Heavy and displeased..…..
1 King 20:42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
The words, “ he went to his house heavy and displeased” caught my attention! Several years back in school, I remember carrying my report card and returning home heavy and displeased because I had done badly in few subjects. Instead of repenting for my mistakes, I was seething with anger at my teacher who had given me low marks and I felt, I had been let down. How we love to blame others! Be it kinder garden games or poll results we hear people yell, “I did well, but I was not rightly rewarded!” Even today, there are many out there, hanging around ‘heavy and displeased’ because of their pride and rebellious attitude. It takes a lot of spiritual maturity to turn your finger back at you and confess your sins before God. It takes a simple confession, “I am sorry Lord for what I have done” to mend a broken relationship.
The background of the above given scripture is that, Ahab, the king of Israel, instead of killing the enemy, he disobeys God and allows Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria to escape. Angry with Ahab, God pronounces his judgment through a prophet to king Ahab. However, instead of being convicted of his sins and disobedience, we see that Ahab went to his house heavy and displeased, not truly penitent, or seeking God’s pardon, but enraged at the prophet, exasperated against God, as if He had been too severe in the sentence passed upon him. Mathew Henry says, “Foolish pity spoils the city.”
Friend, now listen to me, there are many out there, when they go through persecutions and problems, blame God and others and sulk like Ahab instead of searching themselves for any hidden sins. Despite tasting the goodness of God, such proud and hard-hearted people refuse to repent and acknowledge their sins of disobedience. It appears Ahab had been lulled into a false sense of security because of his riches and success. What else do you think would be the reason for people not to give God his due reverence? There are people who drop into church once a month or may be once a year and still they expect God to abundantly shower His blessings on them, if not, they sulk like Ahab. How callous! Well, if you turn to the next chapter, you would surprisingly see this king Ahab again come back to his house ‘heavy and displeased’ because Naboth refused to give him the vineyard to him.
1 King 21:4”….And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers….” Being extremely proud, he is hurt when Noboth refuses to give him his vineyard. Discontentment is a sin! This sadly leads to the horrendous death of Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Friend, we better set right our heart when we spot something small rather than wait for it to balloon into something big and catastrophic.
