1 Kings 21:1 – 24 “Some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite happened to own a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”
But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.
Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”
Ahab answered, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, ‘Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ And he replied, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’ ”
But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people. And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!”
So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”
And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Get up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. See, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has gone to take possession.
Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’
Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ ”
When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.”
He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel,
both slave and free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’
And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
In Israel, the land had been given out by lot and was a precious inheritance from generation to generation. Naboth had a magnificent vineyard that had been bearing for many years. It’s likely that the vineyard was older than Ahab. The vineyard might even have been there when Omri bought the hill from Shemer to build Samaria. But Ahab felt entitled and had no regard for the Law of Moses or the customs of Israel; moreover, Ahab was married to a Sidonian who knew nothing about Israelite customs and cared even less.
Ahab took a whim that he needed a vegetable garden next to the palace, never mind that the land he coveted was Naboth’s ancestral land. Vegetables were re – planted annually, while vineyards could last for hundreds of years. When Naboth courteously refused to give up his vineyard, Ahab withdrew to the palace and sulked, refusing to eat. Jezebel then concocted a horrible plot to falsely accuse Naboth, murder him, and seize his vineyard. Fearing Jezebel’s wrath, the city elders went along with the plot, despite its evil intent. But by instigating this horrific act, Jezebel sealed her fate. The shedding of innocent blood brings curses on a land, and Jezebel had already murdered so many of God’s prophets. Now she was plotting the murder of a righteous man who had done nothing to deserve death.
Elijah confronted Ahab and pronounced a spine – chilling judgment over both Ahab and Jezebel. “This is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’
And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
You have to feel sorry for Ahab’s slaves and other servants! Even though these poor people had no say in anything, they too were to bear the curses for Ahab and Jezebel’s evil deeds.
To the Israelites, dogs were unclean animals, and vultures were just as bad. It was anathema if there were no body to bury. Even if only part of a body was left to bury, it was still better. (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ancient-burial-practices) “To give a decent burial to a stranger ranks with giving bread to the hungry and garments to the naked (Tob. 1:17 – 18)” A common Mesopotamian curse was “may the earth not receive your body!” To sleep with one’s fathers, i.e., to be buried with them, was also considered an enormous blessing. When King David offered Barzillai the chance to accompany him to Jerusalem, Barzillai refused, stating that he wished to be buried with his father and mother.
APPLICATION: Do God’s promises and God’s curses still work? Yes! God has not changed. In Numbers 23:19 God put His words into the mouth of Balaam the pagan prophet. “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” We make a tragic mistake when we assume that God’s purity and His Holiness have somehow slipped over the years and that He is willing to overlook our pet sins. God is still calling out to us through environmental disasters, through political upheavals, and through so many other cataclysmic events. If we will repent of our sins and turn to God, God will heal us and will heal our countries and the land and waters in them.
There are no deeds that we can perform that are good enough for us to earn our way into heaven. If each of us is honest, we know that we are not perfect and that our minds are full of all kinds of angry evil thoughts many times a day. This is why Jesus, God’s only Son, had to come to earth to live as a man and to die on the cross at Calvary, giving up his blood and his life as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. But a sacrifice only works if you believe in it. Paul and Silas told the jailor at Philippi, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us, even though we do so many wrong things each day. Lord, we acknowledge that nothing we do can possibly gain us a place with You in heaven. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Lord, we believe that Jesus has come, that he has died, and that he has risen from the dead, conquering death and the grave. We now trust that You will forgive our sins because of that sacrifice Jesus has made for us. Thank You for forgiving us. Help us to love You and to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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