|
There was a king of Syria, named
Ben-hadad, a very wicked man. He came with a great army to fight
against Ahab, and besieged the city of Samaria; but God was not with the
wicked Syrians; and he sent a prophet to Ahab, to tell him, that soon
their great army should be destroyed. Ahab made his soldiers ready
for the battle; and God helped the Israelites, and gave them the
victory. The Syrians were conquered; it was God who gave Israel
power to conquer them; but the Syrians would not believe this, for they
knew nothing about the true God, the God of Israel. So they said,
"The gods of the Israelites are the gods of the hills. They had
power over us, because we fought upon the hills; but if we fight in the
valleys, they cannot conquer us there. We shall then be stronger
than they, and soon conquer them." Next
year the Syrians came again to fight against Israel, and made ready for
the battle in the valley of Aphek. They thought they were sure of
the victory, if they fought in the valleys. They came in great
numbers; but the Israelites were very few. Did the Syrians
conquer? No; God was angry with them for not believing in His
power: and He said to Ahab, "I will give all this great army
into thy hand." The Israelites soon conquered the Syrians; and
thus God taught Ben-hadad and his soldiers, that He is God everywhere. God
reigns over all the earth. The hills and the valleys are all alike
to Him. We cannot hide from His eye; He sees what is done in every
place, and rules over all things as he pleases. He could give power
to Israel's little army, and He could take away power from the great army
of Syria. Ben-hadad escaped
to Aphek, and his himself there. He wanted now to make peace with
Ahab, for he saw he could not conquer Israel; so he sent his servants with
a very humble message, to beg Ahab to let him live. Ahab attended to
what the messengers said; he sent for Ben-hadad, and spoke kindly to him,
and made peace with him. Was this right? No: God did not
wish Israel to be friendly with the wicked Syrians. It was wrong of
Ahab to make peace with Ben-hadad, and he displeased God very much.
Ahab was punished for what he had done. God told him, that he, and
many of his people, should die in fighting with the king of Syria.
Then Ahab went home to his house in Samaria, angry and displeased.
Why was he displeased? Because he did not like God's message.
Ahab very often made God angry; he had many times disobeyed Him, and
brought punishment on himself. But Ahab was not humbled and sorry
for his sins. He did not ask for forgiveness; he was sullen, and
angry, and out of temper. When God punishes us for our sins, what
ought we to do? We ought to confess them, and repent of them, and
pray for pardon. Then God will forgive us. "Whoso
confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy." Proverbs
28:13.
|
