Today's Scripture
Elijah Pronounces God’s Sentence
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 18 Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules[f] in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?” You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, 21 I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel; 22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin. 23 Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat.”
25 (Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 26 He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.)
27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.”
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE:
What does this passage mean to me/us
Alas, King Ahab! Ahab, along with many other characters in this section of the Old Testament, just can’t seem to stay on the narrow path! This is a difficult section of the bible to read. Not only is it filled with war and acts of violence, but it is also filled with leaders who follow the way of the Lord for a short time and then soon go astray, following the ways of the world, falling to the temptations of greed, and worshiping idols. Sometimes it makes me want to shout out as I am reading, “Not again! Come on guys, just listen to God!” Ahab is one of the most tragic examples of those who fluctuate between being faithful to God one minute and then turning around and giving in to human weaknesses and sinning the next. At the end of chapter 21 he does repent, but, as we will learn in chapter 22, his humbleness is short-lived. He eventually suffers a violent death and his blood is indeed licked up by the dogs, as the Lord said. In our world today we still see this same fluctuation between staying on the right path and falling deeply into sin. We see stories in the news about church leaders, government officials, and celebrities who at one time were well-respected and considered to be good Christians, but who have now fallen and committed horrible sins. These stories and the stories of the fallen kings in the old testament remind us that the path God has shown us is a narrow way. As Jesus says in the book of Matthew 13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy[d] that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
- Contributed by Debra LeBrun
Prayer
Dear God, As we travel through this world open our eyes to see the way you have laid before us. Help us to resist the temptations that cause us to stray from you. Help us to remember to read your word, turn to you in prayer, and to set aside time to worship you, so that we may not be like King Ahab, but may truthfully and continually be humbled before you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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