30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in theeyesLORD than anyof those before him. - P84
31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sinsof Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married(Jezebel)daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and beganto serve Baal and worship him. - P84
34 In Ahab‘s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laidits foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram,
and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest sonSegub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spokenby Joshua son of Nun. - P85
It is recorded of most of Israel‘s kings that they followed after the wick-ed ways of Jeroboam. But of Ahab, it is written that he "considered ittrivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam" (v. 31). Marrying Jezebel fromSidon and aggressively promoting the worship of Baal in the nation,
Ahab crosses a line that no king dared to cross before his time. - P86
Ahabopenly rebels against the Lord and leads the people to do the same. Buteven when those who oppose God seem to succeed in orchestrating thecircumstances as they desire, - P86
God is not defeated by the dire status quo.
While Israel is at its darkest spiritually, He prepares a prophet to leadthem back to Him. - P86
We are one verse away from Israel‘s greatest prophet bursting onto thescene out of nowhere-to confront wicked King Ahab. But in the mean-time, God has not left His people without evidence of His sovereignty.
- P86
Hiel rebuilds Jericho in defiance of the divine decree given throughJoshua (Josh. 6:26). The consequences are just as predicted: he laid thefoundations at the cost of his firstborn and set the gates at the cost ofhis youngest son. - P86
We may be tempted to think God is inactive whenthose who oppose His rule seem to succeed in their rebellion. But if wepay attention to what God teaches, predicts, and warns about in HisWord, we will find that He still holds complete control over the courseof history. - P86
We commit idolatry wheneverwe put anything in our lives above God. - P87
because no matter how hard I tried to be liked, I ultimately hadno control over what other people thought about me.
Romans 3:22 tells us that anyone who believes has God‘s approvalthrough faith in Jesus Christ. This verse helped me see that I cannotlive my life begging for the approval of others. The only one whoseapproval should matter to me is the Lord. When we realize that we arefully accepted and unconditionally loved by the Lord, we can finallystop chasing the approval of others and rest in the peace and freedomthat this wonderful truth brings. - P87
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