“Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.” “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30, 33).

These statements are rather incredible. When we look back at the number of evil kings over Israel up to this time, Ahab was the worst. Why was he so evil and what can we learn from his bad example? The passage where these verses are found gives us a few reasons for the statements.

“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 the 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).

There were four factors that contributed to Ahab being classified as the most wicked king. Each one is something we must guard against in our own life.
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