The House of Ahab (2)

The House of Ahab (2)

1Kings 16

30And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. 31And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

The House of Ahab ‘did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him’; it was not as if Ahab was in ignorance with regard to the transgression and wickedness that he worked before the LORD; he knew full well what he was doing, after all he was king of Israel, he ruled over God’s people. Ahab would have been familiar with the commandment of Almighty God; he certainly was no stranger to God’s Word; this was the authority whereby he reigned in Israel; this Word was the standard upon which the government system in Israel was founded. In spite of all this, Ahab, rebelled against the LORD God of Israel and worked wickedness in the land. So too, for many of our political leaders throughout the world today; many of them have a knowledge of God’s Word; many countries have their constitutions based upon or in some way identified with Biblical Christianity, yet, they work iniquity as the House of Ahab did, as they implement Secularist policies to the exclusion of God’s Word from society.

Ahab introduced a radical change into the political system of his day; as a ruling monarch he married ‘Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him’. This would have been perceived to be a clever trick among Ahab’s spin doctors; this was an opportunity for cross border trade, here was an avenue to commercial treaties with the Zidonians and Phonetians. The sea port of Zidon opened up global trade opportunities, where Israel could participate in a global society and trade in a global market; Ahab wanted Israel to be part of that economic environment; it was also popular among the people as it would have brought commercial and employment opportunities; there was a market economy potential and a whole new world order developing.

Possibilities opened up as a result of this unholy marriage; migrant workers could move freely between the two countries and beyond; Israel was becoming more cosmopolitan, more multicultural; there was a mixing of the races and traditions, a variation of cultural identities and philosophies. Many would ask, what is wrong with a country growing economically? What is wrong with cross border trade and development? What is wrong with a country competing on the global market? The answer is, absolutely nothing! There is nothing wrong when a country develops and grows economically and technologically, nothing wrong at all.

However, there is something seriously wrong, when a government rejects the Word of God that it once cherished and depended upon; there is something wrong when the cost of political reform and development is realized in the rejection of Biblical Christianity. Ahab’s coalition government was formed on the basis of separating the Word of God from society; when Ahab shared power with Jezebel, it was at the expense of God’s Word. This is Secularism in all its vileness; the details of this power sharing executive between Ahab and Jezebel were written by the hand of Humanism with the pen of Secularism. The house of Ahab was built on totally Secularist principles and values; equality legislation, equal opportunities, a shared future, a pluralist society and undoubtedly a CSI policy, (Cohesion, Sharing, Integration) all conspired to remove the Word of God out of Israel.

The House of Ahab can be viewed in the European Union; the EU is built on Secularism, where various member states have come together in the same way as Ahab and Jezebel did; the EU is sustained by Secular philosophy, this philosophy can only exist in isolation from the Word of God; bring God’s Word into society and Secularism dies.

Now let us come back to our subject, ‘the House of Ahab’; we have scratched the surface of this enormous subject and have gotten a glimpse of its Structure; it is a political power sharing arrangement built upon the foundation of Secularism; it can only stand by human consent and strength while being insulated from the Word of God. We want to develop our subject by returning to the Scriptural narrative and major on the circumstances of God’s people in such a situation.


Rev Mervyn Cotton (Heb13:6)