1 Kings 22, The Lying Spirit

I remember the first time I read 1 Kings 22. I was sitting in my dorm room nodding off to the rhythm of a Blink 182 song while slowly drugging through my Old Testament reading assignment. However, just before I set sail to the land of peaceful cotton candy dreams, my half-conscious brain processed these verses.

“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’”

1 Kings 22:22

And just like that, I was awake again.

These verses made me pause and ask myself if God had just condoned lying. A question that would stick around in the back of my brain for the next several years.

The Context Of 1 Kings 22

Before we get into the nitty-gritty theology of 1 Kings 22, I believe it is crucial to understand the context of the chapter.

In 1 King 22, Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Juda, decided to team up and re-conquer a town called Ramoth Gilead. This location had once been part of the Davidic empire but was under the control of the Syrians in Ahab’s day.

Although Jehoshaphat was all about the idea, he wanted to be sure that God would help them win the battle. So, Ahab called his prophets, who unanimously declared that God said he would give them victory. However, it appears that Jehoshaphat was not convinced these prophets were of God. Because Jehoshaphat wanted more confirmation, Ahab called for Micaiah, a true prophet of God, who told them the following.

“I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ One suggested this, and another that.

Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

1 Kings 22: 19-23

The Problem With 1 Kings 22

I believe that the essence of what makes this chapter troubling to many can be seen in Micaiah’s statement in verse 23.

“So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours.”

1 Kings 22:23

This verse makes it sound like God plays an active orchestrating role in the lying spirit’s dubious plot. In the passage, God not only allows the lying spirit to make a nefarious suggestion; he also accepts it and then green-lights the operation. For many, this string of events makes it hard to believe that God does not bear some responsibility for the spirit’s deception.

If he is responsible for the use of deception in 1 Kings 22, then this passage would stand in stark opposition to many Biblical descriptions of God’s truthful nature. One may even be able to argue that a verse describing God deceiving someone would completely contradict passages like Hebrews 6:18.

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie….

Hebrews 6:18

It should also be noted that the idea of God deceiving people is a worrisome proposition in and of itself. The idea is troubling because the presence or possibility of deception naturally undermines trust in a relationship. It also creates several philosophical problems related to how much faith we should place In a God who deceives.

God Can Do Anything

One of the ways that people have attempted to justify God’s actions in 1 Kings 22 is by suggesting that it is okay for him to deceive people because he’s God. This train of thought argues that since he is the creator, he can rule as he pleases.

Some proponents of this view take a somewhat softer position, suggesting that God’s right to deceive only extends to those in direct and willful rebellion. So, according to this view, it was acceptable for God to deceive Ahab because he was unwilling to change his sinful ways. The Biblical description of God hardening hearts or surrendering unrepentant sinners to their delusions is sometimes used to support this idea.

Permitting Not Commanding

Another explanation, which seems to be a bit of a go-to perspective, suggests that God did not command the spirit to lie. He merely permitted it. The logic of this perspective is very straightforward. If God did not command the deception, then he is not responsible for it and can not be held accountable. An example of this perspective can be found at defendinginerrancy.com.

Although this explanation does work well in 99% of cases (Job 1 and Genesis 3 for example), 1 King 22 may be the exception. Unlike similar passages, in this chapter, God takes an active role in the plan, not a passive one. He asks for suggestions and then green-lights the lying spirit’s dubious pitch. These events contrast other stories like Job, where God simply allows the evil spirit to do nefarious things.  

The wording of the text also makes it difficult to interpret God’s actions as passive. Especially Micaiah’s statement in verse 23,

“So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours.”

God Told The Truth In 1 Kings 22

As stated at the beginning of the article, I have been thinking about 1 Kings 22 for a long time now. Over the years, I have favored various points of view, including some of the perspectives mentioned above. However, today I prefer the position that suggests God is not guilty of deception because he never lied.

1 Kings 22 Is a tale of two stories; the first is about Ahab and his search for insight into God’s thoughts about the war. The second is about God’s heavenly council. Due to the fact that the vision of God’s heavenly council is so interesting, it can be easy to forget that both stories need to be interpreted in light of each other.     

One very important detail to remember is that Micaiah, the only true prophet in the story, informs Ahab that God has sent a lying spirit to his false prophets. If God had intended to deceive Ahab, then he wouldn’t have given Micaiah the vision of his heavenly counsel or allowed him to spill the beans. Micaiah’s appearance in the story indicates that God wanted Ahab to know that his false prophets were being fed misinformation. Which begs the question: If someone tells you that they have misinformed you, are they really deceiving you?

I believe God’s use of the lying spirit was not designed to deceive Ahab. Instead, God wanted to help Ahab understand the gravity of his situation. Through this illustration, God informed Ahab that he would not help him in the battle for Ramoth Gilead and that he was actively trying to destroy him.

Another example of this perspective can be found at Thegospelcoalition.org.

Thanks for being awesome!