365 Reflections

Having heard the truth from the prophet Micaiah about his demise, Ahab is still certain that victory awaits in his quest to reclaim Ramoth-Gilead. He won't make it back alive. The scriptures record how Ahab meets his demise in spite of his best efforts to manipulate events to ensure his own safety. 1 Kings 22:29–33 (ESV) So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they tu...

In 1 Kings 22, three years have gone by after Ben-Hadad was spared by Ahab because he promised to return the land he had taken. Three years later and Ben-Hadad has not come through on his promise. Now Ahab grows weary of waiting and seeks both help from Jehosaphat, king of Judah and the council of his prophets as to whether or not he should make war to regain Ramoth-Gilead. 1 Kings 22:5–6 (ESV) And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the LORD.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-Gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” Jehoshaphat is ready to help but he wants to hear from the Lord first. Ahab calls his own prophets who seek to please him and they assure him of total victory. Jehoshaphat is not impressed. He wants to know if there's a prophet of the Lord. Ahab's response i...

If God's grace does not seem unfair and/or too much for you at times, you may have never experienced its fullness. I bring you to the second to last chapter of 1 Kings where we find the ruthless, evil, wicked and abominable king Ahab rebuked by Elijah for his acts toward Naboth and his response: 1 Kings 21:25–27 (ESV) (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.) 27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.  Look at the beginning and end of this passage. This moment seems so out of place for Ahab's character commentators figure Ahab's repentance was only a show. Seeing Bible scholars have a hard time believing Ahab was repentant says something significant about the pa...

The more we see of Ahab in action, the more we see the morally bankrupt character he represents. Recently rebuked by the prophet for sparing Ben-hadad over the exchange of property, his appetite for selfish indulgence only grows. He spies a piece of land nearby owned by a man named Naboth. 1 Kings 21:1–4 (ESV) Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no foo...

Have you seen the movie "The Devil's Advocate"? I believe that movie has the devil's character and tactics nailed. I couldn't have painted a more accurate picture of satan through film than the character played by Al Pacino. One of the great moments is when his young target (played by Keanu Reeves) asks, "Are we negotiating?" To which the devil / high-society lawyer responds, "Always." The devil is always fighting us through the subtle art of negotiating. This is clearly illustrated at the end of 1 Kings 20 when Ben-Hadad, defeated by an underdog Israelite army decides to play the humble friend card with Ahab who falls for it hook, line and sinker. 1 Kings 20:30–32 (ESV) And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left. Ben-hadad also fled and entered an inner chamber in the city. 31 And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. L...

One of the enemy's great tricks against us is to get us to believe our God is limited in some way from saving or helping us. This is well illustrated in the second half of 1 Kings 20. Israel has won the first episode of this battle. Now Syria was a bit over-confident, with the king and his alliances getting drunk and seemingly unprepared for war. But when they regroup, they make a fatal miscalculation about their first loss. Listen to it: 1 Kings 20:23–25 (ESV) And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24 And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, 25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so....

If you're going to follow Christ, you have to get used to being outnumbered, undermanned and overmatched in the physical realm. Why do I say this? Because it's all I see in the Biblical narrative for those God saves and uses in the plan of redemption. 1 Kings 20:1 (ESV) Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. Once again, God's people are outmanned. Syria musters not just an army but a coalition of 32 other kings to come up against the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This happens right after the Elijah revival at Mount Carmel. While Elijah is licking his wounds at Mount Hebron, the nation is facing an overwhelming army.  We must remember that Ben-hadad is attacking Israel because of an alliance made with him by the Southern Kingdom king of Judah, Asa! (See 1 Kings 15:19). That is, God's people have used God's enemies to at...

In our last post, we explored the two means by which successful men like Elijah fall into depression - self-righteousness, and self-pity. Elijah felt he had done everything right and the people who had just repented were to blame for his fear of Jezebel. In this post, I want to talk about the Lord in our depression. Recapping 1 Kings 19 we learn a few things. First, we learn that the Lord does not leave us when we are depressed. 1 Kings 19:12–13 (ESV)  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper . 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” We know the Lord gets closer to Elijah here because he speaks in a low whisper. The laws of physics teach us that you only hear whispers when you are closest to the source of it. God has not only stayed by Elijah, but ...

The picture of Elijah from 1 Kings 19 is far different than the one we've seen so far. We remember how he triumphed gloriously over the prophets of Baal and then called down rain from heaven in 1 Kings 18. God has shown Himself powerful through this man on the nation's grandest stage. Yet one simple threat from Jezebel is enough to send him spiraling downwards. 1 Kings 19:1–3 (ESV) Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Let's be honest. We have all been here. Riding the high of a victory we are often susceptible to the voice of a single critic or enemy. We may get to a place where we let personal triumphs make u...

The world is full of arrogant men and women. We have enough of those who seek the glory and prestige of the age. We need more men and women who know the immense value of humility and prayer. Elijah is like that man. 1 Kings 18:41–42 (ESV) And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. This is just after the slaughter of the prophets of Baal. Think of Elijah slaughtering those prophets the next time you want to imagine this Biblical hero along the lines of a seriously committed Sunday School teacher. But I digress back to Elijah's prayer life. We should look at what Elijah has thus prayed for in the land of Israel. First, he prayed for a drought that they might be chastised for their sins. This prayer was answered and the nation was in crisis mode and ready for a work...

Remember how we talked about Elijah's boldness before Ahab? Remember how it says Elijah prayed 3.5 years for no rain in Israel and that his time in prayer steeled his heart by the presence of God so that he was not at all affected by the presence of Ahab? Well, it doesn't take long for us to wonder where that Elijah went. By the time he confronts Ahab at the end of the drought, the years of listening closely to God must have made him feel a bit self-important. Notice the way he begins the conflict with the prophets of Baal: 1 Kings 18:22 (ESV) Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Now this phrase is not true and Elijah knows it. We know he knows it because we read earlier in the chapter that Obadiah had been hiding and caring for 100 of the Lord's prophets in caves.  1 Kings 18:3–4 (ESV) And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly, 4 and when ...

If a man does not want God, he will never see him. That is the case of many in the world. Ahab the wicked king of Israel is the arch-type of this man. He did more evil than all the kings before him. He sought to thoroughly wipe out the worship of Yahweh from Israel and married the wicked Jezebel furthering that venture faster. And when Ahab sees the man who could help him he identifies him as the exact opposite. 1 Kings 18:17 (ESV) When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” How hard-hearted to you have to be to suggest that the man who is obviously empowered by God to do the works of God is your troubler? Ahab should have fallen to the ground and sought salvation from Elijah's hand. The drought could have ended and Ahab could have enjoyed national prosperity as King.  But none of this happens. Instead, Ahab calls Elijah a troubler and scorns his arrival. Many people are so stubborn they lash out at the very hand sent to save them....

Obadiah in 1 Kings 18 is a curious figure. He's not to be confused with the prophet who wrote the book, Obadiah. This one is very different. At one moment he's at the side of Ahab carrying out his instructions and doing his bidding. On the other hand, he's secretly hiding the prophets of Yahweh and feeding them. At times he shows great boldness and other times he seems jumpy and skittish. When Elijah is sent back by the Lord to confront Ahab, Obadiah is searching for green grass to save the horses of Israel at Ahab's behest. Elijah sees him and tells him to inform Ahab he's returned. This is Obadiah's response: 1 Kings 18:9–12 (ESV) And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11 And ...

One consistent refrain from scripture is that many times bad things happen to really good people and we need to learn how to NOT give up when it does. 1 Kings 17:17–18 (ESV) After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” The words "after this" mean we MUST connect what just happened to the tragedy about to occur. What just happened was the miracle she received of unlimited oil and flour because she listened to the Word of the Lord through Elijah. Now she experiences the seriously tragic event of a dead child. Here was a woman who not only feared the Lord but who was well aware that she needed God's grace. Notice if you will that last line:  "You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death o...

1 Kings 17:3–7 (ESV) “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. What is interesting is to see how the Lord provides for Elijah after he boldly confronts Ahab and his abominations. Elijah must hide and be fed by ravens. The Word of the Lord leads Elijah to a place where someone would never NATURALLY go. Perhaps this is the first rebuke Elijah brings to Israel. When you walk with God, you don't follow the natural instincts of human nature. Israel was following the lusts of their flesh. The name "Cherit...

The book of 1 Kings has shown us a long list of terrible kings in the Northern kingdom of Israel. On to the scene as Israel endures her 7th and most idolatrous king bursts Elijah the prophet. I am sure that if you aren't an avid Bible reader, his name is the only one familiar to you thus far in the book which speaks to a powerful truth underlying this narrative's message: It is not the powerful kings that move Israel along, it is those prophets who speak for God without fear, who challenge power and let God take care of the rest. But before he was ever a prophet, Elijah was a prayer warrior. 1 Kings 17:1 (ESV) Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”  What we are asked to see immediately is where Elijah is from rather than WHO Elijah is from. All the kings of Israel were identified by their father, even the wicked Ahab. Elij...

In 1 Kings 16 we have seen Israel (the Northern Kingdom) degenerate from one king to another, through betrayal and coups. Now we see even the northern kingdom which first divided from the Southern kingdom of Judah further divides into two factions: 1 Kings 16:21–22 (ESV) Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. It's interesting to see how sin affects an entire nation. We tend to think that sin is a personal issue alone. "Don't judge me!" we like to say to others who may dare to question what we want to do in the privacy of our lives. But Scripture is clear page after page, sin is a communal infection that destroys the fellowship we are made to have both with God and one another. What does the exploitation of the poor do to a co...

In 1 Kings we have a divided nation of Israel. If we continue the premise from my previous post that the southern kingdom of Judah represents those under the lordship of Christ and the northern kingdom of Israel represents those under the lordship of Satan, we get to see how these kingdoms play out over the course of human history. So what should we expect from the kingdoms of this world? 1 Kings 16:8–10 (ESV)  In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. 9 But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. Elah dies what is perhaps the most ignoble death possible. While his army is out fighting Elah is drinking himself into a stupor...

I believe the two kingdoms of Israel in 1 and 2 Kings are a picture of our two worlds today. Those under the authority of the evil one who spurn God’s law and seek their own glory, following Satan’s example in leading rebellion from heaven. And secondly, those under the authority of Christ, covered by His righteousness and drawn by God’s grace back from the edge of self-destruction. The Northern kingdom of Israel, fathered by Jeroboam is a picture of that first kingdom, seeking glory and indulging sin of every sort. It is filled with evil and insurrection. The narrative of 1 Kings swings back and forth from Northern to Southern kings to illustrate the way of both worlds. For a few chapters, we read of the disorder of that northern line of wicked kings to glean a picture of the world under the authority of the great insurrectionist. 1 Kings 15:25–29 (ESV) Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two yea...

The Kingdom of Israel is divided in two, with 10 tribes in the north aligned with the sons of Jeroboam and 2 tribes in the south (Judah) aligned with the sons of David. We have in 1 Kings a picture of national deterioration. For just when Israel had achieved rest from their foreign enemies and prosperity within their borders, internal troubled ensued. A divided nation slowly ebbs itself away. 1 Kings 15:16–17 (ESV)  And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.  First there was internal conflict growing between the north and south to such an extent that they sought to thwart one another. Asa in the south is caught in a trap set by Baasha in the north. This is what happens when a nation is at peace with their enemies and accomplished in accumulation. What do we see in America but such similar divisions. Could it be t...