“But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale of armor and the breastplate; so he said to his driver of his chariot, ‘Turn around, and carry me out of the battle, for am I wounded.’ … So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; they burned the king in Samaria. They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the dogs licked up his blood and prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken.”

Earlier God spoke to King Ahab through the prophet Elijah, who told him, “Thus says the LORD: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.” (1 Kings 21:19b) Naboth is the man killed via Ahab’s wife Jezebel’s conspiracy to acquire Naboth’s vineyard. The arrow shot that killed King Ahab might be considered random if not for the prophecy. Fulfilment of the prophecy causes us to look at that shot as guided by God’s providence. While creation is not robotic fully under God’s command, each of us has the ability to choose what we do when we do it; however we are under God’s control. While we are given freedom to maneuver, ultimate outcomes are designed by God. We are given the freedom to say yes and no; eventually God will use all the no responses for the good of His kingdom. It was not a coincidence that the arrow of a certain archer slipped between the scales of the evil king’s armor. O God that I live inside your promise of eternal life with you, believing and having faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, so that I am part of your promise and prophecy in John 3:16.