Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; and he reigned two years over Israel.
1 Kings ends by handing Israel's throne to Ahab's son. The verse dates the moment by Jehoshaphat's seventeenth year in Judah, and it fixes the length of the reign: two years. Commentators ask what a man does with so short a time, and what he had already inherited before he began.
The closing verses of the chapter sum up a whole reign. One writer notes how much filled so short a time:
This scene is cheering after all. A few words follow it (vv. 51-53) that sum up the reign of Ahaziah the son of Ahab. It was a short reign, but one filled with everything that could provoke the Lord to anger. Under his reign the worship of Baal revives again in Israel. The king himself bows down before this detestable god of the Sidonians.
The verse names him "the son of Ahab." One writer reads the record that follows as just what such a home would produce:
It is a dark list of evil, yet only what you would expect from the son of such a couple as Ahab and Jezebel. His parents were so well matched in wickedness that nothing short of a miracle of grace could have made him anything better than the description given of him here.
Elijah's public work began with a warning to Ahab and ended with a word to Ahab's son. One writer sets the son's character beside both his parents':
The public ministry of Elijah had opened with a message of judgment to King Ahab, and it closes with a message of death to his wicked son King Ahaziah. Of this man we read, "He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." His character combined the self-indulgence of his father with the fanatical idolatry of his mother.
Ahaziah did not begin his reign in ignorance. One writer lists what he already knew:
When Ahaziah began his reign, he knew quite well about the great drought that an angry God had sent on the nation because of its idolatry. He also knew about the solemn event on Mount Carmel, where Baal's prophets were publicly put to shame and then killed. Yet his short reign of two years was full of defiance against the LORD. 1 Kings 22:52 records that "he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother" (for Jezebel still lived, and was still influential in the land). Events then followed one another quickly, and each should have spoken to his conscience: first, the tragic death of his father; second, the revolt of Moab after 150 years under Israel's rule; and third, his own accident.
Jezebel was still alive and still shaping the court. That is why her "way" stands beside Ahab's in the record.
The verse ties Ahaziah's reign to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. One writer shows what came of that link:
On the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah sat on the throne of Israel, but he only reigned for two years. Jehoshaphat had seen and heard all about Ahab, and the Lord had rebuked him for helping the ungodly. Who would have thought he would join himself to the house of Ahab again? Yet that is what happened. The record says, "After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly" (2 Chron. 20:35). And this was within two years of his earlier failure. Jehoshaphat had repented of his former evil and been restored, but he had clearly not judged himself thoroughly before God for the unholy alliance. Like many more today, the king found it hard to grasp that association with evil defiles. This time the partnership was not for war but for gold: "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold" (1 Kings 22:48). Then God stepped in. He sent His prophet Eliezer the son of Dodavah to rebuke him with the words, "Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made." Then the Lord carried out His word, and the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.
- Way — The record sums up this king by the way he walked. Every point above hangs on that one word.
- Inherited way — His parents were Ahab and Jezebel. One writer says only a miracle of grace could have made him different.
- Doubled way — Both parents are named. Ahab's self-indulgence and Jezebel's fierce idolatry met in one man.
- Chosen way — He knew about the drought, Mount Carmel, and his father's death. None of it moved him, so his two years became defiance.
- Shared way — Jehoshaphat had already been rebuked for helping the ungodly, yet he joined this house again. God wrecked his ships. Repentance without self-judgment repeats the old alliance.
And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Ahaziah, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, takes the throne of Israel. One sentence sums up his whole reign, and it traces his evil to three people: his father, his mother, and Jeroboam, the king who led ten of the twelve tribes away from God's centre. How much of a man's evil is inherited, and how much is his own?
One writer sees the verse as the natural fruit of that household, and names the one thing that could have broken the pattern:
It is a dark list of sins, yet only what you would expect from the child of a couple like Ahab and Jezebel. His parents were so well matched in wickedness that nothing less than a miracle of grace could have made him any better than the description given of him here.
The verse names his mother as well as his father. One writer names what Ahaziah took from each:
Elijah's public ministry opened with a message of judgment to King Ahab. It closes with a message of death to his wicked son King Ahaziah… His character combined the self-indulgence of his father with the fanatical idolatry of his mother.
Jezebel was not just a memory. One writer notes that she was still alive, and lists three events that came one after another:
He walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother — for Jezebel still lived, and was still influential in the land… Events followed one another quickly, and they should have spoken to his conscience: first, the tragic death of his father; second, the revolt of Moab after 150 years under Israel's rule; and third, his own accident. Wisdom would have taught him to ask God, "is there not a cause?"
The third name reaches back before his parents. One phrase follows Jeroboam through the rest of the story:
Jeroboam stands out in the Old Testament as the great division maker. Under him the great mass of God's people, ten of the twelve tribes, broke away from God's centre at that time. Like a death knell, the sad words the Spirit uses to mark this man come again and again: "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin"… Personal sins are bad enough, but to turn away God's people from the centre which He has set up — what could be worse?
One writer explains what lay behind that refrain:
One refrain marks out the kings of Israel: "He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." In religion these kings copied the head of their royal house, who was an idolater… But it is always very dangerous to fit yourself into a system that does not look to the mind of God as its source, even when it boasts of great age.
Ahaziah was not an ignorant man. He knew the prophet who had announced judgment on his father:
He walked in the way of his father, his mother, and Jeroboam — that is, he combined in his worship every form of idolatry practised at that time in his kingdom… And yet he had known Elijah, and must therefore have heard of his warnings and of his mission from Jehovah. But he gained nothing from what he had seen and heard, even though he must have known that judgment was hanging over his own head. His case would prove the words, "He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed—and that without remedy."
One idol in particular came back into favour under this king:
A few words sum up the reign of Ahaziah the son of Ahab — a short reign, but one filled with all that could provoke the Lord to anger. Under his reign the worship of Baal revives again in Israel, and the king himself bows down before this abomination of the Zidonians.
- Inherited — The verse traces his evil to a father, a mother, and a founding king. It is a dark list, but only what you would expect from Ahab and Jezebel's son.
- Combined — He merged the sins of both parents: his father's self-indulgence with his mother's fanatical idolatry.
- Copied — The refrain "who made Israel to sin" marks kings who took their religion from the head of their royal house instead of from the mind of God.
- Informed — He had known Elijah. He knew judgment hung over him. He still gained nothing from what he had seen and heard.
- Answerable — Often reproved, he stiffened his neck, and such a man is suddenly destroyed. A short reign was long enough to provoke the Lord.
And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked Jehovah the God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
The first book of Kings ends with a verdict on Ahaziah, son of Ahab. His short reign brought back the worship of Baal in Israel. Why does the book close on such a dark note, and what did copying his father lead to?
The verse hangs Ahaziah's guilt on family likeness. One commentator weighs the parents behind this record:
It is a dark list of sins, yet only what you would expect from the child of a couple like Ahab and Jezebel. His parents were so evenly matched in wickedness that only a miracle of grace could have made him any better than the description of him here.
The verse just before says he walked in the way of his father and his mother. A writer names what each parent gave him:
His character combined the self-indulgence of his father with the fanatical idolatry of his mother.
Baal was the Sidonians' idol. Ahaziah did not just allow his worship; the king bowed down himself:
Ahaziah son of Ahab had a short reign, but one filled with everything that could provoke the LORD to anger. Under his rule the worship of Baal revives again in Israel, and the king himself bows down before this detestable idol of the Sidonians.
Ahaziah had watched what his father's path cost him. He also knew what God had already done in Israel:
When Ahaziah began his reign, he knew all about the great drought. God, in His anger, had sent it on the nation because of its idolatry. He also knew what had happened on Mount Carmel, where Baal's prophets were disgraced in front of everyone and then killed. Yet he spent his two years as king defying the LORD.
This king was not acting in ignorance:
In his worship he combined every form of idolatry practised in his kingdom at that time, and so he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done. And yet he had known Elijah, so he must have heard his warnings and known that God had sent him. He gained nothing from what he had seen and heard, though he must have known that judgment was hanging over his own head. It was to be proved true in his case that "he who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing."
The words "provoked... to anger" are not decoration. One writer points to what happened next in Moab:
The rebellion of Moab against Israel is the first consequence of Ahaziah's unfaithfulness (see 1 Kings 22:52-54). It is a judgment upon the king who by his idolatry had provoked God to anger.
Later the king sent soldiers after God's servant. He found out whom he was really fighting:
The fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. So the LORD God of Israel was like a wall of fire around His servant to protect him, and like a burning anger to devour his enemies. It is a principle running through both the Old and New Testaments that God always identifies Himself with His messengers. So Ahaziah, even if he did not know it, was attacking the LORD Himself in the person of His servant — and at a time when he was already under the just judgment of God.
One writer draws the lesson of the whole book from where it ends:
So ends the first book of Kings. It is a history that confirms one thing: authority placed in human hands ends in general failure. How true is the word of Ezekiel 21:27, "Overthrown, Overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him." Every kingdom of man will have its turn in being overthrown. What a relief for the entire world when Christ who alone has the right of authority will take His great power and reign!
Note: the words from Ezekiel 21:27 here follow an older translation.
- Inherited — He walked in his parents' way. His record is what you would expect from Ahab and Jezebel's son, and only a miracle of grace could have broken the pattern.
- Chosen — He had seen the drought and Carmel. His defiance was not ignorance, and a man often reproved who stiffens his neck is broken beyond healing.
- Provoked — Serving Baal provoked God, and the bill came due at once. Moab's revolt was judgment on a king who had stirred God's anger.
- Personal — When he sent troops after Elijah, he was striking at God Himself, because God identifies with His messengers.
- Overthrown — The book ends in failure, so hope moves elsewhere. Every kingdom of man is overthrown until He comes whose right it is.