Horned Prophets (1) Old Testament

God has always had a problem with prophets with horns. These are prophets who love war.

Horned prophets were a problem in Old Testament times (1 Kings 22). When Ahab asked him to join in a war against the Arameans, King Jehoshaphat requested guidance from the prophets. These were not prophets of Baal, because they spoke in the name of Yahweh (1 King 22:6), although they may have been influenced by them. These prophets of the Lord love war, so they urged their kings to fight.
Their leader Zedekiah son of Kennaah was the original prophet with horns.

Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed’” (1 Kings 22:11).

A horn is a symbol of military power. Wearing horns on his head was a sign that he was a prophet who loved war.

When he was challenged by Miciah, Zedekiah turned violent.

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah on the cheek (1 Kings 22:24).

The word translated “slapped” is “nakah”. It is a strong word that means “striking to cause a wound”. The violence of Zedekiah’s response reflects his inner spirit. He carried a warring violent spirit, which made him love war.

Micah the prophet explained to the two kings that the Lord had sent a spirit onto the prophets to deceive them. We tend to assume that this was a spirit of deception, because that is not quite right. All spirits are deceivers. The spirit that God sent to the prophets was a spirit of violence and war. This spirit had authority to work in Israel, because God had brought violence and war into his kingdom. The spirit of violence and war was able to deceive the King of Israel and the King of Judah into fighting a war that God did not support. Warring and violent spirits can deceive prophets who are infatuated with the power of the King. When this happens they becomes horned prophets who love war.

Miciah was rejected and put in prison. The two kings obeyed the prophets with horns and went to war. He result was a disaster. Jehoshaphat, who was one of the best kings of Judah, was nearly killed. Ahab was killed. The armies of Israel and Judah fled, and the Arameans won a huge victory. Trusting the prophecies of a horned prophet is a mistake. Their words eventually release judgment, which destroys the leaders of the nation and defeats the people.