Time and again God has told us of the necessity of obedience, and provided historical examples of obedience and disobedience, and of the corresponding reward and punishment. A prophet, in the name of the Lord, tells a man to hit him but the man refuses (1 Kings 20:26-43). One can almost understand why the man refused – why would you want to hit a man for no apparent cause? But then the prophet tells that same man he would be slain by a lion for his disobedience and so it came to pass. It reminds us of the young prophet who was sent to Bethel (1 Kings 13), told to speak his message, and then return immediately by another route. He disobeyed, being deceived by an old lying prophet, and was also slain by a lion. As if to show that obedience is always possible, the prophet asks another man to hit him and this time the man does, wounding him.
But our reflection at this time is not upon God’s condemnation of Ahab because he let Benhadad, the King of Syria, go free, but the fable that the prophet told Ahab (vs. 39,40) to illustrate his doom. He represented himself as being a wounded soldier who had been given a charge to keep an enemy soldier: if he lost him he would forfeit his own life (similar to the jailer in Acts 16). In v.40 we read, And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. I thought of how illustrative of life that can be. While I was busy:
God was gone.
Any relationship requires maintenance (cf. Judges 16:20 – “He didn’t know that the Lord had departed from him”). As the old saying goes, “If God seems far away, guess who moved?” God speaks to us in His Word and we speak to Him through prayer. When we neglect either or both Bible study and prayer, we are sowing the seeds for the demise of our relationship with God. One day we wake up and we still believe IN God but we’re not sure whether we believe God. We experience a crisis and we’re not sure whether God is there for us anymore, and because of our negligence of Him we’re not sure whether He’d still be interested in us anymore. It’s as if He’s a million miles away.
God taught Israel through the pillar of cloud that accompanied them in the wilderness (Num. 9:15–23). Whenever the cloud moved they moved, and whenever it stayed they stayed. If the cloud had moved off and they had not followed they would have been alone, without God, in an inhospitable wilderness. They would have survived for a while but soon they would have been hungry and thirsty and God would have been nowhere to be found.
While we were busy:
Our distinctiveness was gone.
Balance is vital! There was a preacher who only ever preached on baptism. He was told by his elders to preach on other things as well. They suggested that he start in Genesis for fresh sermon material. He got to Gen.1:2 which mentions the face of the waters. “And that reminds me!” he said. There is more to the Bible than baptism for the remission of sins. We need lessons on Christian living and growing in the Christian graces. Having said that, we can be so busy doing that, that we lose sight of the distinctiveness of the church. We wake up and find we have become some quasi-charismatic denomination that is interested in good moral lifestyles, can say “Hallellujah, praise the Lord” with the best and rest of them, but have ceased to be the Lord’s church.
Our children were gone.
We must take time to teach them. When we bring children into the world that’s not all we bring them into. It is altogether right and proper that we concern ourselves with their health and education so that they are prepared for life. But when we bring children into the world we also start them on the road to eternity. We have only a narrow window of opportunity to train them up in the way in which they should go. Deut. 6:7 shows that the process is not one of osmosis, or one where they ‘catch’ a life of faith as one might catch a cold or flu, but a diligent effort in the few years that are allotted to parents for this purpose. There are only a finite number of ‘teachable moments’. There are 8,760 hours in a year. The average child will spend 8 hours a day sleeping, or 2920 hours for the whole year. If he attended Bible school every Sunday, and IF the teacher taught for the whole hour, he would only receive 52 hours instruction for the year. If he attended other services of the church he would perhaps receive another 100 hours or so of religious teaching. This still leaves 5,688 hours in the year to be accounted for. If this child attends the public school 6 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 9 months of the year, he has spent 1080 hours in the secular school. There are still 4608 hours left in the year. Most of these hours will be spent in the environment of the home. Opportunity abounds, but unless taken, we will wake up one day and our children will be gone – prepared for life but not for eternity.
My life was gone.
How quickly life goes. All older people will attest to the truth of Jas. 4:14. We need to read vs. 15-17 as well. V.17 tells us that the opportunities for doing good are very limited. I’ve seen quite a few houses with the name, “Gunna Do” – I’m gunna do this and I’m gunna do that – someday. Someday when I’ve got everything squared away, and I’m not going to be so busy, then I’ll really serve the Lord. So many will be lost because:
in youth they are too young
in manhood they are too busy
in maturity they are too worried
when aged they are too old
when sick they are too ill
when dead they are too late!
We must redeem the time (Eph. 5:15,16). Somebody said, “Don’t kill time, it has no resurrection”. When God writes “opportunity” on one side of the door, He writes “responsibility” on the other.
Opportunity tapped at a door
With a chance for the person within;
He rapped till his fingers were sore
and muttered “Come on, let me in!”
Here’s something I know you can do
Here’s a hill that you can climb”.
But the person inside, very quickly replied;
“Old fellow, I haven’t got time”.
Opportunity wandered along
in search of a man who would rise
He said to the indolent throng
“Here’s a chance for the fellow who tries”.
But each of them said with a smile
“I wish I could do it, but I’m
very busy today; and I’m sorry to say
That I really haven’t got time”.
At last opportunity same
to a man who was burdened with cares
and said; “I now offer the same
opportunity that has been theirs
Here’s a duty that ought to be done
It’s a chance if you’ve got time to take it
said the man with a grin; “Come along, pass it in
I’ll either find time or I’ll make it!”
Of all the excuses there are
By which this old world is accursed
this “haven’t got time” is by far
the poorest, the feeblest, the worst
a delusion it is, and a snare
if the habit is yours you should shake it
for if you want to do what is offered to you
you’ll either find time or you’ll make it
Detroit Free Press
The prophet did as good a job on Ahab as Nathan did on David when he told him the parable of the wealthy landholder who stole his poor neighbour’s only pet lamb to feed his guests. Ahab replied to the prophet that he had “cooked his own goose” and it was his own fault that he had let his prisoner escape and so the penalty was fair. Ahab didn’t like it when the prophet told him he had condemned himself for his own disobedience.
And it is true with us, is it not? The things that escape us in life are, by and large, of our own doing. How shall we answer?