The best without God was in vain.
Contents
1 Kings 22:29-36 The best without God was in vain.
Once upon a time, when the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, just like today's Korea. And next to them was a strong nation called Syria. One day Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to visit Ahab king of Israel. At this time, Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The Syrians have taken Ramoth, our land, in Gilead, so can we all work together to attack the Syrians?” King Jehoshaphat heard this and said, “I am with you, and my people are with your people, and my horses are with your horses.”
And King Jehoshaphat asked King Ahab to ask whether it was God's will to invade Syria or not. King Ahab gathered about 400 false prophets and asked if it was God's will for them to attack Ramoth Gilead. Then many false prophets said, “Go up. The Lord will give the city into the king's hand.” Even a false prophet named Zedekiah made iron horns and brought audiovisual prophecies. “The king will defeat the enemy with this iron horn.”
King Jehoshaphat was strange. So I asked King Ahab again. “Are there not any other prophets of the Lord here, other than these prophets, that we may inquire of?” King Ahab said. “There is a prophet named Micaiah, who always prophesied only ominous prophecies. So I hate it.” King Jehoshaphat said: “Don’t say that, and call him.” So the prophet Micaiah was called. Micaiah prophesied truthfully. “If you start this war, the king will die.”
Upon hearing Micaiah's prophecy, the false prophet Zedekiah slapped Micaiah on the cheek. And they said their prophecies were true. King Ahab was also angry and said: “Put him in prison and I will come back in peace.
Feed them with the bread of suffering and water of suffering.” And the two kings went to war. King Ahab said to King Jehoshaphat. “I disguise myself like an ordinary soldier, and I am going to go into the midst of the army, so put on your robe”
While the war was in full swing, the enemy accidentally drew his bow, and he shot the seam of King Ahab's armor accurately. King Ahab was wounded and struggled to get out of the battlefield, but the war was fierce and he died on the battlefield. In the end, the operation without God completely failed, and King Ahab, ignoring God's word, died. From this we can learn the following lessons.
1. You must not unite.
In other words, you should not be united by ignoring God. King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat united. Judah and Israel formed a combined army. However, it turned out to be a failure. That is, no matter how much we work together, if we ignore God's will, we will fail. And even if 400 false prophets were united and united in one voice, only the true prophet Micaiah could not. No matter how many people unite, if God is not with them, they will fail.
In Genesis chapter 14, the scene where four kings unite and fight against five kings appears. The four kings were Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goim. And it was Bella the king of Zoar. However, the combined army to which the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah belonged was defeated. So Lot, Abraham's nephew, who lived in Sodom, was taken captive.
But Abraham had 318 servants. With that small number of 318 men, they attacked the allied forces of the four kings. And beat them. So I rescued my nephew Lot and got a lot of loot too. In other words, it shows that unity is important, and it is not the number that matters, but whether God is with us or not.
2. You must not prophesy.
400 false prophets prophesied. “Go up. The Lord will give the city into the king's hand.” But even the prophecies of so many were to no avail. Because it was a false prophecy. But what the one true prophet Micaiah had prophesied came true. That is, quality, not quantity. The false prophets rushed to please King Ahab, but did not preach the word of God. In the end, no matter how plausible they were, the prophecy did not work.
An old woman lived in Scotland. The old woman was a woman who sold threads, buttons, and shoelaces from village to village. The old woman would always throw a stick at a fork and go in the direction it fell. It was one day. On the way, I came to a fork in the road. threw the stick. fell down. But it kept throwing it again and again. So someone next to me asked. "grandmother! Why do you keep throwing the stick again?” Then Grandma answers. “Ah- I’m about to go that way, but the stick keeps falling over the other way!”
What does this mean? Since you don't come up with the fortune-telling rule you want after making a fortune-telling plan in your mind, isn't it that you keep trying to match the fortune-telling to your heart? People often have a tendency to set their minds on their own and try to fit God into their hearts. However, fortune-telling and prophecies that rejected God's will and God's words, no matter how plausible they are, do not work.
3. Not even with experience.
Previously, King Ahab of Israel had the experience of winning two wars against Syria. Therefore, King Ahab was sure that he would be able to defeat the Syrians again this time. He had no idea that he would go to Syria. I thought, ‘Because we won last time, we will win again this time!’ Moreover, 400 people made a unified prophecy. However, the result was that the war was lost and he himself died. No matter how much experience you have, you cannot do it with human strength alone.
This is the testimony of a veteran. The wife is a devout Christian, but her husband, the major, did not believe in God. The wife asked her husband to be saved with her so that her saliva dried up in her mouth. My husband always said. “When I grow up, we go to church together.” My wife believed this one word and began to pray. It was so good to say that I went to church when I became a colonel. I finally became a lieutenant colonel. On Saturday, my wife was excited to iron and trim the clothes she would wear to church tomorrow. He gave me the clothes on Sunday morning and said, "Honey! Now that I am a lieutenant colonel, should I go to church?”
Then my husband said. "Honey! It is not because you prayed that I became a lieutenant colonel. If you are from the 6th grade, you can do whatever it takes to become a lieutenant colonel. That's what all officers from the six majors experience!” And he refused to go to church. However, less than a week after being promoted, my husband had a car accident. The Jeep I was riding in rolled over a cliff. He had a brain injury. Eventually, he testified that he had become a colonel and was discharged from service after not even working for a week. In other words, everyone has experience, so that experience is not enough.
4. No trickery.
King Ahab was clever. King Ahab devised a cunning scheme. King Jehoshaphat wore his robe to go to war, and he himself disguised himself. They wore the uniforms of ordinary soldiers. King Jehoshaphat had a shallow scheme to let him die and live only for himself. It was the shallow intention that he would fight comfortably if his enemies focused their attacks on the king.
However, he was accidentally shot by an arrow. King Jehoshaphat was a king who always sought God's will and tried to live according to God's will.
King Ahab was a very bad king who brought Baal idols to Israel. The worldly king killed the king who wanted to live according to God's will, and he devised a crafty scheme to try to live, but an accidental arrow killed him. King Ahab fell by his own scheme. Although people make plans, it is God who guides their steps.
We all know Aesop's fables. One day, the frog wanted to see the world, so he made a trick. He put the stick in his mouth and told the stork to go up to the sky with the tip of the stick. The whole world was seen from a height. It was really nice to go up high and see the world. Then a bird saw this and asked, “Who thought of this?” The frog opened its mouth and bragged. "I!" At that moment, the frog lost the stick it had bitten in its mouth and fell to the ground and smashed to death. It was only by his own scheme that he died.
Such a story is also found in the Talmud, a collection of traditional lessons from Israel. Two friends went to an inn while traveling. There was no room. He asked me to rent a barn. And they put one bed temporarily. A shrewd friend took the bed and the other fell asleep on the shelf. Then the drunken soldiers came. The soldiers came to the barn and beat up a friend who was sleeping on the bed to the point of death. It was an accident that occurred during a performance dispute.
The friend who was beaten seemed likely to be beaten again if the soldiers came in again. So I made up a trick and told my other friend. "friend! I feel sorry for sleeping alone in bed. Let’s take turns.” So I changed my sleep, but the soldiers came again and said, “I cut him off the bed earlier, so now I have to cut him on the shelf.” Then he dragged him out and beat him again. Not with shallow human wisdom. On the contrary, it will make you angry.
This is the testimony of a sister. Her first prayer topic was salvation of her husband. So, I prayed for my unbelieving husband to come to church, always and everywhere first. But my husband was indeed cunning in that respect. Cooking excuses I slyly got away with excuses. I never thought of going to church. Then one day there was a revival meeting at the church. When the husband came home late, the wife had not returned from church yet.
My husband went to church while drunk. While praying, I quietly went into the church. Then he gently dragged his wife's head out and came out. I was drunk so I was out of my mind. Then he banged his wife's head against the wall a few times. The wife shouted. “Save people!” But when I heard the voice, it was not his wife. Turns out she was the police chief's wife. The police chief's wife didn't know English and hit her head several times in a building and it was very painful.
The woman knew that the drunken man was the husband of another man in her church. “You have to choose between going to church or going to the police station.” The man promised to come to church, praying that his hands would become his feet. The husband fell into his own schemes. He fell into the trap he had dug. My husband went to church the next Sunday without saying anything. And the wife's prayer request came true.
Conclusion. Those who believe in themselves will fail. The best without God is in vain. You shouldn't be united. You cannot prophesy. Not even by experience. You must always depend on God. In this foreign land, I pray that things will be accomplished and blessings and happiness be with you while you follow God's will and depend on God.