1Kings 21 comments

 

1 Kings 21:1 ¶  And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2  And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3  And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4  And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Ahab desires Naboth’s vineyard and offers him an exchange of property or money for it. This could have come out in Naboth’s favor as he could have gotten a much better piece of property or could have demanded a large sum of money. However, Naboth is an honorable man who does not hold his heritage in contempt. Perhaps this is a teaching lesson for us in that Naboth represents a faithful Israelite who treasures his inheritance in God while Ahab represents the carnal Israelite who believes that everything has a price and cares not for another man’s honor. Ahab is depressed by his inability to impress Naboth with either land or money.

But remember this warning from Samuel about what God said kings would do in 1Samuel 8:14.

1Samuel 8:14  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

1Kings 21:5 ¶  But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? 6  And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. 7  And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8  So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9  And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10  And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11  And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. 12  They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13  And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14  Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15  And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16  And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Here, Naboth in his innocence, is a type Christ, God in the flesh, who owns a vineyard, His people Israel.

Isaiah 5:7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

A false claim is made supported by two false witnesses.

Matthew 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

Wicked spiritual leaders took God’s kingdom, seized it unlawfully.

Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 11:48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

John 19:15  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

This is reflected all through the gospels. But Naboth was not God and did not resurrect himself. The crime stands against Ahab and Jezebel.

1Kings 21:17 ¶  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18  Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19  And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. 20  And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. 21  Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22  And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23  And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 24  Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. 25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26  And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 27  And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29  Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Ahab is a complicated man, like many men of power and influence. He is evil and is prompted by his wicked wife to do many terrible things. But in the end he humbles himself before God and God declares that His judgment will be enacted on Ahab’s dynasty but Ahab himself will be spared. This reminds me of the curse on Canaan that Noah reveals when it was actually Ham, who along with Noah’s other sons, had already been blessed, who sinned against him. We, too, as wicked as we had been before we trusted in Christ, were shown mercy by God when we humbled ourselves. This is a bold lesson for us to consider here.