daily bible readings

King Ahab, the 7th king of the northern tribes of Israel, is described in no uncertain terms as an evil and wicked king in 1 Kings 16:30–33. “Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.”

As chapter 18 opens, a question mark is also put over the reign of Jehoshaphat. He allied himself with evil king Ahab by marriage to one of his daughters. Such an alliance was more than just having evil in-laws. A king allied to another king, especially an evil king, would have to prove his allegiance and show where his heart really lied. One would expect that nothing good could come from an alliance with an evil king. And, we have already been given a clue that things may soon go down hill. Remember 2 Chronicles 17:3? “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals.”

And so as the narrative proceeds, we have 2 kings trying to fool God. Ahab dons a disguise in the battle which was predicted to end his life. And he sought to make King Jehoshaphat an easy decoy. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 2 Chronicles 18:29. Ahab must have thought that he had outwitted God. With himself in disguise and Jehoshaphat in his royal regalia, hiding and avoiding death would be a cinch.

But, the Chronicler recorded the outcome of the battle. A random solider takes a random shot into the air and only by the grace of God does the arrow hit Ahab between the sections of the armour. A fatal blow has been struck. Hear the dripping irony in the narrative. “But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armour. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.” 2 Chronicles 18:33-34.

Jehoshaphat faired only marginally better. He had allied himself to evil and wicked King Ahab. He sought to be godly but God confronted him as well. “Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you. 3 There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.” 2 Chronicles 19:2–3.

The Lord God Almighty cannot be fooled by external appearances. He sees and judges the heart. He knows our motivations. He knows our deepest, darkest and most secret thoughts. He knows us inside out. We simply cannot fool God by seeking to do good things to hide our negative intentions. We cannot say nice things to hide our hatred of others and fool God. God cannot be fooled, manipulated or tricked.

Our gracious God brings issues before us to deal with. Rather than seeking to fool God, we can learn from Ahab and Jehoshaphat. When confronted by God, we can repent and change our heart rather than seeking to play pretend or trying to fool God. God gives us opportunities to change and to repent. Let’s learn to make the most of such opportunities.

Prayer:

Adoration:

• Adore God for His grace and mercy.
• Adore God that He allows people the chance to repent before sending calamity and destruction.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

• Thank God for his grace and mercy lavished upon you personally.
• Thank God that He has forgiven you for all your sins and for your transgressions.

Supplication:

• Pray that each and every single believer in your congregation would be willing and ready to repent of anything sinful or negative that the Lord brings before them and that holiness and righteousness would grow exponentially in your congregation.
• Pray that God would grant you personally the strength and mindset to repent of anything in your life that is not glorifying or honouring to God.

Discussion Questions

1. As you read through chapter 18, the name of Ahab is rarely mentioned. He is referred to as the King of Israel. Why is this?
2. Why did King Ahab die in battle?
3. Why is the cause of his death in v33 described like a random event?