Last week we saw Elijah's disappointment because there was no change in Israel after the event at Mount Carmel. I believe Elijah was tired of Ahab and Jezebel ruling over the nation, but God was not finished with them yet.
In chapters 20 and 21, we see God continue to help this evil duo through two battles with Syria. Why would God do this? Isn't God just? Doesn't God care? I believe the answer is found in 2 Peter 3:9:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
God loved Ahab and wanted to see him repent. We finally see him do so after the warning of his death and the death of his family (20:27). Was this repentance genuine? Did he become a follower of YHWH? I can't be sure, but I know this: Ahab believed God when he was told what would happen in the future. In Genesis 15:6 we are told that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Does Ahab deserve to be in heaven? Of course not. None of us do, but God's grace is so big he can save people like you and me and a man like Ahab if we just believe. God tells us that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. Do we believe Him?
Oh how longsuffering the Lord is towards us.
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