Ahab's Repentance

 

August 1, 2021

 

1 Kings 21: 25-29

 

Ahab's Repentance

 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.   He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.   And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

 

The Bible has much to say about seeking a Godly woman to be your wife, it seems Ahab was looking in the wrong place for a wife.  “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” (Proverbs 31:10)  One last thing about a Godly wife, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”  (Proverbs 31:26)

It is obvious that Ahab was not looking for such a woman, he was looking for outward beauty and not inward.  First and foremost Ahab was a very weak man, who was foolish and unstable.  Scripture talks about such a man in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

 

So he married a woman without discretion.  What does the Bible tell us about such a woman?  Proverbs 11:22, “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.”  “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.”

Beware of the type of woman you are drawn to, and run if you find she is the woman depicted in the following; Proverbs 5:6 “For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice