Ahab’s Death Sentence

Date: 6 May 2020
Text: 1 Kings 21:21-29
Key Lesson: There will be payday someday.
Elijah’s Pronouncement (v.21-24)
§  God will bring evil upon you. Evidently, by this time Elijah had told him what God had said in verse 19. The last thing any of us want is to have God say that he is going to bring evil upon us. As we study the Bible, we must read carefully God’s warnings and heed them precisely.
§  All your posterity (future generations) will be wiped out (v.21). This included even the young boys who wee against the wall, any who might be in bondage and any who were hiding, bond or free.
§  God said (v.22) He would wipe out his house like that of Jeroboam (1Ki 14:10-11) and that of Baasha (1Ki 16:1-4, 10-13).
§  Ahab had provoked the Lord to anger. When the Lord becomes provoked, someone has pushed Him (usually by rebellion or idolatry) beyond His longsuffering. The worst thing in the entire world is to have the LORD provoked with you. If you study the phrase, “provoked the LORD” or “provoked me”, you will find that provoking God frequently results in God’s judgment.
§  Jezebel also would receive her pay (v.23). Dogs will eat her dead body. Jews considered dogs unclean and debased animals. To have a dog eat a person was an extreme disgrace.
§  Dogs or birds would eat all of Ahab’s family (v.24). This would be a fitting end to such a wicked family.
God Describes Ahab (v.25-26)
§  Look carefully at every word in this verse (v.25). God is speaking. There was none like Ahab who sold himself to work wickedness. To whom did he sell himself? It appears that it was to the devil himself. His life was filled with wicked deeds. God saw his wicked deeds.
§  Rotten Jezebel stirred up Ahab. She was his greatest downfall. The phrase “stirred up” means to incite, to allure, to instigate, to entice and to lure. Through her dominant spirit, bossy demands, threats, and unsubmissive actions, she ruled his life.
§  Wives, God has commanded you to submit to your husbands. God has ordained that the husband lead the home. That forbids you to go against his leadership. (One exception might be if he tried to get you to do something illegal, but that would be very rare). Many wives, who claim to be submissive to their husbands, manipulate, bribe and threaten them to get their way. That is evil.
§  Husbands, your God-given leadership over your wife gives you no right to mistreat her. Value her input. Cherish her counsel. Develop teamwork with her. Delegate as needed, but be the loving leader that God ordained for you to be.
§  Ahab also did very abominably in God’s sight (v.26). He gave himself to following idols. God wiped out the Amorites who originally possessed Canaan and now Ahab lived as they had.
Ahab’s Reaction (v.27)
§  1) He rent or tore his clothes. 2) He put on sackcloth. 3) He fasted. 4) He lay in sackcloth. 5) He went softly. Each of these actions show humility. From a human perspective, we might question his sincerity. How could someone so wicked have a sincere change of heart that quickly? However, our omniscient God saw Ahab’s heart and knew that he was sincere. That is so good!
§  As humans, we have no ability to see into the heart of anyone. Therefore, we have no right to judge motives. We struggle with this at times.
§  Ahab’s reaction is also a lesson to us. When we have done wrong, true repentance and confession will always touch the heart of God (1Jn 1:9; Pr 28:13). As with Ahab, consequences may still follow our sin, but we can receive God’s forgiveness.
God’s Gracious Mercy (v.28-29)
§  God took note of Ahab’s humility. That is absolutely amazing after all the evil he had done. God knew that his humility was genuine.
§  God sent word to Elijah again (v.28).
§  God delayed His judgment until after Ahab was dead. Awesome! God is so graciously merciful.
§  Truly, our God is a merciful God! (Psalms 106:1) “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”