And a Lion Killed Him

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Scripture

1Kings 20:35   At the command of the LORD a certain member of a company of prophets said to another, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.  36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.

Observation

Ahab the king had been continually disobedient to the commands of God. Now, a prophet was to confront the king regarding his disobedience and unwillingness to strike down one of his enemies. To get the message across the prophet needed to be wounded. Approaching another prophet he shared the command of the LORD to strike him. The man refused, probably because it seemed like such an odd request and maybe out of compassion, and yet, it was disobedience to the command of God. To speak to Ahab, the prophet needed to have a wound. Because of the disobedience of the one prophet he was told a lion would kill him, and that’s exactly what happened.

Application

I think I’m attracted to odd stories in the Bible. This is another one of those in which you wonder what God is doing. Would God really allow a prophet to be killed by a lion for not hitting another prophet?

It is more of an object lesson for those who would listen. I’m sure the story of the prophet who was killed by a lion spread far and wide — it even ended up in the scriptures! News of this disobedience surely reached the ears of Ahab himself. But Ahab didn’t want to listen and he didn’t seem to think that he needed any object lessons. As many ways as God tried to get the point across, Ahab kept ignoring him!

God calls us to obedience, even when it may not make sense to us. One prophet giving another a black eye seems a bit crazy. Maybe it was crazy, but it was God’s plan and he was seeking obedient followers to do as commanded.

Sometimes life takes some pretty negative turns. We don’t understand why it may seem that things aren’t turning out the way we would like. God may even ask us to do something that makes no sense to us. It would have been much easier for the prophet to have been obedient, giving the other a smack, than for him to be killed by a lion!

We are being called to radical obedience to the leading of God in our lives. There are consequences to disobedience. Don’t be eaten by a lion!

Prayer

Lord, may I hear your voice and respond in obedience to your leading. Amen.

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