Eat This Book
Read Proverbs Chapter 26
1 Kings 20
1 And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.
5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.
8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith theLord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
The Syrian king was so arrogant in believing that his multitude of an army could punk Israel into sumbmission of their goods, wives, and children. Ahab’s 1st response to the Syrian king was just, that ‘submission to fear’. God gave Israel and Ahab a chance mostly to ‘know’ that the Lord is God , and you can’t trust the might of men and #’s vs13. And as it turns out ..you make bad decisions when you are loaded, and overly confident king of Syria learnt not only the 1st time when he was defeated, but his veil and the leading of the Lord ‘prophecy’ lead him back into the mercy of Israel. This king of Syria was lead to believe that Israel was victorious because they worshiped the god of the hills, but that they would gain the upper hand if they switched the battle scence to the valley, and according to the Word which they arent aware that nothing is too hard for God, ‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.’ Ps 20:7. So in his ignorance his people where slaughtered but, he managed to slither away to safety to beg for mercy of Ahab. His slippery words enticed Ahab into creating a ‘covenant’ with him in order to restore his ‘arm’ much like his forefather Jeroboam acted when he asked the man of God to restore his hand after it was ‘instantly paralyzed over the fire, and wrecked the altar’ 1Ki 13 ..so desperate the human condition is to gain dominion with the wrong tools and master. That is gain without giving or ‘the easy way out’ Mat 7:14 “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The Lord gave ‘Syria’ into his hands, not to show mercy and let the king free with a covenant, but in vs 42He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” Judgment of the Lord will always be just. I pray the Lord be merciful to me when I am selfish and disobedient, not to turn to the left or to the right, lead me by your quiet waters.
ILove to eat breakfast with Jesus
Take it all, just don’t hurt me
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.
Ben-Hadad
01130
בֶּן־הֲדַד
Proper Name Masculine ben-had-ad’
from (01121) and (01908)
from and ; son of Hadad; Ben-Hadad, the name of several Syrian kings:–Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad = “son of [the false god] Hadad”
the king of Syria, contemporary with Asa of Judah
the son of Hazael, also king of Syria
Get some courage people of God, these pagans serve false gods but we serve the living GOD.
The king asked who will order the battle God said you. We need the older men to help us. It was the young men who lead the army but they didn’t do it by them self the olde king helped put the battle in order we will always need some one older to help help us.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
We must be obedient to ALL & not to just part of it. That is what happens when people wants to chose & pick what they want to follow and obey. If God commanded it we must do it. There is no debating if is true or not, if it is from God just do it. Obedience = Victory.
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith theLord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
So many times we question the word of the Lord, and it’s when we question His word, it seems to get us into trouble. “Thus saith the Lord”… Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart. Get a backbone, don’t just allow the enemy to take what is yours!
Vs 28/
And there came a man of God and spake unto the king of Isreal and said Thus saith the Lord Because the Syrians have said The Lord is God of the hills and not God of the valleys therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Im so glad that we have godly people that God put in my life to teach me about Him and His ways. The blog is an excellent way to know and learn about the Lord and to see His Glory open up in our lives. To eat this book daily. GOD is GOD over EVERYTHING not just certain things. He is wonderful and greatly to be praised. When I praised Him looking up towards the sky /country side ….I thought to myself I cant wait to praise Him even more when I get to heaven. The country side was extremely beautiful scenery but just imagine how beautiful the scene will be when we see Him with Heavenly realm in Heaven. He is God over the hills and the valleys I know this I see JESUS in them.
THE REGRET OF DISOBEDIENCE
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
We learn from this chapter, regardless of title, position, or name there is great regret in disobedience. We have 2 examples in this chapter.
1. The request of the man of GOD will not always make sense, we must learn to trust his voice or have deep regrets later.
MSG
35 A man who was one of the prophets said to a bystander, “Hit me; wound me. Do it for God’s sake—it’s his command. Hit me; wound me.” But the man wouldn’t do it.
36 So he told him, “Because you wouldn’t obey God’s orders, as soon as you leave me a lion will attack you.” No sooner had the man left his side than a lion met him and attacked.
2. We must not allow to remain in our lives what the LORD said must die.
MSG
42 The man said to the king, “God’s word: Because you let a man go who was under sentence by God, it’s now your life for his, your people for his.”
43 The king of Israel went home in a sulk. He arrived in Samaria in a very bad mood.
The 100,000 men they slew in a day and the 27,000 the LORD took care of with a rock went all for naught because of “Poor Leadership” we must be poised to finish the job and not be deceived by the appearance of repentance after defeat.
There are some things and people that the LORD has instructed us to stay away from, there is deep regret in the future if we fail to do so.
iPray
iWork
iGive
This chapter illustrates all. The servants of the king of Syria were convinced as was Benhadad the king of Syria that they could defeat Israel on open ground, merely because they did not realize God was God of all. The same issue exists today when one does not realize that God is God of all. For one must simply give all to God if one wants God, and all the good that God (Jesus) has to offer. May the good Lord Bless you all in Jesus name, Amen
Hiding from God’s word, instruction’s or wrath only delays the inevitable. The “certain” prophet from verse 35 understood that Ahab was not going to accept the word of a prophet easily so he disguised himself and told a tale until he had Ahab’s attention and could deliver the message God sent him to deliver. Be prepared for what our Pastor may ask of us. It may not seem normal and make us feel uncomfortable at the time; but we do not see the big picture as God has showed to our leader. We must decide in our hearts are we going to allow Pastor to guide us and protect us all the way to Glory or are we going to dodge his calls, disregard his instructions and question his advice? Pastor, lead me, guide me and protect me from those things that I cannot perceive.
With two evil and two good kings up to this point, the southern kingdom, Judah, wavered between godly and ungodly living. The northern kingdom, Israel, had eight evil kings in succession. To punish both kingdoms for living their own way instead of following God, God allowed other nations to gain strength and become their enemies. Three main enemies threatened Israel and Judah during the next two centuries – Aram, Assyria, and Babylon. Aram, the first to rise to power, presented an immediate threat to Ahab and Israel.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.
7 The king of Israel called a meeting of all his tribal elders. He said, “Look at this—outrageous! He’s just looking for trouble. He means to clean me out, demanding all my women and children. And after I already agreed to pay him off handsomely!” Message
Take this whole world but just leave me Jesus.
42. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
A life for a life and a people for a people. The price of disobeying the voice of God could place you in the seat of judgement.
God wants total obedience,not just the part we want to obey!!!
This is a test…. Hiding from God’s word, instruction’s or wrath only delays the inevitable. The “certain” prophet from verse 35 understood that Ahab was not going to accept the word of a prophet easily so he disguised himself and told a tale until he had Ahab’s attention and could deliver the message God sent him to deliver. Be prepared for what our Pastor may ask of us. It may not seem normal and make us feel uncomfortable at the time; but we do not see the big picture as God has showed to our leader. We must decide in our hearts are we going to allow Pastor to guide us and protect us all the way to Glory or are we going to dodge his calls, disregard his instructions and question his advice? Pastor, lead me, guide me and protect me from those things that I cannot perceive.
ILove to eat lunch with Jesus
34 And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
You can’t make a covenant with leviathan
Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? (Job 41:1-4 KJV)
v40″ And as thy servant was busy here
and there , he was gone.”
We must not be too busy with our own activities . “But seek first the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness ” Matt.6:33
You can’t go to heaven for me nor can I
We must do our own praying, reading the word,and our own fasting. Use what’s been given to us and do our own work for HIS KINGDOM FIRST.
iPray
iWork
iPraise
” Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
Matt.11:28-30
Just Words
A man of God came and said to the king of Israel, Thus says
the Lord: Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills but He is not
God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your
hands, and you shall know and recognize by experience that I
am the Lord. (1 Kings 20:28 AMP)
There was victory for Israel in the words spoken by the enemy. I have always heard in spanish ” la lengua castiga” which translated into english “the language (tongue) punishes” Its not good to talk about anyone – regardless if it be true or and especially if it’s not, because it will show up in your own life (yourself or family) sooner or later.
If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of
the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own
heart, this person’s religious service is worthless (futile, barren). (James 1:26 AMP)
And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness
set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole
body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man’s nature), being
itself ignited by hell (Gehenna). But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless
(undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men
who were made in God’s likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These
things, my brethren, ought not to be so. (James 3:6, 8-10 AMP)
My prayer is that I guard my mind so that my speech would be pure and blessed.
Do not fret or have any anxiety about
anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by
prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your
wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul
assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being
content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends
all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. (Philippians 4:6-8 AMP)
10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
I love these two scriptures here: verse 10 is Benhadad bragging saying that he has lots of people in his army to fight against Israel and the King of Israel saying in plain english don’t brag as if you have already girded yourself,fought this battle and won!!! Your not taking off your harness after a victory; your putting it on!! In other words: ” Dont talk like you already beat me!! The battle hasn’t started yet! The devil wants you to believe you are already defeated but God will give us the victory.
Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord
When your on the hill, god is with you. When your in the valley, God is with you. It is so awesome to knot that our God has no limits. When we’re in the valley nd think we cant have victory we only have to look at this verse. The God on the mountain , he’s still God in the valley. The God of the day, hes still God in the night
Who will answer the call?
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith theLord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
I am reminded that we are the chosen in Gods’ army. We must take a stand, and fight for what is ours. As it was said in saturday night’s warfare prayer. God is raising up His army and we are they of whom is spoken of. If God be for us , than who can be against us? The answer is NO ONE ON EARTH! We are strong though Christ Jesus, and Him alone. He is the king of kings and lord of lords.
It seems that the middle east has been a hot bed for war since the beginning of time. Even today with the election an Hamas terorist as leader in Egypt.He who hates Israel and the U.S.is now a neighbor of Israel. It is pretty obvious that war is about to break out in the entire world. We better know where we stand with God.!
7. Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land…
20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
He sought and obeyed the advice of his elders and won the battle.
Proverbs 24:6
For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
Benhadad was very confident in his armies-even over confident so that he sat drinking with the other Kings before a battle. Over confidence in sports comes right before a defeat and Benhadad was defeated due to his over confidence plus he did not figure God into his battle plans. He had faith in his numbers and had no real concerns. Ahab on the other hand had no confidence in himself to lead the charge even after God spoke and said He was giving them the victory! God was trying to show Ahab and his people that he was more than able to deliver and save if they would just acknowledge Him as King of Kings! So, after God brings an enormous victory, King Ahab wimps out and makes a covenant with his enemy. But God still wins the day and shows himself mighty and victorious despite the floundering & incompetence of Ahab.
It seems the king starts off on the right foot, listening to what God tells him. But then somewhere along the way, he decides he doesn’t need to complete the task God has given him, but can do his own way, by letting Benhaden live. Why is it that God can give us instructions, and we as human think we can circumvent the Word of God and do it a better way….that only leads to disobedience and death as our example in this chapter. Lord help us to die out to our will and be obedient to You!
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
The word of God has shown us time after time how important obedience is and how disobedience brings destruction. Obedience walks in fear of the Lord. Disobedience walks in rebellion, which is like unto witchcraft.
Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Therefore if we walk in disobedience then we will be devoured.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Let the enemy say what he will but God will always prevail!
We see time and time again that God rewards the obedient. God knows the beginning and the end of all things do listening to his plan is always going to be the smartest.
Why should we be displeased when we don’t listen to God? We/Ben-hadadoften think that we “know better” than God because we don’t listen to what He says. God’s ways are better than ours even when we don’t understand. The feelings of disappointment and grief happen when we follow our will instead of God’s. Don’t forget about all the problems we add to ourselves too.
Scripture says God gave commands to Ahab to kill Ben-hadad in battle. Ben-hadad wasn’t a good friend to Ahab, He went to battle thinking he was going to win. The Lord favored Ahab and Israel, they won the battle, Ben-hadad hid from King Ahab thinking he couldn’t be found.
The Lord wasn’t pleased with Ahab because he didn’t obey him during the battle.
God helped Ahab, he showed Israel that he was God and could do wonders. Ahab disobeyed God’s commands and like always there are consequences, due to that he was told by a prophet that he was going to die because he disobeyed his commands.
Lord help me to obey your word always.
Tripping on the finish line…
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
When victory is in sight, it’s not time to relax and try to coast across the finish; it’s time to be perhaps most cautious, fight the hardest, and refuse to let up. When the enemy is defeated, that’s when the battle turns from the enemy to us. Victory may not be something that can be *taken* from us, but it can be surrendered. We must die to self and fight the battle of self-discipline, to maintain the victory in our hand.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
Carelessness can cost us a “won” battle.
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV)
Sometimes the sheer effort of “maintenance” can seem harder than the original fight, but it is worth it to hold on til the finish.
vs 42 We should do all that God has told us to do. Not doing even one small part can cause us problems.
In this chapter, Ahab went back and forth with the prophet regarding the battle plan. Verses 13-14 in the MSG read….”At that very moment, a prophet ran up to Ahab and said, “You can see that Benhadad’s army is very strong. But the Lord has promised to help you defeat them today. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.” “Who will fight the battle?” Ahab asked. The prophet answered, “The young bodyguards who serve the district officials.” “But who will lead them into battle?” Ahab asked. “You will!” the prophet replied.
God is on our side and he wants us to be victorious. We must however; be willing to do our part.
Sorry, that was the CEV of verses 13-14!
Listen to the prophet. If he says hit him, then smack him good. You never know what could happen if you don’t.