THE REIGN OF KING AHAB
(1
Kings 16, 17, 18, 19 and 21)
Ahab was a son of Omri. He succeeded his father as king
of Israel, the northern kingdom and ruled in Samaria for 22 years. His reign
was worse than his predecessors as he sinned against the Lord more than any of
them.
King Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal
of Sidon and went to worship Baal. Because of his ever increasing evils, the
Lord raised Prophet Elijah to call him back to repentance.
However, King Ahab continued with his sinful ways despite
the effort by first prophet and later Prophet Micaiah to make him realize his
mistakes and turn back to God. Quite often, the king disagreed and conflicted with
these prophets. His failure to listen led to his eventual death during the war
with Syria.
ACHIEVEMENTS
OF KING AHAB
Ahab streamlined the administration of the Northern
Kingdom. This was probably the reason that made him to rule for a period of 22
years.
There was peace and stability between Israel and the
neighbours like Sidon and Tyre during his reign. This was important because the
kingdom had for long been at war with the neighbours.
Ahab maintained law and order within Israel for the 22
years he was in power. This helped to promote justice.
Ahab worked hard to improve on the relationship between
the southern and northern tribes. It was this reason that Israel and Judah
allied against Syria (I Kings 22: 1-5)
Failures
or weaknesses of King Ahab
• The
circumstances surrounding Elijah's Prophesies
• The
Confrontation between Elijah and King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1 ff)
King Ahab married a foreign wife named Jezebel from
Sidon. This was against the conduct of the kings of Israel who were forbidden
from foreign marriages.
King Ahab was involved in Baal worship. This was contrary
to Yahweh's expectations who desired to be worshipped alone.
King Ahab built a temple for worshipping Baal in Samaria.
By doing so, he led the people of Israel astray.
King Ahab put up an image of goddess Asherah in the land
of Yahweh. This encouraged idol worship in Israel.
King Ahab entered into a foreign alliance with Syria
against the will of God. This alliance was purposely for protection but it
showed that he lacked trust in God's protection.
King Ahab lived under the influence of his pagan wife,
Jezebel that much of his decisions were based on the wish of his wife. It was
for this reason that he approved the death of Naboth which had been planned by
his wife.
King Ahab allowed his foreign wife Jezebel to come along
with her pagan beliefs in the land of Yahweh. This polluted Israel's
monotheistic faith.
King Ahab disobeyed the Lord's command of carrying out
the act of Herem. He spared King Benhadad of Syria when the Lord had commanded
him to destroy the whole nation (1 Kings 20:32-34).
King Ahab led the people of Israel into religious
syncretism. He made the people to worship the gods of his wife alongside
Yahweh.
Ahab allowed his foreign wife, Jezebel to come along with
her false prophets in Israel. There were about 450 Baal prophets during the
reign of King Ahab.
Ahab consulted and listened to the Baal prophets instead
of listening to the prophets of the Lord. He for example, sided with the 450
Baal prophets against Prophet Elijah during the Mount Carmel contest.
King Ahab was involved in murder as his materialistic
nature led to the death of Naboth who owned a vineyard. His wife plotted for
the death of Naboth in order for him to own the vineyard as he wanted (1 Kings
21:1 ff).
Ahab was involved in property grabbing of his faithful
servant. He possessed the vineyard of Naboth after his death. However, this was
against Israel's law concerning property and land, which called for respect for
another person's property.
King Ahab was a greedy person and someone obsessed with
materialism. This was the reason he demanded to own Naboth's vineyard when he
had his own.
The king conflicted and mistreated the prophets of
Yahweh. He confronted Prophet Elijah before the Mount Carmel Contest. He also
ordered for the imprisonment of prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 18:17-19 and
22:26-27).
King Ahab was unrepentant. He continued sinning against
the Lord despite warnings through his prophets including Elijah and Micaiah.
King Ahab allowed his foreign wife, Jezebel to persecute
the people of Israel. This was to the disappointment of the Lord who blamed him
for failing to protect His people.
King Ahab was blamed for allowing his wife to manipulate
Israel's laws and it was for this reason that Naboth died.
King Ahab ignored the priests of Yahweh and appointed his
own basing on the earthly standards.
Revision
Questions
1.
Assess the reign of King Ahab in the
history of Israel
2.
Ahab was the most notorious king in the
history of Israel's monarchy" Discuss or Assess this statement
3.
What lessons can the political leaders
learn from King Ahab's reign?
4.
Account for the disagreement or
confrontation between Prophet Elijah and King Ahab.
5.
Analyze the circumstances that led to
Elijah's prophesies to King Ahab.
ELIJAH'S
FIRST PROPHESIES TO KING AHAB
Because of the continuous sinning and King Ahab's
inability to repent, the Lord sent Elijah to prophesy to him.
Elijah told King Ahab that there would be drought in
Israel for 2-3 years because of his apostasy. He had rejected his own religion
and taken on another.
Elijah said that the kingdom was bound to suffer from the
Lord's punishment because of the people's sinfulness particularly their
disobedience.
In the 2-3 years, there would be no dew or rain thus
resulting into shortage of water everywhere. For this reason, the people would
find it difficult to survive.
Besides, the people would suffer from famine. They would
look for food but would never find any.
He observed that the nation would experience massive
death because the people had failed to repent.
However, Elijah declared that had King Ahab and the
people repented, the Lord would have withdrawn his punishment.
After his prophesies, the Lord commanded Elijah to leave
Israel and go to the wilderness on the onset of the drought.
ELIJAH
EXPERIENCE IN THE WILDERNESS DURING THE DROUGHT
Elijah went to the wilderness in respect to the Lord's
command after he had prophesied the 2-3 years drought in Israel
Prophet Elijah's declaration had consequently brought him
into conflict with King Ahab. Therefore, the Lord commanded him to go into
exile immediately.
Prophet Elijah obeyed the command given to him and left
for the wilderness from where the Lord continued revealing himself.
The Lord revealed to Prophet Elijah that he had commanded
ravens to deliver food where he was going to be.
In the wilderness, Elijah became a person whom God
manifested his power in order help Israel turn back to him.
The Lord revealed to Elijah that he had commanded a widow
who had a son to keep on feeding him during his exile life.
However, the widow had only a handful of flour and a drop
of oil which was only enough for a meal before they could starve to death.
By God's power, Elijah multiplied the handful of flour
and the drop of oil that it sustained the widow and her son for quite a longer
period of time.
With time, the widow's son fell sick and died shortly to
the disappointment of the widow who blamed Elijah for the boy's death.
However, Prophet Elijah prayed to God to restore the
widow's son to life and it happened as he had prayed.
The widow acknowledged Elijah as a man of God and a
person through whom the Lord could speak to his people.
In the third year of the drought, the Lord commanded
Elijah to leave the wilderness and present himself to King Ahab and he would
send rain.
On his way, Elijah was told that King Ahab was hunting
for him. This meant that meeting the king would put the prophet's life in
danger.
However, Prophet Elijah promised and insisted that he
would present himself to King Ahab that day. This was the kind of courage that
was unusual for the prophet meaning that God had taken control of him.
King Ahab accused Elijah as the trouble maker in Israel
upon meeting him and therefore he was responsible for the people's suffering.
Prophet Elijah openly blamed King Ahab and his father for
disobeying the Lord's commands and worshipping idols as well.
Prophet Elijah commanded the king to call the people of
Israel, the 450 Baal prophets and the 400 prophets of goddess Asherah to meet
him at Mount Carmel
At Mount Carmel, Elijah had a contest with the 450
prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of goddess Asherah in the presence of the
people of Israel.
Ahab
| King Ahab | |
|---|---|
| King of Israel | |
|
|
| Reign | c. 885 to 874 BC |
| Predecessor | Omri |
| Successor | Ahaziah of Israel |
| Consort | Jezebel of Sidon |
| Issue | Ahaziah of Israel Jehoram of Israel Athaliah |
| Dynasty | Omrides |
| Father | Omri |
| Died | c. 874 BC Ramoth-Gilead, Syria |
| Burial | Samaria, Kingdom of Israel |
| Religion | Baalism |
Ahab (Hebrew: אַחְאָב, Modern Aẖ'av, Tiberian ʼAḥʼāḇ ; "Brother of the father"; Greek: Αχααβ; Latin: Achab) was the seventh king of Israel since Jeroboam I, the son and successor of Omri, and the husband ofJezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible.[1]
Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned for twenty-two years.[2] William F. Albright dated his reign to 869–850 BC, while E. R. Thiele offered the dates 874–853 BC.[3] Michael D. Coogan dates his reign to 871–852 BC.[4]
Ahab's life and reign[edit]
Omri (Ahab's father and founder of the short-lived Omri Dynasty) seems to have been a successful military leader; he is reported in the text of the Moabite Mesha Stele to have "oppressed Moab for many days". During Ahab's reign, Moab, which had been conquered by his father, remained tributary; while Judah, with whose king, Jehoshaphat, he was allied by marriage, was probably his vassal. Only with Aram Damascus is he believed to have had strained relations.
Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre. 1 Kings 16–22 tells the story of Ahab and Jezebel, and indicates that Jezebel was a dominant influence on Ahab and strove to spread idol worship of Baal in Israel.[5] Ahab was succeeded by Ahaziah and Jehoram who reigned over Israel until Jehu's revolt of 842 BC.[6]
Battle of Qarqar[edit]
The Battle of Qarqar is mentioned in extra-biblical records, and was perhaps at Apamea, where Shalmaneser III of Assyria fought a great confederation of princes from Cilicia, Northern Syria, Israel, Ammon, and the tribes of the Syrian desert (853 BC), including Ahab (A-ha-ab-bu mat) (Adad-'idri).
Ahab's contribution was estimated at 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men. In reality, however, the number of chariots in Ahab's forces was probably closer to a number in the hundreds (based upon archaeological excavations of the area and the foundations of stables that have been found).[7] If, however, the numbers are referring to allies it could possibly include forces from Tyre, Judah,Edom, and Moab. The Assyrian king claimed a victory, but his immediate return and subsequent expeditions in 849 BC and 846 BC against a similar but unspecified coalition seem to show that he met with no lasting success. According to the Tanakh, however, Ahab with 7,000 troops had previously overthrown Ben-hadad and his thirty-two kings, who had come to lay siege to Samaria, and in the following year obtained a decisive victory over him at Aphek, probably in the plain of Sharon at Antipatris (1 Kings 20). A treaty was made whereby Ben-hadad restored the cities which his father had taken from Ahab's father, and trading facilities between Damascus and Samaria were granted.
Jezreel has been identified as Ahab's fortified chariot and cavalry base.[8]
Ahab and the Prophets[edit]
In the Biblical text, Ahab has five important encounters with prophets. The first encounter is withElijah, whom Ahab refers to as "the troubler of Israel" (1 Kings 18:17), in which Elijah predicts a drought (1 Kings 17:1). This encounter ends with Elijah victorious over the official Baal prophets of Israel in a contest held for the sake of the Israelites and their king, Ahab. The contest ends when Elijah's God consumes the offering which the Baal worshipers could not induce their god to touch, after which Elijah slaughters the Baal prophets (1 Kings 18:17–40). The second encounter is between Ahab and an unnamed prophet in 1 Kings 20:22. The third is again between Ahab and an unnamed prophet who condemns Ahab for his actions in a battle that had just taken place (1 Kings 20:34-43). The fourth is when Elijah confronts Ahab over Ahab's and Jezebel's execution of Naboth and usurpation of the latter's ancestral vineyard (1 Kings 21,1-16). Upon the prophet's remonstration ("Hast thou killed and also taken possession?" (1 Kings, 21,19)), Ahab displayed sincere remorse (1 Kings 21,27). The fifth encounter is with Micaiah, the prophet who, when asked for advice on a military campaign, first assures Ahab he will be successful and ultimately gives Ahab a glimpse into God's plan for Ahab to die in battle (1 Kings 22).[9]
Death of Ahab[edit]
Three years later, war broke out east of the Jordan River, and Ahab with Jehoshaphat of Judah went to recover Ramoth-Gilead. During this battle Ahab disguised himself, but was mortally wounded by an unaimed arrow (1 Kings 22). The Hebrew Bible says that dogs licked his blood, according to the prophecy of Elijah. But the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) adds that "pigs" also licked his blood, symbolically making him unclean to the Israelites, who abstained from pork. Ahab was succeeded by his sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram.
Jezebel's death, however, was more dramatic than Ahab's. As recorded in 2 Kings 9:30-34, Jezebel was confronted by Jehu who had her servants throw her out the window, causing her death.
Legacy[edit]
Essentially, 1 Kings 16:29 through 20:40 is the story of Ahab's reign. This reign is one which faces opposition from several prophets of Yahweh throughout as well as various consequences because of his marriage to Jezebel, because of his worship of Baal, disobedience to prophetic warnings and words, and also because of the murder of Naboth. The murder of Naboth (see Jezebel), an act of royal encroachment, stirred up popular resentment just as the new cult aroused the opposition of the Israelite prophets, including Elijah and Micaiah. Indeed, he is referred to, for this and other things, as being "more evil than all the kings before him" (1 Kings 16:30). The followers of Yahweh found their champion in Elijah; his denunciation of the royal dynasty of Israel and his emphatic insistence on the worship of Yahweh and Yahweh alone, illustrated by the contest between Yahweh and Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), form the keynote to a period which culminated in the accession of Jehu, an event in which Elijah's chosen discipleElisha was the leading figure.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 1 Kings 16:29-34
- ^ 1 Kings 16:29
- ^ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257.
- ^ Michael D. Coogan, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) 237.
- ^ 1 Kings 16:31, 18:4–19, 19:1–2, 21:5–25.
- ^ Michael D. Coogan, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009)239
- ^ Michael D. Coogan, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) 243.
- ^ David Ussishkin, "Jezreel—Where Jezebel Was Thrown to the Dogs", Biblical Archaeology ReviewJuly / August 2010.
- ^ Achtemeier, Paul (Editor), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), p. 18.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ahab". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links[edit]
- Ahab—Archaeowiki.org
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Ahab
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| Preceded by Omri |
King of Israel 874–853 BC |
Succeeded by Ahaziah |
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