Daily Devotional

“Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah … took hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces” (1 Kings 11:29, 30). 

In 1914, when a French army unit became trapped between a river and the advancing German army, they selected the first dog to carry messages for the Allied Forces during World War I—a young, freshly trained Belgian Malinois named Taki. In order to save their lives, she was to carry a coded message through the active battlefield. After her master prayed for her and gave her instructions, Taki set off across the countryside. She carried the message to French military commanders, who sent help for the trapped unit. 

Over the next four years, Taki courageously performed her duties of carrying life-or-death messages. The smoke and shrapnel of exploding bombs never held her back. Sometimes she even had to crawl under clouds of poisonous gas, but she always made it through to deliver her messages without serious injury. After the war, she received medals from two different countries for her faithful service. 

Ahijah the Shilonite faithfully carried life-or-death messages from God. One day he met Jeroboam, a mighty man of valour, outside the gates of Jerusalem with a startling message from the Lord. Taking his own new garment in hand, Ahijah tore it up into twelve pieces and told him: “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you’ ” (1 Kings 11:31). 

Later, after Jeroboam turned from God to worship idols and to pro- mote idol worship in his kingdom, Ahijah delivered a message of doom to Jeroboam’s visiting wife. Their son, who was ill, would die. And the house of Jeroboam would soon fall. 

It took genuine courage to deliver such earth-shattering messages, because the dangers faced were very real. Many times, God’s prophets were persecuted and killed by monarchs. But Ahijah was faithful to his calling. Even when his eyesight failed from his great age, he remained obedient and fearless. 

Dear heavenly Father, make me fearlessly obedient to You today!