Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21
Meditation Verse: 21:29
Thought
God is so gracious to Ahab, whom He describes as someone who sold himself to do evil. Sometimes Ahab shows a kind of grief, as if maybe he could be reached. He does not entirely reject the prophets of the Lord, though his wife tried to kill them all. He listens to military advice from them, though he does not learn real repentance through them. But he seems to get close from time to time. Is that why God put up with him as long as He did? God knew Ahab's future and knew he would not truly repent and be saved. Did it really matter if Ahab lived a few more years or finished his life in peace? Apparently God would rather show Himself responsive to humility than show Himself inflexible in His decrees, especially when decreeing someone's final earthly judgment.
Application
If God can hold off executing judgment on someone who shows some contrition, what can He do for those who truly repent? Obviously He is able and willing to forgive anyone who admits their sin and renounces it. The assurance of that is shown in His willingness to delay Ahab's judgment and transfer it to his son. If Ahab's son had taken warning from this lesson and truly repented, he surely would have received reprieve! But neither Ahab nor his son understood God's grace to them, which could have led to their repentance and salvation. It's okay to extend mercy to someone who expresses a degree of repentance, even if it's not the full, saving kind of repentance, as a sign to others who might actually get it, that God is more interested in a man returning to Him than in destroying him. Though others will see from that how they can avoid worse consequences by feigning repentance, yet they merely delay their judgment, not eliminate it. Though some may be encouraged in their sin by grace, still it is better to show a positive response to an expression of repentance.