1 Kings 21
McGeeCHAPTER 21THEME: Ahab and Naboth’s vineyardThe chapter before us is a page out of the lives of the wicked king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, which reveals their covetous and ruthless characters.
1 Kings 21:1
NABOTH’S VINEYARD IS COVETED BY AHABA few years ago I was in Samaria, and I must confess that it is one of the most beautiful spots in the land of Palestine. You can stand on the hill of Samaria where Ahab and Jezebel’s palace stood (Omri built it), and you can see Jerusalem to the south, the valley of Esdraelon and the Sea of Galilee to the north, the Jordan River on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. It is a beautiful view on all four sides. There are not many places like that. If I were living in that land, that would be the spot where I would like to have my home.
1 Kings 21:2
Naboth had a vineyard in this area. And as I stood on that beautiful hill, I wondered what side it was on. We do know it was nearby. And with as lovely a palace as Ahab had, you would think he would be satisfied. But, no, he wants that vineyard. Naboth does not want to sell it for the very simple reason that the vineyard is his patrimony. It is what God had given to his ancestors, and it had been passed down from father to son. But now here is a king who wants it, and it takes a pretty brave man to turn him down.
1 Kings 21:4
Ahab doesn’t get his way, so he goes home and pouts like a little boy. Ahab, wicked as he is, is like a spoiled brat and won’t eat now because he cannot have what he wantshe can’t have that vineyard!
1 Kings 21:5
JEZEBEL’S MURDEROUS PLOT TO OBTAIN NABOTH’S VINEYARDAhab did not have any ideas about how to get Naboth’s vineyard, but Jezebel did. I can assure you that she is going to work out something that will enable her husband to get it. Jezebel was absolutely masculine in her mannershe was a dominant and domineering woman. I would have been afraid of her myself, I must confess. She is a wicked woman, and she is going to get the vineyard. She contrives a nice little plot and arranges to have two lawless men witness against Naboth. They say that he blasphemed God and the king. Naboth is then carried out of the city and stoned to death. Can you think of anything more unjust than this? Well, it has happened many times in the history of the world. Many times the man on top who has everything has taken advantage of the little man. Naboth was stoned to death. Did Ahab get by with it? My friend, you don’t get by with sin. I don’t care who you arethe day will come when you are going to have to settle up. And the day came when Ahab had to settle up.
1 Kings 21:15
So Jezebel came in and announced to her husband Ahab, “Naboth is dead, and you can have the vineyard.” It looks like Ahab has gotten by with his wickedness, doesn’t it? No, God has a man there. Thank God that there is a man around who will declare the Word of God!
1 Kings 21:17
AHAB’S AND JEZEBEL’S DOOM IS PREDICTEDRemember that God has said, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal_6:7). If you and I could speak with men from the pastwhether they were God’s men or Satan’sthey would tell us that this is an immutable law of God; it cannot be changed. Jacob found out the truth of this law. Pharaoh of Egypt, who killed the little Hebrew boys, thought he got by with his crime, but one day he found that his firstborn was dead. David committed an awful sin, but he did not get by with it. The same thing he did came back to him. Saul of Tarsus was a leader in the stoning of Stephen, but there came a day in Asia Minor, at Antioch of Pisidia, when he was stoned and left for dead. The fact of the matter is that he was dead, and God raised him from the dead. Now here is the judgment that is pronounced on Ahab and Jezebel:
1 Kings 21:21
God says to Ahab, “I’m removing your house. Your line will not reign here.” Now God is not through:
1 Kings 21:23
Both of these judgments very definitely come to pass.