Get 'em God!

I was reading in 1 Kings 21 today and I came to the conclusion that I would have hated to be an Old Testament prophet. Why? Well, check out the story...

Ahab was king of Israel and according to the scriptures, he was the most evil king they ever had. One day he was walking around his palace grounds and decided he wanted his neighbors vineyard. He offered to buy it from him, but he wouldn't sell.

So, Ahab goes home and cries like a baby to his wife Jezebel...who was more wicked than him. What does she do? She kills the guy and leaves his body in the streets to be eaten by the dogs.

It was at this point, that I'm furious and I'm thinking...I hope this guy and his stupid wife get what is due them...death!

And what do you know, God tells Elijah to go tell Ahab he's going to do just that. The message he gave was filled with the strongest words I've read...Ahab and his wife's bodies are going to be eaten by dogs, flesh torn apart, blood everywhere...I was ready to stand and shout...YEAH GOD...GET THEM GOOD!

Then, when Elijah tells Ahab, Ahab actually repents in a big time way, and God tells Elijah..."Did you see Ahab...he's really sorry...tell him I'm not going through with what I told him I was going to do."

I was ticked when I read that, and I couldn't help but think that Elijah may have been as well. After all, Ahab was a pathetic excuse for a leader who only was concerned with himself...why would God would you let him live.

Then it hit me. God is not about retribution and revenge...he's about repentance. That's what sets apart the men from the boys all through out the Bible. A man or woman after God's heart is a man or woman who lives a life of repentance.

J.I. Packer says that Christianity is a religion about one thing...repentance. Not retribution, retaliation or revenge, but simply repentance...the ability to say I need forgiven.

For that, I have to thank God for his sparing Ahab...why? Because when I was in sin, he spared me. He's after my repentance not revenge or retaliation...and for that I'm thankful that he shows it even through a horrible man like Ahab.