1 Kings 21:17-24--The LORD Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 21:17-24
English Standard Version

The LORD Condemns Ahab
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

​20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the LORD also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

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We haven't seen Elijah's name for a bit, but the LORD is now going to use Elijah again to deliver a serious message to King Ahab after what he and Jezebel did to Naboth.  I'm sure that Ahab and Jezebel thought they had done this in a way where no one would ever know what they did, but the LORD has seen all of it.  The LORD sends Elijah to the vineyard of Naboth knowing that Ahab will be there taking possession of it at that time, and the LORD does not give Ahab any time to celebrate his "victory."  Elijah is to tell him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Have you killed and also taken possession?'" The LORD knows the answer to this question, and so does Elijah, but the LORD loves to use prophets asking rhetorical questions to prick the conscience of the sinner so that they know that God knows what they are up to.  Then Elijah was to say, "Thus says the LORD, 'In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick up your own blood.'"  The LORD's judgment is fixed.  Ahab's death sentence has been pronounced, but the date of its fulfillment is uncertain.  Ahab is now going to live day to day wondering, "Is today the day?"

Ahab blames the messenger calling Elijah his enemy, and Ahab asks Elijah how he found out about.  Elijah's answer is basically "Your sin has found you out" (see Numbers 23:23) and "That which you sow, you shall also reap" (See Proverbs 22:8 and Galatians 6:7).  Elijah tells Ahab he has sold himself in order to do this evil in the sight of the LORD, making himself a slave to sin.  Now the LORD is going to bring disaster upon Ahab that will totally destroy him and it is described in the imagery of fire so that Ahab and the others that hear will associate it with the hellfire judgment that they associated with the fire and brimstone judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Ahab was that wicked that he risked that same kind of judgement.  Not only is Ahab going to die, but Ahab's whole family (all his male relatives) are going to die, just like what the LORD did to the house of Jeroboam and the house of Baasha, for Ahab is just like them (actually, he is probably far worse than them), and has provoked the LORD by his wickedness and by leading Israel into idolatry.

Then the LORD had Elijah speak of the fate of Jezebel, wife of King Ahab saying, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel." The prophecy was finished by saying that anyone who belonged to Ahab that died in the city would be eaten by the dogs, and anyone who died in the open country would be eaten by the unclean birds (the vultures and other birds that eat carrion).  Both are ways in which the bodied of Jews would be desecrated.

We'll see Ahab's reaction to the LORD's message (there is a glimmer of hope for Ahab) when we look at verses 25-29 next time.