The good king must have good counsel. David had his Nathan. Saul had his Samuel. Lucky for them, their prophets were reliable, even if their counsel went ignored. (See for instance: I Samuel 13 or I Sam 15) But what if you just don't know which prophet to trust? Say there are a few to choose from...like Psychics in West LA... What then does the good king to do?
Across the Mediterranean, Croesus (595 BC – c. 547 BC) King of the Lydians, needed some seriously inspired counsel that could help him decide whether is was a good idea to pursue immediate war against the Persians. After a bit of market research--he found the Oracle of Dephi to be most reliable...but he made one fatal error. Here I quote an excerpt from The First Clash by Jim Lacey:
“According to Herodotus, prior to starting his war with the Persians, Croesus sent envoys to determine the accuracy of each of the major oracles used by the Greeks to foretell the future. After putting each to the test, Croesus decided that the oracle of Delphi was the most accurate. He sent envoys bearing rich gifts to inquire as to the outcome of a war between the Lydians and the Persians. He was much cheered by the Delphic oracle’s promise that if the Lydian army marched against the Persians, a great empire would be destroyed. Unfortunately for Croesus, it did not occur to him to ask another important question: Which great empire would be destroyed? He interpreted the oracle’s words as it best suited his desires and forwarded immense gifts to Delphi, and to several other temples, to secure the full support of the gods.”
Well, to make a long story short. Croesus lost his war against Cyrus and the Persians. In this, I have divined three things:
First: Never trust an Oracle. (Cf. Leviticus 20:27)
Second: If you are an oracle or weatherman, keep the forecast vague.
Third: If we are compelled to go to war with Persia, don't do market research.
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