Take Off the Disguise: Five Lessons From Ahab on Being Real

Samuel Mabboux, pastor of the Nice l'Ariane church, preaches from the story of King Ahab in 1 Kings 20 to 22. Five steps of compromise, five calls for you to stand upright before God.

The theme: take off your disguise

King Ahab disguised himself to go into battle. It cost him his life. Samuel Mabboux starts from this detail to ask you a direct question: are you wearing a disguise before God this morning too?

"The greatest quality before God is authenticity. And the greatest sin is religiosity, the act of disguising yourself." Whoever disguises himself cannot be forgiven, because he never asks for forgiveness. The mask has to come off first.

Ahab is not a good king. He is idolatrous, he worships Baal and Ashtoreth, and he took Jezebel as his wife, the woman who would have the prophets of the LORD massacred. He only listens to God's voice when it suits him. This is the man you can recognize yourself in, and these are the five warnings God addresses to you.

Five lessons from Ahab's life

1. Don't let sin strip you bare (1 Kings 20:1-14)

Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, marches against Israel with thirty-two allied kings. He sends this message to Ahab: "Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine" (1 Kings 20:3).

Ahab answers: "It is according to your saying, my lord, O king: I am yours, and all that I have" (v. 4). He surrenders without a fight.

Samuel Mabboux draws the parallel: sin wants to take everything from you. Your silver, your gold, your best children, but also your sanctification, your consecration, your peace, your joy. What is your relationship with sin today? Have you surrendered, or are you standing firm?

Verse 7 is chilling: Ahab admits that Ben-Hadad "seeks mischief" against him, and he lets him take it anyway. How long will you let sin strip you bare?

2. God wants to give you the victory (1 Kings 20:13-21)

Despite Ahab's idolatry, God sends a prophet: "Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day" (1 Kings 20:13). God is a God of grace. He gives a second chance.

Ahab reviews his army: 232 young officers of the provinces and 7,000 men against an army that fills the land. The following year, the Bible will describe two "little flocks of goats" facing 127,000 Syrians. And God gives them the victory.

"God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27). No matter the size of the sin, the trial, or the enemy: God can make you win. Your part is to refuse sin and to stand up in the name of the LORD of Armies.

3. Don't tame your sin (1 Kings 20:31-43)

Ben-Hadad, defeated, hides. His servants come to negotiate, with sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, banking on the merciful reputation of the kings of Israel. Ahab welcomes him, calls him "my brother," and has him climb into his chariot (1 Kings 20:32-34).

Samuel Mabboux is blunt: "There is no such thing as a 'harmless little sin.' You have to be radical with sin." Tolerating it is already too much; calling "my brother" the one who wanted to strip you bare is making an alliance with him.

Jesus says: "Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We are called to be doves, not naive pigeons who let sin settle in at the table and in bed.

A prophet warns Ahab: "Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life" (1 Kings 20:42). Ahab goes home "resentful and sullen." Who are you angry at today? At God, or at the consequences of your own choices?

4. Sin will end up ruling you (1 Kings 21)

Ahab wants to garden. He covets his neighbor Naboth's vineyard. Naboth refuses: it's the inheritance of his fathers. Ahab goes home again "resentful and sullen" (1 Kings 21:4).

Deal with your sin instead of tending your garden. Ahab's real problem isn't his vegetable patch; it's the compromise he lives in. Sin tolerated like a weed eventually chokes out the onions.

Jezebel takes over. She writes letters in Ahab's name, seals them with his seal, sends false witnesses to accuse Naboth of blasphemy, and Naboth is stoned to death (1 Kings 21:8-13). Ahab takes possession of a dead man's vineyard.

This is the picture of sin taking control: it's no longer you signing your own commitments, it's sin signing in your place. The longer you stay in sin, the harder your heart grows and the narrower the door of grace becomes, not because God closes it, but because you sink yourself deeper.

God sends Elijah: "Have you killed and also taken possession? ... In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours" (1 Kings 21:19).

At this, Ahab tears his clothes, puts sackcloth on his body, fasts, and walks softly (v. 27-29). God sees, and delays the disaster. God always sees when someone repents sincerely.

5. Your compromise is your greatest weakness (1 Kings 22)

Three years later, Ahab wants to fight the Syrians again. He gathers 400 false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, insists: "Isn't there here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of him?" (1 Kings 22:7).

Ahab answers: "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me." That man is Micaiah. Do you still listen to God's voice when it doesn't go your way? Do you accept God's will when it means giving something up?

Paul warns Timothy: "For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts" (2 Timothy 4:3).

Ahab then decides to disguise himself before going into battle, asking Jehoshaphat to keep his royal robes (1 Kings 22:30). Ben-Hadad, the "brother" Ahab had spared, had ordered his thirty-two captains: "Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel" (v. 31). Show sin no mercy, because sooner or later, it will show you none.

"A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor" (v. 34). Ahab dies that same evening. The dogs lick up his blood. Compromise means handing your life over to chance. Your life is not ruled by chance; it is in God's hands, unless you hand it over to the devil by keeping your disguise on.

Key takeaways

• The greatest quality before God is authenticity; the greatest trap is religiosity.
• Sin is an enemy that comes to strip you bare. Refuse it access instead of surrendering.
• God gives victory even to a small flock when you stand up in the name of the LORD of Armies.
• Tolerating, taming, or calling a sin "my brother" is already making an alliance with it.
• Compromise opens the door to sin's dominion and hands your life over to chance. Sincere repentance, on the other hand, stops the sentence.

For your personal application

• What "Ben-Hadad" is telling you today: "Your gold, your children, your peace belong to me"? What are you refusing to let it take?
• Is there a sin you're still calling "my brother" instead of rooting it out?
• Are you "resentful and sullen" because of your own choices? Who is that anger really aimed at?
• Do you still ask God before the important decisions in your life, or are you already lining up your 400 prophets who will tell you yes?
• Has God already warned you once, twice, three times about something specific? What will you do about it this week?

Verses cited

• 1 Kings 20:3-4 - Ahab's surrender to Ben-Hadad
• 1 Kings 20:13 - God promises the victory
• 1 Kings 20:22 - "Go, strengthen yourself"
• 1 Kings 20:32-34 - Ahab calls Ben-Hadad "my brother"
• 1 Kings 20:42-43 - the sentence, resentful and sullen
• 1 Kings 21 - Naboth, Jezebel, and the vineyard
• 1 Kings 22:7-14 - the 400 prophets and Micaiah
• 1 Kings 22:30-34 - the disguise and the arrow
• 1 Corinthians 1:27 - the weak things put to shame the strong
• Matthew 10:16 - wise as serpents, harmless as doves
• 2 Timothy 4:3 - itching ears
• 2 Corinthians 11:14 - Satan disguises himself as an angel of light

Frequently asked questions

Can God really give victory to someone who has compromised as much as I have?

Yes. Samuel Mabboux reminds us: Ahab is an idolatrous king, a worshiper of Baal, married to Jezebel, and God still sends him a prophet to promise him victory. Where sin abounded, grace abounds all the more. The condition is doing your part: refusing sin and standing firm in the name of the LORD.

Why does God seem to warn several times before the sentence falls?

Because God is a God of grace. He warns Ahab through a prophet, then through Elijah, then through Micaiah. Each warning is a season of grace offered so you can repent. But grace does not cancel justice: if you refuse to change, a moment comes when you bear the consequences of your choices.

What should I actually do if I realize I'm wearing a disguise?

The call is simple: take it off. Confess to the Lord what you were trying to hide. Tell him: "I want to be genuine before you." Bear fruit worthy of repentance, as John the Baptist put it. And if the battle is too big for you alone, talk to your pastor or a trusted brother or sister; what you cannot hide from God, you no longer need to hide from those who want to lift you back up.