1 Kings 22:29 – 42 “So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely this is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. And the blood from his wound ran out onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army:
“Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”
So the king died and was brought to Samaria, where they buried him. And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Ahab rested with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.”
Jehoshaphat must be a special kind of stupid! Not only has Jehoshaphat entered into an alliance with Ahab, not only has Jehoshaphat totally ignored God’s warning that this battle will end in disaster, but Jehoshaphat agrees to wear his royal robes into battle while Ahab disguises himself. At this point, Jehoshaphat’s pride is putting him in jeopardy of getting killed. The king of Aram, that is, Syria, has ordered his men to only attack Ahab. Naturally, the Syrian soldiers assume that Jehoshaphat must be Ahab; however, when he cries out, they realize their mistake and back off. But one Syrian soldier looses off an arrow at a whim, and that arrow pierces Ahab through the joints in his armor, severely wounding him.
Ahab has his charioteer take him out of the battle but prop him up so he can watch. All this time, Ahab’s blood is pouring onto the chariot floor. Finally, Ahab dies at evening. When the word goes out to the Israelite soldiers, they desert the battle, returning to their homes, just as Micaiah has predicted. Meanwhile, Ahab’s men have brought his body in his chariot back to Samaria. Ahab’s body is buried; however, when Ahab’s servants send the chariot to be washed at the pool of Samaria, the dogs lick up Ahab’s blood. God’s judgment on Ahab has come to pass.
APPLICATION: When I was growing up on a Midwestern farm, we raised chickens that were truly free range. One of my jobs in the summertime was to take a long pole and encourage the chickens roosting on the low – lying branches of the trees to leave the trees and return to the chicken house for the night. We used to have a saying that if someone had acted foolishly and was now suffering the consequences of their actions, their chickens were coming home to roost. My mother expanded that saying, “Beware when your chickens come home to roost, because they might turn out to be turkey buzzards!” Mom meant that sometimes you think the consequences of your actions will be quite mild; meanwhile, they are far worse than you could possibly anticipate.
Ahab has wasted his life in demon worship, in sexual perversion, in indulging his whims and his passions. Archaeologists have found traces of shattered ivory in digs at Samaria, the remnants of Ahab’s ivory palace. https://armstronginstitute.org/394-samaria-ivories-proof-of-the-bible tells us “In a series of excavations from 1908 to 1935, archaeologists unearthed over 12,000 ivory pieces in the ancient Israelite capital city of Samaria. While there is some debate over the precise age of the artifacts, most scholars agree that they date to the eighth or ninth century b.c.e., most likely around the time of Israelite King Ahab (circa 870–850 b.c.e.)
Even after Ahab has repented, his heart has not really changed. If Ahab has a change of heart, he will heed Micaiah’s warnings, abandon the attack on Ramoth – gilead, and stay home. Ahab dies because some nameless Syrian soldier shoots a random arrow and God guides that arrow through the joints of Ahab’s armor. Although Ahab’s body is preserved for burial, the dogs still lick up his blood when his chariot is sent for washing. Truly, Ahab’s chickens have come home to roost and they really are turkey buzzards!
Ahab is remembered as one of the most wicked kings ever to rule Israel. Raised without any spiritual background whatsoever, Ahab then allied himself with a Sidonian priestess of Baal who imported all kinds of perversions. Ahab would stop at nothing when he craved something; hence, Ahab’s seizure of Naboth’s vineyard. At the end of everything, all that is left of Ahab is a horrible reputation, a deplorable example, and 12,000 ivory shards that might be from his palace room.
Actions have consequences. The Bible tells us, “But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the LORD, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23) Ahab mis – spent his entire life and only dodged having his body being eaten by dogs because of a late repentance. What about us? Do we realize how much our own actions affect us or do we blunder on, assuming that our actions are fine and that at the end God will give us a pass for being nice people?
No matter how good we have bee, we will only have salvation from our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Let us not make Ahab’s mistake but trust Jesus today.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust in Your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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