I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’ Through these words [the prophet] shows that [Ahab’s] iniquity is the cause of the slaughter. In fact, if he had been a good and pious shepherd, he would have defeated his enemies with his own forces. Therefore, he shows the way to obtain salvation. If the Lord is our God, he says to them, each one must go home in peace. If you believe in God and want to know from him what you need to do, dismiss the army.

How should we interpret the throne of God but as the angelic powers over whose minds the Lord presides from on high while he arranges everything below? And what does the host of heaven signify but the multitude of the attending angels? And what does the text mean when it asserts that the host of heaven is to the right and to the left of him? Indeed God, who is within everything as he is also outside everything, is not enclosed to the right or the left, and therefore the right of God indicates the elect portion of the angels, whereas the left designates the evil portion of the angels. In fact, not only the good ones who help God serve him, but so do those who are distressed because they do not want to return [to be helpful]. . . . Therefore the host of the angels is to the right and to the left, because the will of the elect spirit agrees with the divine sense of justice. Therefore the mind of the evil ones, who serve their own malice is forced to fulfill the orders [of the Lord].

Tell me, John, what do you mean when you say, No one has ever seen God?^[1] What shall we think about the prophets who say that they saw God? Isaiah said, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne.^[2] And, again, Daniel said, I saw until the thrones were set, and the ancient of days sat.^[3] And Micah said, I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne. And, again, another prophet said, I saw the Lord standing on the altar, and he said to me, ‘strike the mercy seat.’^[4] And I can gather together many similar passages to show you as witnesses of what I say. How is it, then, that John says, No one has ever seen God?^[5] He says this so that you may know that he is speaking of a clear knowledge and perfect comprehension of God. All the cases cited were instances of God’s condescension and accommodation. That no one of those prophets saw God’s essence in its pure state is clear from the fact that each one saw him in a different way. God is a simple being; he is not composed of parts; he is without form or figure. But all these prophets saw different forms and figures. ^[6] INTERVENTION OF THE ANGEL MICHAEL. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: The spirit who came forward and stood [before the Lord] is an angel and not an evil spirit, namely, Satan, as certain [authors] suggest.^[1] In fact, why would an evil spirit stand before the Lord? On the contrary, this spirit is Michael, the leader of the people. It is he who says in his zeal, I will entice him, that is, Allow me to leave and abandon the prophets of lies, instead of hindering them, as I have done many times, in order to stop and prevent their false prophecies. As a consequence, the destiny of Ahab will be according to what justice requires, because he will obey [his false prophets] with all his heart, if I do not prevent this. ^[2]

I think every evil and deceitful spirit is a lie, and whenever anyone of these speaks, it speaks from its own resources and by no means from the resources of God. And the father of these [spirits] is the liar, the devil. We will now present what moved us to say that every inferior spirit is false. It is written in the third book of Kings that at the time Micaiah was called by Ahab to prophesy concerning whether he should go to Ramoth-gilead for war or stay, he said, I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stood around him on his right and on his left. And he said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, and he will go up and fall in Ramoth-gilead?’ And he spoke in this manner. And a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth and will be a false spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours.’

And in the second book of Paralipomenon, the same Micaiah says to Ahab and Jehoshaphat, Hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and every power of heaven stood at his right and at his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, and he will go up and fall in Ramoth-gilead?’ And he spoke in this manner. And a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, I will deceive him. And the Lord said, By what means? And he said, I will go forth and be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.^[1]

These words show clearly, then, that if any spirit is the lying spirit, all similar spirits would be lying spirits, indebted to their lying father for being lying spirits in accordance with their falsehood and evil, not because this belongs to their essence.

Perhaps someone says, How can it happen that one who sins in his flesh by dissipation possesses the devil in his soul? What we have said, dearly beloved, we will prove with evidence from sacred Scripture. Listen to the Scriptures saying that the proud person is filled with the devil: Everyone who exalts his own heart is unclean in the sight of God,^[1] and All pride is the beginning of falling off from God.^[2] What does it mean to fall from God, except to depart from him? Moreover, if a person is separated from God, he is necessarily united to the devil. Furthermore, Scripture says that the envious person cannot be without a devil: By the envy of the devil, death came into the world, and they follow him that are of his side.^[3] The canonical writings attest no less that the fornicator is also enslaved by the devil, for the prophet says, You have been deceived by the spirit of fornication.^[4] The fact that no liar can be without an evil spirit is evidenced by Scripture, too: You will destroy all that speak a lie,^[5] and again: The mouth that belies kills the soul.^[6] In the book of Kings we read that the evil spirit said to the Lord, I will deceive Ahab. And the Lord said to him, By what means? And he answered, I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets. And the Lord said, You shall deceive him and shall prevail. We should believe that the case is similar with all the other serious sins and offenses, because no one commits them without the devil’s prompting.