Ahab

Ahab reigned over Israel for twenty-two years, and Scripture declares that he "did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him." His marriage to Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, brought Baal worship into Israel's heart. Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria and made an Asherah pole.

Ahab's reign was defined by his confrontation with Elijah. When Elijah declared a three-year drought, Jezebel imported 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, while killing God's prophets. The dramatic confrontation on Mount Carmel exposed Baal's impotence and demonstrated God's power, yet Jezebel's threat sent even Elijah fleeing for his life.

The story of Naboth's vineyard reveals the corruption of Ahab's court. When Naboth refused to sell his ancestral land, Ahab sulked like a child. Jezebel arranged false charges of blasphemy against Naboth, had him stoned, and gave the vineyard to Ahab. For this, Elijah pronounced doom on Ahab's entire dynasty.

Remarkably, when Ahab heard this judgment, "he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly." God noticed this humility and delayed the disaster to the next generation. Ahab died in battle against Syria, the dogs licking his blood from his chariot exactly as Elijah had prophesied.