Click to read 1 Kings 20
Synopsis
The northern kingdom, Israel had 8 evil kings in succession. To punish them, God allowed other nations around Israel to be strengthened and become enemies of Israel. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram conspired with 32 other kings to war against Israel. Despite Ahab's sinfulness, God wanted to show him and the nation that He was their true God. The prophet told Ahab that God would defeat Ben-Hadad and that He did, not once but twice.
Ahab, instead of killing Ben-Hadad when he was finally defeated, let him go. This was against God's intention as He wanted to punish Ben-Hadad for his sins too. Ahab had to pay with his life finally for disobeying God.
Major Verses
V13-14 - God wanted to show Ahab that He is the nation's true God. He sent his prophet to declare that He will deliver them against the forces of Ben-Hadad. Ahab had to be the one initiating the battle.
What I learn
Our God is indeed the true and living God. And His loving nature compels Him to give sinners as many chances as possible to repent and return to Him.
V23- Israeli soldiers had the reputation of being superior fighters since Joshua's days. They were especially good fighting in the hilly terrains as they did not have chariots. Ben-Hadad's advisers thought that it was because the Israelites had gods of the hills to protect them, so they hatched a plan to wage another battle in plains where they can use their chariots to their advantage. They were wrong and were utterly destroyed even in the plains because Israel's battle was fought by the Lord and He is God of everything, not just the hills.
What I learn
Our God is a mighty God of heaven and earth and He reigns over all. He has won the battles for us, yes, over all the battles. We need to trust in Him and rest in His victory and not struggle on own strength.
V31-42 - The wearing of ropes around their heads signified that Ben-Hadad and his men were submitting their lives to the hands of Ahab, who could have hung them if he wanted. Ahab chose to make a treaty with Ben-Hadad and set him free instead. It is difficult to explain why Ahab decided to let Ben-Hadad live after all the trouble he had given to Israel. Furthermore, God had help him to win both the battles and had planned punishment upon Ben-Hadad. Ahab failed to carry out that punishment and in fact over-ruled God on His judgment. Ahab had to pay with his own life.
What I learn
We must always be obedient to God's instructions and give Him reverence. Sometimes it seems difficult to understand if what we heard are indeed God's instructions to us. To ascertain that, we must always read His word to know Him intimately so that when He speaks to us, we can recognize His voice.
Summary
God always give sinners chances to repent and return to Him. For those who choose not to repent, their final destination is eternal separation from Him.
Up next ....
Elijah confronted Ahab and proclaimed judgment upon him....coming up on 10th March.
Synopsis
The northern kingdom, Israel had 8 evil kings in succession. To punish them, God allowed other nations around Israel to be strengthened and become enemies of Israel. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram conspired with 32 other kings to war against Israel. Despite Ahab's sinfulness, God wanted to show him and the nation that He was their true God. The prophet told Ahab that God would defeat Ben-Hadad and that He did, not once but twice.
Ahab, instead of killing Ben-Hadad when he was finally defeated, let him go. This was against God's intention as He wanted to punish Ben-Hadad for his sins too. Ahab had to pay with his life finally for disobeying God.
Major Verses
V13-14 - God wanted to show Ahab that He is the nation's true God. He sent his prophet to declare that He will deliver them against the forces of Ben-Hadad. Ahab had to be the one initiating the battle.
What I learn
Our God is indeed the true and living God. And His loving nature compels Him to give sinners as many chances as possible to repent and return to Him.
V23- Israeli soldiers had the reputation of being superior fighters since Joshua's days. They were especially good fighting in the hilly terrains as they did not have chariots. Ben-Hadad's advisers thought that it was because the Israelites had gods of the hills to protect them, so they hatched a plan to wage another battle in plains where they can use their chariots to their advantage. They were wrong and were utterly destroyed even in the plains because Israel's battle was fought by the Lord and He is God of everything, not just the hills.
What I learn
Our God is a mighty God of heaven and earth and He reigns over all. He has won the battles for us, yes, over all the battles. We need to trust in Him and rest in His victory and not struggle on own strength.
V31-42 - The wearing of ropes around their heads signified that Ben-Hadad and his men were submitting their lives to the hands of Ahab, who could have hung them if he wanted. Ahab chose to make a treaty with Ben-Hadad and set him free instead. It is difficult to explain why Ahab decided to let Ben-Hadad live after all the trouble he had given to Israel. Furthermore, God had help him to win both the battles and had planned punishment upon Ben-Hadad. Ahab failed to carry out that punishment and in fact over-ruled God on His judgment. Ahab had to pay with his own life.
What I learn
We must always be obedient to God's instructions and give Him reverence. Sometimes it seems difficult to understand if what we heard are indeed God's instructions to us. To ascertain that, we must always read His word to know Him intimately so that when He speaks to us, we can recognize His voice.
Summary
God always give sinners chances to repent and return to Him. For those who choose not to repent, their final destination is eternal separation from Him.
Up next ....
Elijah confronted Ahab and proclaimed judgment upon him....coming up on 10th March.
No comments:
Post a Comment