II Chronicles 17:3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first way of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim
Yesterday a friend sent me a photograph of the Founding Fathers. You read that right, a photograph of the Founding Fathers in front of Independence Hall. The trio in the picture consisted of my son and two friends. The person in the middle was very clearly my friend’s face on Benjamin Franklin. Now AI can do anything, and you have probably experimented with it yourself. Is there really a photograph of the Founding Fathers? No. Can I believe what I saw? No! Can you believe anything you see? We are living in a day where reality seems to be totally fabricated. We need to ask ourselves, “Do we really want to know the truth? Is there truth?” A lot of people dispute there even is truth or reality.
What do we mean by truth? Well, there are probably many good definitions, but at its most basic, truth is that which is consistent with reality. So, physical reality would be the truth that if I walk off my front porch, I am going to be drawn by gravity like a brick to the ground. I am going to step down. That is truth, reality. If we talk about moral truth or reality, when there is something not right, you might say it is not fair. That would have been an instinct if you lived thousands of years ago or miles from here because it is innate in every person. There is some sense of what is fair, right, or true compared to a fixed standard.
Second Chronicles 17 is the story of King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. You find very quickly that he was a man who sought and taught the truth. Maybe that was because he watched his dad. The Bible says of his father, “He sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians” and therefore he died. He didn’t seek or ask God. The Bible says of Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 17:3 that “the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim.” When the Bible talks about seeking God or seeking idols, it is talking ultimately about worshipping, asking counsel of, and looking to them. Verse 3 says Jehoshaphat “sought not unto Baalim,” and verse 4 says, “But sought to the LORD God of his father.” He sought God and not idols.
Verses 7 and 9 tell us that he taught. He sent a group of teachers to teach the book of the law in the cities of Judah. In chapter 18 there is a wrinkle in the story. Jehoshaphat, this man who sought and taught the truth, allied himself with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. The Bible describes this arrangement in chapter 18. Jehoshaphat “joined affinity with Ahab,” and Ahab “persuaded him.” When Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you join me in this military excursion?” as is typical of Jehoshaphat, he asked, “Can we enquire of the LORD?” He was all for it, but before they did it, Jehoshaphat wanted to seek the Lord.
There are a number of things going on here, but there is something important illustrated. If you want the truth, you have to seek the source. A lot of people don’t want the truth. They don’t want to know what it is they could know because that would make them obliged to do something. They would have to change their behavior based on absolute truth. Truth is that which is consistent with reality. There is gravity and that which is moral. In both cases, it is based on the Creator and a fixed standard. If you want the truth, you have to seek the source.
Yesterday, I was in town and heard a conversation of the people with me. A gentleman said, “I saw this on the news.” A lady replied, “I don’t watch the news.” He said, “How can you know what is going on if you don’t watch the news?” A third person said, “How can you know the truth if you do watch the news? You can’t believe anything you hear or see.” Well, there is truth to that. If you want the truth, you have to seek the source. In Ahab’s case, as he was persuading Jehoshaphat to join him, Jehoshaphat said, “Ask God if we are doing the right thing.”
What came of that? First, if you want the truth you have to seek the source, not your feelings. Your feelings are not the truth. In verse 7 Ahab replies to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil.” He names the prophet Micaiah. Ahab said he always prophesied evil. Was Ahab talking about good as the truth? By good does he mean the right thing, or does he simply mean pleasant? If you are seeking pleasant, then you are going to live in falsehood.
The reason people live in parallel universes, the reason they don’t grow up, the reason they are just immersed in gaming and other social phenomenon is because they are not living in truth. I’m not saying it is wrong to play games, but some people are so devoid of reality because they hardly believe there is reality. They don’t believe in reality because they don’t believe in truth. If you want the truth, you have got to seek the source, not your feelings. Your feelings can let you down. When Ahab said Micaiah would not prophesy good, he did not mean morally right, he meant not pleasant.
Proverbs talks about those for whom what is right is pleasant. Sometimes the truth is hard, not pleasant, but ultimately in the biggest of pictures, if I will seek what is right, I will do what is right and I will live a life that is meaningful and, in many cases, pleasant.
If you want the truth, you have to seek the source, not the majority. I don’t think it is virtuous to be in pain or to be in the minority, but wicked Ahab gathered four hundred so-called prophets all who told him exactly what he wanted to hear. In contrast, there was one man, Micaiah, who just told the truth. Jehoshaphat said to Ahab, “Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we may enquire of him?” When Micaiah was pressured to tell Ahab and Jehoshapht merely what Ahab wanted to hear, Micaiah said, “As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.”
How often do you sit with the Bible? How often do you sit with truth that may be pleasant or may not be pleasant, but is right, true, and given by the Creator. If you will do what is right, then you can have joy in your life. There is no greater pleasure and joy than walking in truth and knowing that those you love are doing the same. Jesus said to the Father about His disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Seeking God and seeking the truth is an act of truth. Today, we see the majority. We have our feelings, but can’t rely on those. If you want the truth, seek the source; that source is God.