Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 20:28-30 (New Living Translation)

28 Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.

The Arameans poked fun at Jehovah God. “He is powerful in the hills, but we can whip Him on the plains.” 127,000 Arameans died in battle in one day. That is one of the worst days in the history of mankind. It is difficult to imagine such today with the horribly powerful weapons we have.

We live in the age of grace. God doesn’t wipe out 127,000 of us in a day for telling stupid jokes about Him or just plain trying to pretend He doesn’t exist. We are blessed beyond belief. I am blessed beyond belief. God, please help me remember that everyday. Every hour. Every breathe I take.