Wed.’s Devo - God’s Deliverance

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16 Benhadad and thirty-two allied kings agreed to attack Samaria. Ben-hadad sent messengers to Ahab and told him that he wanted all his silver, gold, his wives, and the best of his children. Ahab agreed to give him all of that. Then Ben-hadad said they also wanted to come and go through all the homes of his officials and take whatever they found of value. *** Ahab asked the elders how he should respond. They told him not to agree to his last demand. (Of course they did. This would personally affect them.) *** Ben-hadad didn’t like his response and tried to intimidate him with his threats. Ahab didn’t fall for it. *** God sent a prophet to King Ahab and told him that God was going to turn them all over to him. When Ahab asked him how God was going to do it, he told him he would do it through his provincial commanders. They should attack first. *** The kings of the army of the Arameans were all in their tents getting drunk when Israel attacked. Ahab’s provincial commanders led the attack and the entire Arabian army panicked and fled. King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped but the others were killed. *** God sent the prophet back to Ahab to tell him that they would return in the Spring and he needed to be ready. *** Ben-hadad’s army did return in the Spring but this time they attacked in the plains instead of the hills. The prophet came back and told Ahab that God was both the god of the hills and the plains. They would attack in the plains this time. *** During the attack, Israel killed over 127,000 of their enemies. Ben-hadad hid out in a the town of Aphek in a secret room. His officers told him they had heard that the kings of Israel were merciful, so they put on burlap and robes and went to Ahab and begged for their lives. Ahab was hood-winked and extended mercy to Benhadad. He made a treaty with him and set him free. ‘ *** God sent another prophet to Ahab to rebuke him for setting free the man he had doomed for destruction. It would come back to haunt him and cost him his life and the lives of his people. *** Ahab decided he wanted the land next to his palace to plant a vegetable garden. The land belonged to Naboth and he and his family had planted vineyards on that land for generations. Ahab offered to pay Naboth for the land but Naboth didn’t want to sell his family’s inheritance. *** When Jezebel noticed Ahab was acting crabby, she asked him what the reason was. He told her he was upset that Naboth wouldn’t sell him his land. She was incensed that he was so soft. She told him she would get the land for him. *** She had Naboth accused of blaspheming God and the king and paid men to lie in court. They did and Naboth was found guilty, taken out and stoned. His land then went to the government. Jezebel went to Ahab and told him to go and get his land. One his way, God sent Elijah to meet him. The prophet asked him if it was enough he had killed Naboth, but now was he going to steal from him also? Because he had done this the dogs would lick his blood at the very place they licked the blood of Naboth. *** Ahab recognized Elijah. Elijah told him God would bring disaster on him and destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free - just like he did to Jeroboam’s descendants because they both led Israel into sin. *** When Ahab heard his fate, he dressed in burlap and mourned and humbled himself. God sent another message to Ahab saying that since he repented as he did, this would not happen in his lifetime. *** In Acts, Saul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them. During a prayer meeting, God told the elders to send Saul and Barnabas out to minister. They went down to the islands of Cyprus. They traveled from town to town preaching and doing miracles. At Paphos they met a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-Jesus. He had gotten in tight with the governor, Sergius Paphos. The governor asked Saul and Barnabus to visit him to hear the word of God, but the sorcerer urged the governor not to listen to them. *** Saul cursed Bar-Jesus with temporary blindness for trying to blind the governor with his lies. When the governor saw this happen, he listened to their teaching and became a believer. *** Paul/Saul and Barnabus went to the next port, but John Mark returned home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and were asked if they had any word of encouragement to give the people. Tomorrow we will read their response. *** Lord, there is a time for mercy and a time for judgment. May we discern your times. May we have mercy on who you want us to have mercy on and let you judge those you want to judge. When we feel like there is no way out, may we remember You are very creative in rescuing your people. You are our deliverer!