Ahab was a most wicked king. He began his reign as an evil man, and he ended it the same way.
His first mistake was in marrying Jezebel, a princess of the god Baal. She brought with her, not only her beliefs, but her idols as well. Ahab immediately prepared places for her idols and led God’s people into idolatrous worship.
One of the more famous stories about Ahab is his interaction with Naboth. Naboth’s vineyard was next to the palace, and Ahab wanted it for a vegetable garden. He tried everything to get Naboth to sell it to him or trade with him. Naboth told Ahab that he could not sell or trade his land, because it was an inheritance. It was against God’s laws to do anything with it outside his own family.
Ahab went home dejected and pouting. He went to bed, turned his face to the wall, and refused to eat. What a king!
Jezebel to the rescue. She assured Ahab that she would take care of the situation. She devised a plan by sending letters to the nobles and the priests to declare a fast and bring Naboth into court. They were to bring in false witnesses and accuse him of blasphemy against God and the king. Such behavior was punishable by stoning. The letters went out with the king’s seal, which meant it was a declaration that could not be ignored.
Of course, the men did as was commanded. Then they declared him guilty as charged and stoned him to death. Later we read that they also stoned his family.
What is interesting about this story is the way Jezebel used God’s law to serve her own purpose. She obviously knew the laws under which God’s people were supposed to live because of the way she brought about Naboth’s demise. She structured a formal charge of blasphemy against Naboth. She knew there needed to be two witnesses, and she knew that stoning the guilty to death was the punishment for a guilty plea. She also knew that Naboth’s relatives would inherit the land, so she had them killed as well (Second Kings 9:16). Without family to inherit, Ahab took possession of the land.
Our lives are filled with decisions we need to make as to whether something is right or wrong. The old saying, “You can prove anything by the Bible” is true. If you want to justify your behavior, just look long enough, and you will find a way to justify it.
My husband tells the story of a preacher who did just that. The man was on the radio, and in his sermon he made the following statement. “The Bible says that baptism does not save us. It says and I quote, “Baptism doth also save us not.” The man failed to give the Scripture reference, but it is found in First Peter 3:21. It says, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
In this passage, Peter had been comparing Noah’s being saved in the flood with our being saved by baptism. Noah’s salvation required water and his obedience to God’s commands. The same is true with us. It takes baptism, but it also takes our obedience to His commands.
Most people use Scripture to prove something they are doing is right because the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid it.
If we want to know what God really wants us to do, we will, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (Second Timothy 2:15). We will look careful to make sure we understand the path God wants us to take. If we are uncertain, we should not take any risks. Our souls depend on our decisions.
Sandra Oliver