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1KINGS
CHAPTER 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, the king, found something near to his palacial home that he wanted. He wanted the vineyard that Naboth owned. There's nothing wrong with that. He wanted it, and he offered Naboth a price for it. It was a good price. Ahab said he would make sure that Naboth got a "BETTER" vineyard in return. Now Most folk would've taken Ahab's offer.
But Naboth loved his family heritage. He didn't want to lose the land that his forefathers had fought for and toiled over all those years. He had a simple integrity that just wouldn't allow him to sell that vineyard.
So Ahab respected that and went on his way. But when he got home he pouted and sulked, even to the point of depriving himself from food. WHY?

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

To get ATTENTION. He knew that his actions would arouse curiosity in his wife. And he also knew that she had no "scruples" (morals).
She came and found out what Ahab was sad about; then she promised to get the vineyard for him.
Ahab asked no questions. He was the king, why didn't he just TAKE the land and make Naboth swap for another vineyard? Because he KNEW that would bring disdain upon him. The people would KNOW, and he would be the gossip of the town for abusing his power.
Ahab also knew that Jezebel was "sneaky," and that she would get the job done. Then, if people talked, he could blame her.

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.

Jezebel used her power as queen to force the "elders and nobles" to falsely accuse Naboth and bring about his death.
They called a feast in mock honor of Naboth. Then they allowed two men (who had been hired) to come in and "bear false witness." The testimony these men gave was that Naboth committed the sin of blasphemy - which was punishable by death.
So they took Naboth out and stoned him to death.
(Let me interject a thought. When people don't want Christians around because of their "scruples" and morals, they DEFAME them and try to convince others that the Christians are NO GOOD!)

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.

After Jezebel told Ahab that Naboth was dead, he went to the vineyard to claim it. Evidently Naboth had no children, or they were too young to adequately care for the vineyard.

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.

God knows ALL things that are happening in this world. He knows about ALL things that are going on in our hearts and minds today.
Notice that in God's statement to Elijah, he says that AHAB is the one responsible for the murder. WOW!
Ahab wasn't physically the one who caused Naboth's death. But he was every bit as much guilty because he was the INITIATOR of it.
Friends, God is merciful, gracious and kind. But God is also very stringent in His judgment of mankind. In God's sight, a person who plots and manipulates wrongful action on the part of others is just as guilty of their action himself.

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.

When Elijah found Ahab, Ahab called him his "enemy." Christians take notice! When you give your life to Christ, and determine to live righteously for the Lord, you become the ENEMY to the world! Get PREPARED!
Elijah told Ahab the reason he was his "enemy." It was because Ahab had chosen to do WRONG. Ahab had been a very wicked king (see verses 25-26).
Elijah told Ahab that God said He would destroy all of Ahab's family. Not one son would remain to sit on the throne. Further, God had said, Jezebel would be desecrated by the dogs licking her blood. Actually the dogs ate her whole body (see 2Kings 9:34).
This is a HARSH statement that Elijah gave. One would think that Ahab would consider the POWER of God. After all, he had seen how Elijah had called upon God and there was NO RAIN. He had also seen how Elijah had called upon God and fire came down to consume a sacrifice. He had also been witness to the power of God in Elijah as he had killed 850 prophets in one day.
One would think that with all this SIGHT about FAITH, Ahab would repent and turn to God.

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.

Ahab DID repent! Isn't that amazing? Actually, it is MORE than amazing - it is SUPERNATURAL. It came by the power of God's Holy Spirit convicting Ahab.

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.

God told Elijah that because Ahab had repented, He would not cause the prophecy to happen until Ahab was dead.
God is merciful and kind. Repentance may remove some of the consequences of our sins. However, SOME consequences of sin are NOT removed.
God knew that Ahab's son would be wicked, and that He would have to correct that in the right time. But for now, he allowed Ahab to live.

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