DAILY GUIDE DEVOTIONAL: A Dead Conscience is A Dangerous Guide

Text: 1Kings 16:15-34

Any deviation from godly counsel always has a disastrous end. The northern kingdom goes deeper into disobedience. Each successive kingdom doing worse than the former. Progressively, it became a norm that each successive monarchy will arise through a bloody coup. Within the 41 year reign of king Asa of Judah, Israel had seven kings! 

Zimri deposed of  Elah and got rid of the lineage of Baasha as decreed by the lord, but his rule was only for seven days as the people rejected him in preference to Omri. Why the man would commit suicide remains a puzzle. He would be among the few suicidal events recorded in the bible.

Omri came into power with much political promise but no spiritual background. By this time the adulteration of the worship of Jehovah God, which Jeroboam instituted, has gained ground. God was looking for a man to reform the pattern of worship, but each succeeding king intensified the worship of idol more than their predecessor. Omri built Samaria as the fortified capital city giving Israel greater prominence and protection among the nations but spiritually he did the unimaginable; He legalized and enforced the worship of idols. (see Micah 6:16)

Then came Ahab, the worst of them all. He continued from where his father stopped. He made himself more fortified in evil by his alliance of marriage with a pagan princess; Jezebel. Bible particularly noted this marriage  as it is crucial to the evil committed during the time of Ahab. During Ahab's reign, any pretence of worshipping God via the erected calves was completely rejected. 

Ahab brought the idol, Baal into Israel and legalized its worship. Its image was erected and priests were chosen to service it. In other words, during the time of Jerobaom,  the worship of God was adulterated but Omri and his son Ahab changed the pattern completely to pure idolatry. This is why Ahab's sin was the highest. In his pride he commissioned the rebuilding of Jericho and Heil paid with the life of his two sons as prophesied by Joshua, yet this was not enough warning for Ahab. 

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Obedience to God's laws keeps us safe. We are no match for God that we can challenge him to a fight. Let the church, the special people of God today take heed. As we continue to go deeper and deeper into worldliness, bringing in syncretism  and changing the pattern instituted by the bible we fall into the error of Ahab where we completely remove the name of the lord and begin to worship pure idols. Care must be taken by every christian to defend the faith we have received and preserve its purity. We must guard our hearts closely, examining it daily to avoid hardness of heart or a conscience seared by sin.

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