Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 15:25-16:34; 2 Chronicles 17.
“Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.
“It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:29-33).
Ahab is one of the more infamous kings in the Bible. The text says he provoked the Lord more than the kings who came before him (quite a feat in itself) and that sin had become trivial.
This making of sin into a trivial matter is dangerous. Sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2) and leads to the damnation of one’s soul (Romans 6:23). Seeing sin as trivial, rather than a serious problem, makes it extremely difficult for one to overcome sin and serve the Lord.
What factors were involved in making sin a trivial thing to Ahab?
- Culture – He grew up seeing sin as the norm. There was a clear history of wickedness among the kings of Israel. Ahab’s father Omri did more evil than those before him (1 Kings 16:25) before he was surpassed by his son.
- Influence – He married Jezebel, which meant he had a close companion who was constantly encouraging him to do what was wrong.
- Conscience – When one sees sin as a trivial matter, it is because his conscience has become seared and he no longer feels guilty for doing what is wrong.
- Openness – One may struggle with sin but refrain from practicing it openly for fear of what others will think. Ahab traveled to worship Baal and then built an altar and a house for Baal so that he could worship the false god openly. A guilty conscience can be a deterrent for sin. Public disapproval can be another. The fact that Ahab openly worshiped Baal and made the Asherah proves that he was determined to continue in this practice, regardless of what others thought about it.
These factors made sin a trivial matter for Ahab, and they can do the same for us as well. We must do the best we can to guard ourselves from these things so that we can keep from becoming entangled by and enslaved to sin.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Kings 17-19
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
