In First Kings 20, towards the end of the chapter, a prophet appears to King Ahab. If you don’t know about King Ahab, he was declared by God to be the worst king of all the kings of Israel. He was a cowardly king, one who allowed his wife (Jezebel) to control him and the kingdom.
In the story, Ahab had fought in two battles with King Benhadad of Syria. He won both battles. He won because God said, “You shall know that I am the LORD.” Our merciful God was giving him a chance to repent, but he was sadly too involved in Baal worship.
Instead of destroying everything and everyone, Ahab allowed King Benhadad to talk him into a peace treaty. Benhadad set all the rules for the treaty, and Ahab agreed to them. When Ahab did not kill Benhadad, God sent the prophet to him with a message in the form of a parable.
This was the parable. There was a battle, and one of the soldiers took a prisoner. He took the prisoner to his servant and told him to watch the prisoner at all costs. If he lost the prisoner, he would pay with his life or pay a talent of silver.
The servant was busy doing this and that, and the prisoner was gone. Ahab didn’t wait to cast his judgment on the soldier. He said that what the soldier had predicted should take place, just as he said it would. The prophet’s message was. “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’” In other words, “You let Benhadad live, so you will pay with your life.”
Instead of Ahab falling on his knees and begging for forgiveness, he went home angry and sullen. He didn’t like the message of the prophet, and his reaction was not the one God or the prophet had hoped for.
I see two lessons in this story. The first is this: when God gives us a command, we should obey it. Though we are not commanded to destroy anyone, we have the New Testament to show us what God wants us to do. We may not understand why He wants us to obey certain things or do them a certain way, but ours is not to question.
Second, when we are corrected because we are in a sinful situation, been willingly disobedient, or refused to obey a command, we should not go away angry and pout. We should repent and look to God for help.
God is still a merciful God. He is always looking for sinners ready to repent and be obedient to His will. God will forgive over and over as long as we seriously repent of our sins.
May we all adapt an attitude of humbleness when we are corrected for our mistakes.
Sandra Oliver