I expect you can guess what make me think about annoying prophets this week. The Extinction Rebellion protesters see themselves as prophets – and we may well agree. Some people certainly seem to find them annoying. But how do we judge who is a true prophet? Thinking about this reminded me of a story about a really annoying prophet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, \u201cWill you go with me to attack Ramoth?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cI am ready when you are,\u201d Jehoshaphat answered, \u201cand so are my soldiers and my cavalry.\u00a0But first let’s consult the\u00a0Lord.\u201d<\/p>
So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, \u201cShould I go and attack Ramoth, or not?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cAttack it,\u201d they answered. \u201cThe Lord will give you victory.\u201d<\/p>
But Jehoshaphat asked, \u201cIsn’t there another prophet through whom we can consult the\u00a0Lord?\u201d<\/p>
Ahab answered, \u201cThere is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it’s always something bad.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYou shouldn’t say that!\u201d Jehoshaphat replied.<\/p>
Then Ahab called in a court official and told him to go and get Micaiah at once.<\/p>
The two kings, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing place just outside the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.\u00a0One of them, Zedekiah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, \u201cThis is what the\u00a0Lord\u00a0says: \u2018With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.\u2019\u201d\u00a0All the other prophets said the same thing. \u201cMarch against Ramoth and you will win,\u201d they said. \u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0will give you victory.\u201d<\/p>
Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, \u201cAll the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.\u201d<\/p>
But Micaiah answered, \u201cBy the living\u00a0Lord\u00a0I promise that I will say what he tells me to!\u201d<\/p>
When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, \u201cMicaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cAttack!\u201d Micaiah answered. \u201cOf course you’ll win. The\u00a0Lord\u00a0will give you victory.\u201d<\/p>
But Ahab replied, \u201cWhen you speak to me in the name of the\u00a0Lord, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?\u201d<\/p>
Micaiah answered, \u201cI can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said, \u2018These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.\u2019\u201d<\/p>
Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, \u201cDidn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good for me? It’s always something bad!\u201d<\/p>
Micaiah went on: \u201cNow listen to what the\u00a0Lord\u00a0says! I saw the\u00a0Lord\u00a0sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him.\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0asked, \u2018Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth?\u2019 Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else,\u00a0until a spirit stepped forward, approached the\u00a0Lord, and said, \u2018I will deceive him.\u2019\u00a0\u2018How?\u2019 the\u00a0Lord\u00a0asked. The spirit replied, \u2018I will go and make all of Ahab’s prophets tell lies.\u2019 The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said, \u2018Go and deceive him. You will succeed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>
And Micaiah concluded: \u201cThis is what has happened. The\u00a0Lord\u00a0has made these prophets of yours lie to you. But he himself has decreed that you will meet with disaster!\u201d<\/p>
Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, \u201cSince when did the\u00a0Lord’s spirit leave me and speak to you?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cYou will find out when you go into some back room to hide,\u201d Micaiah replied.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I wonder what\u2019s\nthe first thing that strikes you about Micaiah? Really annoying? Courageous? Willing\nto be the odd one out, speaking truth to power, physical danger. Might make you\nthink of London protests – although it\u2019s also true that in certain groups\nquestioning the beliefs or tactics of XR would also be a brave action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Micaiah\u2019s\nfirst concern was to speak the truth – even when it was inconvenient, and\nunpopular. He was known for it. In fact it seems that deep down that\u2019s what\nKing Ahab wanted – he knows that Micaiah\u2019s first message isn\u2019t his real message\n– he pushes him for his real prophesy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Micaiah, this\nis not just the truth as he sees it or others see it – this is the truth as God\nhas revealed it. Micaiah believes that God has revealed to him what will happen\nto Ahab – and how all the other prophets will lie to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wonder if Micaiah\nhad any doubts about what God was saying to him. Other prophets, like Jeremiah,\ncertainly do. Most of us don\u2019t have the certainty that Micaiah had – maybe he\nhad to have it in his situation. Maybe that\u2019s also what the XR protesters feel\n– there\u2019s no place for an uncertain message. But maybe that\u2019s also a danger\nthat absolute conviction might make some people listen to them less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thinking\nabout what it might mean to be a prophet today there are three things that I\nthink might be important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is\na passion for the truth – a passion to pass on what God seems to be saying in\nthis situation – whatever that situation might be. A conviction that this is so\nimportant that it takes precedence over getting on with people well, or feeling\ncomfortable, or a quiet life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I think\nthe second important thing is humility. If we are going to be fully open to the\ntruth, then we need to be open to God, and open to every possible pointer to\ntruth, wherever that might come from. We need to listen to the obvious voices –\nand we need to listen to the dissenting voices, and weigh up what they say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s very\neasy to get into an echo chamber where we only listen to people who agree with\nus. If we want to learn how to communicate our message in a way which will\nconvince others we need to really listen to other viewpoints, and what lies\nbehind them. I\u2019m not sure that Micaiah was too bothered about that – he knew\nthat King Ahab would ignore him anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If then, in our\nlistening, we feel that there is a clear and vital message that we need to give\n– then there is the need for courage. Being willing to be different. Being\nwilling to challenge. Being willing to become annoying!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best\nprophets are often people of prayer – that\u2019s where they find their openness to\nthe truth, and the courage to act it out. Brother Hugh, who we know from\nHilfield Priory, is not a natural rebel – but his prayerful openness has led\nhim to take part in the protests in London – here he is leading prayers on the\n\u2018Faith Bridge\u2019. So we can also pray\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lord, we\nthank you for those who are your prophets – speaking truth to power – acting\nout your love for the world, even in annoying ways. Help us to hear your truth\nin the vital issues of our time – and in the circumstances of our lives\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know that\nthere are times when our belief in our own truth becomes closed, defensive or\naggressive. Lord give us the humility to hear your words of challenge to us,\nand to be open to rethinking our understanding and learning with others\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you,\nLord, for people of prayer, passion and courage like Brother Hugh. Help us to\nhave the courage to speak and act wherever and whenever you call us\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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