1 Kings 22:29-40 - Listen to God’s Word and Choose Life!

1 Kings 22:29-40

Ahab Dies in Battle (2 Chronicles 18:28–34)

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 put on your robes.” So 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, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”

35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. 36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!”

37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken.

39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which 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 rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Here Ahab finally was killed in battle and the prophetic end of his blood being licked up by dogs (1 Kings 21:19) in recompense for slandering and having his neighbor blood shed so he could steal his vineyard.  The prophet Micaiah had warned him he would die in battle and the people of Israel scattered as shepherdless sheep afterwards if he attacked the Syrians, but he locked up the word of God and went anyway.  A random Syrian arrow ended him as his blood ran out onto the field of battle and later the rest of it was consumed by dogs in Samaria when it was washed from his chariot there.  Even though the enemy army first thought the king of Judah was him, they still did not target Ahab because he was disguised and the seemingly random bow did him in as promised in retribution for his sins to include murder and theft along with blatant idolatry in disregard for the word of God.  He built an ivory house and many cities, but they were for himself and not to honor the LORD, so it all was left behind in the hands of his son Ahaziah who also pursued evil (1 Kings 22:52-53) like Ahab and Jezebel who raised him in that way and served the lifeless idol Baal instead of the living God of Israel.  How a man, especially a leader and more importantly a leader of God’s people, how this man lives for the Lord or rejects Him and serves himself or other manmade idols determines the outcome of his deeds.  The price to pay for rejecting the Lord is more than facing death by a seemingly random means such as an arrow, but is the highest price for a living soul, the judgment leading to an eternal torment (Hebrews 9:27-28, 1 John 4:18, Revelation 20:10, 14) for rejecting the word of the Lord made more evident now that the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, has come for us to receive or reject as God’s final word (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17) on retribution for sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23), with the aim for forgiveness of sin to find redemption and reconciliation.  May we heed the word of the Lord and not worship any other, listening to the gospel words of life (John 6:68, Acts 5:20) and finding eternal peace with God (Romans 5:1) in knowing and following Him into the battle He chooses and not as we are led to like Ahab chose to do.  When faced with death, listen to God’s word and choose life!