AHAB’S FALL
1
Kings 20:1 - 22:53
Throughout the last three
chapters, we have followed the career of Elijah as he prophesied the onset of a
3-year drought, then was protected by the Lord during that period. The drought ended in a very dramatic way and
Elijah fled to the
As we come to chapter 20
there is a change. Over the next three
chapters, our focus moves from Elijah to Ahab, the king of
|
Chpt. 17 |
Chpt. 18 |
Chpt. 19 |
Chpt. 20 |
Chpt. 21 |
Chpt. 22 |
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Elijah Primarily in View |
Ahab Primarily in View |
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|
Drought |
Fire from
Heaven |
Flight into
Wilderness |
War with |
Naboth’s
Vineyard |
War with |
|
Brook Cherith & |
|
Sinai |
|
Jezreel |
Ramoth-gilead |
WAR WITH
1. Invasion.
Now Ben‑hadad
king of
Ben-hadad had been previously bribed by
2. Ahab’s
Attempt at Pacification.
Ben-hadad demanded gold and silver as well as hostages from
among the wives and children of the nobility of
Having
been emboldened by his bloodless victory, Ben-hadad
now increased his demands, insisting that his servants be permitted to enter
the palace of the king and take anything they desired. At this point, Ahab quailed and refused. Ben-hadad responds
with the threat of complete destruction.
Ben‑hadad
sent to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of
Jezebel
had made a similar oath regarding her intentions to put Elijah to death. She failed in the fulfillment of her
oath. Ben-hadad
now makes an oath in which he will also fail.
Jesus warned against making vows which you have no power to keep. It is better not to make such an oath in the
first place (Matthew 5:33-37).
3. A
Prophecy of Victory.
Now behold, a prophet approached
Ahab king of
In
the midst of the threat of destruction, an unnamed prophet comes before Ahab
and prophesies victory.
The
reason that this victory will be given will be so that Ahab and the Israelites
will know that Yahweh is God. Ahab had
seen fire come down from heaven. It
served as a clear indication that God was working in history. Now he will experience a victory in battle
which will also be the work of God.
4. The
Fulfilled Prophecy of Victory.
20 They killed each his man;
and the Arameans fled and
21 The king of
5. The
Aramaic Interpretation of Events.
Now the servants of the king of
The
servants of Ben-hadad came to a different
interpretation of the events surrounding their defeat. Not willing to give the credit to the Lord,
they utilized a secular interpretation of history. It was based upon their limited world view. Their world view stated that there is no one
God of the universe. Instead they
postulated the existence of many different gods. They assumed that, because the Israelites
lived in the mountains, their gods must be mountain gods. They concluded that the battle would have a
very different outcome if the battle were to be fought on level ground.
What
is your world-view? When you see events
happening in the world around you, do you attribute those events to mere chance
happenings? Or do you realize that God
is in control of all things and that history is truly HIS STORY?
6. The
Second Aramaic Invasion of
26 At the turn of the year, Ben‑hadad
mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against
27 The sons of
On
the following year, Ben-hadad returned for a second
invasion of
It
would be at this same location that Jesus would come to cast out a legion of
demons into a herd of pigs. As He would
bring about the death of a multitude of pigs, so now the Lord would bring about
the defeat and death of a host of Arameans.
The
writer of Kings paints a vivid portrait of the disparity between the two
armies.
|
|
|
|
Filled the country |
Were like two little flocks
of goats |
|
Chariot corps |
Exclusively infantry |
Again
a prophet approached king Ahab and predicted an
overwhelming Israelite victory. Again
the reason for this victory had nothing to do with how deserving was either
29 So they camped one over
against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and
the sons of
30 But the rest fled to Aphek into
the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben‑hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber. (1
Kings 20:29-30).
This
was an incredible victory. The
Israelites inflicted an amazing number of casualties upon the much larger army
of
7. Ahab’s
Covenant with Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad pleaded for his life and it was granted him by Ahab
who went so far as to enter into a covenant with him.
Ben‑hadad
said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore,
and you shall make streets for yourself in
Ben-hadad agrees to restore the boarder cities in
Furthermore,
Ben-hadad promises to create in
38 So the prophet departed and
waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his
eyes.
39 As the king passed by, he
cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the
battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard
this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his
life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’
40 “While your servant was busy
here and there, he was gone.” And the
king of
41 Then he hastily took the
bandage away from his eyes, and the king of
42 He said to him, “Thus says
the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted
to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for
his people.’” (1 Kings 20:38-42).
The
prophet pretends to be a soldier who was charged with guarding a prisoner of
war. The prisoner has escaped and his
life is to be forfeit. Ahab hears the
case and declares judgment. At this
point, the prophet unmasks himself and declares that Ahab has passed judgment
upon his own action in allowing Ben-hadad to escape.
Ahab
is condemned for having spared the life of Ben‑hadad
and entering into a covenant with him.
Most of us have never faced the temptation of sparing the life of a
blaspheming pagan king or of entering into a covenant with him, so how does
such a narrative relate to us?
Perhaps
one lesson is that we should not bind ourselves to that which God has devoted
to destruction. I would suggest that
this includes our earthly physical possessions — our “stuff.” Certainly none of us has made a covenant with
our material possessions, but there are times when we seem to act as though
this is the case. It is a maxim that
whatever you own owns you. Can we learn
the lesson of freedom from those things that bind? I'm not necessarily saying that we ought to
go out and get rid of all our possessions, but perhaps we need to again commit
them into the hands of the Lord.
Jesus
said it best: “Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19‑21).
AHAB AND NABOTH’S VINEYARD
Chapters 20 and 21 stand in
contrast to one another. In chapter 20,
Ben-hadad of
|
Chapter 20 |
Chapter 21 |
|
Ben-hadad demands all of the possessions of Ahab to be turned
over to him under penalty of death. |
Jezebel has Naboth put to death so that Ahab can take possession of
his prized vineyard. |
|
The Lord
intervenes to protect Ahab and Jezebel. |
Ahab and
Jezebel show no gratitude and instead plot to murder Naboth
and take his vineyard. |
Jesus told a parable that was
very much like this narrative. It was of
a servant who owed a great debt of 10,000 talents. When he was forgiven this debt by a gracious
king, he went out and persecuted another servant who owed him a lesser sum. As a result, the king called him to account
for his debt. The point of the parable
is that people who have been forgiven have a duty to forgive (Matthew
18:23-35).
Ahab and Jezebel had both
been recipients of the grace of God. It
was their duty to be gracious toward others.
Instead they acted with murderous jealousy. There is a principle here. You have also been a recipient of the grace
of God. And you have a corresponding
duty to be gracious toward others.
1. Naboth’s Vineyard.
1 Now it came about after
these things that Naboth the Jezreelite
had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the
2 Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it
for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you
a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price
of it in money.”
3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The
Lord forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” (1 Kings
21:1-3).
The
|
“No inheritance of the sons of |
Ahab
offered to barter for the ownership of the vineyard, but was turned down. It was not that Naboth
was particularly greedy or that he wanted a higher price. He viewed this vineyard as his family’s
inheritance from the Lord and he wished to treasure that which God had
given. It is his source of
identity. He calls himself Naboth the Jezreelite. He is determined to keep that which God has
given to him. This stands in contrast to
Ahab who had released Ben-hadad when the Lord had
given him into his hand.
So Ahab came into his house
sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the
Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, “I will
not give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food. (1
Kings 21:4).
Ahab
is described as “sullen and vexed.” This
is the second time he has been described this way. At the end of the previous chapter, he had
been sullen and vexed over the rebuke he received from the Lord. Now we see that same attitude as he is
unhappy over Naboth’s refusal. Like a spoiled child, he refuses to eat and
indulges in a “pity party.” When Jezebel
comes in and asks what is the matter, he relates the
incident with Naboth but leaves out the part about
his inheritance.
2. Jezebel’s
Wicked Plan.
When
Jezebel learns that her husband is upset over his inability to acquire the
vineyard, she takes matters into her own hand.
7 Jezebel his wife said to
him, “Do you now reign over
8 So she wrote letters in
Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and
to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his
city.
9 Now she wrote in the
letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at
the head of the people;
10 and seat two worthless
men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and
the king.’ Then take him out and stone
him to death.” (1 Kings 21:7-10).
Jezebel
plots to have Naboth framed on false charges of
blasphemy. Her plan is a product of her
theology. Baal was a god who was ready
to take by force anything that he desired.
There is a lesson here. It is
that bad theology leads to bad living.
This
plot was all to obtain a vineyard — a garden.
It is reminiscent of another temptation that took place in a
garden. It was the temptation that took
place in the Garden of Eden. That was
another case of masculine passive-aggression.
It was another case when rebellion led ultimately to death.
The
plot against Naboth can be seen in striking parallel
to the death of Jesus who is the better Naboth.
• He was falsely accused.
• He was placed between two evil men.
• He was the subject of evil plans and
intrigues against His life.
• He was taken outside the city and put to
death.
The
difference is that Naboth was an unwilling victim of
this intrigue while Jesus proclaimed that no man was taking His life from
Him. He is the better Naboth who willingly went to His death in order to die in
our place.
Ahab
acquiesces to this plan. Not only does
his fail to act the part of a good and faithful king, he also fails to act the
part of the leader of his family, allowing his wife to use his royal signet to
seal the letters instructing Naboth’s murder.
|
Adam and Eve |
Ahab and Jezebel |
|
Eve gave the fruit to her
husband and he ate it. |
Jezebel plotted murder and
her husband went along with it and profited by it. |
|
Adam failed to take a
leadership role. |
Ahab failed to take a
leadership role with his wife. |
|
Eve gave her husband a
single fruit. |
Jezebel’s plot awarded her
husband an entire vineyard. |
There
is a reason that parents don’t generally name their daughters “Jezebel.” Her name has become a byword for immorality
and greed. In Revelation 2:20, we read
of the church which tolerates Jezebel’s false teachings and immoral conduct.
3. The
Taking of Naboth’s Vineyard.
Jezebel’s
plan is carried out to its completion and innocent Naboth
is stoned to death.
14 Then they sent word to
Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is
dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab,
“Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth,
the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for
money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” (1 Kings
21:14-15).
We
are not told what happened to Naboth’s legitimate
heirs. The land that should have gone to
them would now be stolen by Ahab.
4. The
Prophetic Judgment against Ahab.
Elijah
is sent to Ahab with a message of judgment.
He arrives just as the king is preparing to take possession of the
vineyard.
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have
you found me, O my enemy?” And he
answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the
sight of the Lord.
21 “Behold, I will bring evil
upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every
male, both bond and free in Israel; 22 and I will make your house like the house of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because
of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you
have made Israel sin.
23 “Of Jezebel also has the
Lord spoken, saying, "The dogs will eat Jezebel
in the district of Jezreel.’
24 “The one belonging to Ahab,
who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the
birds of heaven will eat.” (1 Kings 21:20-24).
The
last time Ahab had seen Elijah, he had called him the “troubler
of
Ahab
is denounced for his sin. The judgment
will be that he and his descendants will be removed both from the throne and from
the earth.
5. Repentance
and Mercy.
27 It came about when Ahab
heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted,
and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.
28 Then the word of the LORD
came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Do you
see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I
will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house
in his son’s days.” (1 Kings 21:27-29).
Ahab
reacts to the words of Elijah with contrition and repentance. His repentance was demonstrated in four ways:
·
He tore his
clothes.
·
He put on
sackcloth.
·
He went about
despondently.
I
believe that he was sincere in this repentance.
The Lord honored his repentance.
And because of that repentance, the kingdom would not be taken away from
him during his lifetime. There is an
interesting similarity between Ahab and David.
|
David |
Ahab |
|
King of the |
King of the
Northern Kingdom of |
|
Coveted Uriah’s
wife and had him murdered. |
Coveted Naboth’s field and allowed him to be murdered. |
|
Repented when
the sin was condemned by the prophet Nathan. |
Repented when
the sin was condemned by the prophet Elijah. |
|
War did not
depart from his kingdom and 10 tribes were taken from his grandson. |
The kingdom
would be taken from his son. |
God
was able to forgive both of these men their sins. This is not because their sins were not
terrible. It is because God is able to
greatly forgive. This good news is that
God is still able to greatly forgive.
And He will do so if you will go to Him with a contrite heart of
repentance.
AHAB’S DEATH
1. The
Renewal of Hostilities with
1 Three years passed without war
between
2 In the third year Jehoshaphat the
king of
3 Now the king of
Three
years passed. These were three years in
which there was no war between
·
Ben-hadad of
·
Ahab of Israel’s
·
Irhuleni of Hamath (located on the
·
Gindibu of
·
Baasha of Ammon.
·
Troops from
Shalmaneser
claimed to have won a victory in this battle, but the truth is that both armies
left the battlefield relatively intact.
It was a 100 years before the Assyrians would march southward against
Accordingly,
he entered into a military alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of
For
the time being,
2. Request
for a Prophet of the Lord.
5 Moreover, Jehoshaphat
said to the king of
6 Then the king of
Because
Jehoshaphat was trying to follow the Lord, he asked that a prophet of the Lord
be consulted prior to this undertaking.
Ahab was ready with 400 prophets.
But they were not prophets of the Lord.
They were prophets of some other god.
Elijah had put 450 prophets of Baal to death on
7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is
there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?”
8 The king of
9 Then the king of
Jehoshaphat
is not satisfied. He does not care what
400 prophets of Baal might have to say.
He wishes to hear from a prophet of the Lord. Ahab is reluctant. He knows of such a prophet, but doesn’t care
for him because he doesn’t say those things that Ahab wishes to hear. The 400 prophets of Ahab were essentially
“yes” men. They were paid to prophesy
those things that would please Ahab.
3. Micaiah’s Prophecy.
a. Politically
correct instructions.
13 Then the messenger who went
to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now,
the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your
word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”
14 But Micaiah
said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak.” (1
Kings 22:13-14).
The
messenger who summons Micaiah to the king’s audience
gives him instructions on how he ought to prophesy. Evidently, he was more concerned with
pleasing the king than with hearing what the Lord really had to say concerning
the matter.
b. An
initial positive report.
When he came to the king, the
king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth‑gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and succeed, and
the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” (1 Kings 22:15).
To
everyone’s pleasant surprise, Micaiah gives a
positive report, indicating the Lord’s blessing upon this venture. And yet, there is something in his manner
which causes Ahab to question him further.
c. The
negative report.
16 Then the king said to him,
“How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the
name of the Lord?”
17 So he said, “I saw all
18 Then the king of
The
king knows that there is something wrong.
Whether this was due to Micaiah’s manner or
his message, we do not know. And so, the
king asks for the truth of the matter.
“The truth? Oh, you want the TRUTH! I thought that you merely wanted a
politically correct statement. But if
you want the truth, then here it is...”
The truth of the matter was that Micaiah had
seen a vision of a leaderless nation, scattered over the mountains like a flock
of wayward sheep.
There
is no pleasing Ahab. He did not care for
the politically correct statement, sensing its falsehood. But neither did he care for the truth.
d. The
reason for the wrong prophecy.
19 Micaiah
said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord.
I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven
standing by Him on His right and on His left.
20 “The Lord said, ‘Who will
entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth‑gilead?’ And one said this while another said that.
21 “Then a spirit came forward
and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 “The Lord said to him,
"How?' And he said, ‘I will go out and be a
deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also
prevail. Go and do so.’
23 “Now therefore, behold, the
Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and
the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.” (1 Kings 22:19-23).
As Micaiah stands in the gate of the city before these two
reigning kings, he describes another throne room. He has seen a vision of the Lord sitting upon
His throne and consulting with various heavenly spirits in a manner similar to
the way in which these two earthly kings have been consulting with their
advisors. However, instead of plotting
against the king of
It
is now revealed that it has been the Lord’s doing that all 400 of Ahab’s
prophets have been predicting victory.
Ahab has wanted to believe a lie, so the Lord has given him a lie. There is a lesson to be learned. It is that the Lord only gives truth to those
who want truth.
e. Micaiah’s imprisonment.
26 Then the king of Israel
said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash
the king's son; 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison
and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’”
28 Micaiah
said, “If you indeed return safely the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.” (1
Kings 22:26-28).
Micaiah
is imprisoned for telling the truth.
Ahab did not really want the truth.
He only wanted someone to tell him what he wanted to hear. The world is like that. The world does not want the truth. It merely wants you to agree with its system.
4. The
So the king of
In
the ensuing battle, Ahab decided to hedge his bets by donning the garb of a
common soldier. His ploy was successful
in that the Arameans focused their attack upon the
person of Jehoshaphat who was forced to retreat from the battlefield. It was then that tragedy struck in the form
of a chance arrow.
34 Now a certain man drew his
bow at random and struck the king of
35 The battle raged that day,
and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans,
and died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the
chariot. (1 Kings 22:34-35).
A chance arrow. A chance
joint in the armor. It was just
by chance that the prophecy of the Lord came to pass. The truth is that there are no chance events.
The
lot is cast into the lap,
But
its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33).
Even
the details of Ahab’s death were not left to chance. We are told in the narrative how the king’s
blood which pooled in the bottom of his chariot was lapped up by dogs in a
place where prostitutes washed themselves (22:38). This ignominious death was a fulfillment of
the words of Elijah.
“Thus says the Lord, ‘In the
place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth
the dogs shall lick up your blood, even yours.’” (1
Kings 21:19b).
As
we look at the end of Ahab, we cannot help but to notice a contrast with this
rebellious king versus the perfect, obedient King.
|
Ahab |
Jesus |
|
A rebellious
king |
An obedient
king |
|
Tried to cheat
death |
Embraced death |
|
Pierced by an
arrow |
Pierced by
nails and a spear |
|
Blood flowed
out |
Blood and water
flowed out |
|
He was propped
up in his chariot |
He was lifted
up on the cross |
|
His death was
because of his own sin |
His death was
because of our sins |
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