15. AHAB
AHAB
"Ahab the son of Omri wrought evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all that were before him.he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him."
Israel’s kings rapidly went from bad to worse. Omri "did worse than all that were before him" (ch. 16:25). Now Ahab does still worse. As God details his history before us, He keeps returning to this sad theme: "Thou hast sold thyself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah.Surely there was none like to Ahab, who did sell himself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah, Jezebel his wife urging him on. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel" (1Ki 21:20; 1Ki 21:25-26).
Egged on by his wife, Jezebel, a heathen princess from nearby Zidon, Ahab challenges Jehovah again and again. He adopts her religion. Israel had often been unfaithful to God in the past, following these abominable fertility idols. Bitter consequences had been the result. Now Ahab officially embraced these heathen gods, building a temple and erecting an altar for Baal in his new capital, Samaria. Jezebel, we find as we go on in the story, killed many of Jehovah’s prophets and sustained and supported at least 850 idolatrous prophets. Light and darkness can never dwell in harmony side by side. They are absolutely incompatible!
Ahab’s challenge to Jehovah led one of his subjects to rebuild Jericho in defiance of God’s word through Joshua. In consequence his oldest and youngest sons died. It is never safe to defy God.
"When Ahab saw Elijah.Ahab said to him, Is it thou, the troubler of Israel ? And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house.now send, gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal.So Ahab sent.and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel."
1Ki 18:17-20 In instituting the worship of Baal and the Asherah in Israel, Ahab had defied God and troubled Israel. Elijah, a prophet from east of the Jordan, had prayed earnestly that God would withhold rain and dew from the land until the people would acknowledge Jehovah to be God. He had then boldly confronted Ahab with this pronouncement. Thereupon at God’s command he had gone into hiding. God had miraculously preserved him during the 3½ years of drought and now sent him to again confront this wicked king.
"The righteous are bold as a lion," Pro 28:1 tells us. We see this verse well illustrated as Elijah meets King Ahab head-on. This prophet who had boldly asserted, "As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand" (1Ki 17:1), once again fearlessly stands before the king. At Elijah’s summons, the king goes to meet him. Elijah refuses the charge of troubling Israel, hurling it right back into the wicked king’s face with convicting evidence for its appropriateness. Then he tells the king to gather all Israel to him, and specifically the 850 idolatrous prophets of Baal and the Asherah under Queen Jezebel’s patronage. He, Jehovah’s prophet, takes full command of the entire situation and by faith, obedience, and prayer gains a glorious victory.
Doesn’t this remind us of our Lord Jesus? Falsely and wickedly accused and maligned, He, not His foes or His weak-willed judge, was fully in control. Yet, wonder of wonders, in His great love He willingly surrendered His life for us and won the victory!
"Behold, a prophet drew near to Ahab king of Israel , and said, Thus saith Jehovah: Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah."
How great is God’s longsuffering patience! Despite Ahab’s immense wickedness God promised him victory over the army of Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, which had invaded the land. Seeking an occasion for war, Ben-Hadad first demanded Ahab’s silver, gold, wives, and children. When Ahab would have surrendered these to him, the enemy king demanded more. He demanded the right to send his servants to search Ahab and his servants’ houses and take away all their most-cherished possessions. The elders of Israel advised Ahab not to yield to this outrageous request, and the weak-willed king sent word to Ben-Hadad that he could not do so.
Prior to this, on Mount Carmel God had sent down fire to consume Elijah’s sacrifice, and the people had cried out, "Jehovah, He is God! Jehovah, He is God!" The Lord now promised to give Ahab, who had witnessed that scene and had seen his 850 idolatrous prophets destroyed, victory over the Syrian foe. It was not that Israel deserved it. No, God told Ahab, "Thou shalt know that I am Jehovah." The Lord would prove Himself in this manner too. Would Israel, would Ahab, repent and turn back to Him? "The goodness of God leads thee to repentance," Rom 2:4 tells us.
While God kept His word and enabled Ahab to slay "the Syrians with a great slaughter," the Syrians did not give up their ambitions. Saying that "Jehovah is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," they again joined battle with Israel. God knew their reasoning. Again He gave Ahab a mighty victory over them, saying, "Ye shall know that I am Jehovah."
"Thus saith Jehovah: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man that I had devoted to destruction, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed."
1Ki 20:42-43 The Lord had twice given Ahab wonderful victories over the Syrians. Their king Ben-Hadad, who had called Jehovah a god of the mountains but not of the valleys, had had to flee in shame and defeat. But Ahab spared his life and had even called him his brother. He made a covenant with him, caused him to come up into his chariot, and had sent him away in peace.
It may have seemed like good politics to treat his enemy so magnanimously, but the Lord sent a prophet to face Ahab with his failure. He let him know God’s displeasure with what he had done and acquainted him with the consequences that would follow. The Syrian king had affronted the Lord, and in turn the Lord had given him over to destruction. Ahab, like King Saul with the Amalekites in 1Sa 15:1-35, had failed to carry out God’s purpose against this wicked king. Just as with Saul, there would be a price to pay: Ahab would one day die at the hand of the Syrians. "Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!" the Lord would later declare through the prophet Jeremiah.
What about us? Do we waste our God-given opportunities? Do we obey God’s directions implicitly, or do we justify disobedience with excuses of all kinds? And what attitudes do we display? In present-day society many consider tolerance the greatest virtue of all - except that in their eyes Christians who stand clearly for biblical convictions should not be tolerated any more than their Master was when here on earth! May we be zealous to obey!
"Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard.and I will give thee for it a better vineyard [or] I will give thee its value in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee!"
1Ki 21:2-3 A t first glance Ahab’s offer to purchase Naboth’s vineyard seems both reasonable and fair. His father, Omri, had purchased a hill and built his capital, Samaria, upon it. Ahab wanted Naboth’s land for a vegetable garden convenient to his palace kitchen. But the land was God’s and He had forbidden His people to sell it on an absolute basis. Moreover, the land was to remain within the tribe to which God had assigned it. So Naboth’s refusal to give up his inheritance was a matter of simple obedience to God. His faithfulness cost him his life through Jezebel’s conniving.
God has given us Christians even more than the incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance reserved in heaven for us mentioned in 1Pe 1:5. Already in this life we can enjoy a precious heritage, an inheritance among all the sanctified (Acts 20:32). Its components are set forth in the Word of God. Paul admonished the Thessalonians, "Brethren, stand firm, and hold fast the instructions which ye have been taught, whether by word or by our letter" (2Th 2:15). Telling them to imitate him, he praised the Corinthians "that in all things ye are mindful of me; and that as I have directed you, ye keep the directions" (1Co 11:1-2). The Old Testament repeatedly warns us against removing the ancient landmark which the fathers have set.
Satan loves to rob us of our spiritual heritage. If he cannot do so outright, he gladly offers something in exchange - influence, money, popularity, even greater opportunities for service! Let’s be faithful and obedient to the path God has entrusted to us.
"It came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?.Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, mine enemy?.And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah; but I hate him, for he prophesies no good concerning me, but evil: it is Micah the son of Imlah."
1Ki 18:17; 1Ki 21:20; 1Ki 22:8
Wicked King Ahab, as we might well expect, had no love for Elijah or any other of Jehovah’s faithful prophets. "Troubler of Israel," "Mine enemy," he calls Elijah. "I hate him," he frankly says of Micah the son of Imlah. Through Elijah’s prayers rain and dew had ceased for 3½ years in Israel. Nor did Elijah hesitate to rebuke Ahab and pronounce God’s judgment upon him. Micah the son of Imlah was cut out of the same material. Though he was told that "the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent," and counseled to fall in line with them, he flatly refused. "As Jehovah liveth, even what Jehovah shall say to me, that will I speak," he resolutely replied.
Many of God’s prophets have sealed their ministry with their lives. They have been hated, maligned, and persecuted because of their fearless, uncompromising denunciation of evil backed up by their godly lives. Think of John the Baptist, the Elijah of the New Testament! And our Lord Jesus Himself could say in prophetic language, "They that hate Me without a cause are more than the hairs of My head; they that would destroy Me, being Mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty" (Psa 69:4). When the Jews took up stones to stone Him, He said, "Many good works have I shown you of My Father; for which work of them do ye stone Me?" (John 10:31-32). As evil increases in the world, we can expect wicked men to show their hatred for God and His true servants ever more blatantly.
"When Ahab heard these words.he rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah.saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? Because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days: in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house."
How gracious is our God! Ahab’s career had been consistently wicked. His wife Jezebel had spurred him on. She had engineered Naboth’s judicial murder and Ahab had gone to take possession of the vineyard he had coveted. God’s servant Elijah was now sent there to pronounce God’s impending judgment upon them both. To our astonishment, perhaps, we now see Ahab humbling himself before God. Even more astonishing to us, God accepts Ahab’s humbling of himself, calls Elijah’s attention to it, and stays the execution of His judgment until the next generation. Judgment is God’s strange work, we read in Isa 28:21. And in Eze 33:11 God tells us, "As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" God is still reaching out to even the greatest of sinners. None are too wicked for Him to forgive. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1Jn 1:7)! On this righteous basis God can forgive.
We see as we go on that Ahab’s humbling of himself was not that "grief according to God" which works "repentance to salvation, never to be regretted" that God so delights to see. He did not prove himself pure in the matter (2Co 7:10). Nevertheless, we can be thankful for even this humbling of himself, for it makes us appreciate the greatness of the heart of our forgiving God.
"The king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.And a man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the fastenings and the corselet. And he said to his charioteer, Turn thy hand and drive me out of the camp; for I am wounded.And the king died, and was brought to Samaria."
1Ki 22:30; 1Ki 22:34; 1Ki 22:37
God had determined that Ahab would die at Ramoth-Gilead, the city he was trying to retake from the Syrians. Ahab had induced Jehoshaphat to go with him on this campaign. Micah the son of Imlah had prophesied Ahab’s death. While Ahab hated Micah, yet at the same time he now feared for his life and took dastardly measures to try to keep Micah’s prophecy from being fulfilled. The Syrian king, whose life Ahab had spared a short while before, ordered his captains to fight with the king of Israel only. So Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go into battle in his royal robes, seemingly in command, while Ahab would go in disguise. But man only deceives himself if he thinks that he can frustrate God’s purposes by such cowardly stratagems. When Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, God diverted the attackers away from him. But an arrow shot at random, perhaps even against orders, struck Ahab in a vital spot between the joints of his armor. Wounded and bleeding, he was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, but died that same evening and was brought to Samaria.
Ahab’s character is certainly anything but admirable. Twice previously God notes that he went to his house sullen and vexed, one of these times lying down on his bed, turning away his face and refusing to eat. By God actions are weighed. While men might make much of "the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built" (ch. 22:39), God shows us this wicked man as He saw him.