Day 328 – Protection

1 Kings 6:24 It happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered his army and went up and besieged Samaria.

 25 There was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.

 26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my JEHOVAH, O king!”

 27 He said, “If JEHOVAH does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” 28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?”

 She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 Thus, we boiled my son and ate him. I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

 30 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.

 31 Then he said, “Elohiym do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.”

 32 However, Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”

 33 While he talked with them, the messenger came down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from JEHOVAH; why should I wait for JEHOVAH any longer?”

God’s names:

JEHOVAH – Self-existent, Eternal

Elohiym – Supreme God

Yeshuwa – Jesus

God’s character:

Sovereign

War brings more than loss of life for the soldiers. It brings famine, disease, and financial hardship for everyone. No one is exempt from war. People act irrationally, doing things they would never do in peacetime.

Ben Hadad, king of Syria besieged Samaria. Only Samaria. He didn’t wage war with any other part of Israel. As he laid siege to Samaria, the city became devastated by famine to the point the people acted irrationally. Without food, they ate their children and unclean animals. When King Ahab heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes and threatened to kill Elisha.

Note: A kab of dove droppings refers to the color, not the droppings themselves. Commentators agree it refers to vegetables, chickpeas or lentils. A kab is a dry measure about a quart or three pints, making the vegetables very expensive.

JEHOVAH sent Ben Hadad against Samaria because it was the capital of Israel and the place where sin against Him started. He strikes at the head of government. That is not to say the war didn’t affect Israel as a whole. It did.

When you accepted Yeshuwa as Savior and Lord, Satan laid siege to you. He comes against your faith, first by telling you your salvation wasn’t real. He points out your former life and tells you, you could never become worthy of salvation. If that doesn’t work, he will strike your finances, then your children, until you have nothing left. However, when you stand firm in your faith, spending time in Bible study and prayer, building a hedge of protection around yourself, and everything you call yours, Satan cannot touch you. He will flee from you in defeat.

What does your life look like? Has Satan laid siege against you? When was the last time you opened JEHOVAH’S Word? His promise of protection is on every page. His promise to never leave you or forsake you is a promise you can stand on. Don’t give in to Satan’s lies. Stand on JEHOVAH’S Word and you will find Satan fleeing and the war against you over before it began.

Let’s pray: Father, help me stand firm in my faith when Satan comes against me. Let Your Word rise in me when Satan deploys his arrows of doubt and fear. Let me stand firm in Your armor of protection, knowing You will never leave me or forsake me. Remind me that You have a plan for my life and Satan can’t touch Your plan for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Copyright © 12 December 2024 by Valerie Routhieaux