“So he (Ahaziah the son of Ahab) served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.” (v.53)
Though Ahab reigned 22 years, his son only reigned two. Though his repentance was shallow, when Ahab repented after an announcement of judgment in 1 Kings 21, God relented from the immediate judgment and promised to bring judgment in the days of Ahab’s son. Ahaziah’s short reign was a fulfillment of this prophecy in 1 Kings 21:29.
Now hear in our text we see how far the kings of Israel had fallen. The book that began with a man after God’s own heart (David) sitting on the throne of a united Israel, ends with two godless kings of a divided nation.
Back in 1 Samuel 8 the people demanded, “Make us a king to judge us like all the other nations” (v.5). And here, in the final chapter of 1 Kings, we see the result of their worldly demand. In the words of the psalmist, “God gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:15).
The Truth: “They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)
