1 Kings 20:35-43 slowly and repeatedly.
The main content of the text: God is angry with Ahab for signing a peace treaty with Aram. Judgment will soon be pronounced on Ahab, who made a treaty without asking God, the ruler of the war.
Verses 35-38 Just as God sent Nathan to have David declare the judgment that would come upon him (2 Samuel 12:1-4), God sent a prophet to make Ahab judge the punishment for his own sins. First, in order to disguise the Prophet as a soldier wounded in battle, he orders his friend the Prophet to wound him. It is a command that is so contrary to common sense and morality that when his friend the prophet disobeyed it, God sent a messenger to judge him as he had done before with the man of God (13:24). To this extent, God’s Word shows us that it demands ruthless obedience, and it also exposes the stubbornness of Israel, which does not listen at all unless it uses unusual methods.
What lesson does God give me?
Verses 38-40 The prophet, who had bandaged his wounds from being beaten, went up to King Ahab and said, “I am a soldier who was wounded on the battlefield, and I lost one of my captives. “You have to pay a fine of one talent of silver or with your life, but it is an impossible amount to raise, so there is nothing we can do.” King Ahab said, “There is nothing we can do. “You must receive punishment commensurate with your crime.” He doesn’t even know it’s his own story. Although we are good at applying the word of God to others, isn’t it easy for us to neglect to reflect on ourselves and apply it to ourselves?
Verses 41-43 The prophet takes off his bandages and proclaims the word of God. Ahab also arbitrarily released Benhadad, a prisoner whom God had taken captive, so he should be punished accordingly. The word used for ‘a man determined to destroy’ (Hebrew herem) is the same word as the ‘offered object’ (Joshua 7:1) that Achan stole after the Jericho War. Just as Achan was revealed to be the ‘tormentor of Israel’ after the victory in destroying the walls of Jericho (Joshua 7:25), it was revealed that the ‘tormentor of Israel’ (18:18) was Ahab after the victory in destroying the walls of Aphek. The prophet predicts that God will eventually take Ahab’s life instead of Benhadad’s. What Ahab should have done was not to worry (verse 43), but to fast and bow down before God like David after hearing Nathan’s prophecy (2 Samuel 12:16).
Community Prayer – Living God, help us honestly face our repeated mistakes and sins and bow down before God.
Prayer for the Nations – Texas churches are collaborating to provide emotional stability and trauma recovery for Karen Christians in Myanmar. Let us pray that they can recover their bodies and minds and escape from the loss and doubts that come from their broken lives.
