King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were the parents of King Ahaziah ( the name means seized by God) of Israel. King Ahaziah took over the throne after his father was killed in battle. He appears on the Biblical Timeline during the reign of kings of the Divided Kingdom. Once he became king he continued on in the worship of Baal just like his father. God is not happy with Ahaziah’s leadership of Israel and eventually removes him from the throne.
Ahaziah’s Evil Practices
The God of Israel doesn’t want his people to worship anything but himself. When the people of Israel were led into the worship of Baal by Ahaziah this angered the Lord. Ahaziah was continuing a practice that began with Jeroboam who was the first king of Israel when the nation split. Israel had worshipped many false God’s since that time and it was causing major problems for the country. Since Ahaziah’s parents were Ahab and Jezebel he had grown up worshipping the pagan god Baal. His mother Jezebel was still alive during his reign and her practices were continued by him.
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Jehu’s Prophecy against Ahaziah
God decided to get rid of Ahaziah and he used Jehu the son of King Jehoshaphat to carry out this task. Elisha was a prophet of God who authorized one of his prophets to anoint Jehu as king. While Jehu was being anointed with oil, the prophet told him that he would be responsible for slaughtering Ahab’s descendants and wiping out his family line. Jehu accepted his anointment and carried out God’s judgment on Ahab’s house.
King Ahaziah
Jehu Slaughters Ahaziah
Shortly after Jehu is anointed king he goes out to slaughter Ahaziah and his brother King Joram. He takes some of his soldiers and rides off to kill the two kings. King Ahaziah and King Joram try to figure out Jehu’s intentions and they realize that he isn’t coming in peace. Jehu shoots King Joram with an arrow between the shoulders that pierces his heart. Joram’s body is thrown down on a plot of land belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. This fulfilled a part of God’s prophecy concerning the elimination of Ahab’s lineage. Jehu persues Ahaziah and wounds him. Though Ahaziah escapes to Megiddo, he subsequently dies in there.
Ahaziah’s Reign
Ahaziah’s reign was short and very brief just like the other Israeli kings before him. God had given this king an opportunity to bring his people back into the true worship of the Lord, but he was too committed to the gods of his parents. Jeroboam’s Golden Calf cult and Ahab’s worship of Baal had caused many of the people who were in power to believe that worshipping pagan deities was the right way to go. They had forgotten about God and the Lord made them pay for not honoring him. Jehu became the next king after the death of Ahaziah because he no longer had any remaining kinsmen to place on the throne.
References:
- 1 Kings 22:40 Ahaziah becomes king after Ahab passes away.
- 1 Kings 22: 51-53 Ahaziah continues to lead the people in Baal worship.
- 2 Kings 9:1-13 Jehu is anointed king and God gives him the task of eliminating the rest of Ahab’s family line including Ahaziah.
- 2 Kings 9:14-29 Ahaziah is mortally wounded by Jehu and dies in Megiddo.
References:
http://biblegateway.com
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p117.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahaziah_of_Israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ahaziah_of_Israel.jpg
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I am afraid there is a mix up. King Ahab died as you described for King Ahaziah. Ahaziah died in his bed. 2 Kings 1:16-17 after a fall. King Ahab died as a result of an arrow and the dogs kicked up his blood as God foretold. 1 Mings 22:29-40.
Regards
Rick thank you for reading and we’ve made some updates.
There are two King Ahaziah’s and you need to fix your references to separate/distinguish this. One is king of Israel and dies, then another is king of Judah and dies later. Your references should indicate which you are referring to (and there are more and better references IMHO)
Thank you for the feedback Erin. In this the article refers to the King of Israel as the title indicates. It is certainly easy to mix up the two.