(REFLECTIONS ON 1 Kings 20:1-43)

In 1 Kings 19:15, the Lord said to Elijah the prophet,

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;

Just a chapter later in 1 Kings 20, we see an opportunity for Ahab king of Israel to remove Ben-hadad king of Aram from power, perhaps to lead to the path of Hazael to be anointed king. However, there is a wrinkle to this story. Ahab didn’t destroy Ben-hadad, but rather made a covenant with him.

34 Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

What was set-up by the Lord as a way for Ben-hadad to be removed from power, and for the journey towards Hazael being anointed king by Elijah, was postponed until 2 Kings during the days of Elisha the prophet.

This compromise also led to judgment on Ahab and Israel,

42 He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'” 43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

Brothers and sisters, what are the compromises we have in our life and in our faith? Do the compromises of life then lead us to miss out for a season on the blessings of the Lord? Is it due to the compromises of life that we see the world around us in the current state that it is in?

Why then are we sullen and vexed? While not every hardship is the result of our personal failures, Scripture repeatedly reminds us that compromise with sin has consequences. The things we refuse to surrender to the Lord often linger, grow deeper roots, and gradually pull our hearts away from wholehearted devotion to Him.

Yet, how often do we complain to the Lord and cry out over the injustice we see while leaving untouched the very things in our own lives that He has called us to put to death?

Let us reflect on today’s Scripture, and consider our life, our compromises, and how we can respond to the Lord.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 Kings 20