1 Kings 22:8
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.
Ahab knew that there was still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom the will and word of the Lord could be sought. He hated him because Micaiah did not prophesy good concerning him but evil, trouble and condemnation, rather than what he wanted to hear. His attitude revealed a preference for favorable messages over a true warning from God. Such hostility shows how people whose lives conflict with a warning reject the light that exposes their wrongs.
Jehoshaphat was unwilling to rest only on the four hundred prophets who had approved going to battle. He rejected and rebuked Ahab's complaint against the prophet, refusing to let the king speak so against him. He objected to Ahab's attitude and insisted that Micaiah be called so that the Lord's word could be sought through him.
The verse teaches that a ruler may hate a true prophet for declaring an unwelcome message of judgment rather than good. It applies to those who praise Christ while embracing the world, refusing the cross and Christ's yoke, and remaining lukewarm. Their course gives reason for an unfavorable warning rather than a promise of good.