Achav, king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, is described as doing “that which was bad in the eyes of the L-rd more than all before him” (Kings I 16:30). He set up idols throughout the land (Yalkut Shimoni on ibid) and denied the existence of G-d (Sanhedrin 102b). (Achav’s wife Izevel (Jezebel), who was the daughter of the king of Tyre, influenced him to commit many of these sins.) In addition he had a part in the murder of his neighbor Navot whose beautiful vineyard he then confiscated (see Kings I 21).
Nevertheless, when confronted by Elijah, the prophet, for his sins, he repented, as the verse says (ibid verse 27), “And it was when Achav heard these words, that he tore his garments and put sackcloth on his flesh and he fasted and he lay in the sackcloth and walked slowly (וַיְהַלֵּךְ אִַּֽט).” The Midrash (Pirkei DeRabi Eliezer 43) adds that from that day on, Achav would fast, pray, and study Torah. In addition, he would have King Yehoshafat administer lashes to him. (The two were connected through marriage as Yehoshafat’s son married Achav’s daughter.) G-d accepted his teshuvah and delayed the fulfillment of the prophecy that his family would be wiped out until after his death, as G-d told Elijah, the prophet, “Have you seen that Achav is submissive to me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; [rather] in the days of his son I will bring the disaster upon his house.”
Slowly but Surely
The question has been asked, why does the verse only mention that Achav tore his clothes, wore sackcloth, and walked slowly when in fact he also prayed, studied Torah, and had lashes administered to him? (Some say that וַיְהַלֵּךְ אַט means that he walked barefoot [see Shir HaShirim Rabah 1:5]). Rabbi Eliav Edry explains (Even Sapir page 229) that the verse only mentions the aspects of teshuvah that are easily accomplished and that one can accept to keep long term. Although sudden bursts of repentance and prayer are also significant, G-d mainly wants for us to take the small steps of teshuvah that we can maintain in the long term.
