When I Have Sold Out God Series

When I have sold out God

17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ’This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ’This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood-yes, yours!’ " (sounds really yucky)

20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"

"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD . 21 ’I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel-slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, (complete wipe-out of existence his entire clan) because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.’

23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: ’Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of [Jezreel.’

24 "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country.

25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD , urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

A seven year-old comes to class one morning after being absent the day before. His teacher asked, "Why weren’t you at school yesterday?"

"Well, my Granddad got burnt," he explains.

"Oh dear. He wasn’t too badly hurt was he?" the teacher replies.

"Oh yes, they don’t mess around at those crematoriums!"

Today, I wanna say God does not mess around with sin and death. Folks who mess around with it will get burnt. See, in our text here God was through with Ahab as we read in 1 Kings 21. Ahab is finished (see v.19, 22). He was facing extermination by God. There is no messing around here. Evil will be given the boot! God wants Ahab out of the picture. Ahab was about to get burnt big time by God. Ahab’s a dead duck, finito, kaput, for sure!

Just in case some here don’t know how evil he was and why God does not want to mess around with Ahab anymore, we get this commentary from the Bible “There was never a man like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD , urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.”

What a pronouncement! Is there any justification for this? Influenced by his wife, Jezebel who happened to be the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon and a priest of Astarte (one of vilest ancient times cult), he allowed a temple dedicated to Baal, to be built in the land of the free. The God of Israel was not pleased! False prophets sprung up like weeds to support and violate all that seemed decent with displays of public porn nudity/sex which was seen as worship to the goddess of fertility, love and war at the behest of Ahab. Moreover, the prophets of God were slaughtered, cut down like BC logs heading to the pulp factory and thrown out like yesterday’s garbage. The altars of God were desecrated and torn down and the worship of idols flourished under Ahab’s reign. He also killed a man after making mockery of justice by running a fake trial, just to get a vineyard that was next to his palace. Ahab was full of hate for the prophet Elijah, calling him a troublemaker, when he was the one who fitted that description. All Elijah ever did was to follow God’s orders to confront Ahab with his crimes against God and humanity. As a result, along with his wife, they sought to eliminate him and poor Elijah had to run for his life. So great and complete is his contempt for God and his selling out of God that Ahab succeeded in corrupting succeeding generations after him. Many kings of Israel after him went the same way he did. What a model, what a hero, eh? Can you see why God does not want to mess around with Ahab?