1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:11

Boasting Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off.—1 Kings 20:11.Benhadad, king of Syria, was a big bully. He had invaded Israel with an army of one hundred and thirty thousand men commanded by thirty-two petty princes. Ahab, king of Israel, had only a small following of seven thousand men and he had shut himself up in the city of Samaria. Benhadad laid siege to the city and when he thought it must be in dire straits, he sent bullying messages to Ahab demanding his wives and his children, his silver and his gold.At first Ahab was so terrified that he consented. “My lord, O king,” he replied, “according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.” But when Benhadad, pleased with this success, demanded more and more, Ahab’s spirit was roused and he refused to comply.The king of Syria was angry and he began to threaten and boast. He sent to Ahab saying that he would pound Samaria to dust and that he had so many men with him that if he gave merely a handful of that dust to each of them there would not be enough to go round.It was then that Ahab replied in the words of our text—“Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off.” The time to boast, he meant, is when you have won the victory.Well, we know how the story ended. The little army of the Israelites fell upon the Syrians at noon when they were not expecting them.

A panic ensued, the Syrians fled pell-mell, and Benhadad took hasty flight upon the first horse he could seize. Like most bullies he was only a coward at heart.Ahab’s words have come down to us as a sort of proverb, and although they were spoken by a very foolish king, they are very wise words. “Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off.” That just means—“if you are going to boast wait till you have something to boast about.” And the odd thing is that if you wait till then the chances are you will never boast at all.

For it isn’t the people who have done big things who brag, but the people who haven’t begun to try to do them.Now I want to give you two reasons why it is well not to boast, and the first is that boasting, like pride, generally goes before a fall. The boasting people don’t see their own weakness, so of course they don’t guard against it and when they are attacked down they come at the first blow. It was like that with Benhadad. He was so very sure of victory that he took his ease and sat down to feast and drink at noon. He never dreamt that the enemy would attack him in the heat of the day. And that was just when the enemy came.And the second reason is that boasting is very often a sign of weakness.

The boys and girls who are always talking about what they can do are generally the ones who accomplish nothing.Did you ever hear of the rich harper of Tarentum? Tarentum was a city in ancient Greece, and in that city there dwelt a harper who thought very highly of himself.

Now a big competition for harpers was going to take place at a town called Delphos, and a laurel crown was to be given to the competitor who played best and sang most sweetly.The rich harper of Tarentum made up his mind that he would enter the competition. But he thought a laurel crown was a very poor reward for skill in harping, so he resolved that he would go to Delphos crowned already and make a display of his splendor.Over his shoulders he threw a cape of cloth of gold, and on his head he placed a golden crown set with emeralds. He took a harp inlaid with jewels. He rode in a fine chariot. And all the people admired him.At last he reached the theatre where the competition was to take place, and the time came when the competitors were called upon to play. When the rich man stepped forward all eyes were turned upon him and the people waited breathlessly till he should begin.

But when his fingers smote the harp they brought forth nothing but discord, and when he raised his voice to sing it produced the most hideous sound. The people roared with laughter, the judges drove him from the theatre, and he returned to Tarentum with his gold crown all on one side of his head.You may have noticed that the boys and girls who boast how brave they would be if they met a wild beast are generally the ones who run away if they meet a barking dog.

The really brave people always think they have accomplished nothing. It is always the other fellow who has done it.We have been talking about foolish boasting, but there is a kind of boasting that is not foolish. You know we all have a battle to fight in this life—a battle against our worst selves, a battle against sin and temptation. And if we go into this fight in our own strength we are sure to be beaten. But if we wear the armor that Christ gives us and put our confidence in Him then we are sure to win.Do you remember how Goliath came to meet David blustering and boasting about how he was going to give his flesh to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field? That was one kind of boasting.

And David came boasting too, but not in his own strength. “Thou comest to me,” he said, “with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand.”That is the kind of boasting that stands the test, because it is boasting, not in ourselves, but in One who cannot fail.

And if we have this confidence it will last us from the day we put on our armor till the day we put it off to exchange it for a crown of victory.

1 Kings 20:40

Busyness And Business And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.— 1 Kings 20:40.These words are part of a parable which was spoken by a prophet to a king who had disobeyed the commands of God.The parable tells of a man who in the midst of a battle had an important prisoner brought to him. He was told that he must guard that prisoner at all costs, and that, if the captive escaped, his own life should be forfeit.At first he was most watchful and careful, but later he began to weary of his task. The battle was surging past him, men were doing glorious deeds, and here was he condemned to keep guard over a silly old prisoner! Nothing could very well happen to the prisoner right there in the middle of the camp. He would go and strike a blow for freedom and for fame.So he went. He performed deeds of wonderful valor, and covered himself with glory, and when he returned—the prisoner was gone!

The most dangerous enemy of his country had got away, and disaster awaited his people.Now will you notice something about this man? It doesn’t say he was idle when the prisoner escaped, it doesn’t say he was sleeping or playing, it says he was busy.

Yes, but he was busy doing something that wasn’t his business. It is good to be busy, but it is not good to be busy about the wrong thing, at the wrong time, and in the wrong place.I daresay that man thought that the work he chose for himself was much finer and grander than the work he had been set to do, but while he was busy doing the thing he had not been asked to do, he failed in the one thing he had been asked to do.I think we can learn two lessons from the story of this soldier who betrayed his trust.1. We can be disobedient just as much in doing what we are not told to do as in doing what we are told not to do.When a ship captain sets out on a voyage he gets a list of orders from the owner of his vessel. These orders he must obey implicitly and exactly, no matter what happens. The rule is—“Obey orders, if you break owners.”Now, once upon a time the owner of a certain vessel sent the captain with a cargo to the East Indies. The captain had orders as to what kind of cargo he was to bring back.

But when he reached his destination and had unloaded, he saw that he would make much more money for his master by bringing back a different cargo from the one he had been told to bring. This he did, and by so doing he made two thousand pounds more money than he would have done had he obeyed orders.When he arrived home the owner of the vessel paid him his wages and gave him in addition a handsome present.

Then he dismissed him. The captain was astonished, but the owner said, “Sir, I cannot have a man in my service who does not obey orders. This time it turned out well, but next time disobedience might spell ruin.”One of our poets tells the story of a man whom God sent to a river head for a draught of water. But when the man got there he saw that the water was muddy. He also saw lying by the riverside a beautiful marble cup. And he said to himself, “What can God want with a draught of muddy water? All the rivers on the earth are His. I will take Him this beautiful cup instead.

It is a much finer gift” But God had asked for the draught of water, not for the marble cup, and the man’s gift was valueless.If you are told to do a thing and do something else instead, no amount of fine or generous things you may do will make up for the omission of the thing you ought to have done. Supposing your mother sends you to buy bread for tea or meat for dinner, and on your way you pass a wood where some beautiful wild flowers grow. You think it would be so nice to bring her a bunch of those, so you stop and fill your basket with them and forget all about your message. Do you think any amount of fine flowers will make up to her for the dinner you didn’t bring her?Don’t be ashamed to obey, boys and girls. Be one of those whom others can trust to carry out an order exactly. Such people are scarce in the world—much scarcer than you might think—and when we find one of them we prize him highly.2.

And then I think this story of the unfaithful soldier teaches us that the duty that lies nearest us is the lest for us to do. If this man had stuck to his post, if he hadn’t busied himself about a lot of things he wasn’t asked to do, the prisoner would never have got away.There are a lot of people like that.

They are so busy dreaming about the fine things they will do later that they miss the opportunity of doing the little, humble, necessary services that lie close at hand.“Today,” said pretty Dolly, asShe opened wide her eyes,“I’m going to give my dear mammaA beautiful surprise.I hardly know what it will be,But I will find a wayTo do some great and noble thingTo please mamma today.“I’m tired of doing little things,Why, any one can sweep And dust, or wipe the dishes up,Or watch the baby sleep.It’s some big thing I want to do.If I could write a book,Or save the house from burning, nowHow pleased mamma would look I”So after breakfast Dolly went And sat beside the fire,While mother cleared the things away,And mended baby’s tire;She wiped the dishes, made the beds,And braided Bessy’s hair,While Dolly sat and pondered longWithin her easy chair.And so she dreamed and thought and plannedThe busy morning through;But could not think of anythingQuite big enough to do!And when she went to bed at nightShe really wondered why,When mother kissed her lovingly,The kiss was half a sigh! (G. M. Cannon)Boys and girls, take your heads out of the clouds. It isn’t the doing of the far-away, big things that is the finest work for you, it is the doing well of the little things that lie nearest you. If you neglect these little things, however commonplace they may seem, then you have failed in your duty, and no amount of grand deeds will ever take their place.If you are not helpful and dutiful and loving to your father and mother, kind and courteous to your brothers and sisters, faithful in your work, then none of the fine, brave things you imagine you are going to do in the world will ever make up. God gives most of us just very commonplace tasks, but He expects us to do them well.

We must see to it that we do thoroughly the little bit of work He puts before us, and some day perhaps He will call us to something bigger.Just one thing more. The man in the story was too busy to do the thing that mattered most.

And there are still some foolish people who are too busy to do the thing that matters most of all—to make room in their lives for God.Boys and girls, don’t make that mistake. It is the biggest one you could possibly make. Let God into your hearts now, while they are young and free and generous, and before other interests come in to crowd Him out. He is worthy of your heart’s adoration, of your life’s service, but He will never force Himself in. Will you open the door of your heart and give Him an entrance? It will never be easier for you to do it than now, and you will never regret it.