King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025
Chapters: I Kings 20-21
Message: I Kings: Ahab Repents
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of I Kings, we learn that true repentance will save even the most ruthless people and God always watches over His people, [Matthew 10:29-33 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]
King Ahab, was well aware that God is true, especially after he saw fire come down from heaven, but he refused to repent and because of that the rest of the nation suffered. We learn that Syria, comes up against Samaria, Benhdad, who is the king, manages to get thirty-two other kings to join him in the attack.
[1 Kings 20:1-4,6 And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. 6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.]
Benhdad, said that everything that he owns belongs to him now, including his wives and children. Ahab, being the coward that he is was willing to hand it all over to him. In fact, he even volunteered to send his own servants to search the land for anything that might please him. This is exactly how the wicked rulers are, have their wicked people who do their dirty work for them, but when their own lives are in danger they will cower. Ahab, was quick to hand everything over to Benhadad without even thinking about the consequences that would bring upon the nation. When the elders and people of the land saw what was going on they tried to convince him not to give into their demands.
[1 Kings 20:7-9 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. 9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.]
Ahab, was still willing to hand over quite a bit in order to keep the peace so he sent word to Benhadad about a compromise, [1 Kings 20:10-12 And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.]
I do not care what side of the aisle we are on in regards to our nations leaders, freedom and peace cannot be bought, it must be taken by force with courage, gumption, and a great army willing to fight. That is how our enemies learn to respect us and it also gets someones attention. Someone was watching what was going on and that someone was God, He sent a prophet to Ahab to tell him that He will help them.
[1 Kings 20:13-16 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 16 And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.]
God’s plan here was not to prove to Ahab who He is, but that as wicked as he is, He is merciful and will deliver Israel from Syria and He is also proving to the other kings that He protects Israel. We may hear about God hardening someones heart, but He never gives up on anyone, not until He has no choice, but to let them go because they truly are reprobates. While Ahab gathers an army of about seven thousand men willing to fight Benhadad and the other kings were so arrogant to think that they had Ahab in the palm of their hands that he and the kings hand themselves a party. When Benhadad heard that Israel was counterattacking he sent the drunken soldiers out and that led to a great slaughter, but Benhadad escaped.
[1 Kings 20:20-23 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.]
The wicked world is quick to celebrate prematurely whenever they feel as though they have defeated God’s people, but God will always get the victory. These foolish kings thought that Israel had different gods in different areas, just like they thought they had. The sad truth is that Israel thought that way too as they were following the “Baal” religion. Nevertheless, God, was going to prove to all of them that He is the one and only Almighty God, that He is everywhere, and just as powerful in the hills as He is in the valleys. Exactly one year later, Benhadad attacked Israel, but nothing could stop them.
[1 Kings 20:26-29 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.]
God allows deliverance to the wicked in an attempt to prove who He is to the world so that they and other believers have the opportunity to repent too. Well, in an attempt to spare his life, Benhadad humbled himself to Ahab and they made a covenant with each other.
[1 Kings 20:31-34 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.]
Now look how the tables have turned, these wicked men were threatened of their own lives being taken. Somewhere over the years they heard the stories of the merciful kings of Israel, in particular David and Solomon, who had the Almighty God on their side. Can you understand now why God is merciful to the just and unjust? By showing mercy to our enemies we are not only doing the will of our Father, we are leading some to Christ, and God will take care of them.
[Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.]
I believe that some of those kings men that escaped the counterattack actually did repent, but Ahab never did. Again, freedom and peace cannot be bought with money or in this case, land. Ahab, promises Benhadad that he would have his palace at Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, and he can exercise power there, but that covenant would prove fatal for Ahab. God, sent a prophet disguised as a wounded soldier to warn him of this.
[1 Kings 20:39-43 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. 41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. 42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.]
God, really does not need to lift one finger to send judgment on the wicked as they do it all by themselves. While Ahab was no saint, and probably just as wicked as Benhadad, they brought themselves to their own graves. God, had to prepare Ahab’s heart, if showing him how powerful He is and that He protects them would not open it, then perhaps the thought of losing his life would. After all that happened you would think that He would have repented, but instead he decides that he wants to build a garden next to his house, the only problem, it was not his land.
[1 Kings 21:1-4 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.]
Really! Because he could not get what he wanted he goes into his room and pouts! What kind of leader has a temper tantrum because a man would not bow to him? Well, his wicked wife, Jezebel that is who. She was all too willing to bring down one of God’s people after all, she was a true reprobate and the one who was really calling the shots. She knew that she could not take the Naboth’s land from him, so, she came up with a plan to have him killed, using Ahab’s name to do it of course.
[1 Kings 21:7-10 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.]
Is that not like the wicked? They have no problem using God’s name for their wicked agenda. There is always someone just as wicked, and bold enough to kill the innocent and use God’s name only when it benefits them. You would have thought that the people would have questioned this fast when they were not even allowed to worship God, but they did exactly what she said. And watch how Ahab does not even flinch when it was told of him that Naboth was killed.
[1 Kings 21:13-16 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.]
Look at how arrogant this fool was, did he not know that he messed with one of God’s faithful and now there will be consequences? Let me tell you, we may lose our lives for our faith, but every hair that was or his on our head is numbered, [Luke 12:7-9 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.]
God will always have our back and He will get the vengeance on anyone who messes with His people. And immediately, God sent Elijah to Ahab, [1 Kings 21:18-19 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.]
Now, that statement that Jesus made applies to everyone, and it does no matter our past. God, is so merciful that anyone can go to Him at any time in sincere repentance and He will repent of the evil that He thought to do to them. In fact, Elijah, goes on to tell him what his punishment will be and his entire family.
[1 Kings 21:20-23 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.]
God, is more merciful to us than we deserve, and as wicked as the world is, He could wipe out the earth in the blink of an eye, but by His mercies He will not do that until the very last soul to receive His Son is saved. And believe it or not, one of the most wicked men in Israel, all brought on by the influence of his wife, repented and got saved.
[1 Kings 21:25-29 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.]
Satan, may be the deceiver, but no one can blame him or God for selling their souls for evil. You reap what you sew no matter what or who you allow to influence you. However, this is proof that salvation has nothing to do with ones past, it is all about their faith in God and pure and honest repentance. If Jesus saved the man on the cross next to Him when he repented He will save anyone who comes to Him.
[John 3:17-19 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You know my heart, You know my faith, and You know my desire to love and honor You with all my heart, mind, and soul, but there is not a day that goes by where I am not being challenged. I know I am not perfect, and I mess up every day, but by Your mercies I am protected and know You always have my back. Lord, give me Your power, mercy, grace, and strength to get through each and every day standing strong, grounded in my faith and holding on to Your promises. Watch over and protect me as I am out in the world, showing kindness to those who are godless. Let me not lose sight of You in anything that I do, and always trust that You have a plan and a purpose, and will fulfill every promise that You made to me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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