Ahab and Jezebel
According to the Hebrew Bible, Ahab was the seventh king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon. The Hebrew Bible presents Ahab as a wicked king.
Died 852 BC · Ramoth-Gilead, Syria
Father Omri
Reign 871 – 852 BC
Burial Samaria, Kingdom of Israel
The Evilest People in the Bible!
Who are the most corrupt and evil people in the Bible (not including Satan or any other demons)? While Scripture contains many individuals who have done their share of wrong, some became quite good at doing what was wrong.
King Ahab is arguably the evilest king of the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel. He was the first Israelite king to marry a heathen (non-Israel) woman, the beautiful but devilish Jezebel. Together they became one of the most sinful couples in Biblical history. Ahab built an altar, in the capital city of Samaria, to his wife's pagan God.
Ahab, aided by Jezebel, helped lead the people into idolatry and set the stage for the nation's later captivity. Elijah the Prophet confronted him several times for his bad behavior (see 1Kings 17 - 18).
Jezebel not only fed and cared for the more than 800 false prophets, but she also had the evil tenacity to vow she would have Elijah murdered (1Kings 18 - 19). She also arranged the cold-blooded murder of a vineyard owner named Naboth in order to seize his land (1Kings 21).
Ahab made an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he had built in Samaria, and he also made a grove which was also a wicked thing to do.
Ahab was an able and energetic warrior. His victories over the Syrians pushed the borders of his kingdom to the border of Damascus. Success, however, made him greedy for still more.
Who was King Ahab in the Bible?
ANSWER: Ahab was one in a line of increasingly evil kings in Israel's history, starting with the reign of Jeroboam. King Ahab "did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him" (1 Kings 16:30). Among the events chronicled in Ahab's life that led to his downfall was his marriage to an evil woman named Jezebel, who had a particular hatred for God's people (1 Kings 18:4). Because of his marriage to a pagan woman, Ahab devoted himself to the worship of the false gods Baal and Asherah in Israel (1 Kings 16:31–33).
The evil of King Ahab was countered by the Prophet Elijah, who warned Ahab of coming judgment if he did not obey the Lord. Ahab blamed Elijah for bringing trouble to Israel (1 Kings 18:17), but Ahab's promotion of idolatry was the cause of the three-and-a-half-year famine (verse 18). In a dramatic confrontation between Elijah and Ahab's false prophets, God proved to Israel that He, not Baal, was the true God (1 Kings 18:16–39). All of Ahab's men of Baal were killed that day (verse 40).
King Ahab also disobeyed the Lord's direct command to destroy Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram. God set it up so Ahab would lead Israel to victory, but Ahab made a treaty with the king he was supposed to kill (1 Kings 20). "Therefore," God told Ahab through an unnamed prophet, "it is your life for his life, your people for his people" (verse 42).
The event that sealed Ahab's doom was his murder of an innocent man (1 Kings 21). Ahab coveted a vineyard belonging to a man named Naboth. The king offered to buy the vineyard, but Naboth refused because the Law forbade him to sell it (1 Kings 21:2–3; cf. Leviticus 25:23). While Ahab sulked about it in his palace, his wife arranged Naboth's murder. Once the vineyard's owner was out of the way, King Ahab took the vineyard for himself. Elijah came to Ahab and told him the Lord would deal with him by cutting off all his descendants. Also, Ahab himself would suffer a shameful fate: "In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!" (1 Kings 21:19). Upon hearing this, Ahab "tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly" (verse 27). In response to Ahab's repentance, God mercifully postponed the destruction of Ahab's dynasty until after Ahab was dead (verse 29).
The prophesied judgment against Ahab came true precisely as Elijah predicted. God used Ahab's false prophets to entice him into going to the battle at Ramoth-Gilead, where he was hit by a "random" arrow and slowly bled to death in his chariot. Later, "they washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed), and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared" (1 Kings 22:38). After Ahab's death, Jehu killed Jezebel (2 Kings 9) and all of Ahab's descendants (2 Kings 10).
God justly judged King Ahab because he disobeyed the Lord's direct commands, abused his responsibility as Israel's king, and led God's people right into idolatry. In the end, "there was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel, his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols" (1 Kings 21:25–26).
My Way— The Story of Ahab and Jezebel
King David had been absent from the scene of Hebrew history for about 135 years when this story opened. His great kingdom, enlarged and more richly endowed by his son Solomon, had been fractured into two weakened fragments. The southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled by his descendants, while the northern kingdom of Israel suffered under a succession of wicked men at the helm.
Ahab, who was perhaps the wickedest of them all, is introduced to the pages of Scripture with these shocking words: "And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him" (1 Kings. 16:30). He had the dubious distinction of being the most wicked king. The latter reigned over Israel up until his day. We expect almost anything from a man that degenerate. We are not surprised to read, "And it came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him" (1 Kings 16:31).
"Sidonians" was another name for the Phoenicians, seafaring people on the Mediterranean coast who occupied the great cities of Tyre and Sidon. With the ever-present menace of Syria and the growing threat of Assyria, Ahab decided that he needed an alliance with this neighboring nation, so he made a treaty with the king of Phoenicia and sealed it by marrying his daughter. That is how Jezebel happened to move to Samaria, the capital of Israel, and there is only one way to describe it — a whirlwind hit Israel.
The king of Phoenicia was not only the political leader of his people but also the high priest of their religion, as his name Ethbaal implies. Jezebel had grown steeped in the worship of Baal and his female consort, Astarte (or Ashtoreth). Baal was considered to be the God of the land. He owned it, they said, and he controlled its weather and the increase of its crops and cattle. Ashtoreth was considered to be the mother-goddess of fertility. So idols of both Baal and Ashtoreth stood side by side in their temples and were worshiped by priests and temple prostitutes with lewd dances and sacred orgies, with the hope that their God and goddess would follow their example and increase the productivity of their agriculture, their animals, and their children. In times of crisis such as famine, they slashed themselves and even sacrificed their children to appease the gods and implore their help.
Jezebel was fanatical about her religion. The worship of Jehovah must have seemed dull and commonplace by comparison, and she was determined to change it. She was a headstrong, self-willed, domineering woman, and with a moral weakling for a husband, she had little trouble getting her way. She got him to build a house for Baal beside the palace in Samaria, as well as an "Ashtoreth," an idol of the fertility goddess. Then she brought 450 prophets of Baal and 400 of Ashtoreth from Phoenicia, housed them in the palace, and fed them in royal style. Their duties would have been to promote the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth throughout the land.
Not satisfied with establishing her religion in Israel, Jezebel sought to stamp out every remnant of Jehovah's worship and to kill every true Prophet of God. She had to have things completely her way, and she almost succeeded. Some prophets survived by compromising their convictions and turning into "yes" men for Ahab. Another group of 100 were hidden in a cave and fed secretly by a godly servant of Ahab named Obadiah. However, Elijah was the only one courageous enough to stand up openly against Jezebel's wickedness. God gave him a great victory when he called down fire from heaven upon Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were slaughtered, and it looked like the nation would turn back to God. However, Jezebel was not finished with her sinister work. She swore in her rage that she would kill Elijah, and he ran for his life, collapsed in the wilderness under a juniper tree, and pleaded with God to let him die. It was the lowest point in the godly Prophet's remarkable career. Moreover, Baal worship lived on, dragging the nation to new depths of degradation. This stubborn, headstrong, self-willed wife of Ahab brought disruption and distress to Israel for years to come.
Of course, Ahab was just as self-willed as Jezebel but with a different temperament. For one thing, he had willfully entered a marriage that was politically convenient but contrary to every word from God. However, Ahab's self-will becomes even more evident in an incident involving the king and his vegetable garden. Shortly after his marriage to Jezebel, Ahab not only beautified the palace at Samaria so that it came to be called "the ivory house" (1 Kgs. 22:39), but he also built a second palace in Jezreel, twenty-five miles to the north, in an area of a more moderate climate in the wintertime. "Now it came about after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria" (1 Kgs. 21:1). Ahab decided he wanted Naboth's property, so he went to him and said, "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 the money" (1 Kgs. 21:2). Naboth declined the offer, just as he should have done, for God had forbidden the Jews to sell their paternal inheritance (Lev. 25:23-34). Naboth was obeying the Law of the Lord.
"So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him .... And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food" (1 Kgs. 21:4). Can you believe that a grown man would act this childishly? Some do. Weak, vacillating people like Ahab often want their way just as much as headstrong, domineering people like Jezebel. But they react differently when they do not get it. While the forceful ones rant and rave, strike out at those who stand in their way, throw fits and destroy things, the weak ones sulk and pout and fret like spoiled children. They may refuse to get out of bed and even refuse to eat. They want to feel sorry for themselves and let everybody know how bad things are for them. All they succeed in doing is letting people know how self-centered and immature they are.
Self-will of either variety, the violent kind or the peevish kind, can ruin a marriage. The trouble often starts when our mates infringe upon our inviolable rights. Maybe the husband will not let his wife buy something she thinks she has a right to have, or the wife prepares a terrible dinner on the day hubby expects his favorite dish. Instead of letting the love and graciousness of Jesus Christ control us, our sinful natures take over, and we go into our rage routine or sulk syndrome, whichever it is with us. Moreover, it slowly but surely eats away at our relationship.
Furthermore, that little self-will that has never been broken and yielded to God may ultimately lead to more significant problems. I have heard some say, "I do not love her anymore. I do not want her. I will find happiness for myself, and I do not care what the Bible says."
God wants to break our sinful, stubborn wills. He wants to conquer them with His love. The first step to victory is to admit that continually demanding our way is disobedience to God's Word and, therefore, sin. Talk to the Lord about it. Be honest with Him. Tell Him frankly that you would rather have your way than be unselfish and considerate of others, but acknowledge that it is contrary to His Word. Ask him to help you. Then by an act of your will, determine to do the loving thing. That step of faith will open the channel of God's power. He will not only enable you to carry through with your decision to act in love, but He will give you genuine delight in doing His will.
However, go back to Ahab and his vegetable garden for a moment. Jezebel found Ahab sulking in his bed and said, "How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?" (1 Kgs. 21:5). So he explained to her how Naboth refused to let him have his vegetable garden. She replied, "Do you now reign over Israel?" (1 Kgs. 21:7). In modern terms, that might sound more like, "What are you, a man or a mouse? Squeak up! Don't you know that you are the king? You can take anything you want." With her Phoenician background, Jezebel could not seem to understand that even the king in Israel was subject to the laws of God.
We discover how thoroughly this weak and wicked man was dominated by his overbearing wife when she said, "Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite" (1 Kings 21:7). She planned to commit a hideous crime; she was going to pay two false witnesses to testify that they heard Naboth blaspheme God and the king so that both he and his sons would be stoned to death. The king would be free to lay claim to his land (cf. 2 Kings 9:26). She was going to teach Ahab her philosophy of life: "Take what you want and destroy anyone who stands in your way." Moreover, Ahab did not dare to stop her.
A man will do strange things when taunted and ridiculed by his wife. "Why didn't you stand up to him?" one wife jeered when she heard of her husband's latest disagreement with the boss. "When are you going to start acting like a man?" So the next time he did, he lost his job, and everyone suffered. So the next round went like this: "You cannot even provide for your family. What kind of a man are you?" So he showed her by roughing her up a little and turning to cheat and stealing to make ends meet.
Moreover, again, everyone in the family suffered. A man needs respect from his wife, not ridicule. Of this disgraceful incident in Ahab's life, God said, "Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife incited him" (1 Kgs. 21:25). Some men need to be spurred on, to be sure, but not to do evil! A godly wife will challenge her husband to listen to God and live for Him, not encourage him to sin.
But the story is not over. These two were self-willed to the end. Elijah met Ahab in Naboth's vineyard and pronounced God's judgment on both him and his wife for their wicked deed. Several years later, that judgment came on Ahab, and it is a story of self-will. The incident started over a city east of Jordan called Ramoth-Gilead, which Ahab said belonged to Israel but was still in the hands of Syria. When Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, came to visit Ahab, he asked him if he would go to battle with him for Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat agreed but wanted to consult the Lord first. Ahab called his "yes" men together, and they assured him that the Lord would give Ramoth-Gilead into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat was still not satisfied. He wanted another opinion: "Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?" (1 Kgs. 22:7). And Ahab replied, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah" (1 Kgs. 22:8). So Micaiah was called, and although he knew his life was in danger, he spoke what God told him. Israel would be scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd (1 Kgs. 22:17). As we might expect, Ahab rejected Micaiah's prophecy and had him cast into prison. He would have what he wanted and do what he pleased, regardless of God's will. Ahab knew the Syrians would be after him, so he removed his royal garments and disguised himself as a regular soldier. "Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor" (1 Kgs. 22:34). That soldier did not know he was shooting at the king, but his arrow penetrated the narrow slit between the pieces of Ahab's armor. Very few bowmen would have been that accurate. It was obvious that God was guiding that arrow, and Ahab's self-will ended in his untimely death.
Jehu, the captain of Israel's army, was the instrument of divine discipline in her case. After slaying King Jehoram, the son of Ahab, he rode to Jezreel. Jezebel outlived him by almost fourteen years. Scripture says, "When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head, and looked out the window" (2 Kgs. 9:30). She knew what was about to happen, but she was going to die like a queen, arrogant, self-willed and unrepentant to the end. She shouted abuses at Jehu from her upstairs window. Jehu's command, several of her servants threw her down, "and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and the horses, and he trampled her under foot" (2 Kgs. 9:33). It was a violent death. However, it illustrated the seriousness of sinful self-will in opposition to God again.
However, their influence lived on in their children. Furthermore, this is often the saddest side effect of lives like Ahab's and Jezebel's. Two sons of Ahab and Jezebel later ruled in Israel. The first was Ahaziah. Of him, God says, "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. So he served Baal, worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger according to all his father had done" (1 Kgs. 22:52, 53). The second son to reign was Jehoram. As Jehu rode to execute vengeance on the house of Ahab, Jehoram cried, "Is it peace, Jehu?" Jehu summed up Jehoram's reign with his reply: "What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?" (2 Kgs. 9:22).
Ahab and Jezebel also had a daughter, Athaliah, and she married another man named Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of the southern kingdom of Judah. "And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab's daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Chron. 21:6). So it was that the evil influence moved south. At Jehoram's death, his son, Athaliah, became king of Judah. Moreover, the evil influence lived on, "Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and reigned one year in Jerusalem. Moreover, his mother's name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Onui. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. Moreover, he did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after his father's death, to his destruction" (2 Chron. 22:2-4).
God only knows how many generations will be affected by our sinful self-will, our insistence on having things our way instead of God's. This shocking story ought to provide the incentive we need to put off every remnant of self-will and yield ourselves wholly to do the will of God.
The Horrible Death Of Ahab And Jezebel
Ahab died in a battle against God's people. He was slain, and dogs licked up his blood at the pool of Samaria.
The Anointing of Jehu as the new King of Israel with the task of destroying the works of Ahab and Jezebel fulfilled the will of God.
Jehu destroyed the royal household of Ahab and Jezebel. When he was in the house of Jezebel, he asked Jezebel's servant to throw her out of the window. They did just that. They were obsessed with her.
"He said, "Throw her down!" So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her." (2 Kings 9:33). Jezebel's body was nowhere to be found for burial except for her skull, feet, and palms of hands. The LORD's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Ahab and Jezebel were so wicked that they killed God's anointed prophets, killed children as a sacrifice for their god "Baal." In conclusion, God always loves his children by protecting them from evil people. This abomination got them exactly what they deserved. They died a horrible death, and their bloodline was wiped off the earth's surface.
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