In First Kings, chapter sixteen, verse thirty, sin and evil become progressively worse during the reign of King Ahab. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, led the way in witchcraft and idolatry so that rebellion and hardness of heart against God would try to prevail in Israel. In the face of such apostasy, God sent the mighty profit Elijah to oppose the corrupt religious system and to proclaim God’s purpose for His kingdom.
Ahab did evil above all that reigned before him, and did it with a particular enmity both against Jehovah and Israel. He was not satisfied with breaking the second commandment by image-worship, he broke the first by worshipping other gods: making light of lesser sins makes way for greater. Marriages with daring offenders also imbolden in wickedness, and hurry men on to the greatest excesses. One of Ahab’s subjects, following the example of his presumption, ventured to build Jericho. Like Achan, he meddled with the accursed thing; turned that to his own use, which was devoted to God’s honour: he began to build, in defiance of the curse well devoted to God’s honour: he began to build, in defiance of the curse well known in Israel; but none ever hardened his heart against God, and prospered. Let the reading of this chapter cause us to mark the dreadful end of all the workers of iniquity. And what does the history of all ungodly men furnish, what ever rank or situation they move in, but sad examples of the same?
The exact words are in verse twenty-five of his father. It is not difficult to see Ahab’s rule was worse even than Omri’s. The latter had gone beyond his predecessors in the calf worship. But the calf worship may have deteriorated in the process of time, wax worse and worse. However, nevertheless a cult, though a corrupt, and unauthorized, and illicit cultus, of the one true God. Under Ahab, however, positive idolatry was established and fostered the worship of foreign and shameful deities.