He Doesn't Hate You

“And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.” (1Ki 22:8 AV)

Ahab is the most immature king Israel or Judah ever had to suffer through.  He pouts.  Jehoshaphat’s words were a rebuke to Ahab concerning the man of God.  Ahab’s statement was that the man of God has something out for him.  He is the one who comes to church and thinks that all the preaching is about him.  He is the one who complains that no matter when he hears the preacher, there is never any encouragement.  There is only rebuke.  And, the reason for it all is that the preacher doesn’t care for him.  This is to what the words of Jehoshaphat are referring.  Don’t accuse the man of God of making his ministry all about you.  Don’t accuse the man of God of using his ministry for the sole purpose of beating you up.  Maybe, just maybe, the reason he speaks only evil of you is because you are nothing but evil.

We all go through and experience like this.  I remember many years ago when my pastor rebuked me for something which I didn’t really think needed rebuke.  He accused me of being a poor father in that I allowed my children to dictate the terms of my leadership.  He may have seen an incident or two, but as a rule, I parented them with a great deal of authority.  Just ask them.  What he might have seen as passivity was actually patience.  When he rebuked me, I felt as Ahab felt.  This preacher has it out for me because I have children and he does not.  He doesn’t know what he is talking about.  He has never raised children of his own, so how could he possibly know what I might not be doing correctly.  But as soon as I thought those thoughts, the Spirit spoke to my heart and told me to give him the benefit of the doubt.  He told me that I might consider the rebuke as an opportunity to re-examine my skills to see if indeed they might need improvement.

The man of God is charged with preaching the truth.  We are to rebuke, reprove, and exhort.  This means the majority of his preaching will be criticism and correction.  He does so to help.  Not to hurt.  He knows that our sin and wickedness defile the glory of God and causes unfortunate circumstances to arise.  How loving would it be it ignore wickedness and allow the individual to suffer for it?  Perhaps Ahab needed to see the rebuke for what it was.  A ministry of helps.  The man of God does not hate you.  He loves you.   That is why he must tell you things you may not want to hear.