The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 14:4b,
"Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age."
Ahijah was a prominent prophet during the time of Solomon and beyond. He was the prophet the Lord used to inform Jeroboam that he was going to rip Israel apart into two entities, the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel - and give the majority of Israel, the northern ten tribes, to Jeroboam to rule. We read of it in 1 Kings 11:29-40.
Here in this passage, 1 Kings 14:4b, we see that Ahijah had gone blind, because of his old age. I note the comment made here because of the confusion and misunderstandings so many people have of prophets of the Lord.
Prophets were not super-men or super-women. Both men and women served the Lord as prophets and prophetesses in both the Old Testament and in the New. Many did remarkable things, many communicated in very unusual ways at the Lord's direction and with his empowerment. But all were normal people that experienced the normal things we all do in life, with the exception they were enabled by the Lord in special ways - for specific circumstances. Some, like John the Baptist, began their ministry from the start of their lives (John did prior to his birth! - see Luke 1:44) for the duration of their lives.
Here we see Ahijah, a prophet very prominent in a pivotal time in Israel's history, suffering the very common infirmity of blindness due to old age. Some assume those who are enabled by the Lord in special ways, as the prophets were, were capable of the miraculous most any time. The Scriptures do not bear that out. Ahijah, an important prophet, suffered the common affliction of blindness in old age.
Paul the apostle is another example who could not heal people (whether himself or others) at any time he may have wanted. Here we have an apostle and prophet (having written 13 of our 27 New Testament books) who brought the gospel of the Lord to the Gentiles. A man who healed different ones at different times, but yet not able heal Epaphroditus as we read in Philippians 2:25-30.
I need to remind myself that I should never make my own assumptions about the things of the Lord, but educate myself in the Scriptures. I couldn't count the number of times I have been corrected by the Scriptures of the things I assumed I knew. I suspect those closest to me do not find that at all surprising...
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age."
Ahijah was a prominent prophet during the time of Solomon and beyond. He was the prophet the Lord used to inform Jeroboam that he was going to rip Israel apart into two entities, the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel - and give the majority of Israel, the northern ten tribes, to Jeroboam to rule. We read of it in 1 Kings 11:29-40.
Here in this passage, 1 Kings 14:4b, we see that Ahijah had gone blind, because of his old age. I note the comment made here because of the confusion and misunderstandings so many people have of prophets of the Lord.
Prophets were not super-men or super-women. Both men and women served the Lord as prophets and prophetesses in both the Old Testament and in the New. Many did remarkable things, many communicated in very unusual ways at the Lord's direction and with his empowerment. But all were normal people that experienced the normal things we all do in life, with the exception they were enabled by the Lord in special ways - for specific circumstances. Some, like John the Baptist, began their ministry from the start of their lives (John did prior to his birth! - see Luke 1:44) for the duration of their lives.
Here we see Ahijah, a prophet very prominent in a pivotal time in Israel's history, suffering the very common infirmity of blindness due to old age. Some assume those who are enabled by the Lord in special ways, as the prophets were, were capable of the miraculous most any time. The Scriptures do not bear that out. Ahijah, an important prophet, suffered the common affliction of blindness in old age.
Paul the apostle is another example who could not heal people (whether himself or others) at any time he may have wanted. Here we have an apostle and prophet (having written 13 of our 27 New Testament books) who brought the gospel of the Lord to the Gentiles. A man who healed different ones at different times, but yet not able heal Epaphroditus as we read in Philippians 2:25-30.
I need to remind myself that I should never make my own assumptions about the things of the Lord, but educate myself in the Scriptures. I couldn't count the number of times I have been corrected by the Scriptures of the things I assumed I knew. I suspect those closest to me do not find that at all surprising...
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment