1 Kings 22:41

1 Kings 22:41 says, And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.  Verse forty-two adds, Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.  Jehoshaphat's reign over Judah started when he was thirty-five years old during the fourth year of Ahab's ruling over Israel, and he reigned for twenty-five years.  He had a fairly long reign.  Verse forty-three continues, And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.  Like Asa his father, he did what was right in God's sight, but he still allowed people to offer sacrifices in the high places.  As Christians today, we need to make sure that we do not allow anything outside of God's will to become a part of our worshipping Him.  Verse forty-four states. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.  Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel during his reign.  We need to make peace with our fellow Christians when we can, but we must never accept practices that are outside of God's will in order to do so and the people of Israel as a whole were not living under the leadership of God.  Verse forty-five adds, Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  We are not at this time told of a lot that Jehoshaphat did but are told that the rest of what he did is written in the chronicles of the kings.  People may never know a lot of what we do as Christians, but it will be written down in God's book.  Verse forty-six continues, And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.  One thing that we are told Jehosaphat did was take the rest of the Sodomites out of the kingdom of Judah.  Verse forty-seven concludes, There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.  Jehoshaphat put a viceroy in charge of Edom, who had no king, which Matthew Henry says this further fulfilled the prophesy concerning Esau and Jacob, that the elder should serve the younger.  God's prophesy's will always be true.  Verse forty-eight declares, Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.  We are then told more about the reign of Jehoshaphat, even though we were told that the rest of his acts were written in the chronicles of the kings.  At times, we may find a record of the work of God's people in more than one place.  Jehosaphat built ships and attempted to sail to Ophir to get gold, but the ships were broken up at Eziongeber.  Verse forty-nine adds, Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.  Ahaziah, Ahab's son purposed that Jehosaphat servants, and his servants go together on the ships, but Jehoshaphat wouldn't do it.  If we are having trouble in the world today, we need to be careful that we don't enter into a relationship with those who are not following God in order to find earthly success.  Verse fifty continues, And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.  Jehoshaphat died, and his son Jehoram replaced him as king.  Good or bad, all rulers will one day die and be replaced in the church, God's kingdom.  Verse fifty-one says, Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.  Ahab's son Ahaziah began to reign in the seventeenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, but he only reigned two years.  Verse fifty-two adds, And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:  We are told that Ahaziah did evil in the sight of the Lord, following the ways of his father and mother.  As Christians, we need to pray that we will be a positive example for our children and lead them to follow God, because the world will definitely lead them away from God.  Verse fifty-three continues, For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.  Ahaziah continued in worshipping Baal and provoked the anger of God against Israel.  God has made salvation available to us, and if we refuse to accept it and continue to worship other gods, on day we will face God's judgment.   

1 Kings 22:29

1 Kings 22:29 says, So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.  Verse thirty adds, And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.  Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to Ramoth Gilead where the battle was being fought.  At least they were willing to engage in the battle and didn't just hide while others fought.  We as followers of Christ, even if we are in positions of power in the world, must be willing to engage in the battle against evil and not just allow others to do the fighting.  Ahab proposed to Jehoshaphat that he wear the king's robes while Ahab disguised himself and engaged in the battle.  Verse thirty-one continues, But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.  The king of Syria told his troops to not fight with anyone except the king of Israel himself.  This would not have been a good time to be wearing the king's robes.  Matthew Henry says Ahab did this to make a liar of God's prophet and to fool the good king.  Sometimes, what may seem like a sign of honor in the world may actually lead us to more problems if we are not acting under the leadership if God.  Verse thirty-two states, And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.  When the people of Syria saw Jehoshaphat, they declared that he must certainly be the king of Israel, so they turned aside to fight against him, and he cried out.  Verse thirty-three adds, And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.  Somehow, even though Jehoshaphat was wearing the king's robes, the people of Syria realized that he wasn't the king of Israel and turned away from pursuing him.  Ahab's plan did not work, and neither will any plan that we devise to make God out to be a liar.  Verse thirty-four continues, And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.  Though he had disguised himself, Ahab was still injured when a soldier of Syria shot him between the shoulders with an arrow.  Ahab asked the chariot driver to take him out of the battle because he was injured.  I have to wonder if he was beginning to see the truth of the words of God's prophet now that it was basically too late.  People are one day going to see the truth of God's word, but for too many it will be too late.  Verse thirty-five says, And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.  The battle continued that day, and that evening Ahab died, and his blood ran out into the chariot.  All his plans at deceit had failed, as will the plans of anyone who attempts to fool God or prove His word wrong.  Verse thirty-six adds, And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.  When the people realized that Ahab was dead, a proclamation was made, though we aren't told who by, that the people were to return to their homes.  They had been following Ahab and not God, and now Ahab was dead so there was no reason to continue the battle.  If we are following anyone other than God into battle spiritually today, they are going to lose and so are we ultimately.  Verse thirty-seven continues, So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.  The fact that Ahab had died is repeated along with the fact that his body was returned to Samaria and buried.  The four-hundred false prophets had proven to be wrong, and God's one prophet had proven to be right.  No matter how many people stand against us today and say that God's word is wrong, it will always be proven to be right.  Verse thirty-eight states, And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.  All of the prophecy had not yet been fulfilled, but when the Ahab's blood was washed from the chariot in which he was killed and the dog's licked it up, the rest of the prophesy was also fulfilled.  God's word is never going to fulfilled in part but will always be fulfilled in full.  Verse thirty-nine adds, Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  Verse forty continues, So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.  We are told that the rest of the acts of Ahab are told in the chronicles of the kings and that his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.  Whether good or bad, no one is going to reign forever in God's kingdom spiritually.  Still as one leader dies, God will always have another one in place to take over the work.  

1 Kings 22:19

1 Kings 22:19 says, And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.  Micaiah told Ahab that he needed to hear the word of God.  This is what everyone must do at some point in life, whether they accept it or not.  Micaiah said he saw God sitting on His throne and the host of heaven sitting on His right and left side.  God will always be the center of heaven.  Of course, when we die, we need to be some of those at His sides or in front of Him, even if we are far back in the crowd.  Verse twenty adds, And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.  God asked who was going to go to Ahab and persuade him to go and fall at, or be killed, at Ramoth-Gilead.  This does not imply that God does not know certain things, but that He allows evil spirits to come into His presence now, though there is coming a day when they won't.  God had told Ahab to not go to war, and in order for him to be encouraged to do so it would take a deceiving spirit to convince him.  I don't believe that God will ever send deceiving spirits to us, but until Christ returns, they are still free to work in the world.  Verse twenty-one continues, And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.  We are told a spirit came forth who said he would go and persuade Ahab.  Again, I believe this was an evil spirit who had just been allowed to come into God's presence temporarily.  Verse twenty-two states, And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.  God asked the spirit how he would do this, and he said he would go and be a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab's prophets, which means he wasn't a spirit of God.  It also means that he wasn't going to God's prophets but to the false prophets.  Those who follow God spiritually will never be called on to lie to people in order to get them to do what God has told them not to do, and God's prophets will never lie to people.  Verse twenty-three adds, Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.  Micaiah told Ahab the reason all these prophets were saying that he should go ahead with his plan was because God had put a lying spirit in their mouth, but once more, I don't believe God actually did this, but He allowed it to happen.  God is not going to do something that is against His expressed purpose, but He will allow it to happen.  Verse twenty-four continues, But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?  Zedekiah hit Micaiah in the face and asked him when God's spirit had left him and gone to Micaiah.  Matthew Henry says this also implies that Zedekiah had an exclusive hold on the Spirit of God and control of what He could do.  We need to beware of anyone who says that they alone know what God wants.  Verse twenty-five declares, And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.  Micaiah didn't hit Zedekiah nor really even argue with him, but simply said that when Zedekiah was hiding in the chamber after the battle that he would know the truth.  We don't need to lash out at people today nor ague with them when they will not accept the truth of the gospel, but we simply need to allow them to one day find out the truth for themselves.  We cannot compel people to believe God's truth but can only present it to them.  Verse twenty-six adds, And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;  Ahab told them to take Micaiah and return him to the governor of Amon and to Joash the king's son.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.  Ahab instructed them to tell Joash to put Micaiah in prison and feed him bread and water until Ahab returned in peace.  Ahab chose to believe the four hundred false prophets instead of believing the true prophet of God, and then he imprisoned the true prophet.  If we proclaim the truth of God today, many people are not going to believe us, and we might even be imprisoned for doing so.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the  Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.  Micaiah didn't fight against Ahab, but simply said if he returned in peace that he would know that God had not spoken to him and asked the people to be a witness to this fact.  It may be that the only way some people will ever accept the truth of God is when His judgment comes, but in the meantime, we as followers of Christ must continue to speak His truth, even if it costs us in this lifetime. 

1 Kings 22:10

1 Kings 22:10 says, And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.  Both the king of Israel and the king of Judah sat on their thrones before the people of Israel and the prophets joined them.  All those in positions of power were gathered together there.  We, as followers of Christ, if not physically should at least spiritually be united in doing God's work.  Verse eleven adds,  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.  Zedekiah, a false prophet, made a set of horns and said that they represented the people of Israel pushing the Syrians out of the way.  We may not have visual representations of God bringing victory today, but He has already claimed the everlasting victory by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross to bring forgiveness of sin for all time and His resurrection to defeat the power of death.  Still, we must be careful that those claiming to speak for God actually do.  Verse twelve adds, And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand.  All the false prophets agreed with Zedekiah, but that still didn't make them right.  The number of people claiming to speak united for God does not make them right today either.  If what is being said is not God's truth, the number of people saying it will never make it true.  Verse thirteen continues, And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.  The person sent to get Micaiah told him that all the prophets had prophesied good for the king, and asked him to do the same.  Of course a true prophet can never just decide what they are going to prophesy, and neither should they agree to do so if asked.  Verse fourteen states, And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.  At least Micaiah said he would only speak what God told him to speak.  This needs to be the same for Christians today.  Verse fifteen adds, So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.  Still, when he got to Ahab and was asked, he told him to go and prosper.  He didn't say this was what God had said though.  I believe that he was just acknowledging that Ahab really didn't want to hear what God had to say and was likely going to do what he wanted to do anyway.  Sometimes, it does no good to proclaim God's word, because people aren't going to listen anyway.  That does not relieve us of the responsibility of doing so though.  Verse sixteen continues, And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?  Ahab must have known that Micaiah was just telling him what he wanted to hear and asked him how many times had he told him to tell him nothing but what God said.  If people ask us to help them determine what God has to say today, we need to always speak God's truth, even if it isn't what they want to hear.  Verse seventeen declares, And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.  Micaiah then told Ahab what God really said.  Israel was going to be scattered and not have a shepherd or king.  Micaiah told Ahab that God to then have the people return home in peace in retreat, but not totally destroyed. This was not what Ahab wanted to hear.  Whether it is what they want to hear or not, all we can do is tell people what God says.  People are still wanting to have God tell them only what they want to hear, but preachers and teachers, or even individual Christians, cannot afford to do that.  Verse eighteen adds, And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?  Ahab told Jehoshaphat that he had said that Micaiah would only tell him what he didn't want to hear, because he didn't want to hear the truth of God.  People still too often only want to hear things that agree with what they want and do not want to hear God's truth.

1 Kings 22:1

1 Kings 22:1 says, And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.  There was a three-year period of peace between Syria and Israel.  It is always nice if we can live at peace with the world without sacrificing our obedience to God, but it may never happen and if it does, it may be but for a brief period of time.  Verse two adds, And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.  After three years, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came to the king of Israel.  Matthew Henry says Jehoshaphat came to discuss the state of the entire kingdom of God with Ahab, who was at least pretending to be following God.  He adds that it is hard to understand why a great king like Jehosophat would be interested in Ahab, but we need to be concerned about the unity of all of God's people as we reach out to the lost people of the world.  Verse three continues, And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? Ahab pointed out that Ramoth in Gilead belonged to Israel but was still in the possession of Syria.  Matthew Henry points out that we don't know if other cities were still in the possession of Syria, but that the fact that Ramoth Gilead was occurred because of Ahab's making a pact with Benhadad instead of destroying him.  If we attempt to make a pact with sin as Christians, it is ultimately going to cause us problems.  Verse four states, And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.  Ahab asked Jehosaphat if he would join him in reclaiming Ramoth Gilead, and Jehosaphat said that he and all that was his was at Ahab's disposal.  Once more, we are not told that Jehoshaphat asked God for guidance in this situation.  Before we as followers of Christ make an agreement with anyone, we must first ask God what we should do.  Verse five adds, And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.  Jehoshaphat did then ask Ahab to inquire of God about what they were about to do.  Still, I have to wonder why he didn't just ask God himself.  If we have questions about what God wants us to do today, we need to first just ask Him.  Verse six continues, Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. Ahab gathered about four hundred prophets, the prophets of the grove referred to earlier most likely, though we are not told they were prophets of God, and asked if he should go to war with Syria and they told him to go because God was with him.  We need to be careful about relying on others to tell us what God wants us to do, because there are still people who profess to be Christians today who are Christians in name only.  Some are willing to say that whatever someone in power wants is God's will, whether it is or not.  Verse seven declares, And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?  At least Jehoshaphat didn't just accept the word of these four hundred prophets, but asked if there was not a prophet of God whom they could inquire of.  We need to make certain that those who profess to reveal God's will to us are true Christians.  Verse eight adds, And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.  Ahab told Jehoshaphat that there was one named Micaiah, but that Ahab hated him because he never prophesied good things for Ahab, probably because he was actually prophesying God's word.  We may not always want to hear what God has to say to us as a nation today, but we also must be careful that those who profess to tells us what God wants are truly Christians who are following God's guidance in what they tell us.  Verse nine continues, Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.  Jehoshaphat told Ahab to call Micaiah.  The fact that Micaiah did not tell Ahab what he wanted to hear was reason enough to call for him.  We need the people of God to tell us the truth today and not just what we may want to hear. 

1 Kings 21:15

1 Kings 21:15 says, 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. When she heard that Naboth was dead, Jezebel went to Ahab and told him to get up and go take possession of Naboth's vineyard because he was dead.  She didn't tell Ahab about her part in his death nor that she had him killed in his name.  People who get what we want for us today may not always be honest about how they got it, and we should never just accept things blindly without question.  Sometimes, we may be offered something that God doesn't even want us to have.  Verse sixteen adds, 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.  When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he quit lying in bed in self-pity and got up and took possession of the vineyard.  Nothing motivates people more at times than getting something they want and thought they couldn't have, but we as followers of Christ must first make sure that what we are getting is in accordance with God's will and was gotten legally.  Just getting our way should never be our prime motivator.  Verse seventeen continues, And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,  About the time Jezebel was speaking to Ahab, God was speaking to Elijah.  God is always aware of what is going on in the world, and as Christians, He may call on us to address the problem.  Verse eighteen states, 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.  Just as Jezebel told Ahab to arise and go to Naboth's vineyard, God told Elijah to arise and go there as well.  Of course, they were going for different reasons.  God may send us to a place where something evil is being done, but before He can, we must arise spiritually.  We cannot be effective in doing God's work if we are spiritually asleep.  Even if we are awake spiritually, we still must obey God's call if we are to be effective Christians.  Verse nineteen adds, 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.  Elijah was to ask Ahab if he had killed Naboth.  Even though Ahab was not directly responsible for Naboth's death, he was morally responsible since it was his greed or selfishness that had resulted in Naboth's death.  We cannot escape the responsibility of things being done for us because of our desires by saying that someone else actually carried out the plan for us to get what we want.  Elijah was also to tell Ahab that one day the dogs would lick his blood in the place where Naboth had died.  Unless we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, one day we will be held accountable for our sins and sent away into everlasting punishment.  Verse twenty continues, 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.  Ahab asked Elijah if he had found him and called Elijah his enemy, but Ahab was actually an enemy of God, and God had sent Elijah to him.  God will always know where those who are doing evil in the world are.  Elijah told Ahab that he had found Ahab because of the evil that he had sold himself to in order to do evil in the sight of the LORD.  Elijah did not say that he was an enemy of Ahab himself, but that God had sent him to Ahab because of Ahab's wickedness. We are sent to witness to people today not because we are their enemy, but because of the sin in their life and we have the gospel to share with them.  Verse twenty-one declares, 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,  Elijah told Ahab that God was going to destroy all of his family.  Though our descendants will never be spiritually destroyed for our sins, if we are worshipping other gods, it may lead to their never accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.  What we can be sure of is that those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior will meet a fate much worse than physical death.  They will be forever separated from God and never be a part of His kingdom.  Verse twenty-two adds. 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.  Elijah told Ahab that God was going to do to him the same thing that He had done to Jeroboam and Baasha because of their sins, and that was to remove their families from ruling over Israel.  Today, individually we either become a part of God's kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ, or we are forever cut off from His kingdom.  Of course, we will never rule there, but will always worship God and do His will for us.  Verse twenty-three continues, And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.  God also pronounced judgment on Jezebel, saying that she would be eaten by the dogs by the wall of Jezreel.  As horrible as this may seem, it wasn't as bad as the fact that she was going to go away to everlasting punishment.  Even if we die a horrible death, it won't compare at all to the everlasting destruction that is to come spiritually if we refuse to accept salvation that God has so graciously made available.  Verse twenty-four says, Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.  Ahab was told that his descendants wouldn't even be buried when they died, either being eaten by the dogs in the city or the birds in the field.  Again, this may sound horrible, but what happens to our body when we die is of little importance.   It is what happens to our soul that is going to affect us forever.  Verse twenty-five adds, 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.  God through Elijah said that there was no one as bad as Ahab, who was guilty of participating in sin that Jezebel stirred up.  Ahab's greed led to Jezebel's actions on his behalf.  We cannot avoid being held responsible for sins that we encourage others to do for our benefit.  Verse twenty-six continues, 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.  Elijah said God had judged Ahab not only for the actions of Jezebel on his behalf, but also because Ahab, the king of Israel, had given in to the worship of false gods.  This is ultimately going to be what everyone is judged for.  We either accept God as the only God or we worship idols and will be forever separated from Him.  Verse twenty-seven states, 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.  When Ahab heard this, he believed it and at least went through the motions of repenting.  Matthew Henry says Ahab was still a hardened sinner, but he was afraid of God, even if he didn't accept Him as the true God.  Just going through the motions of repentance is never going to save us.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,  Verse twenty-nine continues, 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.  God told Elijah because Ahab humbled before Him, that He would not bring evil on Ahab but on his sons.  Still, this did not make Ahab a part of God's kingdom, and one day he would die and go away to an everlasting punishment.  We should always be more concerned with the soul than the body.

1 Kings 21:1

1 Kings 21:1 says, 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.  Naboth had a vineyard close to the palace of Ahab.  This would make it be a convenient location for use by Ahab.  Still, even as king, he could not just take the property.  Verse two adds, 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.  Ahab told Naboth to either trade his vineyard to Ahab for a different property or to sell it to him since it was near Ahab's property.  This might seem like a fair proposition if Naboth was really interested in moving or selling.  Some proposals made to us today may seem fair in the eyes of the world, but they may not be what we need or want in following God's will.  Verse three continues, And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.  Ahab may have been king, but Naboth deferred to God.  He said that the LORD forbid him from giving the inheritance of hi fathers to Ahab.  No matter how good or fair a proposal may sound to us today, we need to look to God for how we respond, and we should never give away or trade the spiritual things that God has given to us, and I believe that this was a spiritual thing to Naboth.  The land given to the different families of Israel was to remain in their possession forever, with even a provision for it to be restored if they did lose it.  We have inherited everlasting life from our relationship with Jesus Christ, and we should never let anyone tempt us to trade it away.  Of course, I believe that once we do accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord that we can never lose our salvation, because it is sealed by God.  Verse four concludes, 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.  Ahab went home and pouted.  To his credit, he did not exert his power as king and say that it didn't matter what Naboth wanted.  Today, those in authority do not always exert their power over Christians if they want something that they have, but this is not always the case throughout the world.  In some countries, they do take everything belonging to Christians and don't just pout about not being able to.  Verse five states, But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?  While Ahab was pouting, Jezebel came to him and asked him why he wasn't eating.  This was a reasonable question for a concerned wife to ask.  I believe that if we see our spouse troubled by something that we should attempt to find out what is wrong with them.  Verse six adds, And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.  Ahab said he was upset because he had asked Naboth to give or trade him his vineyard and he refused.   At least he was truthful about the reason for his being upset.  People today too often allow not getting what they want to cause them to be despondent.  Verse seven continues, 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.  Jezebel asked Ahab if he wasn't the ruler of Israel, told him to get up and eat, and said that she would get the vineyard of Naboth for him.  She basically said that as king he should be able to do whatever he wanted to do, and that if he wouldn't, then as his wife she would.  Sometimes, the spouses of those in power feel even more impowered than the one who is actually in power.  Verse eight declares, 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.  Jezebel wrote letters to the elders and nobles around Naboth in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal.  Of course, Ahab had to know what she had done or was just willingly unknowledgeable about it.  Either way, he had allowed Jezebel to take control.  Verse nine adds, And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:  Jezebel told these elders and nobles to proclaim a feast and set Naboth on high among the people.  She was using religion to condemn Naboth, and the elders and nobles were going along with her.  We need to be careful that we never use Christianity to attempt to get what we want when it is not what God wants.  Verse ten continues, 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.  These elders and nobles were told to set two false witnesses, called sons of Belial, against Naboth and accuse him of blasphemy.  This was not a case of these men not knowing what was happening but of their willingly participating in the lie.  Some people are more than willing to participate in the lies of those who are in power or who have been in power today.  We as followers of Christ should never do this though. Verse eleven states, And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.  The elders and nobles did as Jezebel asked them to do.  These were the leaders of Israel, God's chosen people, and they were willing to participate in Jezebel's lies.  We as Christians should never be guilty of doing the same thing.  Verse twelve adds, They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.  They proclaimed the feast as Jezebel had instructed them to do and set Naboth up for judgment.  Verse thirteen continues, 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.  They proclaimed a feast, had the two witnesses lie about Naboth, and took him out and stoned him.  A lot of people were involved in Jezebel's plot, some willingly and some maybe not so much so, and they were all guilty of unjustly killing Naboth.  We should always look to God for guidance and not just go along with what may be happening around us, and we certainly should never participate in unjust plots against others. Verse fourteen concludes, Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.  The nobles and elders then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth was dead.  We have to assume that they were more interested in what Jezabel wanted than they were in what God wanted.  We can never afford to be that way, being more interested in what people in power want more than we are in what God wants.