An Evil King

An Evil King

Q: What king angered God more than any king before him?

• a. Ahab
• b. Saul
• c. Josiah

The kingdom was divided into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel. They were ruled by separate kings. While the godly King Asa was ruling in Judah, Israel had several wicked kings. Then came the king the Bible says did more to provoke the Lord’s anger than any of the kings before him—King Ahab.

The problem started when King Ahab married a Baal-worshiping Phoenician princess named Jezebel. This was unacceptable to God, and together Ahab and Jezebel did great harm to Israel. Jezebel not only made Baal worship popular, but she tried to kill all the prophets of the Lord (see 1 Kings 18:4).

King Ahab could have stood up to Jezebel and turned the people’s hearts back to the Lord, but he was weak and went along with all of her plans. Jezebel built temples to her false gods and had her own false prophets. Seeing all this evil, the Lord sent a prophet named Elijah to tell Ahab there would be no rain for the next few years because of his wickedness.

The lack of rain led to a drought, and no food grew. Queen Jezebel was very angry! She wanted to kill Elijah, but God wouldn’t allow it. Instead, God protected Elijah and sent him back later to bring a challenge to Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal. You can read more about this in the May 24 devotion.

For You

Ahab grew up believing in God. Even after marrying Jezebel, he still believed in God, but he allowed her false god Baal to have equal importance with God. If Ahab had married someone from Israel who believed in God, his life may have turned out very differently. Make sure the relationships you form now and in the future don’t draw you away from God.

Answer: a

Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. . . . Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.   1 Kings 16:30, 33

(The Whole Story: 1 Kings 16:29–17:1)