Gold for the heart - 1 Kings 20-21

1 Kings 20

God promised to defeat a huge army to show who is in charge of the world

1 Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all of his army together: 32 kings were with him, and horses and chariots: he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 2 And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, Ben-Hadad says, 3 Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.

Samaria was another name for the Northern kingdom of Israel.
An enormous military force came against the Northern kingdom of Israel.

Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to your saying, I am yours, and all that I have. 5 Then messengers came again, and said, Ben-hadad speaks saying, Although I have sent to you saying, Deliver to me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children; 6 I will send my servants to you about this time tomorrow, and they will search your house, and the houses of your servants; and whatever is pleasing to your eyes, they will put it in their hand, and take it away.

When king Ahab gave in to his demands so easily Ben-hadad immediately demanded more.
Blackmail is like that.

7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Look, I ask you, see how this man is looking for trouble: he sent to me for my wives, for my children, for my silver, and for my gold; and I did not deny him. 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not listen to him or consent. 9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, I will do all that you sent for to your servant at first: but I will not do this thing. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. 10Then Ben-hadad sent to him and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Do not let him that straps on his weapons brag like him that takes them off. 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, Station yourselves for battle. So they took positions against the city.

Ben-Hadad threatened total anniliation.

13 And behold, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel, saying, The LORD says this, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it in to your hand this day; and you will know that I am the LORD. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, The LORD says, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who will order the battle? And he answered, You.

God did this so that they might know that He is the only God.
This word ‘LORD’ means eternally self-existent.
He alone is self-existent and sustains all things.
He alone is Creator.
He alone controls all things.
It is He alone that we owe our gratitude for life, breath, and all things.
Ahab led Israel to believe in false gods.
Ahab asked God who would fight and who would lead the battle.
God told them the leaders were to lead.
No leaders were to stay in protected positions.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

15 Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and there were 232: and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel, being 7,000. 16 They went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the 32 kings that helped him. 17 The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him saying, Men have come out of Samaria. 18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they have come out for war, take them alive.

Can you hear his slurred speech and drunken laughter?

19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army that followed them. 20 And they killed every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel chased them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out, struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.

God is present and in control of all battles.
Remember that God only destroys evil and He suffers a long time before He destroys.
The Syrians worshipped idols.
Idols lead people to eternal death.
These Syrians had come against God’s people who had done nothing to harm them.
They were going to take away anything they wanted that did not belong to them.
Mass mafia. Mass evil.

22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, Go, strengthen your self, take note, and see what you do: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than us; let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than them. 24 And do this, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place: 25 And muster an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. And he listened to their voice, and did so.

Ben-Hadad’s staff thought changing personnel and location of the battle would ensure victory.

1Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly will know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s…

26 And at the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were mustered, and and provisioned, and went against them: and the children of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats; but the Syrians filled the country.

God promised to give another victory against impossible odds

28 And a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel and said, The LORD says this, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you will know that I am the LORD. 29 And they camped opposite one another for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel killed 100,000 of the Syrians infantry in one day. 30 The rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there, a wall fell on 27,000 of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came to the city, into an inner chamber. 31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: please let us put sackcloth on our loins, ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save your life. 32 So they wrapped sackcloth on their loins, put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant, Ben-hadad says, I beg you, let me live. And he said, Is he still alive? He is my brother. 33 Now the men were watching diligently to see whether a sign of mercy would come from him, and quickly caught it: and they said, Your brother, Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, I will restore the cities which my father took from your father; and you will make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then Ahab said, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

King Ahab didn’t ask God.
God had just given Ahab a second astonishing victory.
Ahab snubbed God and embraced his enemy.
Ben-hadad was the man who just tried to destroy Ahab and take all that was his.

35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Please strike me. But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you. And as soon as he departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.

We should always ask God.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and do not lean unto your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

37 Then he found another man and said, Please strike me. And the man struck him, so that in striking he wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes on his face. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me and said, Guard this man: if he is missing, then your life will be for his life, or else you will pay a talent of silver. 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So will your judgment be; you yourself have decided it. 41 And he hurried, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, The LORD says this, Because you have released from your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life will go for his life, and your people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

God had appointed Ben-hadad to utter destruction because that’s where Ben Hadad’s ways led his people.
Our God is holy.
He asks very little of us, considering it is He who gives us life and breath.
Our names are taken out of God’s book of life if we die having continually refused the gift of His Son’s death for our sins.

Revelation 20:15 And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

1 Kings 21

1 And after these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a garden of herbs, 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 worth in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid, that I give you the inheritance of my fathers. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, 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 sad 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 pleases 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, Don’t you rule over the kingdom of Israel? Get up, eat food, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, where Naboth dwelt.

Naboth was an honorable man who valued the property that God had given his ancestors.
Ahab was selfish and covetous when there was no need for it.
He was the king. He had abundance of all things.
God forbids covetousness for our good. _

Exodus 20:17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house, do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.

Colossians 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

9 She wrote in the letters saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 Then set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to testify against him saying, You blasphemed God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, so that he dies. 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles that lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters that she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 And two men came in, sons of worthlessness, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him out of the city, and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth was stoned, and is dead.

Jezebel arranged Naboth’s death in a way that appeared righteous.
She sent dishonorable men to accuse him of a capital crime in front of witnesses.
Jezebel twisted the law into a murder weapon.
Naboth had sons that were killed also.
Sons inherit.
Jezebel could not have seized the vineyard while the sons were still alive.

2Kings 9:26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will repay you in this plot, says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.

Ezekiel 34:8 As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, my flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed my flock; 9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.

15 And when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Get up, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, that he refused to give your for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Ahab was still in bed pouting.

God pronounced judgment on Ahab

17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, 18 Get up, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he is gone down to possess it. 19 Speak to him saying, This is what the LORD says, Have you killed, and also taken possession? Speak to him saying, This is what the Lord says, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth dogs will lick your blood, yours!

Ahab was the king. God held him responsible for Naboth’s death though he wasn’t the one to do the actual killing. The same with David and Uriah.

Psalm 9:12 When he makes inquisition for blood, he remembers them: he does not forget the cry of the humble.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that is what he will reap.

20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you: because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22 And 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 provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and made Israel sin.

All the male descendants were going to be destroyed.
There would be no descendants to carry on the evil.
Evil leads to eternal death.
God is provoked to anger by murder.
Ahab and Jezebel provoked Israel to sin by worshipping false gods.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

1Corinthians 8:4…we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

23 The Lord also spoke of Jezebel saying, The dogs will eat Jezebel by the ditch of Jezreel. 24 The dogs will eat him that dies of Ahab in the city; the birds of the air will eat and him that dies in the field. 25 Surely there has been none like Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 He did very abominably in following idols, according to all things the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his flesh, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

God postponed Ahab’s judgment because Ahab humbled himself before God

28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, 29 Do you see how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s days.

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance.

Joel 2:13 tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of evil.

1 Kings 22

1 They continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. 2 And in the third year Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, You know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours; are we doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. 5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please ask at the word of the LORD today. 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. 7 And Jehoshaphat said, Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD here besides these, that we might inquire of him?

The king of Israel was asked false prophets of false gods instead of Jehovah him who dwelt at the tabernacle.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

1Corinthians 8:4… we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Don’t say that. 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Rush to bring Micaiah the son of Imlah. 10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, put on their robes and each sat on his throne in a floor in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron: and he said, The LORD says this, With these you will push the Syrians until you have consumed them. 12 And all the prophets prophesied the same, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD will deliver it into the king’s hand. 13 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Now look, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak what is good. 14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, I will speak that.

If God were not alive none of us would be alive.
He holds up our life and our breath.
True prophets spoke only God’s words and never made errors.

Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not follow, or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: do not be afraid of him.

15 So he came to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we hold back? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king. 16 And the king said to him, How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?

‘Adjure’ means to command under oath. Somehow the king knew that Micaiah as not telling him the truth.

God’s magnificence is beyond imagining

17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let every man return to his house 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 he said, Hear therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, Who will persuade/deceive Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, and another said that. 21 And a spirit came out and stood before the LORD and said, I will persuade/deceive him. 22 And the LORD said to him, How? And he said, I will go, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You will persuade him, and prevail: go, and do it.

God showed Micaiah the coming disaster. Ezekiel 1:26-28 describes God on His throne.

Ezekiel 1:26 And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like a sapphire stone: and on the throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the color of amber, like the appearance of fire around inside it; from his loins upward and from his loins downward I saw the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain was the appearance of the brightness around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and the LORD has spoken evil concerning you. 24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you? 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, you will see in that day, when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Seize Micaiah, carry him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27 And say, This is what the kings says, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

The bread of affliction and water of affliction means torture. The king told them to torture Micaiah until the king returned safely.
No wonder Micaiah hesitated to speak the truth.
Ahab had humbled himself at the end of I Kings 21. So he has gone astray again.

God arranged Ahab’s downfall. Micaiah foretold Zedekiah’s cowardice.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that is what he will reap.

28 And Micaiah said, If you return in peace at all, the LORD has not spoken by me. And he said, Listen, O people, every one of you. 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 enter the battle; but you put on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.

Ahab allowed Jehoshaphat to become a target while disguising himself.

31 But the king of Syria commanded his 32 captains that had rule over his chariots saying, Do not fight with small or great, except only with the king of Israel. 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside 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 chasing him.

God provided an amazing deliverance.
They were in the heat of the battle.
The king of Israel had gone into battle not wearing royal robes but he had Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes.
The enemy spotted and pursued Jehoshaphat.
When he saw it, he cried out to God (2 Chronicles 18:31).
Jehoshaphat was naïve about Ahab. Christians are naïve about evil. God delivered him when he cried out to Him.

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

God caused Ahab to fall into the trap he set for Jehoshaphat

34 And a man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints and the breastplate: therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the battle; for I am wounded. 35 The battle raged that day: and the king was propped up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36 And a proclamation went throughout the army about sundown saying, Every man to his city, every man to his own country. 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.

God is present and sovereign in battles.
The king of Israel fell into his own trap.

Psalm 141:10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I escape completely.

38 And someone washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according to the word of the LORD which he spoke. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, all that he did, the ivory house that he made, 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.

God fulfilled the word He spoke against king Ahab.

1Kings 21:19 speak unto him saying, The LORD says this, Have you killed, and also taken possession? Speak to him saying, The LORD says, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth dogs will lick your blood, even yours.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to reign; he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; the people still offered and burnt incense in the high places. 44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, his strength that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And he took out of the land the remnant of the sodomites, who remained in the days of his father Asa.

The high places were unauthorized places of worship.
God was specific that man was to worship at His tabernacle/temple.
These were doing it their way, which comes from pride.
Sodomy doesn’t satisfy. God forbids it for that reason.
God has good things for all.

John 4:14 whoever drinks of the water that I give him never thirst; but the water that I give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me will never hunger; and he that believes on me will never thirst.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from those that walk uprightly.

Colossians 2:10 you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power:

47 There was no king in Edom at that time: a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they did not go; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 49 Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.

Jehoshaphat maintained the separation necessary to remain in the will of God.

2Corinthians 6:17 Therefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean thing (idols); and I will receive you,

50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 51 Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53 For he served Baal, worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

God is provoked to anger when we worship others.
Anything we depend on besides God is a false god.
We are deceived.
We are feeding our souls poison that leads to eternal death.

2Kings 10:29 However, from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

Exodus 20:3 You will have no other gods except me.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

SUMMARY: I Kings 20-21

God promised victory over a vast army to show that He is the LORD
He then promised another victory over impossible odds
He pronounced judgment on Ahab
He postponed the judgment because Ahab humbled himself before God
The LORD'S magnificence is beyond imagining
He caused Ahab to fall into the fatal trap that Ahab had planned for Jehoshaphat