I Kings Chapter 21
Please read: I Kings 21 –
What we read in this chapter will remind you of a little child’s temper tantrum. Ahab, the king of the norther kingdom, behaved like a spoiled brat when he didn’t get his way. He was already king of the largest portion of all the promised land, but he wanted a poor man’s vineyard for himself. He thought he could bribe this man into selling him his plot of land.
The land was important to the people. It had been divided between the tribes and then handed down to family groups and then to individual families. The land was kept in the family and handed down to heirs; it was not bought and sold. When the king was told no, his reaction was pitiful.
Let's Reflect
1. What type of land was it that Naboth owned that the king of Israel wanted for himself?
2. When Naboth would not give in to the king’s wishes how did the king react?
3. We then learn something about his wife Jezebel. In modern times we would say, “you can tell who wears the pants in that family.” This woman was pure evil. What did she promise to do for her husband?
4. Jezebel planned a fast, a false declaration that some evil had come upon Israel and they needed to get to the bottom of who was to blame. It was a round table of judgement so to speak. However, Jezebel did not play fairly. How did she set Naboth up to be the man accused of causing some calamity in Israel?
5. Notice the coldness of Jezebel when she was told that Naboth was dead from the stoning that occurred. And notice the reaction of Ahab, he did not care nor question the reasoning of Naboth’s stoning. He probably figured it out easily, but he did not care. What did Ahab do?
6. God had seen the murder of Naboth and He sent the prophet Elijah to deliver a message of judgement. The dogs licking up blood was an expression of an undignified death. Ahab had just learned that he was going to meet an undignified death for the sin that he and his wife committed. What did Elijah say would happen to Jezebel?
7. Verses 25 and 26 are an epitaph of Ahab’s life. This was an ugly legacy that one should not want to leave behind. God had said he was as evil as the Amorites who had been cast out of the promised land. (The same thing would later happen to Israel; they would be cast out for their disloyalty of God by worshipping other gods). Ahab upon hearing his judgement humbled himself. He realized that he had been caught in his sin by a holy God. It does not say that he fully repented, but that he humbled himself. God is so very merciful, and He said that He noticed how Ahab had humbled himself before Him. What did God tell Elijah that He would not do to Ahab?
