Topic: Not Business As Usual [January 4, 2017]
Text: 2 Chronicles 18:28-34
Key Verse: “And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle” (2 Chronicles 18:29).
It is never business as usual when it is time for God to lay the hammer of judgment on the sinner who persists in his iniquity and refuses to repent. Many in the Scripture and in secular history have embraced this bitter truth in different ways. The tragic twist has always been that they never lived to regret their wicked actions. The end came upon them suddenly as prophesied by the men of God they contemned.
That was the fate that befell Ahab, the ungodly king of Israel. He despised God’s true prophets and joined himself to the fake ones who told him false predictions he loved to hear. He persecuted those who stood for the truth. He also married the iniquitous Jezebel whose pastime was given to cruelty, slaying of the prophets of God, idolatry and a conspiracy to dispossess the innocent of their property. The true prophet of God Micaiah prophesied death for Ahab if he went to the battle. Thinking it would be the usual business of trying to outwit God, Ahab disguised himself and dropped the royal robes while convincing his guest (king Jehoshaphat of Judah), to be in his true apparel.
At the battle front, Jehoshaphat escaped death by a whisker. He cried out and God showed him mercy when compassed about by enemies. But despite Ahab’s deception, God proved that He cannot be mocked. He demonstrated that a sinner’s devices would not stop the fulfillment of His Word. A randomly shot arrow inflicted a fatal wound on Ahab. As for Jehoshaphat, he could have died as a consequence of not heeding the divine instruction: “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood” (Proverbs 1:10,16).
It is folly to expect God to operate on the unhelpful formula of business as usual. This doesn’t change the rigid laws of God.
Thought for the day: On Judgment Day, it will not be business as usual.
Bible Reading in one Year: Matthew 8-9
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
