Thank you for listening to this sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church. If you want to learn more about us, please find us on Facebook or visit us at SevenSpringsPresbyterian.com. Like I said, we'll be in 1 Kings chapter 16. We're coming to the end of chapter 16 where we've seen a lot of change happen over the course of that chapter, beginning with Bashar. And then last week we looked at Omri with verse 27, looking at the rest of the acts of Omri and what that he did and the might that he showed. Are they not written in the Book of Chronicles, the kings of Israel? Now we move down, down after this 12 year reign. Quite an achievement actually in this 12 years. Established quite a dynasty as we noted last time that this becomes Omri land in other nations as they write about this. But now we come to his son Ahab. Ahab is very critical and key on many different levels. And we can see up to this point that, you know, where the Bible spends a lot of time, we need to spend a lot of time and understand why that is the case. Up to this point, we've spent quite a couple of chapters on Jeroboam. You could see and understand why you would spend so much time on Jeroboam with the change of a new king in the northern kingdom and the 10 tribes. But up to this point, most of the kings have actually had quite a short summary of their reign. However, even if you just look at the headings in your Bible, you'll notice that here we begin a reign in verse 29. Speaking of Ahab, the son of Omri, began to reign over Israel. And he reigns over Samaria of 22 years. But even if you flick all the way to 1 Kings chapter 22, it's not until almost the end of that chapter, in verse 39 and 40, where we see, now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of Chronicles, the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his place. So we see quite a bit of a change in the length of time that we spend during this 22-year reign. But not only that, we also need to know that up to this point, we've had quite a pattern of kings in the northern tribes of Israel. Jeroboam, Nadab, his son reigns for a short amount of time, there's a change. Bashar comes to the throne, a new line, a new line of kings in Israel, but then you have Elah, Bashar's son, and then Elah has a short reign, and then Zimri. Zimri has a short reign of seven days, and then Omri, Ahab, and the pattern would be that Ahab would be the one with a short reign. But Ahab's dynasty actually carries on past even chapter 22, all the way to 2 Kings chapter 9, where we find out that the Lord will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and the house of Bashar, the son of Ahijah. So we see quite a lot of attention given to this period of time in Israel's history, the northern tribes in history, specifically in 1 Kings, 2 Kings. But what we see is this building, this climactic building up to this point. This time gets centered around the kings but also Elijah and Elisha start to be able to come in. The relationship between Ahab and Jezebel is quite important. So what we see now is the introduction to this period of time and this reign. And so we kind of get an idea now where we're heading, that we've seen all of this happen. So the first thing that we see here is the spiral of idolatry, the spiral of idolatry. See this in verses 29 to 30. In the thirtieth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel. And Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel and Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him. So now, as we're trying to compare the kingdoms, Asa in the southern kingdom, he reigns 42 years. So we're coming to the end of his reign, so now Ahab will be the transition into the new king in the southern kingdom. And so Ahab continues the reign that Omri began. Again, pointed out this pattern that a father comes in, reigns for a period of time, about 20 years roughly, and then the son reigns about two years, and then they are wiped out. Then a new line comes in of kings, and this breaks the pattern altogether. We don't get this story with this king. Actually, the son reigns longer than the father, Omri, in his 12 short, powerful 12 years. Ahab reigns 22 years. Now as you remember last week Omri was introduced in verse 25, and Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, more evil than all who were before him. So we saw this pattern now of this heightening of sin throughout the kings of Israel, they are getting worse and worse. They are not just as wicked as the one before, they are getting eviler terrible English there, but they're getting worse. And so now Ahab, we see in verse 30, that Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. So if Omri was the worst, now it's a race to be who is the most wicked. And what we need to understand here is that Ahab is the seventh king. And the number seven is used throughout the Bible of completeness. That here's, it's right, you know, we would count to 10, you know, we'd count down from 10 to one or one to 10. If you're a young Hebrew boy or girl, you would count to seven. That's the number of kind of the completeness that they would get to. And so we see now with the seventh king, the wickedness had reached its height. And here, the completion of this cycle of wickedness, you might say, found in Ahab. This gets worse right from not just Jeroboam, but all the way back to Solomon. You could even say that this wickedness begins in David. And it brings this kingdom to be able to be torn apart with the incident of Uriah. And things from there just get from worse to worse. The kingdom, practically in the north, is degrading to this horrific point. Each wicked king is followed by a more wicked king. And the height of it comes with Ahab, as we'll see in 1 Kings chapter 21, verse 25, is what it says there. There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab." You know, when there's a comparison of wicked, normally you can find someone more wicked than you. I'm sure if you were to go down to prison, you'd be able to find someone who is more wicked than the other person. But here the heighten of it is Ahab, there is no one that is as wicked as Ahab. So, we see this spiral of idolatry that is permeated through the nation of Israel particularly in the kings as they continue to do what is wicked and evil in their sight, the sight of the Lord. Remember back to Judges where the cycle of judges was a key factor. These judges get worse and worse and what happens is the end, in the very end it says, there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was evil right in their own eyes. And so too we see this practice continue. Now there's kings in Israel, but the kings are doing what is evil in their own eyes. So we see this downward spiral and this downward spiral comes to this marriage of idolatry in verse 31. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam to the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him." And here it's almost the point where you could say this is the mountaintop of wickedness. Again, we see this here Ahab. is compared to Jeroboam. And Jeroboam was not your example that you teach in your Sunday school kid, you know, be like Jeroboam, you know, but yeah, in this case, Ahab is compared to Jeroboam and Jeroboam's almost compared to his, you know, a good old boy. That here, you see this thing that it's no light thing. It's easy for him to sin. It's almost like he has no conscience in what he does. But specifically what we see heightened here is there's no light sin for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Tobiah. And then immediately we see what he does and he takes Ahab, marries Jezebel. Now this is a very important relationship that will flow throughout scripture. Just as we saw Solomon's kingship started in a similar fashion, and we saw this reaction in 1 Kings 3, and Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. We see here this marriage that affected Solomon throughout all of his life, And here we see the marriage of Ahab and it affects and impacts his reign in a great way. Jezebel actually gets mentioned 22 times directly and then other times in more various ways and more, you know, she or they. But you also notice that there's something about Jezebel that, as we have all of scripture to be able to help us, there's a sense of which Jezebel is then used as a negative thing. Just as you wouldn't necessarily teach your kids to be like Jeroboam, you probably wouldn't call your daughter Jezebel. Not the nicest name, particularly if you read Revelation 2.20, verse 23. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, lest they repent of her works, and will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. And so here Jezebel is used as an example of this false title of a prophetess who teaches and seduces God's people into a life of immorality and idolatry. And again, this is why it's important for us to be knowledgeable of our whole Bible because such a simple reference in Revelation is helpful for you to be able to understand what impact she had in first Kings. Often we merely just look at the New Testament and not understand the impact of these terminology and uses that are used throughout all of Scripture. But we see Jezebel is actually one of the great sources of sin in Ahab's life, 1 Kings chapter 21, verse 25 and 26. Now there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel, his wife, incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel. We're in 1 Kings chapter 31, 16, as we just read before. Here we see the beginning of that, where he takes Jezebel, the daughter of Baal, king of the Sidonians, and went after and served Baal and worshiped him. As we see here, the point of the Bible, again, is not against intercultural or mixed marriages and saying they're sinful. The clear principle that we always see is about worship. central theme of worship plays in that these wives or these men that live in other cultures often worship other gods. And what we see is not necessarily they're great pulled away, but what we actually see is that they're pulled away slowly. And you see this, Solomon, you know, to some extent or another, you know, he did false things, but we don't necessarily see him deny the Lord as his God. However, what we see now with Ahab is that he does. He completely goes out. Again, that principle that Paul puts it in the New Testament is unequally yoked regarding worship. And here he marries Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal. Even the name of her father, Baal, exists. The Lord is. And we need to be able to see something very critical here. What we see is the degradation of Israel. The king, as the representative head, takes and marries a Baal worshiper. Specifically, even Eth Baal is, you might say, a great contrast to, I am the Lord. I am Yahweh, Lord, capitals in your Bible, but specifically is Yahweh, Lord, Baal means Lord. So ethbaal means Lord is. So here we see Israel going after and worshiping another God. And that's exactly what Ahab does. We need to understand that what we're seeing is not merely just this marriage to a Sidonian, that here we see Israel is going after other gods. Again, the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me, and here the king is the representative head of the people of God, is going after another god in Baal. And we'll see this contrast all the time. So when we hear the word Baal here, particularly in this portion of scripture as we're going through, we need to understand that there's a big contrast. that here you have the Lord and you have Baal. Now just think chapters ahead. Think about what happens with the prophets of Baal and the prophet of the Lord with Elijah. You see this contrast here, this battle that's going on between the two. When you think Baal, you need to think anti-Lord or a contrast to the Lord. This will be important as we see. Again, Baal, whose name means Lord or Master, was a major ancient Near Eastern deity, worshipped in various ways. Canaanites, those from Tyre and Sidon, even the Israelites worshipped Baal. Now he was considered the god of fertility, of god of storms, agriculture, the king of all gods in ancient Near Eastern pantheons, and often depicted as a rider on the clouds wielding a thunderbolt or a spear symbolizing his control over the weather and the forces of nature. He was believed to bring rain and fertility to land. Now this is important as we think about Elijah in chapter 18. And so here, where do children come from? They would say Baal. Baal worship is rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in temples. At time, appeasing Paul's required human sacrifice, sometimes even usually the firstborn of the one making the sacrifice, as Jeremiah 19 verse five says, and they put up high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burned offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind. And so the worship of Baal is widespread throughout this regions, but here specifically now Israel is following this track. Numerous temples and shines dedicated to him throughout the region. Every city or region had its own different version of Baal with rituals and myths. Now we see that Ahab's reign is quite a bit of a shift. quite a bit of a shift than what we've had before. Specifically, even when we think back to Jeroboam, not a great good guy as we looked at, but specifically, there's a huge shift. Now they're not worshiping Yahweh or even pretending or trying to worship Yahweh. They were just completely turned around and worship Baal. Remember in 1 Kings chapter 12, when Jeroboam took counsel and made two golden calves, And then he said to the people, you have gone to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods of Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Specifically, he's not trying to reinvent the wheel and create a whole new god. He's merely trying to get them to worship these golden calves and call them god. But now, the heightened sin is not the second commandment. Specifically, it's the first commandment. Again, in Deuteronomy chapter six, verse 12 and 15. Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve, and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods. The gods are the people who are around you, for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God. Lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from the face of the earth. Keep that in the back of your mind as we think about the northern tribes of Israel. So not only do we see this marriage of idolatry, the third thing that we see is the house of idolatry. And we can start to begin to understand more of this contrast that is taking place in verse 32. He erected an altar of Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. Now last week we mentioned the similarities of Omri going and purchasing the land and establishing Samaria on top of a hill, but now his son builds a house to a God in that city. Does that sound familiar? Again, we need to see this contrast taking place. 1 Kings 9, three times a year Solomon used to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it before the Lord. And so he finished the house. So here Solomon builds an altar to the Lord, builds a house to the Lord to be able to worship the Lord. And now we have in the Northern Kingdom, Ahab building a house to Baal, making offerings to Baal in their kingdom. So we see the contrast of not only the Lord and Baal, but Jerusalem and Samaria. And even when we think of the altar of Baal, we also need to be thinking in that terminology that Baal again means Lord or Master. So the altar of Baal really translates the altar of Lord. So here we see this contrast all playing into our minds. And again, this is why it's helpful when we read a passage like 1 John 4, So I perceive you're a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you say Jerusalem is the place where you ought to worship. Two different mountains, two different gods, two different nations, two different ways to be able to worship. That here they realized that Samaria is a center for worship. that this is why it's built and we see it here and we can see these similarities between David and Solomon and Omri and Ahab. We see this contrast that will come down to this epic showdown between two gods, Baal and Yahweh. Two prophets were the prophets, their houses, their nations, what's going to come of them? Again you can see the contrast there of Mount Gerizim, the Mount of Blessing or the Mount Ebal, the Mount of Curses and here you see two different ways. Next we see the response of idolatry in verse 33. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him." Again, we're reminded of this downward spiral in this era that is somewhat unbelievable. As the sin gets greater and greater, the kings become more wicked and so does God's judgment. as we will see at the end of Ahab's reign and the end of his dynasty. Now again, this is nothing new for the people of God and the nation of Israel. Again, mentioned this often before. In Judges chapter two, when they abandoned the Lord, God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they went after other gods, from among the gods of the people who were around them. and they bow down to them that provoke the Lord to anger. But there's something that's very important about all of chapter six that is somewhat missed when we go through king by king or section by section. In verse 30 of chapter 15, Jeroboam sinned, he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel. In verse 2, provoking me to anger with their sins. In verse 7, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands. Verse 13, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. Verse 26, provoking the Lord the God of Israel to anger by their idols. Verse 33, provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger and all the kings of Israel who were before him. And so there's this accumulative effect that every time, and here Ahab is that pinnacle, then all the kings of Israel who were before him. Notice again the key sin, the sin that cannot be separated specifically with having and making idols. And here Ahab makes an Asherah, She's considered the moon goddess, again, a goddess of fertility. You want to have two gods. Most gods are either the god of the weather or god of fertility or the god of battle. They're normally the big categories. And here, Asherah is the goddess of fertility and often presented as a consort of Baal. And some scholars sometimes distinguish between references of the Ashtaroth, which is the proper name of the goddess, and Ashtara, which is the name of her image. That's the tree trunk or the pole in which they worship. But what we'll see is this, the image destroyed by King Josiah in 2 Kings chapter 23. We know what's coming because we've been told right before. This is what's coming. When the king defiled the high places to the east of Jerusalem and the south and the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for the Asherah, the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. And he broke in pieces the pillars and he cut down the Asherah and filled their places with the bones of men. And so we see this all creeping in. Again, the Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Sidonians, which is exactly where Jezebel is from. Now this also can connect back to the Southern Kingdom, where Asa, if you remember, in verse 13 of chapter 15, he removed Makah, his mother from being queen mother, because she had made the abominable image of Ashtoreth. And Asa cut down her image and burned it in the brook Kidron. So Asa is lifted up as one of those good kings. And one of the reasons he was a good king was his heart was after the Lord, but we see him respond by destroying the Ashtoreah. And here we see Ahab creating them. Again, this is nothing new. Warnings throughout all of scripture in Exodus chapter 34, is there to go into the promised land are told that they're to tear down the altars and break their pillars and cut down their Ashtoreah. Deuteronomy 7 verse 5, and thus you shall deal with them. You shall break down their altars, dash into the pieces the pillars, and chop down their ashtram, and burn their carved images with fire. Again, that famous passage that we looked at in Deuteronomy 12 where there I'm going to set a place for you to worship just prior to that in verse 3. You shall tear down their altars, and dash their pieces, their pillars, and burn their ashram with fire. They shall chop down the carved images of their gods, and destroy their name out of that place." But instead, what we see Ahab doing, instead of tearing them down, he's building them up. And what we see actually in Israel is, we'll note this particularly when we're looking at Elijah. is there's this reversal. It's almost like the time machine is going back. And now it's not the nation of Israel, it's the nation that Israel came to inhabit with all these false gods and this false worship and this false practices. But finally we see the cost of idolatry. What seems like a random passage, but I think it's very important. In verse 34. in the days of Hael of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abram, his firstborn, and set up the gates at the cost of his youngest, Zagab, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoke by Joshua, the son of Nun." Again, what do we see as the Second Commandment? Not only the making of idols, but the implications of breaking or keeping it, is that you shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation to those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandment. That here worship has important implications on ourselves and our children. In this case, we see it has a great cost to his family. Now, there's two options in this, and both are terrible. Now, when we read this verse, we might merely think that at the start, Hael of Bethel had terrible accidents, but specifically it's said as the cost of. A good translation, he paid for it with his son. See that, verse 34. And so, this could be that he paid for it through child sacrifice. Again, what we read before. Jeremiah reminds people to build the high places in the belly of the son of Hinnom, to offer their sons and daughters to Melech, Though I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind, that the things they do, this abomination, to cause Judah to sin." So here, normally child sacrifice is connected with Melech, but sometimes it is connected with Baal. And so some people believe that he did a child sacrifice at the beginning of the building project, at the end, to be able to honor Baal. The second option, which is probably more fitting with the second commandment, is that it's God's judgment that he built it. And I think that's more, if you look at Joshua chapter six, Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, Cursed before the Lord be the man who raises up and rebuilds the city Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and the cost of his youngest son shall be set up in its gates. And so here, fulfillment of that prophecy, that here Jericho is being rebuilt. Again, when we think about what's happening in Israel, there's this time travel backwards, that they're going back. Although Israel still lives in God's promised land, it's not like God's promised land. It's not how they're living. They're living just like other nations and just as wicked. And I think that's probably the side that I go with in this passage here, specifically, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. And here we see that prophecy fulfilled here. And so when we need to start to understand Ahab's reign, we need to start to understand that here the king of Israel is just like a king of a pagan nation. worshiping foreign gods. They no longer live in the land given to them from God, but the land they live in is like the land of Canaan. You will see what the nation of Israel looks like, a foreign nation, and God sends a prophet to warn them of the coming judgment. And then even, you think about that, we'll go into more detail in time, but here the The prophet moves into the wilderness. He's fed by God from bread from heaven east of the Jordan. And so here we see this contrast of the bright hope which is found in the promises of David in the southern kingdom, but then the dark days of Israel and their disobedience. and their lack of trusting in God, and yet we see this balance and contrast. Thank you for listening to this sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church. If you want to learn more about us, please find us on Facebook or visit us at sevenspringspresbyterian.com. Seven Springs Presbyterian Church began in 1874 and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America located in Glade Spring, Virginia. Please join us for worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for His glory and His gospel.