March 28, 2020: Day 56 – I Kings 20

God remains faithful to His people even when His people are not faithful to him.  So it is with king Ahab.  Ahab was never faithful to God, and now he is faced with sure destruction at the hands of a king who has allied himself with 30 other kings.  But God has other plans.  A prophet of Israel told Ahab that he would conquer and destroy the king who had plotted against him and threatened to come and take over his riches and his wives and children.  So they go into battle with a plan that was put forward by God and they win the battle.

The prophet tells the king to finish off the kings who had retreated.  The prophet warns Ahab that in the spring the king will gather his forces again and then it could spell trouble.  Ahab lets him go.  The spring comes and the enemy kings gather their forces again, but this time they had made made fun of God saying that He can only help His people if they fight from the mountains.  So they assembled on the plains and God still sent the people of Israel into battle and they won.

But Ahab again spared the enemy king because the king promised that he would restore the fortunes of Ahab and be an obedient servant to him.  Ahab buys it, but the prophet of the Lord was not happy.  He meets Ahab on the road and warns him that because he did not take care of the other king in a way that God wanted him to, that is kill him, then this king would one day take him and his family as his own.

Needless to say this chapter ends with King Ahab a bit upset because of this message, he was actually “resentful and sullen”.  We always think we know best even when it is fairly clear that our best is not in the best interest of the Lord or of His people.