March 24, 2020: Day 52 – I Kings 16

Here we see an advantage in having a single king for 41 years who provides stability and consistency while the neighbor up north is falling apart.  The southern Kingdom, under the kingship of Asa, seemed to be plodding along with the king following the will of God. But the north saw ruler after ruler with even there being a period of time where there were three kingdoms.  One in the south ruled by Asa and then two in the north ruled by military figures.  That finally got sorted out but at the cost of many lives which were lost.

We find ourselves being led up to the reign of Ahaz which takes place after this long mess of rulers and people killing each other and vying for a spot.  Ahaz is a really, really important figure because he introduces us to Elijah who is a prophet in the northern kingdom, you know, where all this mess took place.  We see that Ahaz, the king of the north, marries Jezebel who led her husband, the king of the north which is actually called Israel, while the south is called Judah, to worship Baal.  This is a serious, serious offense.  In fact, Ahaz is described in vs.30 as one who “did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.”  That is no light thing.  

The next chapter we see the battle between God and Baal as set up by Elijah vs. Ahaz and Jezebel.  In this age without sports we are about to see a pretty intense competition and some trash talking taking place.  Wait for it…