#42. Ahab’s Demise

Published by Ben Stahl on May 21, 2020May 21, 2020

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!”

So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

I Kings 22:29-40 NKJV

When I was a child my siblings and I listened to Judy Rogers’s songs from time to time on cassette tape and now we have some of her music downloaded into our car. One of her children’s catechism songs begins like this, simple lyrics expressing a divine truth:

“I’m hiding from mommy and no one can see

I’m hiding and no one will know!

But I just remembered that God’s watching me;

He knows everything that I do.

We cannot hide from the omniscient, all-seeing God. In the final act of Ahab’s life, he thought he could thwart any plan of the Lord by disguising himself as an ordinary soldier instead of going into battle dressed as a king. But the Lord was not fooled by clothing or position in the army.  If the Syrian captains with one mission on the battlefield (vs. 31) could not find Ahab, a lone Syrian archer shooting without a target in mind certainly could. God’s purposes surely stand.

All the ways men might pursue to avoid God’s righteous judgment will be thwarted. Hiding from God will simply not work. Ahab’s death was miserable. He was wounded without a great fight. He died even while his own army was being routed. His army was scattered like sheep without a shepherd, just as the prophet Micaiah had said (vs. 17). When his body was brought back to Samaria the dogs licked up his blood even while harlots bathed nearby (vs. 38). He who had led Israel into sin and sold himself to do evil died with dishonor. All that the Lord had spoken, He brought to pass.

We will not take a separate devotional on Jehoshaphat’s ‘salvation’ but it must be noted. Thirty-two captains of Syria focused their attention on Jehoshaphat alone in the battle thinking him to be Ahab. In vs. 32, Jehoshaphat cried out and the captains recognized he was not their target and stopped pursuing him. In the parallel text in II Chronicles 18:31, “but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him.”

Jehoshaphat acted foolishly and sinfully in his alliance with Ahab against Syria. And yet, in his hour of need, the sense of the Scripture is that Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, who heard the cry of His servant and delivered him from the hands of the Syrians. The Lord did not owe this great kindness to Jehoshaphat. The Lord would have been just in allowing him to die in battle. But the Lord demonstrated His merciful kindness to His people yet again in delivering Jehoshaphat. We too can and should cry out to the Lord in the hour of our need, and He will deliver us even if that means bringing us to everlasting glory in Heaven through death itself. 

Micaiah was thrown into prison for his prophecy to Ahab. He suffered beating, mocking, and bread of affliction. Yet the Lord used him to show all Israel gathered that day preparing for battle that the Lord is God. Perhaps not with the drama of Mt. Carmel, but nevertheless with great power, the Lord vindicated His name yet again to Israel and Judah and teaches us that salvation comes not with might, power, or cunning, but from the Lord who knows everything we do. 

No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Psalm 33:16-22

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