Maybe you remember the story of King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat who were going into battle against Ramoth Gilead. But there was one little detail Ahab had to do first. Last week we read that Micaiah was the prophet of the Lord that predicted Ahab would lose the battle. Ahab hated him and said, Put Micaiah in prison, and feed him on bread and water till I come back in peace.
But somehow Ahab still had a feeling that the Lord was against him, so he thought it would be safer to disguise himself and not wear his royal robe into battle. That way, maybe the enemy couldn’t identify him. But then he told Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robe!
Do you think God won’t know who you are when you stand before Him? Can anyone hide in secret places where God will not find him? No. He even knows the secrets of your heart! Psalm 44:21 Says, “Shall not God search this out? for He knoweth the secrets of the heart.” Now is the time to come to Him with your sins for His cleansing through the precious blood of Christ. Then, instead of facing Him in judgment, you can look forward to that happy day when He will welcome you to His home in heaven.
Of course, the enemy soldiers saw Jehoshaphat right away in his royal robe. They had orders from their leader: Never mind anybody else! Fight the king! And the attack on Jehoshaphat came from all sides at once. What could the believing king do?
Let me tell you, dear believing friend, that there is one thing you can do. God has not promised that you will never die, but he has promised that you are His forever! He says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble” (Psalm 50:15), and you will find that He keeps His promise for all eternity! Even in death He answers, “This one is Mine.”
The believing King Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, and God diverted the soldiers away from him. It was God who did this, because Jehoshaphat knew the Lord, and the enemy didn’t. God has power over people even if they don’t know Him.
Of course, soldiers then didn’t have guns, but they had spears and arrows, and they were trained archers. One enemy soldier put all his strength into a shot and sent his arrow powerfully against somebody ... no special target. It was just a guess.
All the soldiers wore armor, and the armor had joints so the soldiers could move. That enemy soldier’s powerful arrow went straight through a joint in Ahab’s armor, and Ahab knew he was fatally wounded. His only shelter was to be carried from the battle where he watched from the sidelines until sunset, and then he died.
A royal funeral would probably follow, but it was too late to change King Ahab’s destination for eternity. Death closes the door of opportunity forever for everyone, as it did for King Ahab. Come now to the Saviour who loves you and died for you, before your door of opportunity closes forever.
You may read the entire story in 2 Chronicles, chapter 18.
ML-01/23/2011