Daily Tanach Monday Sefer Melachim 1 Chapter 20 Part 5: Achav is told by a prophet of his demise due to allowing Ben Hadad to live

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1.      Achav is told by a prophet of his demise due to allowing Ben Hadad to live:

  • Story of man who dies for not listening to the prophecy of G-d: There was a certain man who was a prophet [i.e. Michiyahu Ben Yimlah[1]] who said to his friend, “I am asking you in the name of Hashem [i.e. Hashem has told me in a prophecy[2]], please strike me [and kill me].” However, the man refused to hit him. So, the prophet said to him, “because you have not obeyed the word of Hashem, therefore, when you depart from me, a lion will strike you.” And so it happened that he went his way, and a lion came and struck him. The prophet then found another man and he asked him to hit him and so the man listened and struck him, and wounded him.
  • The prophet disguises himself and meets Achav: The prophet went on his way and waited for the king on the road. He disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. When the king was passing, he cried out to the king, and said, “Your servant went out to battle, and behold a man brought to me a captive and asked me to watch the captive for him. He told me, that if the captive will go missing, then it will cost me my life, or I will need to pay a Kikar of silver. Now, I became involved in other things, and the captive managed to escape. [What should I do?].” Achav, the king of Israel replied to him, “You have pronounced your own verdict.”
  • The prophet reveals himself and gives Achav a prophecy of doom: The prophet then removed the headband from his eyes, and Achav recognized him as being one of the prophets. The prophet then said to Achav, “Thus said Hashem: Since you have released the man whom I designated for destruction, from your hand, therefore your life will be taken instead of his life and your people instead of his people.”
  • Achav, the king of Israel, returned home sad and angry, and he came to Samaria.

[1] Sanhedrin 89b; Metzudos Dovid 20:35

[2] Rashi 20:35

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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