King Ahab - Married to Idolatry

Healthy Marriages Flourish

Cindy and I just celebrated our 39th Anniversary. We were married before we had careers, checking accounts, traveled, or owned anything of any real value. At 19 I was, to use a term from the beginning of Genesis, “void and unformed”. We were babes. She changed the way I styled my hair, the clothes I wore, and the foods I ate. I changed the way she folded our clothes (you have to see the front). I brought traditions like carving pumpkins or grilling on July 4th. I brought a tradition of yearly vacations. She says I changed the way she kept house (especially once we were in the military). Together we learned to manage finances and parent our kids.

I am grateful to the Lord for what God has established in our marriage. And we are a testimony to the power of the Gospel and a walk (not perfect) of righteousness. I have foolishly been guilty in the past of coveting an amazing testimony of being saved from the world of…[fill in the blank] but recently have been celebrating the testimony of my life to God’s glory.

I recently came across a passage in Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:7–8 NIV

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

I don’t make this introduction for the point of self-pride or self-promotion. I make this introduction to say that God’s ways work! Consider the outcomes of godly men and women and imitate their faith.

What you marry (practically and spiritually) will set you up for success or failure!

Let’s Be Careful of What We Marry

Our focus this morning is spiritual, but our practical decisions are reflections of the spiritual. We will be talking about our passions, desires, hopes, and dreams, things can become idolatrous “marriages”. Our lesson material will come from the worst king ever to have reigned over Israel, King Ahab.

1 Kings 16:29–33 NIV

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

King Ahab’s reign was infested with idolatry. It seems he worshipped anything that he could worship – golden calves, Baal, and Asharte. Because King Ahab is so involved in idolatry it would be good to understand idolatry –

God’s Prescriptive Law –

Exodus 20:4–6 NIV

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Simple Definition –

An idol is something that a person puts before him in a way that causes him to stumble into sin. An idol is anything that is sacred to a person, in that it defines self-worth, becomes the controlling center of life, and takes priority over all other loyalties.

Examples of Modern Idolatry –

Modern Society – Technology & Government

Psychotherapies – relying on their own principles and methods to deal with guilt and sin

Occult practices – Ouija boards, Tarot cards, horoscopes

Work and possessions –

Teams, activities, persons, etc. –

So, this provides a good understanding of idolatry so that we can get the most out of the lesson of King Ahab’s story.

King Ahab Marries Very Badly

King Ahab is not the first king to have had allowed idols into Judah or Israel. Solomon had tolerated them. Jeroboam had set up two golden calves for political reasons. Ahab, however, worshipped Baal and Asherah and allowed hundreds of false prophets and priests into his palace.

Ahab Chose a Truly Wicked Queen

I can’t recall knowing anyone that was named Jezebel. The reason is that the name Jezebel carries the connotation of evil, conniving, and manipulative. In this king and queen relationship, King Ahab is seen as the weaker partner and Queen Jezebel was the stronger. Her husband was a tool in her hands. It was really Jezebel that ruled over her husband and, therefore, Israel.

Jezebel was wicked

She killed many of the prophets of Israel (1 Kgs 18:4)

She threatened the life of Elijah (1 Kgs 19:2)

She conspired to kill Naboth, the owner of a vineyard her husband desired.

She maintained hundreds of priests at her beck and call.[1]

Ahab Worshipped False Gods

King Ahab and Jezebel built a house of worship and an altar in Samaria for the Canaanite god, Baal (1 Kgs. 16:32). They erected a sacred pole for the goddess Asherah. As a Phoenician princess, Ahab cooperated with Jezebel to foster the spread of her Baal religion with its many gods, ritual sex, and temple prostitutes. She hated the monotheistic Hebrew religion, and when she became queen, Israelites had already begun worshiping alien idols.[2]

Their worship of Baal even involved human sacrifice:

1 Kings 16:34 M:BCL

It was under Ahab’s rule that Hiel of Bethel refortified Jericho, but at a terrible cost: He ritually sacrificed his firstborn son Abiram at the laying of the foundation, and his youngest son Segub at the setting up of the gates. This is exactly what Joshua son of Nun said would happen.

He wasn’t the first. Jacob’s wife hid her father’s idols in her bag as they left home. The Hebrews had idols they brought from Egypt. They created their own golden calf in the desert. The tribes of Israel added Canaanite idols into worship. Solomon overlooked the idols of his wives. But Ahab took it to the next level.

Ahab Chased His Own Passions

It would be enough to say Ahab’s choice of the Phoenician princess and prostitute was enough evidence of his passion out of control, but he was an impetuous child. In one instance he found a vineyard that he liked and offered to purchase it. The owner, Naboth, refused. This sent Ahab into a childlike tantrum and he tells Jezebel.

Jezebel’s plan included a false accusation of treason that resulted in the death and confiscation of property. Even that is not enough and the sons of Naboth are killed as well. He was sunken to the lowest level. In punishment God promises to obliterate Ahab’s line and to allow dogs to eat both him and Jezebel (1 Kgs. 21:20–24).

Ahab gained his reputation as the worst king of all for all of these reasons and, I’m sure, there was even more. He had married himself to not only a wicked queen but his unruly passions [I’m including with his idolatrous worship: hopes of security, success and power, greater understanding, and even cleansing the conscience].

Discerning Wicked “Marriages”

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about these unholy alliances, or idolatries, this week. Originally, I thought about my conclusion of how to deal with idols as “Throw Jezebel Out the Window” but that only works once. But typically, our marriages to things that displease God are much more subtle.

Misguided Passions

You can only through a Jezebel out the window once. There are certainly things that are obviously wrong – but most of those things are criminal and not even a question for most people. The harder thing is recognizing when the normal, everyday things are distractions from our faithfulness to Christ.

John Piper makes this point for me:

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. ... And the deadliest appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then “as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14 NASB). In another place he said, “The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19 NASB). “The pleasures of this life” and “the desires for other things” are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking.And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.[3]

Ahab wanted what he wanted. It was extreme, I know. But if we chase what we want without deference to the Lord, we end up in the same place that Ahab does – far from the heart of God.

Misguided Worship

I found it interesting that in my studies I learned that the worship of Baal was not intended to replace Jehovah. It was suggested as an addition to worship of Baal.

2 Kings 17:33 NIV

They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

There was a significant difference between the worship of Jehovah and the Baal of the Canaanites. The worship of Jehovah was free from any kind of sensuality. The worship of Baal was essentially the worship of mere power, not necessarily or originally an evil power, but the worship of power as distinguished from righteousness. Such a worship would naturally develop immorality and would certainly have its temple attendants. Baal did not indeed take the place of Jehovah as the national god, or even attract to himself the entire worship of the court. Ahab and Jezebel gave their children Jewish names… But the influence of Jezebel led not only to the protection and toleration of Baal-worship, but also to … the persecution of those prophets of Jehovah who opposed her religious zeal. Some of the Lord’s prophets were cut off, others imprisoned, others hidden; His altars were thrown down; His sacrifices ceased; His people were driven into obscurity. The light of the land was darkened; the land was defiled with blood; deeds of abominable wickedness were unblushingly committed. The land was ruled by Ahab: Ahab was ruled by Jezebel: Jezebel was under idolatry to Baal and Ashtoreth: and Baal and Ashtoreth were gods of blood and of uncleanness.[4]

I think that we understand this at our core. As parents we realize the principle of “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”. My first time as a carpenter’s apprentice was cutting studs for the crew. I measured the board, made a mark, and cut the board. I took the new board and measured the next and cut. Again and again, I cut the studs until my boss came and complained the boards were not the right length. By using a different stud each time, the length of the studs slowly changed. This is the way that we reject God, 1/32” at a time with compromise after compromise.

Misguided Pleasure

Again, here I acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with pleasure. In fact, God wants us to enjoy his blessings here on earth and experience His gifts even before we get to Heaven. In the story of the exodus, we see God’s goodness to His people by the Egyptians giving them their gold. There was nothing wrong with gold. It was the decision to cast that gold into golden calves to worship that was the issue.

In Isaiah 44 God speaks of the foolishness of the carpenter who carves an idol or the blacksmith who forges and idol and then bows down to it. God made the tree. God made the gold and silver. God gives it to man for our pleasure. Food, recreation, drink, friendships, family, marriages, work, position, success, and power are all designed as gifts from God. It is man that corrupts them and makes them into gods to worship.

There is a funny story that came from some Japanese biologists:

One hundred decoys were placed on the Izu islands of Japan to encourage endangered albatrosses to breed. For more than two years, a five-year-old albatross named Deko tried to woo a wooden decoy by building fancy nests and fighting off rival suitors. He spent his days standing faithfully by her side. Japanese researcher Fumio Sato, talking about the albatross’s infatuation with the wooden decoy, said, “He seems to have no desire to date real birds.” —World(February 20, 1999)[5]

The duck embraced the counterfeit without realizing all that he had lost. Misguided passions, misguided worship, and misguided pleasures make for wicked marriages. It is not a betting proposition, it is just a reality.

King Ahab Needed Pre-Marital Counseling

Before a couple gets married, they need to consider compatibility. Do they value the same things? Are they responsible enough to be married? Will they be able to handle the certainty of sickness with the health? The richer and the poorer? Some couples just shouldn’t get married and it is better to know sooner than later.

What is the value of the lesson from King Ahab? I think it is that we need to honestly consider WHAT we’ve become married to. Mark Driscoll defines an idol as, "… someone or something that occupies the place of God in your life," he said. "[It] gives you identity, meaning, value, purpose, love, significance, security. When the Bible uses the word 'idol', that's what it's getting at."[6]What do you desire?

Do you have some ungodly ‘marriages’ in your life? Are there unhealthy compromises? Are your passions for the things of this world out of control? If so, Jesus offers forgiveness when you repent of your sins. Allow the Holy Spirit to work right now and get back to loving only the One God with all your body, mind, and spirit!

[1]James Hastings, ed., The Greater Men and Women of the Bible: Ruth–Naaman (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1914), 323. [2] Satchell, Michael. “Jezebel was a Killer and Prostitue, but She had Her Good Side”. US News & World Report. Jan 25, 2008. Accessed online. [3]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 130–131. [4]James Hastings, ed., The Greater Men and Women of the Bible: Ruth–Naaman (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1914), 325. [5]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 482. [6] https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/10Commandments/ten-commandments-pastor-preaches-worship-modern-day-idols/story?id=8712532