R³ Devotional - Day 179

We begin in 1 Kings 20 with thirty-three kings of the land coming against King Ahab. They first attempt to taunt and scare Ahab into submission; however, after consulting with the elders around him, Ahab defies the request of Ben-hadad and the kings with him. Ben-hadad, presumably in a bit of drunken stupor, does not take this rejection well and calls everyone to arms against Ahab. But we soon find God intervening in this situation with a word through a prophet. God promises to deliver Ben-hadad and the rest into Ahab’s hand even though they are far greater in number. Ben-hadad and the other kings are soundly defeated, not just once but twice! Then we see Ahab, who should be grateful and obedient after what God has done, defying one of His requests; Ben-hadad being done away with.

 After this, Ahab is confronted by a “certain man” of the sons of the prophets who delivers the news that Ahab’s life would be for Ben-hadad’s and Ahab’s people for Ben-hadad’s people. The judgment God planned for Ben-hadad was now placed on Ahab and his people. This left Ahab vexed and sullen. Moving in 1 Kings 21, we see Ahab in Samaria seeking the vineyard of Naboth, who soundly rejects him. Ahab turns to sullenness again, which his wife Jezebel notices and then plots evil against Naboth to get Ahab the vineyard that he seeks from Naboth. There’s plotting, deceit, and foul play that ensue, and Naboth ends up dead. Ahab then goes to collect the vineyard, where again he is confronted by a prophet (Elijah) about the actions and outcomes. The message delivered by Elijah matches up perfectly with that promised from 1 Kings 20.

 With all this, Ahab turns to repentance, and God allows the punishment to pass Ahab’s sons’ days. In both chapters, we see great pictures of how we, as humans (sinners) operate. We see a King turn to and trust God for good things, but then quickly turn to disobedience. Then we see that same King fall victim again, yet through a spouse’s actions. We cannot miss here that just like in the Garden, the man is responsible for the actions of those in his home! Friends, we live in a world where men are failing miserably, and hence those they are charged to lead are failing. It will be a glorious day when we see men turning back to God, fulfilling their God-given roles, and leading their families back to God. I pray I will get to see that in my lifetime, however the more we sit in silence, the less likely it is to happen!

Real Life Principles: Put your trust in, your faith in, and your confidence in God to fulfill His promises in your life. How do we do this? Get out of that mindset that, “I’ve accepted Jesus, I go to Church regularly, I pray each day.” and turn to putting God first in all we do. Speak to Him through prayer, listen to what He wants from you, and act on it…not half-heartedly but whole-heartedly. We cannot just turn to Him when we think we need Him and then walk away until we need Him again!

Relevant Life Applications: All of us, but especially men, need to step up to their God-given role as leaders of the family. You are NOT too far gone to change! Step up and put God first in your life, live like He wants you to, and watch what happens…you WILL NOT be disappointed!

Being Ready with Life Action Steps: RU-SO! Rise Up…Speak Out! We should be fearless as believers in doing this, sharing God’s truth and the Gospel, not cowering from the secular world worried about how we are seen. I would not want to be face-to-face with God one-day and have to say, “I’m sorry, I was too scared to speak up for You!”