” These are the sons of God. These are the figures who assist God in making decisions.
Now if you listened to last week’s episode, you might remember that we analyzed Psalm 82. In that Psalm, God was upset with His council because some of these Sons of God- we don’t know how many- those who were to assist God in ruling the world- had been negligent in their duties and even rebelled against God in some cases.
God was very very upset with them. So this adds a layer of complexity to the affairs of heaven and God’s direction over the earth: some of the members of God’s divine council do not just do whatever God says. There is more of a palace-intrigue aspect to it. They scheme. They plot. They want to be in control.
And God gives them a pretty long leash. But God is also way smarter and so even when these divine beings behave badly, God is able to account for that and still control the outcome. Let’s observe how it happens.
Verse 20
And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.
So what is God’s intended outcome? Well, God wants Ahab to die. God wants Ahab to fall in battle at Ramoth Gilead. And so He throws out the question to His council.
Now, for Ahab down on earth, this is what Ahab is probably thinking: this is silly. Going into battle at Ramoth Gilead was my idea. I thought of that first.
But no. Before this thought even entered Ahab’s mind, it was decreed in heaven first. God wanted there to be a battle at Ramoth Gilead, and he had the idea put in Ahab’s head.
Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
    he turns it wherever he will.
Isn’t that amazing. Kings and Presidents think they’re calling the shots. They have no idea that God is guiding their steps, even the godless, pagan kings. How does God guide a godless heathen? It’ll tell us. Let me read
I Kings 22:20 again:
And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.
So God has the main idea and throws it out there. “I want Ahab to go die in Ramoth Gilead. How are we gonna make this happen?”
God does not just make all the decisions Himself, which is what 99% of Christians probably think. They probably feel that God sits on his throne and has already determined all things in his own mind.
And God could certainly do that if he chooses to. I’m not saying God doesn’t have the power to do that. But that’s simply not how God operates.
I’m not so shocked that God has a council; my biggest shock comes from the fact that evil spiritual beings- like Satan and demons- are even invited to the table! We won’t see Satan mentioned by name in this story, but listen to what happens next:
I Kings 22:21-22
21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’
Is this a good spirit or a bad one? I’m thinking it’s an evil spirit. I’m thinking God’s angels don’t lie. They don’t put lies in people’s mouths.
So what’s going on here? The false prophets have a connection to the spiritual realm.
Just like, you know how when Moses went up against Pharaoh’s magicians, they could do magic. They had a connection to the spiritual world.
In the same way, these false prophets have a connection to the demonic world. The world of the Elohim, the small-g gods. So these evil spirits tell God, “Yeah, we know how to get Ahab to Ramoth Gilead; we’ve got a connection with these false prophets, we’ll just use them. Put a lie right in their mouths. They might even think they’re actually hearing this from God.”
In fact, if you want to hear some more examples of God doing something like this from the Bible, sign up for the newsletter and that’s what I’ll share this weekend. Three more examples of God using evil spiritual beings to accomplish His purposes.
I Kings 22:23
Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”
And so everything that happens here is part of God’s plan. Ahab’s lying prophets who are telling him that he’s going to be victorious in the battle at Ramoth Gilead- maybe they think they’re telling real spiritual insights from the true God. But they’re deceived. Maybe they know they’re lying? Who knows.
But God is actually directing this whole scenario. He has caused Ahab to be deceived- and that’s still Ahab’s fault because he has chosen to rely on the false prophets and to hate and persecute the true prophets like Elijah and Micaiah- and so God is using these lying spirits to entice Ahab into this conflict, in which Ahab will die.
Everything that’s about to happen is part of God’s plan, and God remains in control. But God has decreed what the outcome should be and is relying on the council’s input for how they want to make it happen. We’ll wrap up the story in just a minute. Real quick:

Next Time, Newsletter and Closing Thoughts
Next time on this podcast, I’d like to take us to a strange thing that Jesus said in John 10 in reference to the Divine Council. Last week, we looked at Psalm 82, a psalm all about the Divine Council. Next week, I want to examine what Jesus meant when He quoted Psalm 82 in the tenth chapter of John.
Make sure you’re subscribed so you can get it!
And again, go to the show notes sign up for the newsletter if you’d like to receive three times that God used spirits of questionable nature in the Bible to accomplish His will. Including Satan himself. Yes, God even used Satan at times. Sign up for this week’s newsletter to find out how. And if you come across this episode later, don’t worry, you can go to that same link in the show notes to read past newsletters as well.
This might cause some of you to question God’s sovereignty: but if God is relying on a bunch of morally-questionable spirits to help Him govern the earth, then how does God know that His will is going to get done? Let me jump to the end of the story and show you that things play out just how God wanted them to the entire time:
Verses 34 and 37
But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. … So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria.
It said the certain man drew his bow at random. It means he just fired off a shot; didn’t expect it to do anything.
But it struck King Ahab right at a chink in his armor. Of all the places that arrow could have hit, it hit the exact person God intended it to, at the exact spot where it needed to hit to kill King Ahab.
There is nothing random about it at all. God was guiding exactly where that arrow would land. He had Ahab right in the spot Ahab needed to be to get hit. If Ahab had been an inch to the right tor left, it wouldn’t have worked. God made it happen just as He wanted it to.
So don’t get the idea from any of this with God’s divine council that He is any less sovereign. If anything, I hope His sovereignty is even more amazing to you after this episode.
Thanks for listening, God bless you for sticking around until the end, and we’ll see you next time on Weird Stuff in the Bible.