Category: 1 Kings

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

The death of Ahab is placed with his rejection of the Word of God through God’s prophet Micaiah. Jehoshaphat was a godly person. He foolishly allied himself with Ahab through the marriage of his heir. Jehoshaphat’s foolishness had devastating consequences for his family!

SJA Notes

* God in Heaven, not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!

“Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?”

This passage gives us a glimpse into heavenly politics, the spiritual happens that occur outside of our perception.

There is a discourse before the throne of God.

A spirit comes and says,

“I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.”

Here is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how things work.

The prophets telling Ahab that they would conquer and triumph against the Syrians, these prophets were false. False prophets.

The Lord is at work, His hand is sovereign,

“Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets;”

These can be difficult truths to process, hard to understand and work through.

But we need to wrestle with them.

God does not lie (Numbers 23:19), He is the God of truth (John 14:6, John 16:13).

The devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

In these events God is completely sovereign.

The lying spirit could not do a thing without the Lord commanding it (not simply a passive allowance).

We are not living solely in a physical world.

The heavenly realities are real!

* God Above,

We can struggle to understand portions of Your word.

Please open the eyes and ears of our hearts to know what You have for us today.

A small glimpse here, a big profound mystery unravelled there.

Please write Your WORD on our hearts today.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Ahab’s repentance after the Naboth’s vineyard episode has a slight parallel with David’s repentance. An Ahab needs more than repentance; he needs a Saviour who can redeem him by grace. Repentance, by itself, cannot bring me forgiveness and eternal life. It is forgiveness in the blood of Christ. Jesus had to come!

SJA Notes

* God of Light, we tremble at Your presence Lord, the God of Jacob who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

“And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.”

It is a sad thing that Ahab took Naboth’s inheritance through Jezebel’s murderous manipulation.

Naboth had a strong conviction in his inheritance, the vineyard.

In the gospel of John, ch 15, Jesus says,

“I am the vine; you are the branches.”

So if we are part of the vine, the true vine, what of our inheritance?

In 1 Peter 1 we read that through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead we are born again …

“… To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”

How wonderful this is!

Our inheritance cannot be stolen like Naboth’s vineyard was.

We belong to a vine that will never die, Jesus the forever King, our God who is alive!

* Father God,

Thank You for the inheritance we have in You the Son, our King and Saviour Jesus.

Thank You that through His imperishable indestructible life we are born again, into an inheritance like no other.

Thank You for Your promises to us, for the now, and for the not yet – that final day when we shall see You face to face!

Thank You Lord!

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Ahab shows he is a Saul, and not a David. He would spare BenHadad, as Saul spared Agag. (1 Samuel 15) A great victory won by the Word of the Lord comes to nothing because of Ahab’s pride and conceit. The Lord is shown to be God of gods and Lord of lords. The hills and the valleys are both His!

SJA Notes

* God in Heaven, we Your servants praise Your Name! Blessed be Your Name, from this time forth and forevermore!

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give them all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'”

The Almighty God does not enjoy idolatry. The running after false gods, believing and trusting in them.

God does not tolerate it from His people.

Here we see that it angers Him as well when it is unbelievers (people created by Him).

How said it is that all around us are people who think that their unbelief and resistance are a thick and powerful armor that will withstand the roaring of eternity.

What kind of heart for the lost do we have?

If God’s wrath is coming, if He is angry about idolatry, if the world around us is full of all the different ways to say “get lost” to God – Are our hearts longing to see those around us saved?

What is our prayer as we wrestle with this?

Real, hard-won, hard-fought, hard-wrestled prayer.

Casting our cares on our loving Heavenly Father – Our cares being in part the saving of our dear ones, our family and friends, our neighbours and work-makes, and outwards.

As Paul witnessed to King Agrippa, the driver in our prayers for the lost,

“… To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

* God Above,

Please save those around us!

Please change their hearts, breathe life into dry bones, open their eyes to see You.

Please grow us all Lord, toward You – Your word in us, deeply and powerfully at work.

Amen.