Articles
Defying The Word of the Lord! (3)
Defying The Word of the Lord! (3)
Greg King
As was noted in the previous article, the prophet of the Lord has just told King Ahab that he should not go to battle against the Syrians because he will die if he does. (1 Kings 22) Being the wicked King that he is, he does not react favorably. You would think that he would be thankful for the news. It was the TRUTH! It was from God. Rather than being thankful and listening to the word of the Lord he complains to Jehoshaphat how he was right and that Micaiah always prophesies disaster against him.
The Lord has pronounced doom on Ahab because he is a wicked king and his time of judgment has come. His wickedness is on display as he refuses to listen and rethink his plan. Instead, Ahab has the prophet of the Lord arrested and orders that he be fed nothing but bread and water until he returns from battle. Micaiah responds, “If you return safely, it will mean that the Lord has not spoken through me!” Then he tells everyone listening to mark his words. (1 Kings 22:27-28)
Ahab is so wicked and so arrogant that he thinks he can defy God’s word and fool the Lord. He decides that he will go into battle in disguise. The disguise works as the Syrian army begins chasing Jehoshaphat as they see him in battle in his royal robes. However, a soldier in the Syrian army draws his bow and shoots a random arrow at the Israelite soldiers. The arrow strikes between the joints of Ahab’s armor and he is badly wounded. Ahab dies in his chariot and the Israelite armies scatter, just as the prophet of the Lord had prophesied.
Why do people continue to stubbornly reject the word of the Lord? God tells us how to live a good life, to make wise decisions, and to be in a relationship with him. Yet we think we know what is best and live our lives on our own terms, bringing distress and failures. We heap problems upon ourselves when we reject God’s word. We destroy our lives because we refuse to live according to the word of the Lord. Worse, we jeopardize our souls because we will not give our lives to God.
Are you living your life doing what you want? Do you ignore what God says? Disaster comes when we ignore God’s word and do what we want!
