1 Kings Profiles

AHAB

1 Kings 16:29–22:40

The kings of Israel and Judah, both good and evil, had prophets sent by God to advise, confront, and aid them. King David had a faithful friend in God’s prophet Nathan; Ahab could have had an equally faithful friend in Elijah. But while David listened to Nathan and was willing to repent of his sins, Ahab saw Elijah as his enemy. Why? Because Elijah always brought bad news to Ahab, and Ahab refused to acknowledge that it was his own constant disobedience to God and persistent idol worship, not Elijah’s prophecies, that brought the evil on his nation. He blamed Elijah for bringing the prophecies of judgment, rather than taking his advice and changing his own evil ways.

Ahab was trapped by his own choices, and he was unwilling to take the right action. As king, he was responsible to God and his prophet Elijah, but he was married to an evil woman who drew him into idol worship. He was a childish man who brooded for days if unable to get his own way. He took his evil wife’s advice, listened only to the “prophets” who gave good news, and surrounded himself with people who encouraged him to do whatever he wanted. But the value of advice cannot be judged by the number of people for or against it. Ahab consistently chose to follow the majority opinion of those who surrounded him, and that led to his death.

It may seem nice to have someone encourage us to do whatever we want because advice that goes against our wishes is difficult to accept. However, our decisions must be based on the quality of the advice, not on its attractiveness or the majority opinion of our peers. God encourages us to get advice from wise counselors, but how can we test the advice we receive? Advice that agrees with the principles in God’s Word is reliable. We must always separate advice from our own desires, the majority opinion, or whatever seems best in our limited perspective, and weigh it against God’s commands. He will never lead us to do what he has forbidden in his Word—even in principle. Unlike Ahab, we should trust godly counselors and have the courage to stand against those who would have us do otherwise.

Strengths and accomplishments	Eighth king of Israel Capable leader and military strategist
Weaknesses and mistakes	Was the most evil king of Israel Married Jezebel, a pagan woman, and allowed her to promote Baal worship Brooded about not being able to get a piece of land, which prompted his wife to have its owner, Naboth, killed Was used to getting his own way and got depressed when he didn’t
Lessons from his life	The choice of a spouse will have a significant effect on life—physically, spiritually, and emotionally Selfishness, left unchecked, can lead to great evil
Vital statistics	Where: Northern kingdom of Israel Occupation: King Relatives: Wife: Jezebel. Father: Omri. Sons: Ahaziah, Joram. Contemporaries: Elijah, Naboth, Jehu, Ben-hadad, Jehoshaphat
Key verses	“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 . . . 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. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:30-33).

Ahab’s story is told in 1 Kings 16:28—22:40. He is also mentioned in 2 Chronicles 18—22; Micah 6:16.