In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab
son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel
twenty-two years.Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than
any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins
of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king
of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar
for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an
Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than
did all the kings of Israel before him.” I Kings 16:30-33
Trust. It's a valuable commodity. People rarely GIVE trust… usually it's something that's earned. But without having trust in someone - or something - it's hard to do anything in this life. We trust that our cars will start. Have you ever gotten in your car, put the key in the ignition… and then not have it start? How did it make you feel? It should have started! It had started hundreds of times before… but now it didn't. You TRUSTED it to be able to start when you needed it.
We trust that our grocery stores will have food. They
may not have the specific brand of cereal or coffee you want, but you TRUST
they will have milk, and meat, and bread.
When we have trouble around the house, we trust that
the police and firemen will be available to protect us. And we trust that our
friends will BE THERE for us. That our church family will lift us up in prayer
and be there in our moments of joy and sadness.
Trust is woven into the very fabric of our lives. Without
trust, we can hardly function.
So, the question
is: what do you trust… and why?
The story we’re looking at today is a story about
trust… and the lack of it. The verses above tell the story of Ahab. Ahab was a wicked king. But he was NOT JUST a
wicked king… he was a wicked man. 1 Kings 21:25 says There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to
do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. So Ahab was a
wicked King and a wicked man. But what
made him so wicked? Well, he TRUSTED in
the wrong things:
- First
- he trusted in the wrong religion.
We're told that he built a temple to the pagan god Baal in Samaria. And
that he erected Asherah poles for the worship of that goddess (who
apparently was worshipped as both Baal's mother AND his wife). God repeatedly stressed how foolish the
worship of these (and other gods) was. But these were not just false gods…
they were evil gods in whom Ahab put his trust. Part of the worship of Baal was the
sacrifice of your children to please him.
And the religious activity of male and female prostitution were part
of both their worships. So Ahab trusted these false and evil gods. But the reason he trusted these gods was
because he trusted the wrong person.
- Second - he trusted the wrong
person. He
married Jezebel. Have you ever
heard the name of Jezebel? This woman was so despised in Scripture that to
this day her name is still a symbol of treachery and wickedness.
It is easy to trust the wrong things and the wrong
people. Ahab trusted the wrong things…
and he trusted the wrong people. And
most tragically of all - he didn’t trust God. So God decided it was time to
teach Ahab a lesson in trust. We will find out how God taught Ahab about trust
tomorrow but for today – think about where you put your trust and what God says
about it.
Scripture to claim:
Let
us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16