Sat.’s Devo - Ahab’s Fall

Read: 1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 17:17-18
Israel had three years of peace with the king of Aram. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. While he was there, King Ahab mentioned that Ramoth-gilead was his city, but the king of Aram controlled it. He asked Jehoshatphat if he would help him get it back. Jehoshaphat said he would, but wanted to ask a prophet of God first. Ahab brought all his new prophets of Baal in. He had found 400 of them after Elijah had the others killed.
His prophets all prophesied victory but Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of God available they could ask. Ahab told him of Micaiah but said he hated him because he never prophesied good for him.
Jehoshaphat insisted on asking him first and when he came he sarcastically went along with the false prophets. When Ahab rebuked him, he told the truth. It would not go well for Ahab. He would die in battle and they would not prosper.
One of the false prophets slapped him and Ahab threw him in prison till he returned. Micaiah told him he would not return and that God had showed him that He sent a lying spirit to his prophets so they wouldn’t tell the truth.
They went into battle and the leader of Aram told his soldiers just to kill the king of Israel. Ahab had discussed himself as a regular soldier. One of the men of Aram shot off an arrow into the midst of the Israelite men and it hit right in the very small slit between his armor. Ahab died that afternoon and the battle was over. His blood was washed in the same pool that Naboth’s blood was. It was the pool that the prostitutes bathed in.
Judah had had two good kings: Asa and Jehoshaphat. The next king was Jehoram became king. Israel had had bad kings. When Ahab died, his son, Ahaziah ruled. He was evil also and served Baal.
In Acts, Paul was in the synagogue in Antioch for the Sabbath. After the daily reading of the Torah, the priest asked if anyone else had any encouraging words anyone wanted to add. Paul stood up and addressed the Jews and the god-fearing Gentiles. He took them through the history of the Jew from the time of Egypt and Moses up to then. He explained that everyone had been looking forward to Jesus and when he came, very few recognized him. He reminded them of the words of Habakkuk who told them that God would do something new and it would be hard for the mockers to see it. He warned them not to be like them but to open their spiritual eyes to believe.
We are always being called to open our spiritual eyes and believe past what we see.
Lord, we choose to see beyond this natural world and all its chaos to see the peace you have for us.