April 22nd

April 22nd -- 1 Kings 22:29-40 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2022:29-40&version=NLT)

The death of Ahab

So Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. Ahab told Jehoshaphat that he was going to disguise himself so he wouldn't be recognized, but Jehoshaphat should wear his royal robes. As this goes on, the King of Aram (whom the kings of Israel and Judah were fighting at Ramoth-gilead) told his men only to go after the king of Israel and not bother with anyone else. The men of course go after Jehoshaphat, who is wearing king's robes, but when Jehoshaphat cries out, they realize it is not Ahab, and stop their chase of him. However, one soldier does shoot randomly into Israel's soldiers and pierced the king's armor in one of the joints. The king called to be taken away and he was. He spent in his chariot watching the battle, but when evening came he died. When the Israelite troops saw this, they ran for their lives. So the king died and his body was taken to Samaria. It was buried there and the dogs licked his blood, as had been promised by God. All that Ahab did was recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. So Ahab dies and his son, Ahaziah, becomes the next king.

Ahab tried to disguise himself. He thought he would be safe that way. He was wrong. Sometimes we try and disguise ourselves. We hide who we are to try and protect our self from those we know who want to hurt us. Sometimes, we know someone's mad at us, and they know how to hurt us easily. So, we "disguise" our self and become an angry, harsh person, lashing out at them first to protect our self. Sometimes we "disguise" our self by hiding our problems, or what may be wrong. We think if people know what's going on, they'll use it against us - we think that confiding makes us weak, so instead of confiding we hide our emotions and bottle up how we feel. Sometimes, we act a certain way to fit in. This is just like Ahab trying to fit in with the normal soldiers. We want to blend in, because we feel like out standing out makes us a target, and oftentimes it does indeed do just that. But what has God called us for? Are we not called to be the light and salt of the world? Does light not stand out in darkness, and does salt not stand out to preserve among rotting meat? We are called to stand out, not conform, or "fit in". We are in the world, but not of it. God has created everyone one of us uniquely, and given us a unique purpose. We are the only one who can fulfill that purpose He has tasked us with. I can promise you, though, that you're not going to do that by "fitting in".

Well, that shall be all! God bless! Shalom!