A BOW AT RANDOM
Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king
of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the
driver of his chariot, "Turn around and take me out of the
battle, for I am wounded." The battle increased that day; and
the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and
died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the
floor of the chariot. (1 Kings 22:34-35)
This records the sad and prophesied end of King Ahab of Israel,
one of the worst kings ever to rule over the tribes of Israel. The
whole chapter is fascinating. It describes how Ahab persuaded King
Jehoshaphat of Judah to accompany him into battle against the
Syrians. Before they went into battle, the more religiously inclined
Jehoshaphat asked if there were not a prophet they could hear
from, perhaps to speak the wisdom of God to their circumstance.
In response, Ahab brought out his prophets-for-hire, all 400 of
them. They also spoke with a unified voice: "Go up, for the Lord will
deliver it into the hand of the king." They even used a dramatic
presentation, with one of the prophets putting on a pair of iron ox
horns and thrusting the horns like a mighty ox against a helpless
victim. Through this dramatic display they assured Ahab and
Jehoshaphat of victory, but something did not sit right with the King
of Judah. He wanted to know if they had a prophet from the Lord
God of Israel to hear from instead of the 400 pagan prophets. Ahab
admitted that there was such a man, named Micaiah, but Ahab
didn't like him or his prophecies, which were always negative
towards Ahab. Yet at Jehoshaphat's insistence, they brought him
in.
Perhaps we should say that they brought him out - out of prison,
that is. Because Ahab didn't like Micaiah or his prophecies the king
threw him into jail. So you can only imagine the drama when this
faithful prophet - no doubt in rags, looking like a wild man, and
smelling terribly - began to speak before these two kings. A
member of the royal court whispered in his ear, warning him to
agree with the 400 other prophets and to not make the kings angry,
but Micaiah insisted he would only say what the Lord told him to
say.
Then came the message, delivered in a mocking and sarcastic
tone: "Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the
king!" His words were essentially the same as the 400 pagan
prophets, but his tone and manner made it clear that his message
was completely different. It was as if he said, "If this is what you
want to hear, O king, I will say it to you - but we both know it isn't
true!" Ahab yelled back at Micaiah and demanded to hear the truth.
The faithful prophet then told Ahab that he would die in battle, and
that these 400 prophets were actually inspired by a demonic spirit,
sent and allowed by God for the purpose of bringing judgment to
the over-ripe Ahab. When they dragged the brave Micaiah back to
his cell he screamed out that the fulfillment of the prophecy would
prove it was indeed from God.
Ahab heard it; tried to forget it; but couldn't get it out of his head. He
went into battle determined to cheat the prophecy announcing his
coming death and to show that it was no true word from God that
came from Micaiah. He disguised himself in the battle so no one
would know he was a king, and even tricked the gullible King of
Judah into becoming a target instead of himself.
Yet it didn't work. In the midst of the battle, "a certain man drew a
bow at random, and struck the king of Israel." This seemed to
be pure chance. It was a certain man, and he pulled his bow at
random - but it struck as if it were a sin-seeking missile. God
orchestrated the unintended actions of man to bring about His
judgment. In God's plan there was nothing random about the
arrow; it fulfilled his promised word, even against the best efforts of
King Ahab.
To his credit, Ahab died bravely enough. "The king was propped
up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening."
Ahab faced the end of his life bravely, dying propped up in his
chariot to inspire his troops. When his death became known the
battle was over - and Ahab's battle against God was over. He, like
his army, had decisively lost.
What good did his rich palace do him now? What good was it to be
a king against God and His word? What good was it to gain the
whole world and lose his soul? Who would not rather be Micaiah in
jail than Ahab in the chariot? God guided a seemingly random
arrow to accomplish His ultimate will and to show that it was and
would always be better to be a Micaiah than an Ahab.
by David Guzik
For Bible Study resources by David Guzik, go to:
www.enduringword.com/library_commentaries.html
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David Guzik is the director of Calvary Chapel Bible College Germany, near Siegen, Germany. David took this position in January of 2003, after serving for 14 years as the founding and Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel of Simi Valley. He has been in pastoral ministry since 1982. Learn more about David and his ministry at his website “The Enduring Word,” located at: http://www.enduringword.com where you will find excellent bible study commentaries and much more.