Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 20:13-22.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 20:13-14 (NIV) 
13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the LORD.'” 
14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab. The prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘The young officers of the provincial commanders will do it.'” “And who will start the battle?” he asked. The prophet answered, “You will.” 

On verses 13-22:  Through an unidentified prophet God tells Ahab that Ahab will be victorious over Ben-Hadad and his armies and that the junior officers under the provincial commanders will lead Ahab’s army to victory.  So Ahab mobilizes 232 junior officers to launch an attack against Ben-Hadad, followed by 7,000 more soldiers.  Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the kings allied with him are unsuspecting and getting drunk.  When Ben-Hadad hears that Ahab’s forces are advancing against him, Ben-Hadad tells his army to destroy them no matter what (v18).  The junior officers overcome their Aramean opponents, causing them to flee and to sustain heavy losses.   The unnamed prophet warns Ahab not to celebrate too quickly but to prepare for another attack from Aram (v22).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 20:1-12.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 20:8 (NIV) 
8  The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.” 

On verses 1-12:  Ben-Hadad king of Aram, together with his entire army and 32 other kings (most likely rulers of smaller neighbouring city states), beseige Israel’s capital city of Samaria.  Ben-Hadad tells Ahab in verse 3, “Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.” (In the Nintendo International Version, Ben-Hadad says, “All your base are belong to us.”)  King Ahab of Israel tries to appease Ben-Hadad by agreeing to give what Ben-Hadad initially asks for — “I and all I have are yours” (v4).  But Ben-Hadad says he wants more and says he will ransack the palaces of Ahab and Ahab’s officials (v5-6).  King Ahab realizes that negotiating with Ben-Hadad is of no use.  With the support of the elders and the people of Israel, King Ahab refuses to let Ben-Hadad enter Samaria (v9).  After a trash-talking exchange between Ahab and Ben-Hadad, Ben-Hadad orders his troops to prepare to attack Samaria (v10).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 19:1-21.  Do you struggle with feeling depressed?  In this passage we learn four powerful steps you can take to help you when you are depressed.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 19:1-3 (NIV) 
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life…

On verses 1-3a:  Elijah has just been used by God to accomplish one of the most impressive miracles ever recorded in the Bible: fire has come down upon Elijah’s sacrifice (1 Kings 18:38-39).  The prophets of Baal are seized, silenced and killed, and Elijah is riding a spiritual high, literally outrunning King Ahab’s chariot (1 Kings 18:40-46).  Yet after all these miracles, King Ahab still seems unconvinced.  Ahab tells his wife Queen Jezebel about everything Elijah has done (1 Kings 19:1).  Queen Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah (v2).  Elijah becomes afraid for his life and starts running — this time not in faith but in fear (v3).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 18:30-46.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 18:30 (NIV) 
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 

On verse 30:  What does the writer of 1 Kings mean when writing that Elijah “repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins”?  It means that Elijah was re-establishing a culture of worshiping the Lord, a culture that had disappeared in the face of rampant and ongoing idolatry in Israel.

What can we learn from this? Before you can experience much of the Holy Spirit, you need to repair and re-establish a life of worshiping the Lord.  That includes prioritizing weekly worship with your church community, spending regular daily time with God, and trying to live each day for God’s glory.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 18:16-29.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 18:17-18 (NIV) 
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” 
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the LORD’s commands and have followed the Baals. 

On verses 16-18:  Ahab meets Elijah and contemptuously calls him “you troubler of Israel”.  Ahab was blaming the famine on Elijah, thinking, “This famine is all your fault, all because you prayed.”  Ahab failed to see that in fact the root cause of the famine was not Elijah, but rather Ahab and his family and their persistent disobedience toward God (v18).

What can we learn from this?  Before you blame your problems on someone else, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and examine your life to see if you have any role to play in the problem you are complaining about.  Don’t play the blame game, but take ownership of your part in creating the problem.