Relationship With God (#1 Priority)

An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Turn the horses and get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I’m badly wounded!” [1 Kings 22.34]

It was this wound that killed Ahab. His death was no surprise however, Micaiah had prophesied it earlier:

Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?’ “There were many suggestions, and finally a spirit approached the Lord and said, ‘I can do it!’ “‘How will you do this?’ the Lord asked. “And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’ “‘You will succeed,’ said the Lord. ‘Go ahead and do it.’ “So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom.” [1 Kings 22.19-23]

While many will want to build doctrines from this account, I choose however to pay attention to what is going on... And, what is going on is that God is dealing with a person who has nothing to do with Him! In other words, Ahab had no relationship with God.. Sure, he mentioned God (even as Yahweh - the LORD) on many occasions, but there was no effective relationship there.

So, the point to be considered here is that it is not smart to have no relationship with God!

I think, like in the book of Job, there is much we do not yet understand about what goes on around God's throne all the time - God's relationship with those in attendance at His throne. However, Just as Job finally admitted he should have kept his mouth shut (because there evidently was something awry there), so Ahab had problems in his life. In comparison, however, Ahab's relationship with God was basically non-existent - Job had a relationship with God (and even lived perfectly), but there was that little pride thing in him that justified trouble upon his life - but it did not end his life. Ahab, on the other hand, and in God's eyes, needed to die.

So, back to the point - we need to focus on having relationship with God! Nothing is more important than "seeking first the Kingdom of God" as Jesus Himself pointed out.

Father, help us to focus on our relationship with You and get it right first and foremost!