Daily Devotions
Amos
"I will also break the gate bar of Damascus"
Text: Amos 1:5a
DIVINE PUNISHMENT
King Ahab may have let Ben-Hadad go free. The Syrian king promised to return all the territory that his father had taken from Israel. Ahab was content with this treaty.
However, the Divine imperative was quite different. In 1 Kings 20:35-43, God sent one of His prophets to speak to king Ahab! The conclusion is note-worthy!
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Because you have let slip out of your hand
a man whom I appointed for utter destruction,
therefore your life shall go for his life,
and your people for his people.'”
1 Kings 20:42
1. God had determined to end the life of Ben-Hadad
a) But Ahab had let him go free instead.
b) This was outright disobedience.
c) This was nothing short of mad foolishness.
2. The Punishment pronounced
a) Ahab’s life would be forfeit.
b) Israel would suffer under the Syrians.
c) The Syrians would return in power and harass Israel again.
GOD’S PLAN WILL NOT BE THWARTED
Since Ahab did not carry out God’s command to destroy Ben-Hadad, God would have to punish Syria but in a different way.
“‘I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who holds the sceptre from Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,’
Says the LORD.”
Amos 1:5