Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 20-22.

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When Ben-hadad first came against King Ahab, he demanded a set amount of tribute, which Ahab was willing to pay him in order to avoid war.  However, when Ahab agreed, Ben-hadad decided to demand that Ahab allow him to sack and loot the city.  Ahab saw no benefit in not fighting if Ben-hadad was going to sack the city anyway.  Ahab defeated Ben-hadad in the battle which followed.  However, rather than accepting his defeat, Ben-hadad attacked Israel again the following year.  After defeating Ben-hadad a second time, Ahab saw himself as Ben-hadad’s brother, despite the fact that Ben-hadad had twice attempted to sack and loot Ahab’s country and people.  Ahab saw himself as closer to the hostile ruler of an enemy nation than to his own people.  Every time when I finish reading this passage I want to talk about how Ben-hadad was defeated and captured because he thought that God was geographically limited, but as I put my thoughts together I see the way in which Ahab betrayed the people he ruled over by trying to be accepted as part of the ruling class of the world rather than being seen as an Israelite.  When a prophet told Ahab that his willingness to put his own wants and desires ahead of the interests of the people over whom he ruled would cost him, Ahab threw a temper tantrum.  This whole exchange highlights the nature of Ahab’s evil.  Ahab looked down on the people over whom he ruled and considered himself to have more in common with the rulers of other nations than his own people.  This is a leadership flaw which leads many leaders, both political and religious, to do evil.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.