“Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.” Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king!” So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”” I Kings 22:13-16 NKJV
a. As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak: The assistants of King Ahab tried to persuade Micaiah to speak in agreement with the 400 other prophets. Micaiah assured him that he would simply repeat what God said to him.
i. This was a dramatic scene. Micaiah was brought out from prison (1 Kings 22:26 indicates that he came from prison). We see a prophet in rags and chains stand before two kings, ready to speak on behalf of the LORD.
ii. “This might have daunted the good prophet, but that he had lately seen the Lord sitting upon His throne with all the host of heaven standing by Him, and hence he so boldly looked in the face these two kings in their majesty; for he beheld them as so many mice.” (Trapp)
b. Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king: When Micaiah said this, his tone was probably mocking and sarcastic. He said similar words to the 400 unfaithful prophets, but delivered a completely different message.
c. How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD: King Ahab recognized the mocking tone of Micaiah’s prophecy and knew it contradicted the message of the 400 prophets. He demanded that Micaiah tell nothing but the truth – which Ahab believed and hoped was the message of the 400 other prophets. (Guzik)
As The Lord Lives!
This is an interesting phrase in the Bible and a quick search shows there are 36 occurrences in 9 translations in the Old Testament and most instances it is used as an oath.
King David used it when Nathan confronted him about his sin using an analogy about a lamb., “You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife”.
“As the Lord lives” could make an interesting bible study series.
How many times is it mentioned in your bible version?
Blessings
As the Lord Lives
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