3/16/2011 5:31:17 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: The siege
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 20:1-12
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and there were
thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged
Samaria and fought against it. 2 Then he
sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, "Thus
says Ben-hadad, 3 ’Your silver and your
gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’"
4 The king of Israel replied, "It
is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I
have." 5 Then the messengers returned
and said, "Thus says Ben-hadad, ’Surely, I sent to you saying, "You
shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children,"
6 but about this time tomorrow I will
send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your
servants; and whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will take in their hand
and carry away.’" 7 Then the king
of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please observe and
see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my
children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him." 8 All the elders and all the people said to
him, "Do not listen or consent." 9
So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king,
’All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I
cannot do.’" And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said,
"May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will
suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me." 11 Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell
him, ’Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it
off.’"
“12 ¶ When Ben-hadad heard this
message, as he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said
to his servants, "Station yourselves." So they stationed themselves
against the city.”
This
SD begins the last two chapters in the book of 1Kings and the second to the
Last Chapter in “Be Responsible” which is Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book
of 1Kings. He entitles this chapter
“Ahab, The Slave of Sin,” and begins by saying that there are four events in
the life of Ahab that are described in these two chapters of 1Kings and they
are described in his book along with in the Scriptures. The first main point he entitles “Believing
God’s Promises,” and the first sub-point under that is what will be discussed
in this SD.
In
the first place the Scriptures are speaking of the king of Syria, and this was
a country that David was friend with, but now their king is about to attack
Ahab and the nation of Israel, which is the Northern tribes. The king, Ben-hadad asks Ahab for his
treasures of gold and silver and also his most beautiful wives and he gives it
to him without even consulting with a priest of prophet, or any of his elders
which were military leaders. Next
Ben-hadad wants to come in and look around and take what he wants and this time
Ahab does consult his elders and they say no which is what he tells Ben-hadad. This makes him mad and so he begins a siege
against Israel after making some brash promises.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There are two things that must be remembered
while going through this section on the wars with Syria, and they are that the
glory of the Lord is at stake, and also the nation of Israel was chosen by God
and He has a plan for it.
It
was wrong for Ahab not to counsel with the Lord through a prophet, and it was
wrong for Ben-hadad to boast about what he was going to do, and these are
things that I too am in need of learning and remembering.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Only boast in the Lord.
2.
Pray and counsel about important decisions.
3.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
4.
Trust the Lord to guide my path today, and continue
to learn contentment. 3/16/2011 5:53:37
AM
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