Happy Saturday and welcome back to another Daily Bible podcast This Saturday, our church is gonna go out to do some evangelism outreach. If you haven't signed up for that, I suspect there's still an opportunity to do this if you're getting this early enough. We do it at 10 o'clock central standard time. So if you're in Texas, you go to our church. This is for you. We'd love for you to be part of this if you're able to. And if you're not able to do it today, there's still gonna be opportunity tomorrow, Sunday, the 29th. That will be after church, and we'd love to have you be part of this. We'd love to put our name out there and introduce ourselves to our neighbors. If you can help with that, we'd love for you to do that. Please sign up@compassntx.org or just show up. I'm sure we could fit you in. Okay, today we're covering one Kings 20 and 21. You remember yesterday we took a brief pause on Ahab's ministry to see how Elijah interacted with him, see some of the events that took place between them. Today we pick up with more of Ahab's leadership in his kingdom. I. And in One Kings chapter 20, we start off with Ahab's Wars with Syria. And so we have Ben Hayad. This has likely been Hayad the second who as the aggressor, comes against Israel and makes certain demands. In fact, he says to Syria, your silver and your gold are mine. Your best wives and children are also mine. And so Ahab says, you got it. This is interesting. He just lays down and says, okay I can do that. But when he gives in so quickly and easily, Ben Hayad suggests, okay, maybe there's more here, more meat on the bone that I could get off. And so he comes back and says, I, here's what I said to you, but actually what I really want, verse six is, my servants will come to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you, and they'll take it away. In other words, all that you hold dear and precious beyond what I or originally said, I'm gonna take away. And so verse seven, Ahab recruits all the elders of Israel and says, let me see. Let me show you what this guy is saying and what he's doing. And then verse eight, they agree, do not listen or consent. And so he sends messengers back to Ben, Hey dad. And says I can't do what you're asking me to do. And so then Ben, Hey, dad threatens him and says, I'm gonna take you out. What's really funny is in verse 11, Ben, Hey, dad gets a response from Ahab. That's this. Let him not, let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off. In other words, don't count your chickens before your eggs hatch. That's essentially what this is. And so finally they take their positions. Here's what's fascinating. God sets a prophet to Ahab and he says, thus says the Lord, have you seen this great multitude of Syria? Notice God is still sending prophets to the Northern Kingdom. How gracious is God? This is not Elijah. This is one of the prophets and by one of the prophets. He says, I'm gonna give this guy in near hand. And verse 13, you shall know that I am the Lord. And here's what's fascinating. Ahab. Ahab believes him. He believes him enough to do exactly what the prophet says. And so in verse 14, he says, by whom? In other words who should go first? And the Lord said, by the servants of the governors of the districts. These are the young folks, young leaders. And then he says, okay, then who will begin the battle? And then God tells him, you are gonna begin the battle. You're gonna jump in. You're gonna be the first responder here. You're gonna initiate this. And so then he does this, and then he also recruits 7,000 people in Israel. Then he confronts Ahab. And Ahab is unaware that they pose any real threat because he's actually sloshed. He's not in his right mind. And so he sends the people that God tells 'em to send the servants of the Governors, and they're like, oh let's see who they are. Verse 18. He says, if they've come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they come out for war, take them alive. Either way, we're gonna keep 'em alive. We're gonna show some grace and mercy here. They're unaware of the kind of onslaught that they're about to receive, and God utilizes this to surprise them and to strike them. In fact, it sends Ben, Hey dad, hightailing it out of there. In verse 22, they have temporary reprieve, and so the prophet comes near and says to him, look, strengthen yourself and prepare for the spring because you're gonna do this again, and I'm gonna teach you how to fight against them. They think that the reason why you won is because God is in some way only limited to a certain region. I'm gonna show them that's not the case. In verse 26, that's exactly what happens in the spring. Ben Hayad, musters, Assyrians, and he comes back to fight against them. And God points out, look, you're two little flocks, but because Assyrians have said the Lord is the God of the hills, but not the God of the valleys, therefore, I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I'm the Lord. And so God is showcasing the fact that he is not limited by any earthly. Stricture. God is unlimited in his resources and he doesn't need a certain landscape. He doesn't need certain weather. He doesn't need certain monetary resources. God is infinitely able to do all that he pleases to do, and so God does the work here and God soundly beats them. And in fact, just to showcase that it was him, he throws a wall on top of 27,000 of them. I don't know how that works, but that's what happened. God took out 27,000 of their soldiers with a wall. Ben Hayad is on the run and he gets counsel from the people there and says, how about you do this? You put on sackcloth and you put a rope around your waist, you're gonna show mourning. It's a sign of repentance. And perhaps the kings of the north, we've heard good things about them. They're merciful. Maybe he'll show you mercy. And so when King Ahab shows up, they say this, your servant Ben Hayad says, please let me live. Here's what Ahab says. Does he still live? He is my brother. He's my friend, he's my family. And that was all the sign they needed. They said yes. Yes, Ben. Hey dad, your brother. And so they broker a deal and they make a covenant, and he lets him go. Now, God is not pleased with this. God is not happy. This is not what God had intended. God wanted him to soundly defeat Ben Hayad instead of making a covenant with him. This is basically what Ahab has been doing. He's been making partnerships with people that he should not be making partnerships with, including Jezebel herself. And so God's gonna call him out for this and say, you should not be making these partnerships. Don't unequally yolk yourself. You've seen this before. In verse 35, a certain man of the sons of the prophets, again, we don't know who this isn't Elijah. This is somebody, he comes to Ben Hayad and he says, here's his story. I was, there was, I was supposed to be guarding this guy, and he got away, and now I've got the death sentence. And verse 40 the King of Israel said to him, so shall your judgment be, you yourself have decided. In other words, you've made your bed, you got a lie in it. And then he. Hurry used to take off the bandage from his eyes and reveals himself as one of the prophets, and he said to the king, thus says the Lord, because you have let go out of your hand. The man whom I devoted to destruction. Therefore, your life for his life, your people, for his people. In other words, you've condemned yourself. King Ahab, and you might remember this strategy, was also played employed by Nathan the prophet. When he approaches King David, he uses the same idea with the uam. David declares that man is guilty and he says, you're the man, David. You have a very similar situation here. I guess this was a tactic. It's a. I don't know. It's a way of approaching rebuke that isn't direct. It would be more of a, an inductive rebuke. He gives him all the facts in order to have him declare a verdict and then surprise the verdict is against yourself. I. In verse 43, we end this chapter with Ahab being vexed and solen, and those are two words, vexed and solen, that carry us into Chapter 21. And you see this in verse four, Ahab went to his house, vexed and solen because Naboth, the jezreelite would not sell a vineyard to Ahab. Now imagine having so many resources and so little to do that, you're really bummed out that you can't get a vegetable garden. This is his place. He's upset about it. And so he walks around mopey and disappointed. Okay, no big deal. However, he has a wife that is very crafty. She's good at doing evil. And so in verse five, she says, why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food? And then he tells her the story like, I'm trying to get this vineyard. He doesn't wanna sell it to me despite all my efforts. He won't give it to me. And then she says, Hey, but don't you govern Israel, aren't you the leader here? She says, you know what? You go take a nap. Go have a snack. I'll take care of this. Verse eight. She writes letters in Ahab's name. She finds two worthless men to oppose him, and that's an important number. You couldn't have just one person oppose you. You needed two. She's using the law, which said on the basis of two witnesses, would someone be able to be put to death? There has to be more than one. So there's two witnesses. She gets two worthless men to oppose him and to say he cursed God and King. And that's what they do. They trick him into this feast NEBA, the Ezra Light that is, and they eventually kill him because these two worthless men give testimony against him. So he's gone. Jezebel tells Jezebel tells Ahab, Hey, by the way, the guy that was unwilling to sell that plot of land to you, he's dead now. Why don't you just go take it? And that's what he does In verse 17, enter Elijah. We haven't seen him for a few chapters now, but Elijah's back. He goes down to meet King Ahab and he says, have you killed and also taken possession, thus says the Lord. In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood? In other words, you're getting exactly what you've given. Even though you weren't the one to do this, it was actually his wife Jezebel. He was complicit. He was willing, and he was able to swallow that in order to get what he wanted. And so Elijah calls him out and he says, by God's decree, you're gonna die. And it's not gonna be a glorious death. It's gonna be a dishonorable and shameful death. Now that's a big deal for the ancient nearer mindset. An honorable death was a big and important feature of their life and society. It would've been a huge problem for them to die in any other way than a proper burial with proper dignity. And so God gives him a very strong slap in the face. And Ahab says to Elijah, have you found me? Oh my enemy. Remember the last time Elijah and Ahab spoke? Ahab called him the Troubler of Israel. He delivers the bad news. I. And on top of that, he says, I'm also going to obliterate your house. I'm gonna make your house like the house of Jira Beum, who was totally cut off, and the House of Beha, who was also totally cut off because of what you've done now, first Kings 21 ends with a shocking turn of events after all that was done so far. And after all that Ahab has said and done. He repents, and I think this is the idea that scripture's trying to highlight to us is in verse 25 and 26, it says, there's none who do, who There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the side of the Lord, like Ahab, whom Jezebel, his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols as the Emirates had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel. And yet. After all that scripture now turns the steering wheel so tightly that we get thrown across the door and says, Ahab heard the words. He tore his clothes. He put on sackcloth and fasted. He fasted. He went about dejectedly, and here's what's so remarkable. Verse 28, the word of the Lord came to Elijah saying, have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me. I will not bring the disaster in his days. This is remarkable. This is jaw dropping. This is the God we serve. The moment we repent, the moment we humble ourselves before him. He is a God who is willing to forgive and to restore us. I just love this. I can't believe it. It still shocks me. I've read this account before, and yet I'm still moved by it, and I hope you are too. The God that you serve is not a merely vindictive God who just judges people left and right. He's a God who loves his people and he loves, he is attracted to humility by way of repentance. Let me encourage you today. This is the way of the Christian life a life of repentance, a life of turning from sin and turning to Christ that ought characterize who we are. And in the same way that God shows Ahab kindness, he shows us kindness too. He does so because we are made righteous by Christ. We are grafted into the family of God by his grace through faith, and I'd love for you to take advantage of that today. To pray to him, to seek him, to humble yourself before him and to enjoy the relationship that he has worked so hard to purchase on our behalf. And with that, why don't you join me in some prayer? Lord, we are so thankful that you are a God who is gracious and merciful. Exodus 34, 6, when you revealed yourself to Moses declared this, you declared this about yourself. You are a God who's gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. And keeping steadfast love for thousands, for giving iniquity and transgression and sin. We thank you so much, God, that this is who you are. Help us to appreciate this and to love this about you. And not just to know it. We do know a lot of facts about you and that's good, but we want to feel. With affection, what those facts mean for us. And so we asked Lord that we would love who you are and that we would worship you for who you are, that we would draw near to you to experience more of who you are so that we might not live lives like Ahab. We don't wanna live a life of rebellion or wickedness. We don't wanna make a train wreck of our lives. We wanna live faithfully. We wanna live faithfully this week, Lord, we wanna live faithfully for the duration of our lives. We wanna end well. Ahab is promised not to give, not to have a glorious death. And in fact, we'll soon see in the next chapter that in fact comes true. We want to die honorably. Lord, we want to die with your favor and with your pleasure. We want you to welcome us into your dwellings and to say, well done, good and faithful servant. Please help us to live faithful the Lord and the die the same. We ask all this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much for joining me again. I'm grateful for this. I love doing this. It is such a pleasure for me. It's a work of love. It's a labor of love, and I hope that it comes across in what we talk about and how we communicate through the scriptures. So thank you again for joining. It is an honor and I look forward to God willing, another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast and I'll see you tomorrow.

thanks for listening to another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast. This is a ministry of Compass Bible Church in north Texas. You can find out more information about ourChurch@compassntx.org. We would love for you to leave a review to rate to share this podcast on whatever platform you happen to be listening on, and we will catch you against tomorrow for another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast.