Thursday - I Kings 16 - The Rise of Ahab

One of the most notorious men from the era of the divided kingdom of Israel was the wicked man Ahab. Sadly, rather than the nation actually improving, the transition of power in Israel went from one evil man to another. Now, when the bad guys are in control, things can get really ugly indeed. Notice the mess that the northern kingdom endured.

First, there was the fairly rapid exchange of power from the hands of one man to another and from one family to another... Baasha died, his son Elah became king for 2 years. Zimri killed Elah... as well as everyone who was a relative or friend of Elah. But, Zimri didn't get to enjoy the fruit of his own efforts. Omri, a military leader in Israel at the time, was declared king. As such, there was a division of power in the north. And, when Omri attacked the city where Zimri was, Zimri burned down the palace which was there over his own head. Then another man, Tibni, rose to claim the power.  But, when he died, Omri was then the lone ruler. Omri didn't live long though, and, as I said, his son Ahab became the new king. Now, as bad as all the guys before him were, Omri’s son Ahab was worse than them all (I Kings 16:30 & 33). And, of all the bad things that Ahab did, one of the worse decisions he ever made was to marry Jezebel and to accept her god as his god (I Kings 16:31). Thereafter, Israel went after Baal… with gusto.