'The House of Ahab' 3

The House of Ahab (3)

1Kings 16:31-34

And 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. 32And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. 34In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

Last time we considered the Structure of ‘The House of Ahab’ and discovered it to be a political power sharing arrangement, built wholly upon the foundation of Secularism. Next, our attention is turned to the Sin of ‘The House of Ahab’ which plagued Israel; this presents an alarming parallel which can be traced in society globally, where the sin of a citizen can spiral into national sin.

1 Ahab chose the path of counterfeit worship; he followed in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who set up counterfeit altars at Bethel and Dan. Ahab departed from the altar of God and the sin offering, he turned his back on the Mercy Seat; he rejected God’s Lamb and went a whoring after golden calves which can never expiate sin. This depicts many today that are turning away from Reformed Faith principles and are following the ecumenical path to the counterfeit altar of the Mass; like Ahab, those that reject God’s Lamb, will not find salvation in counterfeit worship, even if it is conducted at a golden altar. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts4:12)

2 Ahab’s sin multiplied when he married Jezebel; he had thrown off the Word of God and cast aside the only barrier that kept him back from sin. Now Ahab was uniting his counterfeit religion with paganism; Jezebel was instrumental in converting her husband to pagan idolatry; this is how sin works, it causes a downward spiral. For many, across the world today, there is an insatiable desire for them to be identified with the pagan past.
‘There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death’ (Prov14:12)

3 Ahab’s sin took him lower and lower; he became a worshipper and servant of Baal, the pagan male god of the Phonetians and Zidonians. He refused to worship and serve his Maker, but he saw no problem in serving a dunghill deity such as Baal. The secular structure that Ahab had built removed the Word of God out of the state and created a perfect environment in which paganism could flourish; after all, Israel had become multicultural, it had become pluralist in out look; equality legislation encouraged Ahab to display intolerance towards God’s Word while protecting him as he sold his soul to Baal. Secularism, today is promoting the same sin across the world; human rights policies protect ethnic pagan minorities, while discriminating against Biblical Christianity. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.’ (Prov14:34)

4 The sin of ‘The House of Ahab’ continued to multiply under the banner of Secularism; the restraint of God’s Word was removed from society, resulting in sinners waxing worse and worse. Ahab ‘reared up an altar for Baal in the land of Israel; an outrageous act in a land where God’s Word was once proclaimed; what is more astounding, there was no protest against his vile act. Secularism had outlawed legitimate protest against sin and had grant aided pagan rites and practices; such is the case in once so called Christian countries across the world today. ‘And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him'.(1Kings16:30)

5 Ahab built a house for Baal; he laid the foundation of pagan idolatry in the soil of Israel, a land that once held up the Word of Almighty God. Now Ahab’s sin was becoming the sin of the nation; as the house of Baal was built by government funding, it was built by the people of that nation; now the sin of ‘The House of Ahab’ had become national sin. This is precisely what Secularism is doing today; world leaders with their Secularist governments are encouraging national sin. ‘The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom6:23)

6 Ahab made a grove; he made a wooden shrine so as to multiply error and abomination in the land of Israel. God had said to Moses, ‘But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god:’ (Ex34:13-14) Ahab was doing the opposite of what God’s commandment required; this Secular agenda is exactly what provokes the wrath and indignation of God to fall upon such a nation. ‘Because there is wrath, beware, lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.’ (Job36:18)

7 Finally ‘The House of Ahab’ in pursuit of their Secular agenda, gives their blessing on what God has cursed; in other words, Ahab’s subjects imagined that they could overrule Almighty God. ‘In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho:’ the subjects of Ahab didn’t regard God’s wrath or curse; ‘every man did that which was right in their own eyes’. These seven retrograde steps reveal the magnitude of the Sin found in ‘The House of Ahab’ as they promoted their Secularist policies.

Rev Mervyn Cotton (Heb13:6)