I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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

    The king of Aram, Ben-Hadad, attacked Israel and laid siege to Samaria. He demanded that King Ahab pay him tribute. Ahab agreed to pay the tribute, but then Ben-Hadad demanded to be allowed to loot the city. This was too much for King Ahab and his advisers, who decided to fight. The Israelites were victorious. Ben-Hadad and his advisers were convinced that they lost because God was a god of the hills and that they could defeat the Israelites if they fought them on the plains. Despite the fact that Ben-Hadad’s army vastly outnumbered the army of Israel, God gave them victory. God is not limited to hills, or plains, the city, or the countryside. No matter where our enemies confront us, God is able to give us victory.

    When I read the story of Naboth and his vineyard I was reminded of the discussions about eminent domain that have come up this election year. King Ahab thought that he could put Naboth’s vineyard to better use. So he offered Naboth a more than fair price. However, Naboth was not interested in parting with his vineyard for any price. Personally, I would have taken the deal, but the vineyard had sentimental value to Naboth and he was unwilling to part with it. Ahab was heartbroken at Naboth’s refusal because Israel was a land of laws. However, Jezebel used Ahab’s power to get Naboth killed so that Ahab could take his vineyard. Ahab was initially pleased to gain the vineyard for his own. However, when confronted by Elijah Ahab recognized that he had done wrong. We are told that Ahab sold himself to evil more completely than anyone else, yet even so he recognized and repented of the evil he had done here by rejecting the idea that the same law applied to himself as to the common man.