TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL Sunday 7th March 2021)
Then his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”
So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.'”
And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” Now the men were watching closely to see whether any sign of mercy would come from him; and they quickly grasped at this word and said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad.”
So he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.
So Ben-Hadad said to him,”The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this treaty.” So he made a treaty with him and sent him away. 1 Kings 20:31-34 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 66th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!
We give God the praise for waking us up this morning and giving us another day. We thank Him for all the mercies He have been showing us. I decided to start today’s devotional with this long read so that God might speak to you before we share.
In our devotional today we will be looking at King Ahab.
This man was one of the most interesting kings of Israel. All through his reign he was known for bad things. He was known for ruling when prophets of God were killed by palace security forces. In his reign Baal sat enthroned over Israel right in the palace.
Part of the economic resources of Israel was used to build shrines for Baal and Asherah. His budget covered provisions for the prophets of Baal and Asherah and when he tried to seek God, he appointed 400 palace prophets to be prophesying to him. He was a terrible king who could order the execution of any prophet whose prophecies is not singing his praise.
He would prefer listening to 400 false prophets who are prophesying the same thing by a lying spirit than give heed to one true one who is prophesying something different.
Prophets who spoke from Heaven where a terror to him; for instance, he labeled Elijah the troubler of Israel and sold the lie to everyone so they could blame him (Elijah and all prophets of God) for the consequences of his wickedness towards God and man. One day he desired a man’s vineyard and his wife killed the man and handed over the vineyard to him.
WE CAN GO ON AND ON.
Ahab was one the first nightmares on the throne of Israel. The people of God never worshipped Baal nationally until this man became king. In fact, the worship of Baal and Asherah became a state religion under his reign.
But what door did the devil use to turn this king from a righteous seed to a wicked monster? The answer lies in one phrase, and that phrase is “wrong relationship.” His marriage to Jezebel turned him into a killer of the prophets of GOD and promoter of Baal worship.
Evil company will always corrupt good manners.
Concerning this unholy alliance by the means of a marriage and concerning all this king did, the Bible says,
“Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
“And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.”
“Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” 1 Kings 16:30-34 NKJV
The Bible says walking in the sins of Jeroboam was not a sin to Ahab, and because it was not, he went further to acquire a wrong relationship for a wife; he married the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. That was how he became a Baal worshiper.
If you look at us today in Church, you will find so many worshipers of God who have been turned into worshipers of other gods by wrong relationships. You will find people (preachers inclusive), who are more comfortable with calling the almighty “God” than recognizing “Jesus Christ” as God.
Sadly, only eternity will accurately reveal how many people wrong relationships have taken to hell. Ahab would later end very tragically even leaving the woman who led and inspired him to do all he did against God, alive.
WHAT LESSONS CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS?
Many! But for lack of space I will share just one with you. We can clearly learn that some wrong relationship lives longer than those it was sent to corrupt. But let’s go a step further.
Ahab had just been shown a brief mercy by the LORD and handed over with an assignment to do. But he ended up sparing a king that God had appointed to die. And the consequence was his life for the king’s life and his people for the king’s people. The wrong relationship you do not walk early away from, may walk you to an early grave.
But how did this man that God appointed to die escape the appointment? It was not by repentance but by capitalizing on the misguided generosity of his victim – Ahab. A major highlight in our devotional text said;
Then his servants said to him,
“Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”
Underline the phrase “the kings of Israel are merciful kings” and you will decode what the devil used in denying Ahab the chance of making things right with God. The Bible indeed says we should be merciful “just as” our Father (God) is merciful. That means the same principles God applies should be applied.
It means we must be guided by our heavenly Father. If we do the right thing to the wrong person, we will pay for it. For instance, if you look at our devotional today, you will realize that Ahab did the right thing to the wrong person – he got married.
Getting married is a right thing to do so he got married. But he got married to the wrong person, hence ending tragically.
And in our highlighted text, the enemy saw the weakness of “doing the right things to the wrong people” in Ahab, and capitalized on it to keep his servant alive, consequently hindering the will of God.
There is someone reading this who is found of doing the right things to the wrong people; helping them to sort out their problems, getting married to them, helping them to complete a career and etc. As good as these things are, if you do them to the wrong people there will be crisis. Let this devotional, therefore be a light to you today!
Meditate on it and then ask the LORD to speak to you about you.
Are you suffering today for doing the right things to the wrong people? Seek Him to help show you who are you may be keeping now that will kill you tomorrow, and disconnect from him or her. Whosoever sow to keep his future killers will reap death in his future.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR TODAY;
“With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”
“Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.” Isaiah 26:9-10 NKJV