Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16
Yesterday, we read that Elijah was sent to anoint another king for Aram and Israel but now we will see how it plays out. The future is set in heaven but it plays out on earth in slow motion.
King Ben-hadad came to Ahab with his threatening words and fear caused the great Ahab to tremble and tell him that he would give him his silver, golds, wives and the best of his children. But when Ben-hadad said he would take his possessions from his own house and the house of his officers Ahab drew the line. Amazing that he would value his possessions over his own family. King Hadad came to attack Jerusalem.
God sent a prophet to King Ahab saying that today, he would hand them over to him to let Ahab know that there was a king in Israel. The prophet told Ahab to set his 232 provincial commanders as his first army. These men approached the officers of Aram who were drinking themselves into a drunken stupor. They immediately responded with a man-to-man battle, but told their men not to kill Israel’s men, but take them prisoners.
The officers of Israel killed each of their opposers causing the whole army of Aram to panic and run.
The prophet told King Ahab that they would come back in the spring.
In the spring the army of Aram reassessed and decided to fight Israel on the plains. The Israelites killed 100,000 of them and their wall fell, killing another 27,000 of them. Benhadad and his men decided to bank on Israel’s mercy so they put on sackcloth and humbled themselves before Ahab. Ahab was soft and made a treaty with them and sent them home. That was a mistake.
The prophet came back and told them that God had destined Ben-hadad to die and Ahab had let them live, so he would die in his place, and his people would die instead of Aram’s. Ahab went home angry and sullen.
But…not too sullen. He decided he wanted Naboth’s vineyard that was right next to his palace for a vegetable garden. That just doesn’t make good gardening sense. But he wanted it so Jezebel said, he should have it. Since Naboth refused to sell the king his family’s inheritance, Jezebel conspired a way to have him killed and seize it.
God sent Elijah to Ahab on the day he was to get Naboth’s vineyard. He told him that because he killed Naboth and stole his property, the dogs would lick his blood the same place they licked Naboth’s. Jezebel would die in Naboth’s land to atone for his death. All of Ahab’s descendants would die also.
What Ahab did to Naboth was despicable but the worse thing Ahab did was to let himself be influenced by his wife, Jezebel to worship other gods.
Ahab dressed in sackcloth and mourned and repented. God sent Elijah back to him to tell him that because he repented, he would not live to see his kingdom taken from him but it would happen after his death.
In Acts, we see Barnabas and Saul traveling from town to town ministering the gospel until they came to Paphos. The governor there was very interested in hearing the word of God but the sorcerer did everything he could to keep him from meeting with them. Paul stopped and rebuked the sorcerer saying putting a curse of darkness over him. He was immediately struck with blindness which made the governor become a believer.
Reading both of our scriptures today, two things jump out at me. The first is the importance of the prophet to hear God’s voice and say it. The second is the importance of the provincial officer which was like the governor in the New Testament. I think of what is going on in our nation and see how important the governor is and how important it is to have godly people in these positions.
Lord, how great and powerful you are!
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