1 Kings 21:25-29--Ahab's Repentance

1 Kings 21:25-29
English Standard Version

Ahab's Repentance
25 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.)

​27 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. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “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.”

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The text now clearly says what I've been saying for while.  "There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited."  There's a lot said in that one sentence right there that will be important for the context of our short amount of text today.  First, Ahab was really wicked, but the worst decision he ever made was to marry Jezebel and for the two to become one flesh when she was a priestess for the false gods of the Amorites.  It is true that there were other kings before Ahab that had led the way in the trend of making other gods for the people to worship, making new places of worship so they wouldn't go to the Temple in Jerusalem, and making a whole religion with priests that were loyal to them just like the pagan kings did, but it was Ahab and Jezebel that took this to the extreme with the queen being a priestess in this false religion (possibly the high priestess) and Ahab submitted himself and therefore the entire nation of Israel to her control and the influence of the false gods (demons) that she worshiped.

Now when Ahab heard the judgment that had been pronounced on him and his household by the prophet Elijah that the LORD would kill him and every male in his family that could possibly inherit the throne and that LORD would kill Jezebel and the bodies of him, his family, and his wife would be eaten by either the wild dogs or the unclean birds that eat dead things,  he was finally broken and tore his clothes, put on sackcloth (not something a king would normally do), fasted and prayed, and laid in sackcloth obviously dejected.  This was not just a show for the people but an outward sign of what was really going on inside of him, however, I'm not ready to declare that Ahab had a "salvation experience" here because the evidence of that is not there in the passage that we'll read tomorrow.  Ahab still took council from his false prophets (he should have put them all to death and run them out of Israel if he truly repented) and he still hated the true prophets that spoke the true word of the LORD to him because he made it personal that they never said good things to him--they always brought bad news.  However, in this moment, the LORD will have some grace and said that because Ahab had repented here, he would not see this judgment take place (he would be the first to die).  It is a hard thing to have to watch everyone around you that you love die, and it would be even harder for Ahab if the LORD made him the last in his family to die so that he had to explain to everyone that he was the cause of their destruction.  The LORD is going to be merciful in this way, but the judgment is sure and will come, and Ahab will still die, even though he seeks out words of other prophecy to tell him otherwise in our next passage.