Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

People are often unable to see the wrong (or even evil) in things that they have done because of the "natural" (but sinful) incliination of humans (in their universally fallen condition) to view themselves as being in the right, especially when they have taken actions that they believe will prevent others from finding out about what they have done. The only way that they can be brought to a recognition of how God views their actions is to have those actions presented to them as having been done by another person.

This is how the prophet Nathan made David acknowledge his sin in committing adultery with Bathsheba, and also ordering that her husband Uriah the Hittite be killed in battle (2 Samuel 11-12).

In the account of Ahab and the prophet cited in the question, the prophet (as Nathan had done with David before) did what was necessary to make Ahab view his own disobedient actions objectively, and as God viewed them. Athough this might be viewed in one sense as "tricking" Ahab, it was done with the righteous goal of moving Ahab to repentance, if possible. Instead, Ahab's immediate reaction was to be "sullen and angry".

(However, as recorded in 1 Kings 21, Ahab later moved God to postpone His judgment of his dynasty until after his death, based on his repentance over the theft of Naboth's vineyard, as well as the murder of Naboth, by Ahab and his wife Jezebel.)

June 11 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report