This is the Bible Book Club.

I'm Heather and I'm Susan.

And we're in the book of First Kings.

Welcome to the club.

Last time in chapters 20 and 21 of First King, Samaria and King Ahab were under attack from the Aramaans, and it didn't look good

until a prophet arrived. The prophet informed Ahab that he will win the battle. God let Ahab witness

the power and unmerited favor of God. Ahab's response should have been to believe and to worship God as the one true

God, but he didn't. The very next spring, the Aramans tried again to defeat Israel. Again,

the Lord threw a prophet, informed Ahab that he would win the battle. Ahab should have known that God is the one true Lord. Because Ahab then won, of course,

but he settled with the Aramans instead of killing them. He then made a treaty with them. God was

not happy. And God sent another prophet who told a convicting story to Ahab. Ahab would die because of his disobedience.

Ahab, sullen and angry, remained unrepentant. As if to prove just how wicked Ahab and his wife

Jezebel really were, the episode ended with Jezebel arranging for the death of Naboth, just so the sullen

Ahab could have his vineyard. That time, God sent Elijah the power prophet with a message of doom

for the wicked couple. This is our last chapter in first kings and the last straw for King

Ahab. It will be his third campaign against the

king of Aram and third judgment from a prophet. The first two were in our last episode, as Heather

said. It's also Ahab's third failure to follow God. And with three strikes, he's out. When we open

the scene, there is a rare union of the

northern and southern kingdoms. Now, Jehoshaphat is king of Judah in the south. We have not

gotten to him yet, but he is a good king, which makes this union with Ahab even stranger. He is the

son of the good king Asa from Judah, whom we read about in

...