[1Ki 21:1-23] But Naboth Replied (Lim)

John C Lim

I King 21:1-23

 

1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."
3 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?"
6 He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' "
7 Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:

"Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among
the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them
testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out
and stone him to death."

11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."
15 As soon as 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 that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead." 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!" "I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD. 21 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'
23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

Naboth was a Jezreelite who lived near King Ahab’s palace.  Apparently, he owned a vineyard that was close to King Ahab’s palace near Jezreel.  For some reason, King Ahab wanted that vineyard that belonged to Naboth.  So, King Ahab approached Naboth about this vineyard.  Look at verses 1-2.

Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.   Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."

It seems a very innocent proposal on the surface.  Ahab wants vineyard that belongs to Naboth and will pay or trade for it.  Often times we desire something that appeals to our senses.  Whether it be a car or a house, we develop strong desire to acquire it.  We work for it and ultimately, we will pay for the car or the house.  Sometimes that longing for something we wish to have motivates and inspires us to work hard to achieve that goal.  There is nothing inherently wrong in that pursuit. 

Ahab saw the vineyard and he wanted it.  So, he talked with Naboth to carry out a business transaction that satisfies both parties. But Naboth refused.  Look at verse 3.

 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."

Naboth did not wish to part with the inheritance he received from his fathers who have gone before him.  This was a family inheritance.  Perhaps he tended it with loving care proud of this plot of land that had been passed on down from generation to generation.  It represented his family’s heritage.  Although it may have been not much to everyone else, it meant something to Naboth.  And that is all that mattered to Naboth. 

When King Ahab of Samaria made the proposal for this plot of land, Naboth firmly refused.  If we look at King Ahab’s proposition, we sense that he didn’t really have any appreciation for this of land other than the fact he wanted it.  He was quick to assess that there were better vineyards and that this plot of land can be purchased with money as he offered to pay Naboth whatever it was worth.  The only reason based on what King Ahab says, was that it was close to his palace.  It was just a piece of land and that it would be convenient for King Ahab to own it. 

But Naboth declined such an offer from King Ahab.  Examine Naboth’s short statement.  He sees this plot of land as the inheritance of his father and he invokes Lord’s name as to why he cannot give King Ahab this land.  It meant more than just a vineyard to Naboth.  We are far removed from this ancient time when Naboth and Ahab walked the earth.  But the story of Naboth and King Ahab still has a message for all of us as we live on this earth.   

We all have certain heritage and tradition we come from.  We have a sense of pride in our family lineage and family tradition.  As we live in this world of changing values, we attempt to hold on to what makes us unique and special in our own mind.  Our society is quickly becoming a blur where everyone is the same without any uniqueness.  Our values are quickly absorbed by common value that dulls sharp edges and accept the lowest common denominator.  We can no longer espouse a particular belief for the fear of offending others.  So, we are becoming more like everyone else and eventually believe in nothing.  There are no absolutes and no principles by which we stand.  As time goes on, we will become homogenous group of people with similar worldly and secular values with no distinction.

We can see this happening already all around us.  We think we are becoming more tolerant society by accepting all values without any discernment.  When King Ahab approached Naboth about the vineyard, Naboth held on to his own belief system.  That plot of land represented that which is sacred as it was passed down from his fathers.  His vineyard meant something to him.  He was not going to give up on his family’s inheritance just because the most powerful man of the time in that land asked nicely about it. 

Naboth’s refusal to sell out should be noted as we live in this constantly changing world.  There are core beliefs and treasured values that we want to hold on to no matter how the times change.  Biblical truths and principles taught in the Word of God ought to never be compromised no matter what the pretext is.  In our current times, we are making compromises left and right to be seen as more tolerant and accepting of all manifestations of values and lifestyles that are contrary to what God teaches in His Word. 

Believers are quickly becoming irrelevant in this world as there are no difference between what we believe and what non believers espouse.  We can say Naboth was being inflexible and intolerant. After all it was only a plot of vineyard, one might say.  Why, he should have simply asked for a huge sum of money as compensation for that piece of land.  That vineyard was a symbol for all that Naboth believed and treasured.  It was not just a piece of land to him.  It was much more than that.  The belief system that we adhere to and hold on to in our own life is that vineyard which we hope we would not sell no matter who asks for it. 

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came 2,000 years ago to die on the cross for our sins.  We believe that we are sinners who deserve nothing more than utter condemnation.  Only by the grace of God, we have been saved from eternal condemnation.  This salvation that was purchased by Jesus Christ is the greatest inheritance we have in this life.  Without this inheritance, we have nothing and we are nothing.  Therefore when we compromise our inheritance, what do we have, nothing. 

There are many ways our adherence to this simple gift of faith is challenged today.  We are portrayed as inflexible and rigid when we would not compromise what we believe to be God’s truth concerning salvation.  Jesus did not promise us a life of prosperity and worldly success.  Yet, more people than ever are turning to that which they wish to hear.  Everyone seeks to be blessed whatever that means.  Many want to claim health and prosperity as signs that God has blessed them.  People want to believe that it is God’s will that they live prosperous life of health and wealth.  When their expectations are not achieved, they would conclude that their faith was lacking or that they must have done something wrong.  And unfortunately, many teachers would promote and perpetuate such thinking in people.

When we look at the life of Naboth, how would we evaluate it?  Was he a successful man?  Naboth lived and died in this passage without any other reference about him.  Look at verse 4 to see what Ahab does.

So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

Ahab went home sullen and angry because Naboth would not comply with his proposal.  When the righteousness stares down the evil, evil turns away.  When the powerful king of Samaria from his position of power offered Naboth an offer he should not have refused, Naboth stood firm and simply stared down King Ahab.  Naboth stood his ground for he was right in what he did.  King Ahab knew that he was not right in what he did.  He should not have coveted his neighbor’s land.  King Ahab was the evil one who went home sullen and angry.  And he lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. 

When evil cannot overcome the righteousness, it turns even more evil as we shall see in verses 5-7.  

His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?" He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' "   Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

When evil is refuted, it will not lie still but continue to pursue its evil ways.  If Ahab had been a righteous man and his offer was declined, he would not have pursued this matter any further.  He should have dropped it and simply accept Naboth’s answer.  But evil Ahab would not let this matter settle.  He was obsessed and determined to pursue this to the logical conclusion.  His wife Jezebel is also one who treads on evil path all her life.  She enables Ahab on this path of destruction.  She inquires of him as to why he is so sullen and will not eat.  And King Ahab answers her that Naboth had refused his offer.  For Jezebel, this whole incident is a non-issue.  She is the one who wields power for her own benefit and sees nothing wrong while doing this.  This is the mark of someone whose own life’s values are in complete contrast to what God teaches and what God fearing people hold dear to.  This is someone who has no regard for the path that God has commanded His children to walk on. 

We encounter people like Jezebel in our world today as well.  For these people, there are no values or principles by which they conduct themselves.  For these people, there are only more vineyards of other people they must acquire for their personal benefit no matter what they have to do to attain them.  The end justifies means for these people.  Jezebel is the type of person who instead of using her power to serve people, use her power to do her own bidding to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for evil.  She is emblematic of all those who are drunk with power not to do good for people but to do nothing but evil. 

Jezebel comforts King Ahab and admonishes him for behaving in such child like manner.  Obviously the words such as sullen and angry are words that we would attribute to kids who throw temper tantrum in a store for not getting what they want.  Jezebel is quick to point out that as the king of Israel, this behavior of King Ahab is unacceptable.  Her value system is not biblically based and so she sees nothing wrong with using the power of king’s position to achieve the goal.  So she sees nothing wrong with abuse of power.  So, she tells King Ahab that she will take care of the matter. Look at verses 8-10.

 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him.  In those letters she wrote: "Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.  But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."

She prescribes her brilliant plan to achieve her goal.  She used Ahab’s name to basically kill an innocent man, Naboth all because of his plot of vineyard which he refused to give up.  We would shake our head at such evil plan and execution of this plan.  Let’s stop here for a moment and think about how something like this can come about.  As much as we would denounce the evil of Ahab and Jezebel, there are other actors in this wicked and evil plan.

What about the elders, nobles and the two scoundrels?  Are they not also complicit in this plan devised by Jezebel? I am sure her reputation preceded her in that ancient time.  Everyone knew of the wickedness of this queen, Jezebel.  I am sure everyone knew what a fool King Ahab was and how he was easily manipulated by his evil queen, Jezebel.  Yet, when the time came for them to stand up and be counted, not one stood up.  They all went with the plan though they knew how evil and wicked this was. 

In our Christian life, it is not necessarily that majority rules the day.  Although there may not be too many truly committed Christians living in this day adhering to the values and principles taught in the Word of God, nevertheless Christians live as Christians no matter how tough life gets.  Christians are Christians regardless of the circumstances. 

Now that this evil plan has been hatched, we’ll see the conclusion in verses 11-14.

So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.  They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people.  Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth 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 and is dead."

The elders and nobles complied with Jezebel’s letters directing them what to do.  Elders and nobles are the leaders of their society in that ancient time.  They were to be the ones who set examples and guide people in the path of righteousness commanded by God and yet they were nothing more than puppets in the hand of their evil queen.  I am sure they knew about Naboth and that he was an honorable man.  But they were afraid of repercussion if they did not comply.  They also have things they have to protect from their own vineyards to their various properties.  They were well aware of Jezebel’s appetite for evil and how far she would go to achieve her goals.  So, they simply wilted and gave in to her whims. 

So the elders, nobles and the two scoundrels who lived in Naboth’s city banded together to bear false witness against Naboth and quickly carried out such unjust charges.  Under the false pretext of Naboth’s cursing both God and the king, they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.  An innocent man of the crimes falsely charged against him dies outside of the city without much fanfare.  Once the deed was done, they sent the word to Jezebel that it is done. 

This has been carried out so dismissively that we have to stop here and imagine the scene.  We don’t have any account of Naboth’s response.  Did Naboth scream and yell how this is so unjust and that he is being killed under false charges?  Does it really matter to these evil elders and nobles what the truth really is?  Truth is perhaps inconvenient or relative for these who are in position of power.  The stakes are high for them.  They have to protect their own interest even if it means joining this conspiracy to silence the truth.  Are these people showing the values of believers?  Is this how the believers or God fearing people are to live in this world? 

Even as believers, if our own interests are in jeopardy, are we willing to sell out?  In order to protect what belongs to us, shall we then sell our souls?  Out of the entire group of people in Naboth’s city, perhaps Naboth was one of few righteous people who lived and died by his beliefs.  As he was stoned under false charges, did he care that he was being murdered for what he believed?  As believers, are we so concerned about our life here on earth that we would do anything and everything to assure we are protected even if it means we must become partners with evil?

Would we characterize Naboth’s life as irrelevant or just a blip since we don’t know much about this man other than the fact that he was killed for his insisting he would not sell the measly plot of land?  Would we characterize Naboth as a rigid and inflexible man who foolishly brought on his own death by being so stubborn?  Some may say he was hard headed. 

Certain times bring out the true colors of the believers and non believers.  Such time may very well be upon us as we continue to live in our unstable world.  After the stoning of Naboth, I am sure the elders and nobles along with those who witnessed such an event must have known that they killed an innocent man to appease one evil queen.  What if they refused Jezebel’s overture?  What would have happened?  Perhaps she would have killed all of them.  Now, is that so bad?  Jesus died on the cross to attain eternal life for us.  Judas Iscariot bore false testimony against Jesus for few pieces of silver.  Would we consider Judas a successful businessman?    

When we truly believe that we are accountable to God for our life here on earth, we would not be afraid to stand up and be counted.  We would not compromise our Christian beliefs in order to appease values and lifestyle that are contrary to what God teaches us in His Word. 

Perhaps those elders and nobles lived a little longer than Naboth but would you consider that a huge achievement and accomplishment?  We don’t know their names but we will always remember Naboth.  He didn’t do a whole lot other than the fact that he died for his vineyard.  He died for what he believed.  Are we willing to die for what we believe?   Now, let us look at what Ahab does in verses 15-16.

 As soon as 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 that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead."  When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.

Now, Ahab can take the land that once belonged to Naboth.  Naboth was just a speed bump on the road.  Since that irritating and stubborn Naboth is dead, King Ahab got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.  In order to take someone else’s land, a man was killed.  But there is no sense of remorse in either Jezebel or Ahab.  These are people who have sold their souls.  There is no line which they will not cross in order to accomplish their goals.  Nothing matters to them. 

We will encounter this kind of people in our own journey here on earth.  There is nothing we can do when we encounter them.  They devise their wicked plans and trap the innocent and destroy them.  We can do nothing other than simply live out our Christian life without compromise no matter what the consequences are.  We can only be Christians regardless of our circumstances. 

We will not sell out our inheritance, the gift of faith no matter what that will cost us.  For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, we have the eternal life in His Kingdom.  It really does not matter how we live in our world today.  If we truly believe in the everlasting life, whether we are living or dying should not change that fact.  Whether we live healthy or sick should not matter.   Whether we live rich or poor should not matter.  We simply live as believers and that is all that we can do. 

Although the evil seems to have won the day, we see that is not necessarily true in verses 17-19. 

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:  "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.  Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "

God’s justice comes in the end.  God is not pleased with the deeds of the wicked ones.  And in His own time and in His own way, God will bring about His justice.  We cannot fathom what that is no matter what we think should be done.  We simply leave that in God’s hand.  God will do what He pleases in the end.  Through Elijah, God pronounces his judgment against Ahab and Jezebel. 

Naboth’s unsuspecting death showed depth of evil if not anything else of Ahab and Jezebel just as unsuspecting death of Abel showed depth of evil in Cain.  As we ponder about our own inheritance, are we prepared to pay ultimate price for that which we consider our most treasured inheritance?  Our inheritance is not a car or house but our faith in Jesus Christ.  In the face of evil staring us down to sell out, we would simply stand as Christians and face what may come knowing that our hope is in Jesus Christ and nothing else.