Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / January 29 - 1 Kings 20

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January 29 - 1 Kings 20 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday.
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  It's the 29th of January, which this year is actually the
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  Chinese New Year. Today, did you realise that on
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  the Chinese New Year, more than 20% of the world's population
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  will be celebrating and more fireworks will be launched and
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  exploded? Is that the right verb set on
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  fire activated? Whatever the right verb is for
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  fireworks, that will happen more today than any other day of the
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  year. Oh, what a crackerjack day.
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  Ha ha ha. See what I did That, and today's
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  also, well, I guess based on the same Lunar New Year, it's also
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  the Korean New Year. So there you go.
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  It is New Year for much of the world, and there will be lots
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  exploding. So if you hear some very strange
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  Kapows and Kabooms in your part of the world, nothing bad is
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  going down. It's just a world of celebration
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  and talking about a world of celebration, well, there's going
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  to not be so much celebration, but more attacking and defending
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  and jostling for land and the throne.
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  Oh yes, that is the Book of Kings as we continue to read
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  through it today, reading through First Kings Chapter 20.
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  About that time, King Ben Haddad of Aram mobilised his army,
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  supported by the Chariots and horses of 32 allied kings.
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  They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and
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  launched attacks against it. Ben Haddad sent messengers into
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  the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel.
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  This is what Ben Haddad says. Your silver and gold are mine,
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  and so are your wives and the best of your children.
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  All right, my Lord, the king, Israel's king replied, All I
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  have is yours. So Ben Haddad's messengers
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  returned again and said, This is what Ben Haddad says.
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  I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives
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  and children. But about this time tomorrow I
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  will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of
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  your officials. They will take away everything
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  you consider valuable. Then Ahab summoned all the
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  elders of the land and said to them, Look how this man is
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  stirring up trouble. I already agreed with his demand
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  that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold.
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  Don't give in to any more demands.
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  All the elders and the people advised so Ahab told the
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  messengers from Ben Haddad. Say this to my Lord the king.
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  I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but I
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  cannot accept this last demand of yours.
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  So the messengers returned to Ben Haddad with that response.
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  Then Benedard said this message to Ahab.
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  May the gods strike me and even kill me, if there remains enough
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  dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my
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  soldiers. The king of Israel sent back
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  this answer. A warrior putting on his sword
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  for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.
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  Ahab's reply reached Ben Haddad and the other kings.
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  As they were drinking in their tents, prepared to attack.
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  Ben Haddad commanded his officers, so they prepared to
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  attack the city. Then a certain prophet came to
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  see King Ahab of Israel and told him.
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  This is what the Lord says. Do you see all these enemy
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  forces to day? I will hand them all over to
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  you, then you will know that I am the Lord.
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  Ahab asked how will he do it, and the Prophet replied This is
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  what the Lord says, the troops of the provincial commanders
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  will do it. Should we attack first?
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  Ahab asked. Yes, the Prophet answered.
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  So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders.
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  Then he called out the rest of the Army of Israel, some 7000
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  men. About noontime, as Ben Haddad
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  and the 32 allied kings were still in their tents drinking
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  themselves into a stupor, the troops of the provincial
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  commanders marched out of the city as the first contingent.
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  As they approached, Ben Haddad's scouts reported to him.
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  Some troops are coming from Samaria.
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  Take them alive, Ben Haddad commanded whether they have come
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  for peace or for war, but Ahab's provincial commanders and the
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  entire army had now come out to fight.
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  Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and
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  suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled.
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  The Israelites chased them, but King Ben Haddad and a few of his
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  charioteers escaped on horses. However, the king of Israel
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  destroyed the other horses and Chariots and slaughtered the
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  Arameans. Afterward, the prophet said to
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  King Ahab, get ready for another attack.
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  Begin making plans now, for the king of Iran will come back next
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  spring. After their defeat, Ben Haddad's
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  officers said to him, The Israelite gods are gods of the
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  hills, that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on
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  the plains. Only this time replace the kings
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  with field commanders. Recruit another army like the
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  one you lost. Give us the same number of
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  horses, Chariots and men, and we will fight against them on the
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  plains. There's no doubt that we will
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  beat them. So King Ben Haddad did as they
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  suggested. The following spring, he called
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  up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at
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  AFAC. Israel then mustered its army,
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  set up supply lines and marched out for battle.
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  But the Israelite army looked like 2 little flocks of goats in
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  comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the
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  countryside. Then the man of God went to the
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  king of Israel and said this is what the Lord says.
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  The Arameans have said the Lord is a God of the hills and not of
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  the plains. So I will defeat this vast army
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  for you. Then you will know that I am the
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  Lord. The two armies camped opposite
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  each other for seven days, and on the 7th day the battle began.
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  The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one
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  day. The rest fled into the town of
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  Afac, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000 Ben
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  Haddad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.
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  Ben Haddad's officer said to him, Sir, we have heard that the
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  kings of Israel are merciful, so let's humble ourselves by
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  wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads
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  and surrender to the king of Israel, and perhaps he will let
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  you live. So they put on burlap and ropes,
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  and they went to the king of Israel and begged your servant.
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  Ben Haddad says, please let me live.
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  The king of Israel responded, Is he still alive?
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  He is my brother. The men took this as a good sign
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  and quickly picked up on his words.
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  Yes, they said. Your brother Ben Haddad, go and
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  get him, the king of Israel told them, and when Ben Haddad
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  arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot.
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  Ben Haddad told him. I will give back the towns my
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  father took from your father, and you may establish places of
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  trade in Damascus as my father did in Samaria.
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  Then Ahab said, I will release you under these conditions.
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  So they made a new treaty, and Ben Haddad was set free.
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  Meanwhile the Lord instructed one of the group of prophets to
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  say to another man hit me, but the man refused to hit the
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  prophet. Then the prophet told him,
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  because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion will
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  kill you as soon as you leave me.
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  And when he had gone, a lion did attack and kill him.
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  Then the prophet turned to another man and said, Hit me.
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  So he struck the prophet and wounded him.
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  The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise
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  himself, and then waited beside the road for the king.
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  As the king passed by, the Prophet called out to him, Sir,
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  I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a
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  prisoner. He said, Guard this man, if for
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  any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of
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  75 lbs of silver. But when I was busy doing
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  something else, the prisoner disappeared.
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  Well, it's your own fault, the king replied, You have brought
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  the judgement on yourself. Then the prophet quickly pulled
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  the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised
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  him as one of the prophets. The prophet said to him, This is
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  what the Lord says, because you have spared the man I said must
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  be destroyed now, you must die in his place, and your people
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  will die instead of his people. So the king of Israel went home
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  to Samaria, angry and sullen. Our Lord, you are a great God.
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  You are a God so much bigger than our minds can comprehend,
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  and your plans are so much broader than ours could ever be.
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  Lord, I just pray that you continue to shape us for your
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  service, that we can be a part of your Kingdom, bringing about
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  your reality on earth. And this is the reality where we
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  are loved and forgiven people, people who belong to the God who
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  sent us His only Son, that that you would rescue us from our own
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  sin and from our own brokenness and restore a path between you
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  and us so that we can return to you, Lord, and walk into your
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  embrace and be loved and included in your family.
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  Our Lord, we don't understand why you do this for us, but we
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  are so grateful that you do so. We Live Today as your beloved
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  children. Let that be the flagstone upon
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  which we place our feet, firm foundation from which we can
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  live our lives. Oh, you are a good, good God,
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  and we love you. And we pray all of this in the
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  saving name of Jesus, Amen.