Mon.’s Devo - Blind the Enemy, Open Our Eyes

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16
When Ben-hadad came up against Ahab he was coming up against the God of Israel. Ben-hadad means “sharp and noisy” which describes him to a tee. He hurled out threats and boasts against Israel. Ahab warned him, “let not him that girth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.” In our terms that means, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Ben-hadad is a perfect example of the devil who shouts his threats so loudly and can’t follow through. He evokes fear, but when we fight back in the name of the Lord, we will always win.
Ahab could be very humble when he was up against a wall and this was where he was. He listened to what the prophet told him and ordered the battle led by the princes of the provinces. God proved to Ben-hadad and to Israel that he was the God of the hills and the plains.
Instead of killing Ben-hadad, Ahab made a covenant with him. You can’t strike a deal with the devil; he doesn’t play fair and has no problem with breaking his promise. Satan is the father of lies and deception is his character. This covenant that Ahab made cost him his life.
The story of Naboth’s vineyard is such a sad story of an innocent man who had his inheritance stolen because of Ahab’s greed. Naboth is exalted in heaven because he refused to sell his inheritance and Ahab lost in the end.
Our story in Acts begins with…”but the word of God grew and multiplied.” Acts 13 begins with the names of new converts that had become prophets and teachers. One of them, Manaen, had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch which means he grew up in his courts. Herod the tetrarch was the Herod that had John the Baptist killed for rebuking him for taking his brother’s wife. In the midst of all the idolatry and evil this man was saved and became a powerful believer in God’s kingdom. He left the kingdom of disfunction to join the kingdom of order and truth.
Paul took authority over the wizard who was trying to keep Sergius from seeking the truth. God blinded the false prophet named Bar-jesus which gave Sergius his sight. He believed because he saw what happened. We need to blind the eyes of the sorcerers who try to confuse people who are seeking truth.
Lord, blind the eyes of the watchers of Satan that they not be able to pervert your truth.