1 Kings 22:19 And he said, Hear you therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne… (with ver. 8): — Now in these two utterances, spoken by Ahab on the one hand and by Micaiah on the other, you see the cause of the difference between the two men. One man has a clear vision that leads to goodness, to pure life, to holy character, and to undying courage; the other man is blinded by his sins so that his vision is darkened, and he goes from folly to folly until he ends his life in shame and ignominy, because he hates the truth and will not hear it nor heed it. Here are some very important lessons for us as Christians. 1. The duties of life will not all be pleasant. We Shall sometimes be required to do very unpleasant things; but if, like this brave prophet, we have a clear vision of the Lord on His throne, and recognise that God has the first claim to our service, then we shall be able to do unpleasant duties in a brave and cheerful spirit, because we are pleasing God. 2. We are only fitted to do Christian work in the right spirit when like Micaiah, we seek to please the Lord, having Him always before our eyes. I have noticed that when I have witnessed the falling away in service on the part of a Christian it has almost universally come from a lessening of true devotion. A man ceases to pray with regularity; he becomes absorbed in business or pleasure; sets his mind on material things, until his thought is taken away from God. He does not see the Lord, and so he becomes indifferent to earnest Christian effort. 3. The man who looks upon the Lord as his God, his Heavenly Father, his Saviour, will feel that earthly affairs are of very small moment compared to the importance of spiritual victories. He will feel that it is infinitely more important to be good than it is to be rich. The man who has looked upon the face of God in loving reverence before he goes forth to his work in the morning will not be a fit subject to delude into taking bribes, or into receiving fraudulent money either in business or in politics. 4. He who sees the Lord in daily communion finds God a present help in every time of trouble. (L A. Banks, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. |
    |