I told you this section of 2 Kings is miracle-dense. After the story of the oil and the jugs, we have the story of the lady from Shunem and her husband. They built a guest room for Elisha to use when he passed through. (See 2 Kings 4.8 – 11) In return, Elisha promises her a son:

Elisha conferred with [Elisha’s servant] Gehazi: “There’s got to be something we can do for her. But what?” Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man.” “Call her in,” said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door. Elisha said to her, “This time next year you’re going to be nursing an infant son.” “O my master, O Holy Man,” she said, “don’t play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!” The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son. (2 Kings 4.14 – 17, MSG)

But the child died, maybe as a young teenager. So she goes to fetch Elisha who sends Gehazi ahead to “lay the staff across the boys face” without success. (See 2 Kings 4.18 – 31) Then Elisha arrives:

Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead. He went into the room and locked the door—just the two of them in the room—and prayed to GOD. He then got into bed with the boy and covered him with his body, mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, hands on hands. As he was stretched out over him like that, the boy’s body became warm. Elisha got up and paced back and forth in the room. Then he went back and stretched himself upon the boy again. The boy started sneezing—seven times he sneezed!—and opened his eyes. (2 Kings 4.32 – 35, MSG)

As always with Elisha, pray…and do something. In this case, he stretched himself out on the boy.

These stories are told with remarkable reserve. No drum rolls, just “this is what happened.” And just to round out the chapter, two more. In the first, they cooked up a stew for the guild of prophets, but a poisonous plant got into it:

They started to eat, and then exclaimed, “Death in the pot, O man of God! Death in the pot!” Nobody could eat it. Elisha ordered, “Get me some meal.” Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot. “Now serve it up to the men,” he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew! (2 Kings 4.40 – 41, MSG)

In the second we have a multiplication of loaves similar to what Jesus will do on a larger scale:

One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. GOD says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers. (2 Kings 4.42 – 44, MSG)

All these miracles! Signs? An attempt to get the attention of the Northern Kingdom? Remember, that’s where Elijah and Elisha ministered, to “Israel,” where all the kings were bad. Not to Judah. And the miracles weren’t for show; God, through Elisha, just met the need at the time.

Need wisdom?

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. (James 1.5, 6, MSG)

Worried?

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4.6, 7, MSG)

So Jesus taught them this prayer: “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns. May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest your kingdom on earth. And give us our needed bread for the coming day. Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.2 – 4, TPT)

“If you’re praying for rain, bring an umbrella.” – Old Saying

I wrote yesterday that we’re going to be seeing a lot of miracles in the ministry of Elisha. Many of them involve some kind of action as in hit the Jordan River with your cloak, and it divides. After that he purifies water by sprinkling salt into it (See 2 Kings 2.19 – 21).

Then we have two miracles that reinforce the same lesson: act first; act as if. Recall that when the people crossed the Jordan to go into the Promised Land, the flow stopped AFTER the priests stepped into the river.

In 2 Kings 3, the kings of Israel and Judah decide to attack Moab, but they find themselves stuck in the desert with no water. The kings call for Elisha, who’s not impressed with the evil king of Israel:

Elisha said, “As GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren’t for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn’t give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel.” (When a minstrel played, the power of GOD came on Elisha.) He then said, “GOD’s word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for GOD to do; he will also hand over Moab to you.” (2 Kings 3.14 – 18, MSG)

And that’s what happened. The army digs the ditches first. The ditches miraculously fill with water which refreshes the army. But the water looks like blood to the Moabites so they assume the kings have attacked each other. They charge into the camp seeking plunder and get routed. (See 2 Kings 3.20- 27)

This event is followed in the next chapter by a story with the same lesson:

One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to GOD. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves.” Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she said. “Well, I do have a little oil.” “Here’s what you do,” said Elisha. “Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside.” She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, “Another jug, please.” He said, “That’s it. There are no more jugs.” Then the oil stopped. She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, “Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what’s left.” (2 Kings 4.1 – 7, MSG)

Gather the jugs first, then the oil will flow.

Dig the ditches first, then the water will flow.

Here’s a trivial example, ongoing. Our dog passed in December 2022. Since then, we have been praying that God would send us the dog of his choice when the time is right. We still have newspaper delivery (wonder how long that will last?!), and we use the plastic bags for dog poop. I’ve continued to save the bags so we’ll have a good supply!

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11.24, ESV)

Yesterday, we meditated on God Is Real! from Elijah’s last confrontation with a king of Israel. Today, this blog will answer the question, “Where is he?” Answer: God is here!

The story comes from Elijah’s last day on earth and literally passing the authority of the prophet to his assistant, Elisha.

Elijah and Elisha walked from Gilgal to Bethel then Jericho. Then, “God has sent me on an errand to the Jordan.” (See 2 Kings 2.1 – 7)

Elijah hits the Jordan with his cloak, and it divides so they can walk across.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2.9 – 11, ESV)

Now Elisha is stuck on the east side of the Jordan. Or is he?

Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. (2 Kings 2.14, ESV)

Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He’s here. He’s real. Sneak preview: we’re about to enter a miracle-dense section of the Bible. Almost as many miracles in these few pages as in the gospels. Sometimes I’m tempted to think, “Did that really happen?” But if we accept that God is real, and he’s here, literally anything is possible.

It’s as good a prayer promise as there is. Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He’s here. He’s real. What am I asking for?

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15.7, ESV)

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16.24, ESV)

After Ahab’s death, the story moves seamlessly into 2 Kings, where Ahab’s son, King Ahaziah (of Israel), was injured and attempted to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron. Really?

GOD’s angel spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: “Up on your feet! Go out and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria with this word, ‘Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron?’ Here’s a message from the GOD you’ve tried to bypass: ‘You’re not going to get out of that bed you’re in—you’re as good as dead already.’” Elijah delivered the message and was gone. (2 Kings 1.3, 4, MSG)

The messengers return and relay Elijah’s message, and the king reacts:

The king said, “Tell me more about this man who met you and said these things to you. What was he like?” “Shaggy,” they said, “and wearing a leather belt.” He said, “That has to be Elijah the Tishbite!” (2 Kings 1.7, 8, MSG)

So the king sends a captain and 50 men to fetch Elijah. Elijah calls down lightning on two such groups.

The king sent a captain with fifty men to Elijah. Meanwhile Elijah was sitting, big as life, on top of a hill. The captain said, “O Holy Man! King’s orders: Come down!” Elijah answered the captain of the fifty, “If it’s true that I’m a ‘holy man,’ lightning strike you and your fifty men!” Out of the blue lightning struck and incinerated the captain and his fifty. (2 Kings 1.9, 10, MSG)

This story, of course, is the source of James and John’s response to inhospitable Samaritans:

When it came close to the time for his Ascension, [Jesus] gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, “Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?” Jesus turned on them: “Of course not!” (Luke 9.51 – 55, MSG)

Back to Elijah and his times. In all this, God is trying to get people’s attention, yes? There is a God in Israel. I know what you’re thinking and that you’ve sent men to consult with the wrong god. I can incinerate 51 men any time I want.

By the way, a young pastor started to say positive things about the LGBT… movement. A few seconds in, lightning struck. Maybe God is still trying to get our attention! Despite the ministries of Elijah, Elisha, and other prophets, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, never repented. Here’s a sneak preview:

The exile came about because of sin…They took up with other gods, fell in with the ways of life of the pagan nations GOD had chased off, and went along with whatever their kings did. They did all kinds of things on the sly, things offensive to their GOD, then openly and shamelessly built local sex-and-religion shrines at every available site…Everywhere you looked there was smoke from their pagan offerings to the deities…They had accumulated a long list of evil actions and GOD was fed up…GOD had taken a stand against Israel and Judah, speaking clearly through countless holy prophets and seers time and time again, “Turn away from your evil way of life. Do what I tell you and have been telling you in The Revelation I gave your ancestors and of which I’ve kept reminding you ever since through my servants the prophets.” (2 Kings 17.7 – 13 MSG, emphasis mine)

He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. (Proverbs 29.1, NKJV)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. (2 Peter 3.10, 11, NKJV)

1 Kings 22 closes out the book and the life of Ahab but not without another weird story. After three years of peace with Aram, King Ahab of Israel joins with King Jehoshaphat of Judah to reclaim Ramoth-Gilead. But before going into battle, they want counsel.

The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them—and put the question to them: “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?” “Go for it,” they said. “GOD will hand it over to the king.” But Jehoshaphat dragged his heels: “Is there still another prophet of GOD around here we can consult?” (1 Kings 22.6, 7, MSG)

There is, Micaiah, and he gives the true word from God:

“Not so fast,” said the king. “How many times have I made you promise under oath to tell me the truth and nothing but the truth?” “All right,” said Micaiah, “since you insist. I saw all of Israel scattered over the hills, sheep with no shepherd. Then GOD spoke: ‘These poor people have no one to tell them what to do. Let them go home and do the best they can for themselves.’ ” (1 Kings 22.16, 17, MSG)

Another instance of the majority being wrong (the vote was 400 – 1!), and Micaiah explains that the reason they’re wrong is they listened to a lying spirit from God. (See 1 Kings 22.19 – 24) That’s a tough one although there are reasonable explanations of why God might use a lying spirit. The Apostle Paul was clear that just because an angel says something, doesn’t mean it’s true:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1.6 – 8, ESV)

We digress… Ahab does go into battle, along with King Jehoshaphat of Judah although Ahab goes in disguise:

The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Wear my kingly robe; I’m going into battle disguised.” So the king of Israel entered the battle in disguise. (1 Kings 22.29 – 30, MSG)

No matter. If God wants you, he’ll find you:

Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow randomly into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor. The king told his charioteer, “Turn back! Get me out of here—I’m wounded.” (1 Kings 22.34, MSG)

And Elijah’s prophecy came true right down to the dogs:

All day the fighting continued, hot and heavy. Propped up in his chariot, the king watched from the sidelines. He died that evening. Blood from his wound pooled in the chariot. As the sun went down, shouts reverberated through the ranks, “Abandon camp! Head for home! The king is dead!” The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as GOD’s word had said. (1 Kings 22.35 – 38, MSG)

A lot of ink devoted to bad King Ahab (1 Kings 17 – 22). Jezebel doesn’t meet her end until 2 King 9. But God’s word, positive or negative, will come to pass, and God will use anything from a lying spirit to a randomly shot arrow to make it happen.

Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19.10, NKJV)

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1.21, NIV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4.1, ESV)

Last night was the Presidential Debate, and everyone agrees that President Biden didn’t perform well, and serious questions were raised on whether he seemed capable of serving a second term. Some think it’s unconscionable that his handlers have let him go this far.

By contrast, the late Paul Stanley, friend of mine, former International Vice President of The Navigators, graduate of West Point, strong in body, was failing mentally in his last years. He just kept adding to his list of things “I don’t do anymore.” No more leading. No more speaking engagements. And he accepted it all with grace and humility.

Rather than speculate on what might happen or should happen in presidential politics, I think we would do well to just step back and remember:

God is in control.

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21.1, ESV)

For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary… (Isaiah 8.11 – 14, ESV)

For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. (Psalm 75.6, 7, KJV)

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13.1, ESV)

Today, June 27, 2024, marks 2,000 consecutive days of publishing the Ewellogy. The streak started on January 6, 2019. The blog had already been in existence, but I had published 32 blogs between January 9, 2014, and January 5, 2019. 32 blogs in 5 years! Now it’s been 2,007 blogs in just under 5 1/2 years. Why the difference in production? And how did it happen?

First, of course, is the commitment. I wrote about that when reflecting on the first 1,000 days, citing Cal Ripken who holds the Major League record for the most consecutive baseball games played. If I had to make a decision every day whether to write or not, I’m pretty sure I’d miss A LOT of days!

Second, one has to wonder where the ideas come from. The answer is they come day by day, and they often come while the writing is occurring. Even if I think I know exactly where a blog is going, I sometimes end up with something different. As the old saying goes, “You can’t steer a parked car.”

Finally, when I was publishing only occasionally, there was always the feeling that I was looking for something “good enough.” Now, I have to go with what comes up and publish it “ready or not.” To change the metaphor, I can’t try for a “home run” every day, but I hope I’m at least hitting singles.

Thank you for reading. I don’t know who most of you are nor how many of you there are, so I’d love it if you’ve never commented before, if you’d check in. There are two ways to do that. You can leave a comment after this or any blog. If you don’t want your comment visible to anyone else, just say so. No comment goes live until I approve it. The second way to check in is to just write me an email, bob@ewell.com.

Again, thanks for reading. We’ll finish 1 Kings tomorrow.

This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live. (2 Peter 1.13, MSG)

It was Sunday and I was in the Spirit, praying. I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet-clear and piercing: “Write what you see into a book…” (Revelation 1.10 – 11, MSG)

King Ahab has been declared multiple times to be the worst king of Israel. He is NOT a good guy, and his wife, Jezebel, is even worse. But 1 Kings 21, the infamous story of Naboth’s vineyard, has a surprising ending…

In 1 Kings 20, we left Ahab in a funk after a prophet rebuked him for sparing Ben-Hadad. His bad mood continues into chapter 21:

And then, to top it off, came this: Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel that bordered the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. One day Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can use it as a kitchen garden; it’s right next to my house—so convenient. In exchange I’ll give you a far better vineyard, or if you’d prefer I’ll pay you money for it.” But Naboth told Ahab, “Not on your life! So help me GOD, I’d never sell the family farm to you!” Ahab went home in a black mood, sulking over Naboth the Jezreelite’s words, “I’ll never turn over my family inheritance to you.” He went to bed, stuffed his face in his pillow, and refused to eat. (1 Kings 21.1 – 4, MSG)

No problem. Jezebel says, I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard.

She wrote letters over Ahab’s signature, stamped them with his official seal, and sent them to the elders in Naboth’s city and to the civic leaders. She wrote “Call for a fast day and put Naboth at the head table. Then seat a couple of stool pigeons across from him who, in front of everybody will say, ‘You! You blasphemed God and the king!’ Then they’ll throw him out and stone him to death.” And they did it… (1 Kings 21.8 – 11, MSG)

But, of course, actions have consequences:

The minute Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he set out for the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite and claimed it for his own. Then GOD stepped in and spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, “On your feet; go down and confront Ahab of Samaria, king of Israel. You’ll find him in the vineyard of Naboth; he’s gone there to claim it as his own. Say this to him: ‘GOD’s word: What’s going on here? First murder, then theft?’ Then tell him, ‘GOD’s verdict: The very spot where the dogs lapped up Naboth’s blood, they’ll lap up your blood—that’s right, your blood…I will most certainly bring doom upon you, make mincemeat of your descendants, kill off every sorry male wretch who’s even remotely connected with the name Ahab.‘” (1 Kings 21.16 – 19, 21, MSG)

We’ll see the prophecy about the dogs and Ahab’s blood fulfilled shortly, but chapter 21 has a surprise ending:

When Ahab heard what Elijah had to say, he ripped his clothes to shreds, dressed in penitential rough burlap, and fasted. He even slept in coarse burlap pajamas. He tiptoed around, quiet as a mouse. Then GOD spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: “Do you see how penitently submissive Ahab has become to me? Because of his repentance I’ll not bring the doom during his lifetime; Ahab’s son, though, will get it.” (1 Kings 21.27 – 29, MSG)

It’s never too late to submit to God. Something to apply personally and to pray for our leaders.

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. (1 Timothy 2.1, 2, MSG)

We concluded our look at Ahab’s rebuke from the prophet for not taking care of the enemy king, Ben-Hadad:

But I got busy doing one thing after another and the next time I looked he was gone.

It’s an important word, and I was reminded of it when I received a letter from Christian Endeavor, whom I’ve mentioned before. I love their paradigm for youth ministry: we want to produce honeybees, not hippos! Hippos consume; honeybees produce: what kind of disciples do we want to make?

Here’s part of the letter:

Christian Endeavor (CE) led a training workshop for youth leaders and volunteers from eight different churches. The participants examined the CE discipleship strategy, focusing on ways to emphasize active, rather than passive, discipleship with students in their ministries. Afterwards, one leader remarked that they’re excited to implement these ideas. For them, this was a “brand new paradigm for youth ministry.” This strategic approach was one they’d never been taught in seminary, and which offered practical ways to call students to commit to Christ daily, and actively engage their faith. – From a Christian Endeavor letter, dated May 2024

I love what Christian Endeavor is doing, but I hate that they have to do it. Teach a “strategic approach…they’d never been taught in seminary.” What were they taught in seminary? To be “busy doing one thing after another”?

It seems so. Look at the next paragraph in the letter:

The youth ministry landscape is currently dominated…by churches that apply adult-led and adult decision-dominated attractional programs. Well intended adult youth workers do most of the heavy lifting involved in creating great weekly programs and annual special events, in hopes youth attendance will spur them on toward a deeper relationship with Christ. 

“Well intended adult youth workers do most of the heavy lifting…” Sounds like “busy” to me. Busy “creating great weekly programs and …special events,” hoping that attendance at events will spur the youth on.

We’ve written about special events before. Generally, they’re a way to do “busy,” without being effective making disciples. But making disciples is what Jesus asked us to do:

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15.8, NIV)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…. (Matthew 28.18 – 20, NIV)

1 Kings 20 opens with Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, threatening King Ahab and ends with one of the best teaching one-liners in the Bible. Here’s the opening:

At about this same time Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his troops. He recruited in addition thirty-two local sheiks, all outfitted with horses and chariots. He set out in force and surrounded Samaria, ready to make war. He sent an envoy into the city to set his terms before Ahab king of Israel: “Ben-Hadad lays claim to your silver and gold, and to the pick of your wives and sons.” (1 Kings 20.1 – 3, MSG)

It goes downhill from there, but…

Just then a lone prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “GOD’s word: Have you taken a good look at this mob? Well, look again—I’m turning it over to you this very day. And you’ll know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am GOD.” (1 Kings 20.13, MSG)

God has his people, many of them unnamed and unrecognized. Like the “man of God from Judah” in chapter 13. This one says, “You’ll win the battle and you’ll know that I am God.” The Israelites win the first battle. The same guy appears again in verse 22:

Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “On the alert now—build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force.” (1 Kings 20.22, MSG)

One battle is not enough. The enemy always returns.

Another holy man appears after the Arameans have regrouped.

Just then a holy man approached the king of Israel saying, “This is GOD’s word: Because Aram said, ‘GOD is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,’ I’ll hand over this huge mob of an army to you. Then you’ll know that I am GOD.” (1 Kings 20.28, MSG)

Israel defeats that army. Then there’s an oops: Ahab spares his enemy. Ben-Hadad is hiding in a cave and sends his emissaries to Ahab:

They dressed in old gunnysacks and carried a white flag, and came to the king of Israel saying, “Your servant Ben-Hadad said, ‘Please let me live.’” Ahab said, “You mean to tell me that he’s still alive? If he’s alive, he’s my brother.” (1 Kings 20.32, MSG)

He’s my brother?! The guy who wanted to take all of Ahab’s silver, gold, wives, children? That guy? Then the famous rebuke by “one of the prophets” who asked someone to punch him (look it up! 1 Kings 20.35 – 37).

Then the prophet went and took a position along the road, with a bandage over his eyes, waiting for the king. It wasn’t long before the king happened by. The man cried out to the king, “Your servant was in the thick of the battle when a man showed up and turned over a prisoner to me, saying, ‘Guard this man with your life; if he turns up missing you’ll pay dearly.’ But I got busy doing one thing after another and the next time I looked he was gone.” (1 Kings 20.38 – 40, MSG)

But I got busy doing one thing after another and the next time I looked he was gone.

It was a rebuke to Ahab who “let a man go who was under sentence by God,” and Ahab went home “in a very bad mood,” but it’s also an important principle for us. I think I’ll give it another day.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1.28 – 29, NIV)