1 Kings 21-22
What I Noticed Today (1 Kings 21-22)
1 Kings 21
Ahab tries to purchase Naboth’s vineyard.
In verses 1-16, we have King Ahab, who just had two miraculous military victories over Ben-Hadad, and he gets all pouty when his neighbor Naboth refuses to sell him his vineyard and give up his family’s inheritance.
Note: There was no provision in the Levitical law for selling your family inheritance, so Ahab shouldn’t have been surprised by Naboth’s response.
- However, Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, says she will get the land for him.
- She knows enough about the Levitical law to have two men accuse Naboth of cursing God.
- As a result, Naboth was stoned, and Ahab took his vineyard.
In verses 17-29, the word of the Lord came to Elijah and told him to go to Ahab and confront him for killing Naboth and taking his vineyard.
- Elijah appears before Ahab and passes judgment on him from the Lord for the killing of Naboth and for doing evil in the Lord’s sight.
- Elijah says the Lord has promised to eliminate all of Ahab’s heirs because he had provoked Israel to sin. The Lord’s condemnation extended to Jezebel, who said Elijah would be eaten by the dogs in Jezreel.
- In a surprising turn of events, Ahab repented. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted upon hearing the Lord’s judgment, so the Lord delayed bringing disaster on the house of Ahab.
Note: Jezebel did not repent, and the prophecies regarding her death were fulfilled (2 Kings 9:30-37).
1 Kings 22
1 Kings 22 describes three years of relative peace between Aram (some translations say Syria, this is Ben-Hadad) and Jehoshaphat (king of Judah).
In verses 1-12, Jehoshaphat came to Ahab (king of Israel) to form an alliance (in the third year of the peace, 853 B.C.).
- Jehoshaphat asked Ahab for a prophet to inquire if they would have victory over Ben-Hadad.
- Ahab brought 400 prophets who told the kings what they wanted to hear; that they would succeed in the battle.
- But Jehoshaphat asked for a true prophet of God.
In verses 13-28, Micaiah, a prophet of God, came and appeared before the kings.
- At first, Micaiah told the kings they should go into battle.
- Ahab made Micaiah swear to tell only the truth in the name of God.
- At that point, Micaiah bravely told the kings they would lose the battle.
- Ahab ordered Micaiah turned over to the jailer and put in prison until he returned safely from battle. Micaiah said, if you return from battle, the Lord has not spoken through me.
In verses 29-40, Ahab tried to deceive the enemy and Jehoshaphat by having Jehoshaphat wear his robes into battle (the enemy would always try to kill the king).
- This, he thought, would keep him safe, and make Jehoshaphat the target.
- A random arrow from the enemy killed Ahab, king of Israel.
- Ahab died and was buried in Samaria. His son, Ahaziah, reigned in his place.
In verses 41-50, Jehoshaphat, son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Israel’s King Ahab.
Note: Jehoshaphat ruled as co-regent with his father, Asa, due to Asa’s poor health for three years (873-870 B.C.). Jehoshaphat ruled for a total of 25 years (873-848 B.C.).
- He was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years.
- Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of his father, Asa. He tried to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
- However, he allowed the high places to remain, and people still sacrificed and burned incense there.
- He removed the rest of the male cult prostitutes, leftover from the reign of his father, Asa.
- Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the city of Jerusalem.
- His son, Jehoram, became king in his place.
Note: Jehoram began ruling as a co-regent with his father Jehoshaphat (853-848 B.C.). Then he ruled as king for another seven years (848-841 B.C.).
In verses 51-53, Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, became king over Israel in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He ruled for less than two full years (853-852 B.C.)
- Ahaziah was an evil king who walked in the ways of his mother and father, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, leading the people of Israel away from God by worshipping Baal.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- The story of Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard recounts my sins. Ahab was covetous (Exodus 20:17), he and Jezebel worshiped other gods (Baal), they lied, they committed murder by having an innocent man killed, they stole his property, and they tried to cover it all up. But God saw all the sins of Ahab and Jezebel and passed judgment on them. Covetousness led to many other sins!
- The story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab illustrates how we must be careful in forming alliances. Ahab seemed to want to hear from God, but ultimately both kings did what they wanted despite the prophecy from Micaiah.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.