I Kings 16:33

"And Ahab made a grove, and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him."

Just previously in verse 30, we read of Ahab's father, Omri, who did more evil than all the others. Now we come to Ahab and we read this of his account. Is there not a progression of evil? In my book, "The Continuance of Evil" there is that concept of evil spreading and growing. It feeds off the other evil that has gone before it. A son becomes more evil than the father; a society submerges into greater evil than the one before it because it devours all the evil at hand and adds to it. and Ahab made a grove - word study, made; Jeroboam had already made false gods and now he added to it, the making of a grove to false worship. I find this to be the sad testimony of many people today. They have made a grove in their life. They worship self, money, entertainment, family, work, and wordly possessions. they bow down to it and replace God with their own desires and lusts. these are the lost souls of the earth, this is not about the saints or the church. But it is for the church to understand that when such things are being worshiped and bowed down to, the last half of this verse may becoming to fruition. and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Istrael that were before him - he is declared to be the worst of the worst, the most evil and the most provoking to God; Why stand and provoke God blatantly to wrath? Surely they would know they cannot win such an attempt, but they are blind and they do not know Whom they are offending. But a genertaion that provokes God will continue to enlarge their evil if their path is not turned aroung to salvation and restoring broken relationship with the Lord. And so we see the truth here, Omri was wicked, but Ahab was far worse, the worst of all the kings. What is prepared for such? Oh, look upon the evil men of this generation, what is prepared for them? How shall they escape the wrath of God? God has said, "They that despise Me, I will repay them to their face". Look upon the land and see how it has despised Him and provoked Him to great anger. Their laws, their practices, their values, their habits, the use of their time and on and on it goes of how they have provoked Him. Shall He not answer? Yea, even now; He begins to unleash a wave of wrath upon the land. Terrorists actions, devastations, weather disasters and economic woes, and is this the end? No because they have done more to provoke God than any other generation before them, He will upend these that have sought to dsihonor Him. The next judgment will be worse than the last and so on and so on until we are destroyed or repent. And what is the church's role? there were 7,000 that had not followed after ahab and all his evil. God has His remnant even today, but what are we doing to stop this, to curb this, to rid the land of its evil. The church is doing what? is it praying? is it studying to show itself approved unto God? is it not forsaking the assembly of itselves together? Is it evangelizing? Such a small effort is being put forth with so much evil present. May God awaken us to the task at hand and be busy about His work. At the beginning of the next chapter, we see God's answer to the most wicked king ever, here comes Elijah. 'The effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much' and elijah was that man who prevailed against the evils of Ahab and brought Israel back from the growth of evil in the nation. Where is Elijah today?