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Sunday, March 09, 2008

1 Kings 21 - Elijah confronts Ahab

Click to read 1 Kings 21

Synopsis


Ahab was driven by anger and rebellion against God after hearing His judgment (1 Kings 20). He flew into a fit of rage when Naboth refused to sell him his vineyard. Naboth refused because he wanted to uphold God’s law; it was a duty to keep ancestral land in the family and thus it was not for sale.

This story testified to the evilness of both Jezebel and Ahab. When he could not possess Naboth’s vineyard, Jezebel hatched an evil plan to frame Naboth and had two false witnesses to testify that Naboth had cursed the king and God. This was an offence punishable by death through stoning. Jezebel used the hands of the people to murder Naboth. She also advised Ahab to seize the vineyard and make it legally his.

Major Verses

V13 – Jezebel twisted the law for her own gain. It was a simple case of framing Naboth with two false witnesses that resulted in Naboth’s death by stoning.

What I learn

In today’s world, there are those who use sophisticated ways and means to manipulate and twist the laws and procedures for their own gains. Though the form is different, the sin is still the same. We must guard our heart against such practices.

V20 – God sent Elijah to confront Ahab but he refused to admit his sin. Instead, he proclaimed that Elijah was his enemy.

What I learn

God so loves us that He gives sinners multiple chances to repent. But some are so blinded by envy and hatred that it becomes impossible to see their sinful state. Let us tune our heart to be sensitive to God’s prompting that we may not stray off the righteous course.

V25 - 29 – Ahab was the most wicked of Israel’s kings but when he repented in deep humility, God noticed and reduced his punishment. Such is the love our God has for us.

What I learn

Our God is a loving and merciful God. Any one who comes to Him in humility and repentance, He will let His love extend to him. If He can be so merciful to Ahab, He can and will be merciful to us. It is never too late to turn Him in humble repentance – He will forgive.

Summary

As evil as Ahab was, God gave him many chances to repent. As soon as Ahab was truly repentant, God reduced His punishment on him. Our God is indeed a loving God. He cannot tolerate sins but He extends His love to all sinners.

Up next …

Ahab and Jezebel finally suffered the judgment meted out on him …let’s see what happened to them. Coming up on 17th Mar.

2 comments:

  1. Previously I will cleverly not tear off my parking coupons so that I can recycle them as much as I can. Afterall, with an educated mind, I can easily rationalise these "savings" to justify my actions.

    Overtime, I was fortunate that I did not get caught by the parking wardens but the Lord humbly and surely shape me into submission to our law. Furthermore, we are to be light of this world, and we will be fooling ourselves if we think God is not watching or we can negotiate our way through.

    We can make a difference...
    because He did!

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