Ever Merciful

1 Kings 21:17-28
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.” ’ ”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”
25 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)
27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.” 

Our responses to admonishment and punishment are interesting. Hopefully, a change in behavior is the first thing that comes about, but often that is fleeting. In our reading for today, we observe Ahab's response to God's judgment on his lifetime of idolatrous and evil living. Suddenly, Ahab is repentant! Throughout his story, we've seen a man who wears his emotions on the outside. This event is no different. God (through Elijah) calls Ahab out on the evil life he has lived. And, surprise, surprise - Ahab pitches a fit. We've seen it before. But this time, God judges this fit as genuine repentance and accords him yet more mercy. Sadly, Ahab's choices for evil are going to impact future generations but from what we know of Ahab, I don't think that bothers him very much! What we learn here is that God wants to exercise mercy, not judgment! 

Our God is so gracious that even when we are at our worst, He wants to give us yet another chance. As we read Ahab's story, we are horrified at how he disregards God and His ways. But I don't really think we get the full emotional picture. I don't think the text paints God's sorrow and pain very clearly. We know that he is displeased, but he doesn't share His true pain with us. Instead we see over and over how God wants his people to be restored, not destroyed. What we always see is grace upon grace being bestowed where none is deserved and certainly not expected. This is why we read the Old Testament. It teaches us about the depth and richness of God's character. It helps us see how He loves us and wants the best for us. Even if we behave badly (and Ahab is an example of that in the extreme) God reaches out in mercy. It's a great reminder of who God is even still today. 

Romans 5:6-8 says:
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

God wanted to display mercy to us even as we still walked around oblivious to our need for a Savior. And so He did, through the life and terrible death of His perfect and innocent Son. While His judgment was just and reasonable in the face of our sin, He brought redemption instead of destruction. Even if we pitch a fit like Ahab, God brings mercy rather than death. We don't deserve it, but fortunately, God doesn't give us what we deserve!

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