The echo chamber! It is one of the most deadly and deceitful inventions man has ever devised. What is an echo chamber? Let’s see it firsthand from the Bible.
King Ahab thinks he has a brilliant idea. He wants to yoke up with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to reclaim a city lost to the enemy in a past battle. Jehoshaphat is game for the plan, but he first wants to consult the Lord to see if this is wise and if it will be successful. Ahab quickly volunteered some 400 prophets, who all agreed wholeheartedly that the mission would be successful.
Jehoshaphat is suspicious of such a quick and unanimous recommendation. He asks this question. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil… (1 Kings 22:7–8, KJV) What’s an echo chamber? It’s when people surround themselves with voices that tell them only what they want to hear. We don’t naturally like to listen to that voice that disagrees with us. The tendency is to eliminate that voice, creating an echo chamber.
This is dangerous because it is impossible for us always to be right. In the case of King Ahab, he was wrong. The lone dissenting voice said so. But those caught up in their echo chambers are too proud to entertain the dissent. In Ahab’s case, it cost him his life. The dissenting voice was right.
Conviction of the Holy Spirit is sometimes a dissenting voice in the believer’s life. How wise it is to listen, respect, and heed that voice!
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18.