Ahab

From: The Kings of Judah and Israel By: Christopher Knapp

1 Kings 16:29‑17:1; 1 Kings 18:1‑22:40; 2 Chronicles 18 • 30 min. read • grade level: 10

Brother of [his] father

Contemporary Prophets: Elijah, and Micah son of Imlah

When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth; but the righteous shall see their fall. Prov. 29:16¹⁶When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall. (Proverbs 29:16)

“And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.”

Ahab was not the first to introduce Baal worship in Israel: it had been known among them since their entrance into the land. But under his rule and the powerful influence of Jezebel, his wife, it became the established form of idolatry, as calf worship was made under Jeroboam. Baal was the sun god of the ancient inhabitants of the land (as of the Phoenicians), and his worship was accompanied by the most obscene rites and impurities.

Dius and Menander, Tyrian historians, mention Ithobalus, a priest of Ashtoreth during Ahab’s time. They wrote that Ithobalus murdered Pheles, and became king of Tyre. This was in all probability Jezebel’s father. Her zeal for the spread and maintenance of the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, or Astarte (female consort of Baal), is therefore easily accounted for. It would also explain her inveterate hatred of the holy worship of Jehovah, and her murderous designs against His prophets. Her name means “chaste”—Satan’s counterfeit or ridicule, as it were, of purity. Was it the hope of strengthening his kingdom, or her seductions with the attractions of her painted face, that led Ahab into this alliance? Behind it all, we may be sure, Satan was seeking by this new move to utterly corrupt and destroy God’s people and His truth from the earth. “And Ahab made a grove”—Asherah, an image or pavilion to Astarte—“and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

“In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram [‘father of height’] his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub [‘aloft], according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.” Jericho properly belonged to Judah. Hiel, instead of remaining at Bethel within his sovereign’s realm, presumed to fortify (for this is what build means here) the city for his master Ahab, that he might command the channel of Jordan. For this disobedience and disregard of God’s word (see Josh. 6:26²⁶And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. (Joshua 6:26)) the threatened judgment fell on his first and lastborn sons. Hiel means, “God liveth,” and he discovered to his sorrow that Jehovah was the living God, whose word will stand, and none can transgress it with impunity. Every transgressor, and all “the sons of disobedience,” will find that He is always true to His word. “Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or bath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num. 23:19¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)) His prophecy concerning Jericho, spoken through Joshua five hundred years before, was fulfilled on the house of Hiel (Josh. 6:26²⁶And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. (Joshua 6:26)).

But God, who did not wink at Ahab’s or the nation’s wickedness, would yet seek through discipline to turn them back from their folly, and sent to them His servant Elijah. “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1¹And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. (1 Kings 17:1)). Jehovah, not Baal, was Israel’s God, in spite of Jezebel’s seemingly successful attempt to force her Canaanitish gods on them; and Ahab would be made to know it. God used a millennial form of discipline to teach him this (see Zech. 14:17¹⁷And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. (Zechariah 14:17)). For three and one half years the land lay under the divine condemnation of drought and famine. This drought appears to have extended even to Gentile lands, for it is mentioned in the annals of the Greek historian Menander (Josephus Antiquities 8.13.2).

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth....And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor [steward] of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: [perhaps] we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts (1 Kings 18:1-5¹And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. ²And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. ³And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: ⁴For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. (1 Kings 18:1‑5)).

Ahab, as someone has said, cared more for the beasts of his stables than for his poor, starving subjects.

One wonders how a man like Obadiah, whose name means “worshiper of Jehovah,” came to hold office under such an abandoned idolater as Ahab. But there were also saints in Nero’s palace, whose salutations were considered worthy of apostolic mention. Godliness, as has been quaintly said, “is a hardy plant, that can live amidst the frosts of persecution and the relaxing warmth of a corrupt court, and not merely in the conservatory of a pious family.”

“As Obadiah was in the way,” Elijah suddenly appeared before him, and gave him a terse message for his master: “Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.” The poor lord high chamberlain, knowing well the murderous character of his master, trembled for his life.

He said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me (9-12).

He evidently knew that the husband of Jezebel set little value on any of his subjects’ lives, and in his present temper would not hesitate, on the least provocation or suspicion, to slay him without mercy.

Assured by Elijah that Ahab would find him, Obadiah delivered his message. “And Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” What audacity! Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim” (or, the Baals).

The prophet then proposed to test publicly on Mount Carmel whether Jehovah or Baal were God. To this the king accedes. “So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.” The test was accordingly made, to the utter discomfiture of the Baal prophets. “Jehovah, He is God! Jehovah, He is God!” all the people cried; and at Elijah’s command the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal are led down to the brook Kishon, and slain there (1 Kings 18).

Since the people once again acknowledged Jehovah as God, and the prophets of Baal were destroyed, the purpose of the drought was accomplished. “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” Years later, James called our attention to the prophet’s intercessory prayer: “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth...and he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain” (James 5:17-18¹⁷Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. (James 5:17‑18)).A cloud, “like a man’s hand” at first, soon filled the whole sky: the prayer is answered, and in the power of the Spirit of faith Elijah sends the word by his servant, “Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:44-45⁴⁴And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. ⁴⁵And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:44‑45)).

Jezebel’s indomitable will is now stirred to passion. Enraged, she threatened with an oath to make Elijah’s life like that of her slaughtered priests, and he in fear flees from the kingdom. She was evidently the real ruler in Israel, for Ahab, so far as Scripture informs us, did not make even the mildest kind of protest against her murderous threat.

Ahab’s weakness is further demonstrated by his servile answer to the besieging king of Syria:

And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have (20:1-4).

And when the messengers returned with more insolent demands, the king would probably have submitted to the humiliating conditions proposed, had not his more spirited and patriotic subjects advised otherwise saying, “Hearken not unto him, nor consent.” A wicked man is never really anything but a weak man. It is only “the righteous who are bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1¹The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1)). When Ahab refused the king of Syria his unsoldierly demand, he said half apologetically, “This thing I may not do.” He did not use the bold, intensive “will not” that was used by the three Hebrew children when they were under more helpless circumstances, and to a more powerful king (Dan. 3:18¹⁸But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:18)). Angered at even this meekly-put refusal “Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.” Then, more nobly, poor Ahab answered: “Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.” Provoked at this reply, Ben-hadad, under the influence of drink, gave the mad order for instant attack on the city. But God’s time for the humiliation of insolent Benhadad had come:

And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men [Hebrew: servants] of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou (1 Kings 20:13-14¹³And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. ¹⁴And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. (1 Kings 20:13‑14)).

God would humiliate Ben-hadad, not by any show of strength through the seven thousand soldiers left to Ahab, but by the servants of the princes of the provinces, who numbered two hundred and thirty-two. “And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings”-the thirty-two kings that helped him.

And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter (20:17-21).

The expression “The king of Israel went out,” coming as it does after the account of the victory of the young men and the small army, seems to imply that though, according to the prophet’s word, Ahab would order the battle, he remained cautiously behind until the rout of the besiegers had begun. Then, when danger was past, he came out from his place of security within the city walls, and assisted in slaughtering an already defeated foe. God gave his army victory, that he might have another proof in addition to that already offered on mount Carmel—so condescending and gracious is He—that He was Jehovah, the unchanging One. Through this victory He would also encourage and foster any little faith that might, as a result of the recent demonstration on Mount Carmel, have sprung up in the hearts of the nearly apostate nation. God calls trust in Him “precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1¹Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1)), so highly does He value it. In how many ways does God seek to gain and hold the confidence of men, for their everlasting good and glory! Do you have that precious faith?

“And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.” What patient, marvelous grace is God’s! His goodness would lead men to repentance. So He sent His prophet, even to Ahab, to warn him of what the Syrians would do. “And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.” Aphek lay about six miles east of the Sea of Galilee, on the direct road between the land of Israel and Damascus, and was a common battlefield of the Syrian kings (see 2 Kings 13:17¹⁷And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. (2 Kings 13:17)).

And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah [another demonstration that Jehovah was the God of Israel] (1 Kings 20:27-28²⁷And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. ²⁸And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (1 Kings 20:27‑28), italics added).

For a whole week the two hostile armies lay encamped against each other. When they joined battle on the seventh day, the “two little flocks of kids,” with God on their side, destroyed a host of a hundred thousand men. And the remnant of the defeated army, numbering twenty-seven thousand, that escaped being slaughtered by those whose land they had invaded without provocation, fled into the city of Aphek where a wall fell on them. The method is unimportant with Israel’s God, Jehovah, who is called “the God of battles”; He can save by many or by few. When a mere handful (a few thousand) does not completely destroy a vast army, He can shake down a wall on those who escaped, and thus complete the deserved destruction.

This was the third occasion, within a short space of time, on which God would convince the king of Israel and his people that He was what His prophets proclaimed Him to be-Jehovah, the God of Israel. He insists that, among men, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses,” every word shall be established; and He will not Himself use an easier rule in His dealings with the sons of men. Ahab had this threefold testimony given him, but he entirely failed to profit by it. He was ensnared by Ben-hadad’s guile after God had placed him in his power; he not only let him live, but said, “He is my brother.” It was the beginning of his final downfall.

A prophet now, by skillful ingenuity, brings before Ahab what he had done. Having induced a fellow prophet to smite him, so that in smiting he wounded him, he then disguised himself, and hailed the king as he was passing by. “And he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” Ahab probably thought the beggar appealed to him in fear for his life or the ruinous fine. Then he, like David before, pronounced his own sentence:

And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he [the prophet] hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased [sullen and vexed, N.TR.], and came to Samaria (40-43).

He made the same fatal mistake that king Saul made when he spared Agag. His calling the enemy of Israel my brother and taking him up into his chariot, may have sounded well and looked liberal to men like himself, who would applaud his conduct as magnanimous; but in God’s eyes it was unpardonable disobedience, for which he and the nation would be made to suffer. Men might praise him, but of what worth are human applause to the man whose conduct God condemns? Ahab was not the last of that generation who love “the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43⁴³For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:43)).

From that time Ahab appears to be given up of God: first, to covetousness and murder, and then to make war with and be slain by that nation whose blaspheming king he had called my brother and permitted to escape.

The first, his coveting of Naboth’s vineyard, and the false accusation and murder of that righteous man, form one of the most painful and soul-stirring chapters in human history, whether secular or inspired.

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money (1 Kings 21:1-2¹And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ²And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. (1 Kings 21:1‑2)).

Naboth fearlessly refused the king’s offer and said: “The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.” This was not obstinacy on Naboth’s part, as some have supposed; nor yet a stubborn refusal to surrender his legal rights to do his king a favor. He was contending, not for his own rights (which scarcely becomes one who owes his all to God’s free grace), but for God’s, and those of his successors. “The land shall not be sold forever,” God had said. Merciful provision was made in the law for a man who might have become reduced to extreme poverty. He was permitted to sell the land, but only to the year of jubilee, when it was to revert back to the original owner or his heirs. Naboth could not plead poverty so had no excuse to sell his vineyard, even to the king. There was also a law relating to property within a city’s walls, which if sold, must be redeemed within a year, or remain the possession of the purchaser forever (see Lev. 25). If Naboth’s vineyard, adjoining Ahab’s palace, lay within the city walls, it would, if sold, pass for all time out of the hands of Naboth’s heirs. Be that as it may, his firm refusal to sell out to his royal neighbor was a matter of conscience.

Araunah’s sale of his threshing floor to David, and Omri’s purchase of the hill of Samaria cannot be called parallel cases. In the first instance Araunah, though a Jebusite (a Gentile), seemed fully to understand David’s purpose, and agree with it. It was therefore surrendering and offering his property to the Lord Himself (2 Sam. 24:15-25¹⁵So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. ¹⁶And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. ¹⁸And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. ²⁰And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. ²¹And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. ²²And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. ²³All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. ²⁴And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. (2 Samuel 24:15‑25)). In the second, the moral condition of the nation was such that Shemer, an Israelite, was probably unconcerned as to what God had said concerning the disposal of his land (1 Kings 16:24²⁴And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. (1 Kings 16:24)). Naboth was right, both toward God and toward his family ties, whatever his critics may be disposed to say to the contrary. His resolute adherence to the right, cost him both his good name and his life.

“And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.” His petulant conduct was inappropriate for anyone-much less a king; it was rather that of a spoiled child, peevish and in ill humor because thwarted in his desire by one of his subjects.

“But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?” Informed as to the cause of his dejection, her daring spirit finds a ready way out of Ahab’s difficulty. “And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel?” Alas, was it not she that governed it really, with more daring ungodliness than Ahab, her puppet husband? “Arise,” said she, “and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” Herself the daughter of a Gentile king, she was thoroughly schooled in court methods of disposing of refractory subjects. She had not learned, as David in God’s school, that kings should be the shepherds of the people. Might made right in the kingdoms of the nations, and she would show her Hebrew husband how quickly Naboth’s objections to the king’s demands could be overcome, in spite of anything or everything written in the Mosaic code.

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die (1 Kings 21:8-10⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. ⁹And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: ¹⁰And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. (1 Kings 21:8‑10)).

How base could such men be, to lend themselves as willing tools to her perfidious designs, and carry out her instructions to the letter! Yet, public conscience might rebel at open murder, therefore some appearance of justice had to be given her act. Furthermore, the nation may still have been experiencing the moral effect of the events on Mount Carmel, so this nefarious patron of Baal had to proceed in her wickedness with a measure of caution. “And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.”

Jezebel had had her will, but oh, the dreadfulness of using God’s institution to carry out the will of the flesh! She knew the penalty for blasphemy against Jehovah was death (Lev. 24:16¹⁶And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16)). She would find associates to prove Naboth guilty of this, and thus avenge herself on the man who had dared to say no to the desire of power. But, according to Jewish teachers, if Naboth were found guilty of blasphemy alone, his property would fall to his heirs the same as if he had died under ordinary or natural circumstances. To secure the vineyard, a further charge—one of treason—must be trumped up against him; in such a case the estate of the condemned man went to the royal exchequer. So Naboth was accused of blasphemy both against God and the king (see Ex. 22:28²⁸Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. (Exodus 22:28)). And when the dark deed was done, the instigator of it coolly sent to her husband saying, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it” (1 Kings 21:15-16¹⁵And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. (1 Kings 21:15‑16)).

But Naboth’s God was not dead; He was still the God “that liveth and seeth,” as Ahab was soon to know.

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine (17-19).

Like most wicked men when reproved, Ahab considered the fearless messenger of God as an enemy. “Halt thou found me, O mine enemy?” he asked. “Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?” he had asked the faithful prophet on a former occasion (1 Kings 18:17¹⁷And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? (1 Kings 18:17), N.TR.). Here, since he could no longer link the nation with himself in his guilt, he acknowledged the personal character of the prophet’s ministry, and called him his (not the nation’s) enemy.

And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every [male], and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin (20-22).

Judgment on Jezebel also is then pronounced. “And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.” Ahab is really affected, though superficially no doubt, by the prophet’s declaration. God, who ever approves even the slightest indication of repentance in transgressors, said to Elijah, “Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.”

We have now the closing incident in the life of this king of Israel, who “did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.”

“And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.” In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah (now linked to the house of Ahab by the marriage of his son and heir-apparent to the throne, Jehoram, to Athaliah, Ahab’s daughter) came down on a friendly visit to the Israelite capital. Ahab saw in the presence of so powerful an ally a splendid opportunity to use him for the extension of his kingdom. So he said to his servants, “Know ye not that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?” Ramoth-gilead was an important fortress, directly east of Samaria, and about twenty miles back from the Jordan. It was occupied during Solomon’s magnificent reign by Ben-Geber, one of his twelve commissariat officers (1 Kings 4:13¹³The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars: (1 Kings 4:13)). Ben-hadad I, had taken it from Omri, according to Josephus (Antiquities 8.15.3). On Ahab’s proposing to jointly recover this place to their family (now united), Jehoshaphat at once acceded, saying, “I am as thou art.” The four hundred court prophets all declared the success of the expedition a foregone conclusion. “Go up,” they said unanimously; “for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king” (2 Chron. 18:5⁵Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand. (2 Chronicles 18:5) has “God,” instead of “the Lord,” as in 1 Kings 22:6⁶Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. (1 Kings 22:6): see Author’s Introduction). Ahab’s ally did not appear entirely satisfied with such offhand, emphatic prophecies of good fortune; he had evidently some misgivings of conscience, and was suspicious of this crowd of state-paid “peace-and-safety” preachers. So he cautiously asked if there was not another of Jehovah’s prophets within call, of whom they might further inquire. “There is yet one man,” answered Ahab, “Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And the good-natured king of Judah, ever willing to interpret in the best way others’ deeds or words, replied, “Let not the king say so.” “Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah,” Ahab commanded his officer.

The two ill-matched kings sat each on his throne, arrayed in his robes of state, in an open space at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. Before them were gathered all the pseudo-prophets, prophesying their lies before their royal master and his uneasy confederate. One of the deceivers, striving after dramatic effect, had made iron horns, saying, “Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.” “Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper,” they all with one voice said: “for the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hand.”

Next the unpopular prophet was unceremoniously brought into the presence of the consulting kings. In ironical agreement with what the time-serving four hundred had been saying, he also said, “Go, and prosper!” Ahab was quick to understand his irony, and adjured him (put him under oath) in Jehovah’s name, to tell him nothing but that which was true. “And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.” “Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?” said Ahab to Jehoshaphat, on hearing this solemn announcement. Jehovah’s prophet next sets before them his vision of a scene in Heaven: the lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets to allure him to his death. But this is more than Ahab can bear, and he orders at once that Micaiah be thrust into prison, and to be fed with the bread and water of affliction until he returned from his expedition in peace. “And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you” (1 Kings 22:28²⁸And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. (1 Kings 22:28)).

Could all this take place in the presence of Jehoshaphat, and he not protest? We know not. Scripture is silent here. But sadly, what may not even a child of God stoop to when he is away from God, in evil company!

The two kings now proceed to Ramoth-gilead, and Ahab’s treachery and cowardice again appear. He artfully disguised himself, while inducing the unsuspecting Jehoshaphat to appear in battle in his royal robes. Corrupt and contemptible trickery! He protected his own person at the probable sacrifice of his generous friend. But “the unjust knoweth no shame,” and living for self destroys all nobleness of character. The unhappy monarch had also been under Jezebel’s influence too long to have any honor remaining in him. Besides, he probably feared Micaiah’s prophecy more than he believed his own prophets. The Syrians, assuming Jehoshaphat to be the king of Israel, crowded close around him for a time. But God delivered him, and they perceived their mistake. And one of the soldiers drew a bow at random, and smote the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. “Wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host: for I am wounded.” And at even, at the time of the going down of the sun, he died; “and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.” The day was lost to Israel, and the humiliated army returned leaderless from the ill-fated campaign.

“So the king died, and was brought to Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake” (37-38). God’s arrow found him, in spite of his disguise. And his colleague, though for a time a conspicuous target for every archer in the Syrian army, escaped. How true the couplet, “Not a single shaft can hit, / Till our all-wise God sees fit.” None who make God their trust need ever fear “the arrow that flieth by day” (Psa. 91:5⁵Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; (Psalm 91:5)).

“Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” He was evidently a man of luxurious tastes, which appears to have been also characteristic of his successors (see Amos 3:15¹⁵And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord. (Amos 3:15)). His moral character, as given in the parenthetic passage of 1 Kings 21:25-26²⁵But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. ²⁶And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. (1 Kings 21:25‑26), is a fearfully black one. “But [or surely] there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up [Hebrew: urged on]. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.” As his name means, Ahab was a true “brother (or friend) of his father” Omri, in his excessive wickedness.

The Moabite stone mentions Omri’s son; his name also appears on the Assyrian Black Obelisk as “Ahab of Jezreel.”

“So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.”

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