The Vision (12.6.19): The Word of God destroys the man who defies it.

Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 22:3-53 (audio not yet posted).

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness….” (1 Kings 22:34a).

Old Testament scholar Dale Ralph Davis describes the theme of this chapter as “the word of God destroys the man who defies it” (1 Kings, 311).

As King Ahab went into battle, he took off his royal robes in order to hide his identity and not draw the attention of the Syrians. This illustrates his cunning, his shrewdness. He had fooled the army of the Syrians. There was someone, however, whom he had not fooled. There was someone who knew his identity, better than any facial recognition system or DNA test. Someone who knew his location, with greater precision than any GPS could provide. Someone who, in fact, knew every inch of his body and even where there was a tiny gap of vulnerability where one piece of his armor was joined to another.

Christ encouraged his disciples by telling them that the very hairs of their head were all numbered (Matt 10:30). That is comforting to know, but also frightening. He knows us and we cannot hide from him.

Notice in v. 34a, “And a certain man drew a bow at a venture….” It was just a random, unnamed man, who became the instrument of the Lord’s judgement upon Ahab. He drew his bow “at a venture.” We might say, “by chance.” He was not even aiming, but behind the human archer, there was a Divine Archer, who would guide that missile. And it smote the king of Israel “between the joint of the harness.” It land just at the tiny point of weakness.

If you are familiar with Greek mythology this account might bring to mind the death of the hero Achilles. As an infant, he had supposedly been dipped into the river Styx by his mother Thetis, giving him invulnerability over his whole body, except at the heel where he had been held to be dipped. Then, in battle an arrow fatally struck him in his “Achilles’ heel.” Sometimes even the pagans could grope however blindly toward recognition of the guiding hand of divine providence.

Was it dumb luck that Ahab was struck? No, it was the hand of a providential God. The Lord was bringing his temporal judgement to bear upon Ahab for all his sin and idolatry, and for all the spiritual misery he had brought upon his nation and people. There are no accidents in this life.

1 Kings ends with a warning. Men will either obey the Word of God or they will be crushed by it. Consider Christ’s words in Matthew 21:44, “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

Will you be like the many that go to destruction, or the few who find life in Christ?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.29.19): Ahab’s hostility to the Lord’s prophet

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 22:1-29.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so (1 Kings 22:8).

Ahab’s description of Micaiah recalls his interactions with the better-known Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 18:17-18; 21:20).

Some kings only want to surround themselves with “Yes-men.” Ahab only wanted prophets who could give him good news, confirm him in his own desires. He did not want a prophetic minister who would bring the word of the Lord to rebuke him, exhort him, admonish him.

There are parallels between this account of Micaiah son of Imlah and the ministry of Jeremiah which took place in later generations. Jeremiah will say of the false prophets of his day: “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer 6:14). Paul, likewise, will write to Timothy with a similar warning: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Tim 4:3).

Just think of how silly that is? What if you went to your physician to have a physical, but you told him ahead of time, I only want you to give me a good report. If you find a tumor or an irregular heart beat or high blood pressure, just ignore that and tell me I’m fine.

Wouldn’t you want your physician to tell you the truth? What about your spiritual physician?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.22.19): The Lord’s strange kindness to Ahab

Image: Stoning of Naboth from Chronique universelle de Rodolphe (c. 1350).

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 21.

Seest thou how Ahab humbled himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house (1 Kings 21:29).

I think the most salient spiritual truth in 1 Kings 21 comes to us in these final words. In this strange kindness to Ahab, we see the heart of a good, kind, compassionate and merciful God.

If he showed mercy to such an ungodly man, what will his mercy be towards those who are born again by grace?

We might also consider how that righteous Naboth is presented as a type of Christ.

Who was Christ but a righteous man who perfectly kept the law of God?

Still, wicked men plotted against him.

False witnesses were assembled to slander him (see Matthew’s account of two false witnesses against Christ in Matt 26:59-61).

He was accused of blasphemy and of making himself a king.

He was deserted by even his closest disciples. No one stood up to defend him.

He was taken out not to be stoned, but to be nailed to the cross.

Unlike Naboth, however, he did not remain in the grave but was gloriously raised.

And what has God done? He has taken those who killed his dear Son and rather than condemn them he has given them grace, mercy, and truth.

Ahab was spared punishment merely in this life. Justice was not removed but only postponed. Those redeemed by Christ have something greater. We escape the second death.

So then, in light of such great grace given us in Christ, let us not be slaves to sin, sold to work evil in the sight of the Lord, but let us be slaves of Christ and slaves of righteousness.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.15.19): Unseasonable leniency toward ungodliness

Image: Berries, North Garden, VA, November 2019

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 20.

“And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria” (1 Kings 20:43).

1 Kings 20 ends with the note that king Ahab went away “heavy and displeased” (v. 43). This morose state of mind came about after the king was rebuked by God’s prophet for sparing the life of Israel’s enemy, Benhadad of Syria. The prophet announces the Lord’s condemnation of Ahab, “Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I had appointed to utter destruction….” (v. 42). The spiritual problem here is that Ahab had extended unseasonably leniency to an ungodly enemy.

We might draw spiritual lessons from Ahab’s actions. The Puritans used to speak about “bosom” sins and “darling” sins. These are sins that are nurtured and held close, which bring compromise and destruction. John Owen said, “We must kill sin, or sin will kill us.”

If I were to choose a parallel passage from Christ’s teaching to illustrate this point it would be his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee” and “if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast, it from thee” (Matt 5:29-30). Holiness requires radical surgery. It requires the removal of “bosom” and “darling” sins.

There are some interesting descriptions of Ahab in these final chapters of 1 Kings. Ahab’s spiritual state is debated (cf. 1 Kings 21:27-29). When rebuked here, he walks away “heavy and displeased”. There is never, however, any sign of Ahab expressing the kind of contrition that David did in Psalm 51, after he was rebuked by Nathan. Ahab expresses a carnal form of repentance, but not an “evangelical” form of repentance. The apostle Paul makes a distinction between “godly” sorrow and “the sorrow of the world” (2 Cor 7:9-10).

May the Lord keep us from unseasonable leniency toward sin and ungodliness in our lives, and may he grant us “godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation” (2 Cor 7:10) and not mere “worldly” sorrow.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.8.19): The Call of Elisha

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 19:19-21. Audio not yet available.

“…and Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him…And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah…Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him” (1 Kings 19:19-21).

The call of Elisha to follow after the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:19-21 anticipates the call to follow after Christ. This is Old Testament discipleship, a shadow or type of a greater coming reality. Not only does it point forward to Christ’s ministry as the great Prophet who would call men like Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave their nets and follow after him, but it also points to a present reality as we are being called to abandon all and follow after the Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice at least six aspects of the call of Elisha:

First: The call came upon Elisha suddenly and unexpectedly (v. 19).

Second: The call demanded that Elisha leave his present circumstances (v. 20a).

Third: The call took precedence over all other relationships, including even that of his own family (v. 20b).

Fourth: The call required sacrifice and abandonment of former things (v. 21a).

Fifth: The answering of the call was accompanied with joyful celebration (feasting) (v. 21 a).

Sixth: The call required lowliness of spirit and willingness to serve in the humblest of ways (v. 21b).

Christ still calls upon men to deny themselves, to take up the cross daily, and follow him (Luke 9:23). May the Lord grant us grace to be his faithful disciples.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.1.19): Elijah's Cave Experience

Image: Holy Trinity Chapel on the top of Mt. Sinai, Egypt.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 19.

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12).

We could call 1 Kings 19:9-18 Elijah’s cave experience. At Horeb, Elijah settles into a cave (v. 9). This says something about his spiritual state.

The word of the LORD, however, came to him in the cave. The Lord does not desert Elijah. He is there at the highest heights and at the lowest depths. And he continues to send his word.

The Lord examines Elijah: What doest thou here, Elijah? (v. 9b). Have you ever been examined of the Lord in this manner? Has he ever asked you: What are you doing in the place where you are?

Elijah defends himself before the Lord (v. 10). He notes how jealous he had been for the Lord. And in contrast he notes the failures of the children of Israel. This is the spirituality of comparison. We can always find someone who is in a worse spiritual state to make comparison to ourselves. The question is not how we compare to other sinners, but how we compare to the righteous standard of Christ.

Elijah contends that he is the only faithful man left in Israel, but we know this cannot be the case. Obadiah had hidden at least a hundred faithful prophets from the ravages of Jezebel (see 18:4, 13).

Elijah, it seems, is having a major pity party. In his narrative, he is the only man in the entire world who has been faithful to God, while everyone else has failed. That is a spiritually dangerous mindset.

Finally, he notes that God’s enemies are seeking his life. Elijah has a fear of man and a fear of death. Everyone has these kinds of fears.

The Lord then commands his prophet to go and stand on the mountain before him (v. 11a). And the LORD passed by. This recalls the Lord showing his glory to Moses (see Exodus 33-34).

There then follows a series of the Lord’s manifestation of his power and presence:

A great and strong wind descends with power to rend mountains and breaks the rocks into pieces. But the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.

And after the earthquake, a fire (v. 12). But the Lord was not in the fire.

So we have God moving powerfully in wind, earth, and fire. These were among the basic elements that many ancients considered to be the building blocks of life.

Finally, there was “a still, small voice” (v. 12).

Many have pondered the significance of this. Could it be that God does not speak as clearly to sinful man in general revelation as he does in special revelation? Could it be that he so often chooses to speak to us not in loud and spectacular extra-ordinary experiences but in small and quiet ordinary experiences? He speaks to us in a still, small voice when we pray, read the Scriptures, and meditate upon them.

May the Lord continue to speak to us in a still small voice, especially when we enter into our own cave experiences.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Gleanings from 1 Kings 17

Image: Engraving depicting Sarepta (Zarephath) c. AD 1837.

Note: Devotion take from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 17 (audio not yet posted).

And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this word I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth (1 Kings 17:24).

1 Kings 17 divides very easily into three parts, each describing the ministry of Elijah and the miraculous power that accompanied it:

1.    The miraculous provision from the brook and the ravens (vv. 1-7);

2.    The miraculous provision from the widow (vv. 8-16);

3.    The raising of the widow’s son (vv. 17-23).

And it ends with that final description of Elijah from the grateful widow (v. 24).

Here are at least five spiritual gleanings from 1 Kings 17:

First: We learn here how God provides for his people, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

He gives us a hiding place. He leads us by still waters. He sends his ravens.

The believer may not always have more than enough, but he often has just enough from God’s hand.

So, Christ taught his anxious disciples not to take thought for what they would eat or drink or wear, but “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matt 6:26).

Second: We learn about God’s care not only for his servants but also for the spiritually poor and destitute, for the fatherless and the widow.

When Christ visited his hometown synagogue in Luke 4 we are told that his fellow Jews did not receive him as the Messiah. The Lord Jesus reflected, “No prophet is accepted in his own country” (v. 24). He then recalled 1 Kings 16, noting that though there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, the prophet was sent instead to the widow of Zaraphath in Zidon (Luke 4:25). The unspoken meaning was clear. If his fellow Jewish townsmen would not receive him, he would go to others, even to Gentiles.

This so infuriated those in Nazareth that they took Christ to the brow of the hill on which the city was built to cast him down “headlong” (v. 29), but, Luke says, “he passing through the midst of them went his way” (v. 30).

If we will not honor Christ someone else will.

Third: We learn here that God can take resources that are mean and insufficient and make them more than adequate—even unendingly adequate—for the times in which they are needed.

“And the barrel of oil wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail…” (1 Kings 16:16).

Fourth: We learn how God can take those who are dead and bring them to life.

Just as Elijah raised the widow’s son, Christ raised the only son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17). He also raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11).

What is most astounding, however, is that he takes those who are spiritually dead, and he raises them to new life through that same resurrection power (Eph 2:1).

Fifth: We learn here about the persistence and the truth of God’s word.

God never fails to send his word. He sends it in every generation. He no longer sends his prophets as he did in the days of Elijah, because he has now sent his Son (Heb 1:1), and his Son sent forth his Apostles (Matt 28:19-20), and part of their mission was to give to his people the Word of God written (John 20:31). And now the Lord sends his elders and preachers to proclaim that Word (2 Tim 4:1-2).

We can say of all Scripture what this widow said of Elijah: “the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” Christ’s prayer for the disciples in John 17:17 was “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Faith in Christ goes hand in hand with faith in his written Word. One cannot have a high view of Christ and a low view of the Bible.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Admonitions from Ahab: As if it had been a light thing to walk in sin

Note: Devotion comes from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 16.

1 Kings 16:31: And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the ways of Jeroboam….

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come.

1 Kings 16 is repetitive. One evil king is followed by another evil king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It describes a string of no less than five evil kings (Baahsa, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and, finally, Ahab).

Dale Ralph Davis asks why some parts of the Bible seem boring and answers: “They’re boring because they are the records of sinful men who simply repeat the sins and evil of those before them. Sin is never creative but merely imitative and repetitious” (1 Kings, 179). He later says, “godlessness is dull” (180). In the 1960s a famous political study introduced the term “the banality of evil.” We see that in 1 Kings 16.

Ahab is the apex (or nadir) of this line of evil kings. He is the epitome of all that was rotten in Israel. There’s a reason Melville named the villain of Moby Dick Captain Ahab!

Ahab was second in the dynasty of Omri, and he ruled for 22 years, the same length of rule as Jeroboam (v. 29; cf. 1 Kings 14:20). Outwardly speaking his rule might have been successful. God, however, does not judge success as do men.

From God’s perspective Ahab was a spiritual failure. The inspired historian says that Ahab “did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him” (v. 30; cf. v. 33). Ahab was an overachiever in wickedness.

His spiritual duplicity is described in an intriguing way in in v. 31: “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam….” There follows a catalogue of his failures including taking as his wife the Baal worshipping Jezebel (v. 31). Ahab even built a temple for Baal in Samaria (v. 32). In this he was an anti-Solomon. Solomon built the house of the LORD (the temple) in Jerusalem; Ahab built the house of Baal in Samaria.

In 1 Corinthians 10:11 the apostle Paul reflected on all the events recorded in the Old Testament: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [types]: and they are written for our admonition….”

What are we meant to learn from Ahab and these other evil kings?

Perhaps we might consider these questions:

What does it mean to walk in the ways of Jeroboam [false worship]?

Who judges the success of a man’s life?

Has it ever been a light thing for you to walk in sin?

Have you unequally yoked yourself with unbelievers (cf. 2 Cor 6:14)?

Have you set up a house of Baal?

Reading 1 Kings 16 ought to remind the Christian that his only hope is the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 10:10 he declared: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (9.13.19): But he lied unto him

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 13.

He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him (1 Kings 13:18).

1 Kings 13 provides one of the most unusual narratives found in the Old Testament. A prophet described as “a man of God out of Judah” (v. 1) confronted the false worship promoted by King Jeroboam. As he returned home, however, this same prophet was deceived by “an old prophet in Bethel” who convinced him to disobey God’s explicit instructions to him and to turn aside for a meal.

In order to mislead the man of God the old prophet of Bethel claimed to have been visited by an angel (v. 18a). The inspired historian then adds: “But he lied unto him” (v. 18b).

We should stop and reflect on this:

First, this episode reveals the precarious nature of relying on supposed experience alone. It reminds us of the superiority of our present situation as New Covenant believers now that we have the complete Word of God written, by which to test all things.

Second, it reminds us that men can lie about their experiences and can claim false experiences in order to manipulate others.

Third, it reminds us of the importance of what we might call the “non-contradictory” principle of God’s Word. The man of God of Judah failed in that he believed that God’s Word to him had been changed or was contradicted by some “new” revelation.

The apostle Paul exhorted the churches of Galatia: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:18). In warning the Corinthians to beware “false apostles” Paul told that them that Satan can transform himself into “an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:13-14).

Beware the man who says, “God told me….” Test everything, as did the Bereans, by the Word of God (Acts 17:11).

As the apostle John exhorted, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

May the Lord give us wisdom and discernment.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (9.6.19): Jeroboam and the Regulative Principle of Worship

Image: Remains of the ancient city gate at Dan in Northern Israel.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 12.

And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan (1 Kings 12:30).

In Reformed theology the Regulative Principle of Worship (or RP) refers to the idea that worship should be regulated by Scripture. That is, we should not introduce any element into our worship unless we can find direct command or warrant for it in Scripture.

1 Kings 12 provides a vivid example of the violation of the RP in ancient Israel.

At that time, the Lord had decreed that he would be worshipped in one central place, the temple in Jerusalem. The building of this temple had been one of Solomon’s greatest achievements and reflected the triumph of the RP. But when the ten Northern tribes of Israel under Jeroboam broke away from Judah and Benjamin under Solomon’s son, King Rehoboam, all this was undone.

 Rehoboam’s took a series of ungodly actions driven by political motivation and lack of trust in God (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-27):

First, he set up a false place and object of worship: the golden calves at Dan and Bethel (vv. 28-30). This violated the second commandment by making graven images. It violated Deuteronomy in abandoning the temple in Jerusalem as the true place of worship. Notice v. 30a: “And this thing became a sin.” Worship can be sinful if it is not worship that is done in obedience to the command of God.

Second, he set up false priests (v. 31). He put men into the priesthood who were not Biblically qualified, because they were not sons of Levi.

Third, he set up a man-made holy day (vv. 32-33). He created his own feast, a pseudo holiday made in imitation of true feasts that had been ordained by God. This holy day was one “he had devised in his own heart” (v. 33).

This spiritual degeneracy and compromise eventually led to the undoing of this North Kingdom of Israel, though it would take many years to be played out.

We are left to ponder:

Have we set up false objects of worship?

Have we been driven by pragmatism, convenience, and personal preference in worship, rather than obedience?

Have we compromised on Biblical standards for church officers?

Have we created worship practices or “holy days” that we have devised in our own hearts?

May the Lord direct us to purify our worship and to regulate it according to his Word.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (8.30.19): His heart was not perfect with the LORD his God

Image: Swan Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, August 2018

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 11.

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father (1 Kings 11:4).

This might called be the theme verse of 1 Kings 11. It begins, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old….” Solomon did not finish well. Young Christians sometimes might think, I can’t wait till I’m older, because then I won’t have to deal with all the temptations I face as a young person. But Solomon’s story tells us that sometimes the greatest dangers come when we are older. We can become lax in our watchfulness, our zeal for Christ can cool, our spiritual intensity diminish. I sometimes say that I am hesitant to recommend the teaching or writing of any living Christian teacher, lest he later prove a disappointment. Sometimes it is better to read and admire only dead people, because then you at least know the outcomes of their lives.

The historian repeats that Solomon’s wives “turned away his heart after other gods” (cf. v. 3). One might ask about Solomon’s agency here. He could not, in fact, use “the women made me do it” defense. They turned his heart, but his heart was prone to turning. The point is that he placed himself in a spiritually vulnerable situation which began with violation of Scripture by taking these pagan wives (v. 2).

We get the spiritual diagnosis of Solomon in v. 4b: “and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God.” Even as a saved man, Solomon had remaining corruption. Our ear might also perk up at the comparison to David. We know David’s faults, and they were great. But so was his repentance, especially as seen in Psalm 51. Thus, he was “a man after God’s own heart.” We have no Psalm 51, however, in Solomon’s writings.

This text is here for our “learning” (Rom 15:4). We are reminded that we are prone to sin just as Solomon was. Solomon broke both the first and second tables of the law (idolatry and adultery). We too sin against both God and against man. We have our own besetting sins, things that will turn our hearts away from the Lord. Like the church at Ephesus we are prone to leave our first love (Rev 2:4). What are we cleaving to in love, rather than cleaving to Christ?

There are warnings here. We are to finish well. It is not enough merely to make a good start. The man who starts out fast from the blocks and leads the pack may stumble coming down the final stretch and lose it all.

No, our hearts are not perfect with the Lord our God, but Christ’s is. He is our hope.

Pastor Jeff Riddle