Messin' with Sasquatch (1 Kings 22)

There's a series of commercials that air usually during certain sporting events hawking a brand of beef jerky. They all revolve around the theme, "Messin' with Sasquatch." Each of the episodes revolve around usually male characters trying to trick or play a practical joke on the mythical man-beast character of Sasquatch. The ads generally portray the characters as smart and fun loving and the more powerful Sasquatch as lacking intelligence or simply naive. The end results are always the same, the much stronger Sasquatch kicking the butts of the practical jokers.

I'm not really sure of the implication of the commercial to the product, but it sure reminded of the way many arrogant leaders viewed and treated God in the Old Testament. Take King Ahab for instance. Instead of humbling himself before God and fearing Him, he treated God as almost bumbling idiot. Ahab seems to think of himself as superior in intellect and sophistication to God. Although he doesn't try to pull a chair out from under God in physical sense, as portrayed in one of the commercials, Ahab does try to pull throne out from under God.

In 1st Kings 22, King Ahab invites King Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against the Areameans. Jehoshaphat agrees on conditions that the prophets guarantee victory for them. All the prophets but one, Macaiah, tell Ahab that he will have victory. Macaiah tells Ahab that if goes to war against the Areameans that he will be killed. Ahab is so angry that he has Macaiah arrested and thrown into prison and put on bread and water and then Ahab heads off to war.

To hedge his bet, Ahab disguises himself as just regular soldier and has Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes. As the battle ensues, the enemy come after whom they believe to be King Ahab. When they discover that it wasn't Ahab, the battle is enjoined. During the fighting, an arrow from the bow of an enemy archer is randomly launched. It strikes Ahab between the joints of his army. Ahab dies later that day as a result of the wound and his army is routed. Random shot? Lucky Shot? Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

Many today have the same arrogance as Ahab. They think that they can ignore the teachings of God and avoid the consequences. They think God's commands are archaic, out dated, irrelevant in today's world or society. "We are much more sophisticated today and God's teachings are old fashion." They live the way they want to live, trivializing the truths of God. They view God as almost a benevolent benefactor who is out of touch with today's world. He maybe powerful, but He's a little naive. Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

I'm not saying that God is a mean, angry, powerful pontificate ready to squash anyone who crosses him. I am saying that there are consequences to not following God's truths.  God is interested in our well being, our relationships, our marriages. He wants the best for us, for us to experience a healthy life, an abundant life. To ignore his truths, his teachings is a detriment to us and the world we live in. God's truths are TRUE! When we choose not to follow them, we crash and burn.

God, forgive my arrogance. Forgive me when I ignore or trivialize or manipulate your teachings to accommodate me. In the words of the psalmist, I love your precepts. I want to hide your truths in my heart. They are a light, a guide to my path. I want to follow your ways. Guide me today, each day.