1 Kings 22:51-53
English Standard Version
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Ahaziah Reigns in Israel
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 53 He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done.

This is the end of the book of 1st Kings.  Next time, we'll start looking at the book of 2nd Kings.  They together make "The Book of the Kings."  The last king we'll look at in 1 Kings is Ahaziah, the son of Ahab.  He began to reign in Israel (the Northern Kingdom) in the capital city of Samaria in seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.  His reign was short-lived (remember that the house of Ahab had been cursed by the LORD so that all his male relatives would be cut off and no one from his line would ever rule again, and his family would be disinherited from the Promised Land).  Ahaziah followed in his father's and mother's footsteps and in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat (the first king of Israel who led the northern ten tribes into idolatry and rebellion).  He served and worshiped the pagan god known as Baal, which provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger (for He is a jealous God).  This anger that the LORD felt towards Ahaziah was the same kind of anger that the LORD had towards King Ahab.

That's where we leave the story.  We thought we had a glimmer of hope for a moment when Ahab repented towards the end of his life (though he didn't fully repent).  There was a chance that his son would see the foolishness' of his father's ways and would choose to follow the LORD, but, alas, he followed in his father's footsteps.  Therefore the judgment that was proclaimed on the house of Ahab came just as the LORD had promised, starting with Ahab and Jezebel and then their son Ahaziah shortly after.  By this point, you would think Israel would have seen a pattern and would have tried to change something to have a different outcome since they are changing kings pretty quickly here.  However, they just harden their hearts more and more and double-down on their rebellion so that at some point "soon" the longsuffering of the LORD will reach its limit, and He will be forced to judge His own people of Israel (and Judah is not that far behind them).

1 Kings 22:29-40
English Standard Version

Ahab Killed in Battle
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 35 And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 And about sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

​37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Ahab decided, probably because of the prophecies against him, that he would not go into battle wearing his royal robes, but would be disguised as a regular soldier, but the king of Judah would wear his royal robes so that people looking to attack the king might attack the king of Judah instead of the king of Israel.  They both took their forces into battle against Syria.  All of the 32 captains in charge of the chariots (for there were many chariots) were ordered to go after only the king, so the king of Judah became their target.

The LORD allowed the chariots to see that the king of Judah was not the king of Israel they were hunting, and they turned back and did not kill the king of Judah.  However, a certain man (unnamed) drew his bow and shot it without aiming it towards the Israelite army and it "just so happened" (we know already there is no random chance with the LORD, for he makes the lot fall however He wills) rich between the plates of Ahab's breastplate (a perfect shot) so that he asked his chariot driver to turn around and carry him out of battle, for he was wounded.  He was propped up in the chariot facing the Syrians until evening when he died.  At sunset the command went out for every man to return to his own city and country--the war was cover because Syria's objective had been accomplished.  They had no desire to take Israel, only to kill King Ahab.

So Ahab died and was brought to Samaria and buried there.  They washed his chariot which had been covered in his blood in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood just as the prophecy that LORD had spoken against him said would happen.  We are then told that the rest of the deeds of King Ahab as well as information about his ivory palace he built and all the cities he built for himself can be found in the book of Chronicles.  Then Ahab's son Ahaziah ruled in the place of his father (though not for long as we remember that the entire line of Ahab's family is going to be cut off, though the LORD did not do it during Ahab's lifetime since Ahab repented.  Ahab would be the first in his family to die.  The rest will follow soon after).

1 Kings 22:13-28
English Standard Version

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”

24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?” 25 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” 26 And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace.”’” 28 And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

I believe I started to reference this part of the story last time, as Ahab had many prophets on his payroll that would all say whatever he wanted them to say.  If the king wanted to go to war with Syria, then all the prophets would agree that the LORD also wanted the king to go to war with Syria.  The king of Judah sensed something was wrong here though because it's not like the prophets simply all agreed and were of one accord because they had the same Spirit leading them, they said exactly the same words as one another because they had the same script.  So, the king of Judah asked Ahab, king of Israel if there was not another prophet in Israel that they could inquire of.  If the message was truly from the LORD than this prophet too who was not part of the conspiracy to let the king hear what he wanted to hear would be in agreement (though his words would be different than their script), but if his message was in opposition to the message of those that agreed with one another, then there would be an issue because the Spirit would not give two different messages.

When the prophet Micaiah came before the king, he at first started to speak the same script as everyone else (apparently he had been given a copy too), but Ahab knew better and stopped him because it was not like Micaiah to be a yes-man.  Ahab said, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” These are interesting words to come from the mouth of Ahab, but it appears that Ahab is interested in hearing what the LORD has to say (but he also wants the LORD to agree with him at the same time).

Micaiah then tells Ahab the truth about what he has seen--Ahab is going to be killed and the nation of Israel will be left without a leader, and the people of Israel would go back to their homes without a king.  Ahab then turns to Jehoshaphat and says, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”  Make up your mind, Ahab.  Do you want him to speak the word of the LORD or what you want to hear?

Micaiah continued to say that the LORD had given him a glimpse into the spiritual realm and that it was the will of the LORD for Ahab to go to war with Syria so that he would die in battle, but how would that message get to him when no true prophet would tell the king that it was the will of the LORD for the whole nation to go to war with Syria?  A spirit (since it is a lying spirit, we must assume it is a demon) volunteers to put lies into the mouths of the false prophets to convince Ahab to go into battle so that he can die and the prophecy that the word of the LORD spoke against Ahab through Elijah would be fulfilled.

Zedekiah, the leader of the false prophets accused Micaiah of being a false prophet saying that there was no way Micaiah and he could both be speaking by the Spirit and Zedekiah claimed he was the one that was filled with the Spirit.  After Micaiah was struck by Zedekiah, Micaiah prophesied against Zedekiah and said that he would realize the truth (that he was the false prophet) one day when judgment came upon him and he would go into an inner chamber to hide himself.

The king was angry with Micaiah and ordered that he be arrested and put in prison and fed nothing but meager rations of bread and water that would be just enough to keep him alive.  He was supposed to be held prisoner until the king returned from war which wasn't ever going to happen, so we have to assume that Micaiah stayed in prison for the rest of his life because we never hear of him again (other than the time this story is repeated in 2 Chronicles and it ends much the same way other than Micaiah adds that if the king returns in peace than all the people should know that his prophesy was not true).  There is a high price to pay many times for being the LORD's prophet and speaking truth to those who are in authority.  They will try to use money to bribe you or the threat of imprisonment or death to try to make you recant or compromise, but a true prophet can do neither--they must only speak the words that the LORD has given to them, and let the LORD be responsible for the consequences and results.

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.”

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.

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.”

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. 

1 Kings 21:1-16
English Standard Version

Naboth's Vineyard
21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.

5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

​15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Ahab coveted land that did not belong to him, a violation of the tenth commandment that we so often forget about.  Ahab had no respect for the Law that told the Israelites not to give up their ancestral land as it was an eternal inheritance to each family that they were to pass on from generation to generation.  Apparently Naboth had no children to inherit his land, but it should have gone to one of his brothers or uncles or another close relative to stay in his family after his death.

Ahab saw the vineyard and envisioned how it could be a beautiful royal garden and figured that Naboth should be happy enough to exchange his vineyard for another or to just sell his vineyard to the king in exchange for money.  It wasn't like the king (the government was trying to take it without what they imagined to be just compensation).  We do this today and the government today also doesn't understand such claims of not wanting to give up family land and demands that you either relocate or sell, but that they are going take your land from you.

Ahab went home and pouted and sulked because he did not get his way.  He laid in his bed and wouldn't eat so that everyone knew he was upset.  His wife Jezebel came to him (she never gave him godly counsel for she was a priestess of the false gods that the Israelites worshiped) and she told him that he was the king and that he should have just taken what he wanted by force because in her mind the whole land belonged to the king anyways--that's how it works in every other country.  Why shouldn't the king get anything that would make him happy?  However, Ahab is called "king," but is really a "prince" and the LORD is king.  The Land belongs to the LORD and He has given it to His people Israel as part of the royal covenant that He made between the king and the king's subjects (land for obedience).

Jezebel decides she will step in and usurp the authority of the king and act in his place.  She writes official letters on the king's royal parchment and seals them with the royal seal (signs his name to them giving them the full weight of a royal decree) and conscripts others to arrange the assassination of Naboth.  In a way, this story reminds me a bit of David and Bathsheba, only David did the coveting and arranged the murder all by himself--he didn't need a Jezebel beside him to commit the murder for him.  Both started with coveting something that didn't belong to the kings though--a piece of land in once case and another man's wife in another case.  Jezebel found it easy to convince the elders of Naboth's village or town to go along with this plan and they easily found worthless men to bring about a false charge against him (again, another violation of the Law, but it seems that not many in Israel cared about the Law anymore unless it was tot their advantage).

After the death of Naboth, Jezebel reports to Ahab that Naboth is dead and that he should stop feeling sad and go and take possession of the vineyard that he wanted, and that's exactly what he did.  It doesn't appear that he mourned the loss of Naboth at all, nor did he feel sorry for what he and Jezebel did.  He was a wicked king and part of that is that he was spoiled and had a wife who made sure that he got everything he wanted (really what she wanted) at any cost--even by killing innocent people.  This is just one more act from Ahab and Jezebel that show us that the LORD's judgment on them will be just, and we now long for it in our hearts.  How long O LORD until you replace this bad king with a better one? How much longer will you let the people keep on sinning and following after false Gods?  When will all the evil and wickedness around us come to an  end, or at least be restrained?  Our hearts long for this even in today's culture.

1 Kings 20:35-43
English Standard Version
​
A Prophet Condemns Ben-hadad's Release
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the LORD, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’” 43 And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.

This is a strange story for sure to have this unnamed prophet go up to a man and command the man to strike him and when the man would not do so, that man was killed by a lion.  If I were the man being asked to strike the prophet, even if the prophet told me that the LORD commanded me to do so, I'd think it to be a test and probably would not do so because I should not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed.  The LORD works in ways we do not always understand though and the LORD understood the heart of this first man better than we do.  We cannot superimpose ourselves into the story and assume our reasoning would be this man's reasoning.  The prophet instead found another man that was willing to be obedient and then the story gets a little stranger to me as the prophet engages in some trickery and deception to get his message across to King Ahab (for he knows the Ahab would have recognized him as prophet if he was not beaten and disfigured, so the injuries that he just got along with the bandages were part of his disguise).

The prophet pretended to be one of the men returning from battle and claims that a soldier brought a prisoner of war to him and told him to guard the prisoner of war with his own life.  The prophet says that that as he was busy about his work (not doing a very good job at guarding the prisoner), the prisoner escaped.  The king agrees with the judgment that was due to the servant that the prophet was posing as because he failed to do his job at delivering justice by letting the prisoner escape.  This passage has hints of Nathan the prophet coming before King David and getting to the end of the story and letting David pronounce judgment and then Nathan turning to David and saying "You are the man."  So it is here that this nameless prophet took the bandages off to reveal his true identity and the judgment that the LORD now passed on Ahab. "Because you have let go out of your hand the man I had devoted to destruction [the king of Syria], therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people."

What had been a day of celebration of a great victory was just soured by this prophecy as Ahab and all of Israel now went home "vexed and sullen" as they didn't feel like they had won at all and they now awaited the LORD's judgment to come.  We might say this was a situation of "clutching defeat from the jaws of victory."  You could have won and should have one, and yet you didn't win because you made one really dumb mistake.  Ahab chose to make a peace treaty with Ben-hadad instead of destroying him which might remind us of King Saul in the book of 1 Samuel and how he thought he had a better way than what the LORD had commanded him.  The LORD told Saul that day that this would be the reason that the kingdom would be taken from him and that "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.." (1 Samuel 15:22b).  I encourage you to read the whole story I'm referencing in 1 Samuel 15:17-31 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+15%3A17-31&version=ESV) for context and see how both these kings had their thrones taken away from them because of disobedience because as kings there were no "little sins" or "little mistakes" for them.  They disobeyed the voice of the LORD and that is a big deal.