Daily Verse: 1 Kings 21:20-21

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you.’”

 

The words above were spoken by Elijah to king Ahab. Ahab had asked to purchase a vineyard from a man in a nearby town but the man refused to sell or trade for the land. Ahab made it clear to his wife that he was not happy, so his wife took action. She exercised her power as “queen” by digging up some false charges against the man and had him publicly executed by stone wielding members of the community. Once the man was proclaimed dead, Ahab went and took the land that he had previously wanted to purchase. Problem solved, right? Wrong. In fact, it was just the beginning of a whole new problem for Ahab. He had essentially sold out to evil for a piece of land. His desire to have the land was so strong that he basically overlooked the means to which he came to acquire the land. A man was killed so that he could have this land! God was definitely displeased with this transaction and had Elijah communicate this message to Ahab. Elijah continues from the text above by telling Ahab that the Lord will “wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.” Ahab has found himself completely at odds with the Lord…all for a piece of land…a material item, something here today and gone tomorrow. This text provides a great opportunity for us to take an inventory of our own lives. Are there things that we are selling out to evil for? Are there things that we are doing in this life for some worldly gain, pleasure, or desire that put us at odds with the Lord? Yes, through Christ we have forgiveness for our mistakes and we aren’t dished out a plate of God’s anger like Ahab was. But make no mistake, God is definitely NOT pleased when we mess up…when we choose an evil path over his path. In fact, he might even be downright angry. Because of all the grace, mercy, and blessings that the Lord has flooded into our lives, we should make it our goal to pursue only those things that are pleasing to him. We can’t and won’t be perfect, but we can certainly pursue what is righteous above what is unrighteous. May we strive to do good in our lives, in service to the Lord, expressing our gratitude for all that he has done for us! To God be the glory!