1 Kings 22:29-34 - Heeding God's warnings

Scripture:

1 Kings 22:29-34
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.
30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
31 Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, "Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone."
32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel," and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34 Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and take me out of the fight; for I am severely wounded."
NASU


Thoughts:

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel, go to war together against the Arameans.  However, before going to battle, Jehoshaphat insisted they inquire of a prophet of God.  This man, Micaiah, gave this counsel to Ahab:

1 Kings 22:23
23 "Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you."
NASU

Ahab believes the word of the Lord enough to disguise himself, but not enough to change his plans (verse 30).  But as we then find out, the sole reason the Arameans want to battle with Israel and Judah, is that they might kill Ahab (verse 31), which they then did (verse 34).

How tragic that we can believe God's warnings to a degree, but not truly heed them.  I've heard of more than one person outside of a saving relationship with Christ, who was concerned about the judgment they knew they were due, but were unwilling to receive Christ as Savior.  Likewise, I've seen more than one Christian ignore warnings about sin in their life, only to be taken down by that sin.


Prayer:

Oh Lord, please give me an attentive ear to You!  Give me the softness of heart to hear Your voice, and the wisdom and strength to obey.  I don't want to foolishly ignore Your warnings, as Ahab did.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.