29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.33Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16)
Thoughts: Ahab had the legacy of doing more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any before him. That is a horrible thing to say. So how did he do it? He still knew about the Lord, but he played down the uniqueness of the worship of God. He not only allowed calf worship (the sins of Jeroboam), but also brought back the fertility gods Baal and Ashtoreth. Jezebel was a princess of Sidon who encouraged fertility worship. In the end, the worship of the Lord was minimalized- only Micaiah and then Elijah were left as prophets of the Lord, while Baal had thousands supplemented by the king. Omri and Ahab had great power and military might. But Ahab had public conflicts with Elijah and with the Lord. In the end, Ahab died a hard death- prophesied by God and happening with a random arrow. We should not go our own way. We should seek to please God and not be embarrassed to forsake all other gods.
Prayer: Lord, let me have a one hearted love for you.
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