He Shall Direct Your Paths

IT WAS THROUGH THE ANGER OF JEHOVAH THAT ZEDEKIAH HAPPENED TO REBEL AGAINST THE KING OF BABYLON. 2 Kings 24.20.

Some things that you and I do according to our own wisdom, understanding and perception may turn out for our ruin, even though we hope that good will come out of them! That is what happened to King Zedekiah of Israel. Unlike most of the kings of the southern kingdom, Judah, Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord God. He had determined to send as exiles, the king and all the people from Jerusalem. It is even more distressing to note that King Zedekiah’s ‘wise and patriotic’ rebellion against the king of Babylon was prompted by the anger of the Lord against him. Don’t make God your enemy by trusting in your own wisdom and judgment!

What the young king Zedekiah thought was the smartest move turned out to be the stupidest thing to do!’ But he didn’t know it. It was because he would listen only to the many false prophets who spoke ‘their own words to please the king’. They were not from the Lord! The king wouldn’t listen to the one and only prophet, Micaiah who dared to tell the truth as from God though it was against the king.

There are many today, like King Zedekiah, who have their own ideas and plans and who want to do things their way. They are looking for confirmation from prophets, one after the other. Sadly there are many prophets today, prophesying things that people like to hear for fame or favours! But the truth is that they are as much deceived to believe that their words are from God as those who accept them as their ‘personal prophecy’!

It is not strange that these prophets counselled Zedekiah to go and fight with the strongest empire, because that is what the king wanted to do! But Jehoshaphat, the God-fearing king of Judah asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?" The king of Israel answered, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah , son of Imlah." "The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

Knowing well the king would accept only “yes” for an answer from God, prophet Micaiah echoed the words of the popular prophets. But when insisted, the man of God gave the unpleasant truth to the king – “you will be killed in the battle and all Israel will be scattered and taken exile!” Did the king believe the Word of the Lord? No! The Bible says, “for it was through the anger of Jehovah that Zedekiah happened to rebel against the king of Babylon in Jerusalem and in Judah, until God had put them out of His presence.”

Dear believer, it is not only the disobedient king but even the children of God who could be misguided by the popular prophets. It is even more true today when there is a restoration of the gift of prophecy. The Bible gives you one sure sign of a true prophet of God – he will not be popular or have a pleasing word all the time for you! Hunt for him if you will and take his counsel even if it is against your wish. Better still, seek God and His will from His Word and from wise and godly saints and follow it!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, I am often puzzled not knowing what to do or which way to take! Thank you for Your promise, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Pro 3.6). Amen.