Agape Devotions

READ : 1 Kings 20-21 Verses chosen for meditation: 1 Kings 20:23 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. REFLECT Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, went up against Samaria, supported by a large group of kings. He forced Ahab into a treaty, and Ahab was subservient, acknowledging Ben-hadad’s right to “silver and gold” and their “best wives and children” (1 Kings 20:3-4). Ben-hadad, however demanded more, threatening to plunder the city, and Ahab saw that Ben-hadad was just seeking trouble, looking for an excuse to attack. Hence, a war ensued. There was no hint of Ahab relying on God, yet God intervened, sending an anonymous prophet (not Elijah) to Ahab, with instructions to prepare for Ben-hadad’s attack. Ahab won the battle, but was warned of another attack. For the 2 nd attack, Ben-hadad listened to the ...

READ : I Kings 18-19: “Fresh encounter and new purpose”. Verses chosen for meditation: I Kings 19:12, 15-16. 12  And after the earthquake a fire, but the  Lord  was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper . 15  And the  Lord  said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.     REFLECT The above verses were instructions from God to Elijah, after two major events that took place in the showdown between Yahweh God and the Canaanite storm god, Baal. Firstly, Elijah defeated and mocked Baal in front of 450 Baal’s prophets and 400 prophets of Asherah, (I Kings 18:20-40) at Mount Carmel. The miraculous burning of the sacri...

Read Read 1 Kings 16:15-17:24 Verse chosen for meditation: 1 Kings 17:24 ESV And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” Reflect Why did the succeeding kings of Israel become increasingly evil? What made them evil in the eyes of the LORD? What do kings, widow and drought have to do with God? What's the difference between sparing and saving; removing and replacing? How is this relevant? Relate The kings of Israel became evil in their practice of idolatry, the worship of idols, which resulted in the pervasiveness of the practice in a country where God should be the only one worshipped. Each succeeding king would do nothing, but up the ante on Baal and Asherah worship in an attempt to outdo one another.  As truth got progressively obscured, visibility was given to idols raised on poles and placed on pedestals. The take - home message was to believe in what you see and worship what you can see. Then, with g...

  READ: Instead of printing out the text for reflection, allow me to summarise the passage for this morning's devotions. I will summarise the portions that relate to the history of Israel, and omit the portion on the history of Judah. In 1 Kings 14, God had, through the prophet Ahijah, predicted that Jeroboam's dynasty would be wiped out. What I did not expect was that the dynasty would be wiped out not by external enemies, but by an internal coup. An Israelite by the name of Baasha killed Jeroboam's son Nadab, and after establishing himself as king, murdered Jeroboam's and Nadab's entire household and lineage. Baasha ruled for twenty four years, after which his son Elah succeeded him. Elah ruled only two years. One day as he lay drunk, one of his commanders, Zimri, killed him. And just as Baasha had done to Jeroboam's household, Zimri killed every male family member and friend of Elah's. But not only did he slaughter them, he threw their bodies out for the ...

Read: 1 Kings 14 No devotional today (Sunday)

Read: 1Kings 12-13 "The friends we keep" Verses chosen for meditation 1 Kings 12:8-11  "8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’” Reflect King Rehoboam had a problem. He was wondering how as the new King of Israel, he could respond to the plea of Jeroboam and the people. The people had petition for Rehoboam to lessen the...

READ :    1 Kings 10-11 REFLECT :  Sometimes, high points and low points, soaring and plunging, shining and sinking, lie very close together, also in Biblical history. Chapter 10 describes the climax of Solomon’s kingship. One chapter further and we have arrived at the low point. It is a very sharp contrast.  The Queen of Sheba was not the only one who was drawn to Solomon’s wisdom. See chapter 4:34. However, her visit and her accolades are described as the climax of Solomon’s glorious reign. In connection with this, take a look at the prayer of David in  Ps.72:9-11 . Solomon’s fame was connected to the LORD’s name (v. 1). At least at the outset, Solomon himself did not separate his kingship and its glory from the LORD. He wanted to honour the LORD with the fame he had obtained.  Apparently, this is how surrounding nations perceived it too. Thus, Solomon’s fame had a positive effect on the LORD’s fame (see also v. 9). The Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon...