You are on page 1of 52

Ahab & Naboth's Vineyard (1 Kings 21)

Main Point: God is perfectly loving and perfectly just.


Key Verse:
I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with My people. I show great love, and I can
be trusted. I keep My promises to My people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. -
Exodus 34:b-7a CEV
Props: A large bunch of grapes
Background/Review (1 Kings 20)
Say: Last week we learned that God is a God of new beginnings. He seeks after us; He wants us
to turn from our sin and follow Him. Even when the prophet Elijah gave up and ran away, God
went after Him. God gently prodded Elijah to see that fearing the evil Jezebel and running away
was sin. But Elijah did not repent. Once again, God displayed His power before Elijahs eyes,
but Elijah still would not repent. So God appointed a new prophet for Elijah to train up. Soon,
Elisha would take Elijahs place.
The next chapter of the Bible, 1 Kings 20, centers around two wars. King Ahab, King of Israel,
was under attack by the King of Syria and 32 other kings combined! Though Ahab was an evil
king, God was faithful to the promises He had made to His people, the Israelites (Deuteronomy
20:10-13). God sent a prophet to tell Ahab, "The Lord says, 'Do you see this huge army? I will
hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' " (1 Kings 20:13) Not once,
but twice, God brought victory to Israel, even though the army they fought was almost twenty
times larger than their own army.
But even though God showed incredible grace and mercy to Ahab, Ahab did not follow Gods
law. Gods law said that when the Israelites defeated an enemy at war, every man must be killed
(Deuteronomy 20:13). Ahab did what was right in his own eyes. He made a treaty with the
enemy King of Syria and let him go free because he promised to give Ahab many cities. God
sent a prophet to speak to Ahab once again. This time, the news was not good for Ahab.
He told the king, "The Lord says, 'You have set a man free. But I had said he should be set apart
to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. So you must pay for his life with yours. You must
pay for his people's lives with the lives of your people.' "
The king of Israel was angry. He was in a bad mood. He went back to his palace in Samaria. - 1
Kings 20:42-43
King Ahab did not die right away, but his time was coming.
Ahab & Naboths Vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-16)
Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the
palace of King Ahab of Samaria. One day Ahab said to Naboth, Since your vineyard is so
convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a
better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.
But Naboth replied, The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed
down by my ancestors.
So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboths answer. The king went to bed with his
face to the wall and refused to eat! - 1 Kings 21:1-4 NLT
Say: Lets try to picture this scene. King Ahab wanted a piece of land to plant a garden. He
chose a vineyard right next to His palace. Ask: Who knows what a vineyard is used for?
Growing grapes. Teacher: Hold up a bunch of grapes. Say: A vineyard is land that is used to
grow grapes. But Naboth, the owner of the land, said he could not sell it. Naboth wasnt just
being stubborn here. He had a really good reason for refusing the King. Naboth was following
Gods orders. Back when God handed out the land to the twelve tribes of Israel, He forbid them
to sell or give their part of the land to another tribe or family (Leviticus 25:23).
King Ahab offered Naboth a better piece of land. Using human logic, Naboth would have been
better off taking the Kings offer. But Naboth was not doing what was right in his own eyes; he
was obeying God.
So King Ahab did not get what he wanted. We might imagine that a wealthy King might have
shook the mans hand, thanked him for his time, and rode off to find another piece of land. But
instead, this grown man stormed off, pouting! He probably looked a lot like this. Teacher: Make
a scowl face, sticking out your bottom lip with your arms crossed in a huff. Say: Okay - lets
see it. Everyone show me your best pouting face! Say: Thats it exactly! You all look like
toddlers who didnt get what you wanted! And that is exactly how King Ahab looked! He went
home, crawled in bed and refused to eat! That was no way for a King to behave!
Soon, his wife, Jezebel, came in. She asked what had made him so upset. Lets listen very
carefully to Ahabs answer.
PPT VERSE
I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused! Ahab told her. - 1 Kings
21:6 NLT
Ask: What was wrong with Ahabs answer? Listen for answers. Say: Look carefully at what
Ahab said. Ask: Was his statement TRUE? Yes. Ask: Was it the WHOLE truth? No. Say: Ahab
left out the most important part of the story. He didnt tell his wife why Naboth refused to sell the
land. We will see that this is going to cause a whole lot of trouble!
Application: There are many times in our lives when we may be tempted not to tell the whole
truth. If we have done something wrong, leaving out details might seem like a convenient way to
stay out of trouble. For example, what if you were playing baseball in your yard? When it was
your turn to bat, you closed your eyes and swung your hardest. Immediately you heard glass
breaking. The ball went right through your neighbors window, but no one was home at your
neighbors, so you hid the bat and didnt say a word. Later, your mom came and asked, Honey,
did you see what happened to the neighbors window? Since your eyes were closed, you
quickly reply, No. You may not have seen it, but you certainly knew what happened.
Or, at times, we might want to give a certain impression by leaving details out of our story.
Little Jacob might point to his sister and scream, She hit me! But the part that Jacob left out is
that he actually hit his sister first. Jacob wants to leave the impression that his sister is all in the
wrong, and he is completely blameless. This was the case with King Ahab. He gave the
impression that Naboth was just being stubborn, when the whole truth was that Naboth was
obeying God.
We must understand that a half-truth is not the truth at all. Truth matters, and as believers in
Jesus, who is the Truth, we should always tell the whole truth.
Say: With the impression that Naboth was stubborn and selfish, Jezebel decided to take matters
into her own hands.
His wife Jezebel said, "Is this how the King of Israel acts? Get up! Eat something! Cheer up. I'll
get you the vineyard of Naboth from Jezreel." - 1 Kings 21:7
Jezebel came up with an evil plan. She wrote a letter to the leaders of the town where Naboth
lived. She ordered that the leaders to call everyone in town together for a day of prayer. She said
to give Naboth a special seat, and then call in two bad men who would lie about Naboth, saying
that he had cursed God and cursed the King. She said that the townspeople must stone Naboth to
death. Jezebel signed the Kings name to the orders. She even stamped it with the Kings seal to
make it look official.
Sadly, since the order had been sealed with the Kings seal, it had to be followed. The leaders did
as they were told. The townspeople believed that Naboth had cursed God and the King. They
stoned him to death.
When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, You know the vineyard Naboth wouldnt sell
you? Well, you can have it now! Hes dead! So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of
Naboth to claim it. - 1 Kings 21:15-16 NLT
Note to Teacher: Jezebels plan is both ironic and disturbing. The irony is that she would falsely
accuse a man of cursing God when she had spent her entire life cursing God, and even murdering
His prophets. It is very interesting that even though she was not an Israelite, she knew enough
about Israelite law to use it against an Israelite. She knew that blasphemy bore the punishment of
death by stoning (Leviticus 24:14-16). It is indeed disturbing that she knows so much about the
God of Israel, she has seen His hand at work, and her gods had been proven to be false, yet, she
continued in her ways, without fear of the one true God.
Judgement On Ahab (1 Kings 21:17-26)
Say: God sent Elijah to Naboths vineyard to give King Ahab a VERY serious message. The
Lord was going to punish Ahab for being a part of Naboths murder.
Ahab said to Elijah, "My enemy! You have found me!"
"I have found you," he answered. "That's because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord says, 'I am going to bring horrible trouble
on you. I will destroy your children after you. I will cut off every male in Israel who is related to
you. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free... You have made me very angry. You have
caused Israel to commit sin.' " - 1 Kings 21:20-22
Elijah told Ahab that Jezebel would also be killed. These are some very strong words, but Ahab
had earned his punishment. God had blessed him with being made the earthly King of Gods
own people, and Ahab turned his back on God and all this was right. The Bible says, There was
never anyone like Ahab. He gave himself over to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord. His
wife Jezebel talked him into it. He acted in the most evil way. He worshiped statues of gods. (1
Kings 21:25-26a)
AHAB REPENTS (1 Kings 21:27-28)
Say: Ahab took Elijahs prophecy seriously. He tore his clothes and put on black clothes. This
was a sign of mourning, as if someone had died. Ahab stopped eating and began to act very
humble. God sent another message to Elijah about Ahab.
It said, "Have you seen how Ahab has made himself low in My sight? Because he has done that, I
will not bring trouble on him while he lives. But I will bring it on his royal house when his son is
king." - 1 Kings 21:29
God had already decreed a punishment - Ahab, Jezebel, and their sons would be destroyed. But
because Ahab finally bowed down to the Lord, and acted with humility, God would not punish
Ahabs sons until after Ahab had died.
In time, all that God had spoken came to pass. Ahab died in battle when the Lord decided it
should happen (1 Kings 22:20, 37). Jezebel died in the exact way Elijah had prophesied (1 Kings
21:23, 2 Kings 9:33-37). And eventually, all of Ahabs descendants were killed (2 Kings 10:11).
I want you to know that the Lord has spoken against Ahab's royal house. Not a word of what He
has said will fail. The Lord has done exactly what He promised through His servant Elijah." - 2
Kings 10:10
Application: In todays story, we see that God is just, and He is also loving. Another word for
just is fair. Like a good judge, God must punish sin. It would not be fair for a judge to allow
someone to break the law and not punish him. In the same way, God must punish sin. But this
makes God very sad (Genesis 6:6) because God loves people very much (1 John 4:8).
In the book of Exodus, God told Moses, I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with
My people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. I keep My promises to My people forever,
but I also punish anyone who sins. (Exodus 34:b-7a CEV)
As we saw, God was very patient with Ahab and Jezebel. He gave them many, many
opportunities to repent and turn to Him. But Ahab insisted on having things his way. He did not
give a second thought to Gods command about the land. Gods way is always best, but Ahab
and Jezebel thought that they knew better than God. Finally, the perfect and patient God had had
enough. He decreed the punishment for this prideful, selfish, idol-worshipping couple. Notice
that Ahab and Jezebels sin brought terrible consequences for their children. They lived wicked
lives in front of their children. So their children followed their wicked behavior, and they too
would be punished (1 Kings 22:52, 2 Kings 2-3). Our sin ALWAYS ruins things, and it almost
always affects other people.
Yet, even after all of the horrible things that Ahab had done, God showed mercy to him because
he repented of his sin. God did not bring punishment to Ahabs sons while Ahab was alive. Even
though God is just, and must punish sin because He is holy, He is also completely loving, giving
us every opportunity to turn from our sin, and turn to Him.
There is no greater proof of this than the fact that God sent His Son, Jesus, to save us (John
3:16). Just like Ahab, each one of us has done evil in Gods sight, and we deserve to be punished
by our just God (Romans 3:23). But God loves us so much, that He sent Jesus to pay for our sin.
There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Only our faith in Jesus takes our sin away and
brings us back to God.
PPT KEY VERSE
Key Verse:
I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with My people. I show great love, and I can
be trusted. I keep My promises to My people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. -
Exodus 34:b-7a CEV
PPT MAIN POINT
Main Point: God is perfectly loving and perfectly just.
Ahab and Naboth




1 Kings xxi. 2, 3. 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. And Naboth
said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
You heard to-day read for the first lesson, the story of Naboth and King Ahab. Most of you know
it well. Naboth's vineyard has passed into a proverb for something which we covet.
It is good that it should be so. We cannot know our Bible too well; we cannot have Bible words
and Bible thoughts too much worked into our ways of talking and thinking about everyday
matters. As far as I can see, the best days of England, the best days of every Christian country of
which I ever read, have been days when men were not ashamed of their Bibles; when they were
ready to live by their Bibles; to ask advice of their Bibles about buying and selling, about making
war and peace, about all the business of life; and were not ashamed to quote texts of Scripture in
the parliament, and in the market, and in the battle-field, as God's law, God's rule, God's word
about the matter in hand, which was, therefore, sure to be the right word and the right rule.
People are grown ashamed of doing so now-a-days; but that does not alter the matter one jot. We
may deny God, but He cannot deny Himself. His laws are everlasting, and He is ruling and
judging us by them now, all day long, just as much as He ruled and judged those Jews by them of
old. The God of Abraham is our God; the God of Moses is our God; the God of Ahab and
Naboth is our God; neither He nor His government are altered in the least since their time, and
they never will alter for ever, and ever, and ever; and if we do not choose to believe that now in
this life, we shall be made to believe it by some very ugly and painful schooling in the life to
come.
What laws of God, now, can we learn from this story?
First, we may learn what a sacred thing property is. That a man's possessions (if they be justly
come by) belong to him, in the sight of God as well as in the sight of man, and that God will
uphold and avenge the man's right.
Naboth, you see, stands simply on his right to his own property. 'The Lord forbid it me, that I
should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.' I do not think that he meant that God had
actually forbidden him: it seems to have been only some sort of oath which he used. He may
certainly have had reasons for thinking it wrong to part with his lands; hurtful, perhaps, to his
family after him. Yet, as Ahab had promised him a better vineyard for it, or its worth in money, I
cannot help thinking that Naboth's reason was the one which shows on the face of his words. It
was the inheritance of his fathers, this vineyard. They had all worked in it, generation after
generation; perhaps, according to the Jewish custom, they were buried somewhere in it; at least,
it had been theirs and now was his; he had worked in it, and played in it-- perhaps since he was a
child--and he loved it; it was part and parcel of his father's house to him, a sacred spot.
And so it should be. It is a holy feeling which makes a man cling to the bit of land which he has
inherited from his parents, even to the cottage, though it be only a hired one, where he has lived
for many a year, and where he has planted and tilled, perhaps with some that he loved, who are
now dead and gone, or grown up and gone out into the world, till the little old cottage-garden is
full of remembrances to him of past joys and past sorrows. The feeling which makes a man cling
to his home and to his own land is a good feeling, and breeds good in the man. It makes him
respect himself; it keeps him from being reckless and unsettled. It is a feeling which should not
be broken through. It is seldom pleasant to see land change hands; it is seldom pleasant to see
people turned out of their cottages. It must often be so, but let it be as seldom as possible. One
likes to see a family take root in a place, and grow and thrive there, one generation after another;
and you will find, my friends, that families do take root and thrive in a place just in proportion as
they fear God and do righteousness. The Psalms tell you, again and again, that the way to abide
in the land, and prosper in it, is to trust in the Lord and be doing good; and that the wicked are
soon rooted out, and their names perish out of the land. One sees that come true daily.
But to return to Naboth. He loved his own land, and therefore he had a right to keep it. We may
say it was but a fancy of his, if he could have a better vineyard, or the worth of it in money.
Remember, at least, that God respected that fancy of his, and justified it, and avenged it. When
(after Naboth's death) Elijah accused Ahab, in God's name, he put two counts into the
indictment; for Ahab had committed two sins. 'Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?'
Killing was one sin; taking possession was another.
And so Ahab learnt two weighty and bitter lessons. He learnt that God's Law stands for ever,
though man's law be broken or be forgotten by disuse. For you must understand, that these Jews
were a free people, even as we are. They were not like the nations round about them, or as the
Russians are now--slaves to their king, and holding their property only at his will. The law of
Moses had made them a free people, who held their property each man from God, by God's Law,
which had said, 'Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet. Cursed is he who removes his
neighbour's landmark.' And their kings were bound to govern by Moses' law, just as our kings
and rulers are bound to govern by the old constitutions of England, and to do equal justice by
rich and poor. But the wicked kings of Israel were trying to break through that law, and make
themselves tyrants and despots, such as the Czar of Russia is now. First, Jeroboam began by
trying to wean his people from Moses' law, by preventing their going up to worship at Jerusalem,
and making them worship instead the golden calves at Dan and at Bethel. For he knew that if he
could make idolaters of them, he should soon make slaves of them; and he succeeded; and the
kingdom of Israel grew more miserable year by year; and now Ahab, his wicked successor, was
breaking down the laws of property and wrongfully taking away his subjects' lands. Perhaps he
said in his heart, 'I am king; there is no law stronger than I. I have a right to do what I like.' If he
did so, he found that he was mistaken. He found that though he forgot Moses' law, God had not;
that the law stood there still, because it was founded on eternal justice, which proceeds for ever
out of the mouth of God; and by the Law, which he had chosen to forget, he was judged; by the
Law of God, which deals equal justice to rich and poor, which is, like God Himself, no acceptor
of persons; but says, 'Thou shalt not covet,' to the king upon his throne as sternly as to the beggar
on the dunghill.
And that Law stands still, my friends, doubt it not. Thanks to the wisdom and justice of our
forefathers who built the laws of England on those old Ten Commandments, which hang for a
sign thereof in every church to this day. Thanks to them, I say, and to God, the root of the law of
England is, equal justice between man and man, be he high or low; and it is a thing to bless God
for every day of our lives, that here the poor man's little is as safe as the rich man's wealth: but
there is many a sin of oppression, many a sin of covetousness, my friends, which no law of man
can touch. Make laws as artfully as you will, bad men can always slip through them, and escape
the spirit of them, while they obey the letter: and I suppose it will be so to the world's end; and
that, let the laws be as perfect as they may, if any man wishes to cheat or oppress his neighbour,
he will surely be able to work his wicked will in some way or other. Well then, my friends, if
man's law is weak, God's is not;--if man's law has flaws and gaps in it, through which
covetousness can creep, God's has none;--even if (which God forbid) man's law died out, and
sinners were left to sin without fear of punishment, still God's Law stands sure, and the eye of
the living God slumbers not, and the hand of the living God never grows weary, and out of the
everlasting heaven His voice is saying, day and night, for ever, 'I endure for ever. I sit on the
throne judging right; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of My kingdom. I judge the world
in justice, and minister true judgment unto the people. I also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
even a refuge in due time of trouble.'
O hear those words, my friends! hear and obey, if you love life, and wish to see good days; and
never, never say a thing is right, simply because the law cannot punish you for it. Never say in
your hearts when you are tempted to be hard, cruel, covetous, over-reaching, 'What harm? I
break no law by it.' There is a law, whether you see it or not; you break a law, whether you
confess it or not; a law which is as a wall of iron clothed with thunder, though man's law be but a
flimsy net of thread; and that law, and not any Acts of Parliament, shall judge you in the day
when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, and every man shall receive the due reward of
the deeds done in the body, not according as they were allowed or not by the Statute Book, but
according as they were good or evil.
Another lesson we may learn from this story: that if we give way to our passions, we give way to
the Devil also. Ahab gave way to his passion; he knew that he was wrong; for when Naboth
refused to sell him the vineyard, he did not dare openly to rob him of it; he went to his house
heavy of heart, and fretted, like a spoilt child, because he could not get what he wanted. It was
but a little thing, and he might have been content to go without it. He was king of all Israel, and
what was one small vineyard more or less to him? But prosperity had spoilt him; he must needs
have every toy on which he set his heart, and he was weak enough to fret that he could not get
more, when he had too much already. But he knew that he could not get it; that, king as he was,
Naboth's property was his own, and that God's everlasting Law stood between him and the thing
he coveted. Well for him if he had been contented with fretting. But, my friends--and be you rich
or poor, take heed to my words--whenever any man gives way to selfishness, and self-seeking, to
a proud, covetous, envious, peevish temper, the Devil is sure to glide up and whisper in his ear
thoughts which will make him worse--worse, ay, than he ever dreamt of being. First comes the
flesh, and then the Devil; and if the flesh opens the door of the heart, the Devil steps in quickly
enough. First comes the flesh: fleshly, carnal pride at being thwarted; fleshly, carnal longing for
a thing, which longs all the more for it because one cannot have it; fleshly, carnal peevishness
and ill-temper, at not having just the pleasant thing one happens to like. That is a state of mind
which is a bird-call for all the devils; and when they see a man in that temper, they flock to him,
I believe, as crows do to carrion. It is astonishing, humbling, awful, my friends, what horrible
thoughts will cross one's mind if once one gives way to that selfish, proud, angry, longing
temper; thoughts of which we are ashamed the next moment; temptations to sin at which we
shudder, they seem so unlike ourselves, not parts of ourselves at all. When the dark fit is past,
one can hardly believe that such wicked thoughts ever crossed one's mind. I don't think that they
are part of ourselves; I believe them to be the whispers of the Devil himself; and when they pass
away, I believe that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who drives them away. But if any man gives way
to them, determines to keep his sullenness, and so gives place to the Devil; then those thoughts
do not pass; they take hold of a man, possess him, as the Bible calls it, and make him in his
madness do things which--alas! who has not done things in his day, of which he has repented all
his life after?--things for which he would gladly cut off his right hand for the sake of being able
to say, 'I never did that?' But the thing is done--done to all eternity: he has given place to the
Devil, and the Devil has made him do in five minutes work which he could not undo in five
thousand years; and all that is left is, when he comes to himself, to cast himself on God's
boundless mercy, and Christ's boundless atonement, and cry, 'My sins are like scarlet, Thou
alone canst make them whiter than snow: my sin is ever before me; only let it not be ever before
Thee, O God! Punish me, if thou seest fit; but oh forgive, for there is mercy with Thee, and
infinite redemption!' And, thanks be to God's great love, he will not cry in vain. Yet, oh, my
friends, do not give place to the Devil, unless you wish, forgiven or not, to repent of it to the
latest day you live.
And this was Ahab's fate. He knew, I say, that he was wrong; he knew that Naboth's property
was his own, and dare not openly rob him of it; and he went to his house, heavy of heart, and
refused to eat; and while he was in such a temper as that, the Devil lost no time in sending an evil
spirit to him. It was a woman whom he sent, Jezebel, Ahab's own wife: but she was, as far as we
can see, a woman of a devilish spirit, cruel, proud, profligate, and unjust, as well as a worshipper
of the filthy idols of the Canaanites. Ahab's first sin was in having married this wicked heathen
woman: now his sin punished itself; she tempted him through his pride and self- conceit; she
taunted him into sin: 'Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? I will give thee the vineyard
of Naboth.' You all remember how she did so; by falsely accusing Naboth of blasphemy. Ahab
seems to have taken no part in Naboth's murder. Perhaps he was afraid; but he was a weak man,
and Jezebel was a strong and fierce spirit, and ruled him, and led him in this matter, as she did in
making him worship idols with her; and he was content to be led. He was content to let others do
the wickedness he had not courage to carry out himself. He forgot that, as is well said, 'He who
does a thing by another, does it by himself;' that if you let others sin for you, you sin for yourself.
Would to God, my friends, that we would all remember this! How often people wink at wrong-
doing in those with whom they have dealings, in those whom they employ, in their servants, in
their children, because it is convenient to them. They shut their eyes, and their hearts too, and say
to themselves, 'At all events, it is his doing and not mine; and it is his concern; I am not
answerable for other people's sins. I would not do such a thing myself, certainly; but as it is done,
I may as well make the best of it. If I gain by it, I need not be so very sharp in looking into the
matter.' And so you see men who really wish to be honest and kindly themselves, making no
scruple of profiting by other people's dishonesty and cruelty. Now the law punishes the receiver
of stolen goods almost as severely as the thief himself: but there are many receivers of stolen
goods, my friends, whom the law cannot touch. The world, at times, seems to me to be full of
them; for every one, my friends, who hushes up a cruel or a dishonest matter, because he himself
is a gainer by it, he is no better than the receiver of stolen goods, and he will find in the day of
the Lord, that the sin will lie at his door, as Jezebel's sin lay at Ahab's. There was no need for
Ahab to say, 'Jezebel did it, and not I.' The prophet did not even give him time to excuse himself:
'Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?' By taking possession of
Naboth's vineyard, and so profiting by his murder, he made himself partaker in that murder, and
had to hear the terrible sentence, 'In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall
lick thy blood, even thine.'
Oh, my friends, whatsoever you do, keep clean hands and a pure heart. If you touch pitch, it will
surely stick to you. Let no gain tempt you to be partaker of others men's sins; never fancy that,
because men cannot lay the blame on the right person, God cannot. God will surely lay the
burden on the man who helped to make the burden; God will surely require part payment from
the man who profited by the bargain; so keep yourselves clear of other men's sins, that you may
be clear also of their condemnation.
So Ahab had committed a horrible and great sin, and had received sentence for it, and now, as I
said before, there was nothing to be done but to repent; and he did so, after his fashion.
Ahab, it seems, was not an utterly bad man; he was a weak man, fond of his own pleasure, a
slave to his own passions, and easily led, sometimes to good, but generally to evil. And God did
not execute full vengeance on him: his repentance was a poor one enough; but such as it was, the
good and merciful God gave him credit for it as far as it went, and promised him that the worst
part of his sentence, the ruin of his family, should not come in his time. But still the sentence
against him stood, and was fulfilled. Not long after, as we read in the second lesson, he was
killed in battle, and that not bravely and with honour (for if he had been, that would have been
but a slight punishment, my friends), but shamefully by a chance shot, after he had disguised
himself, in the cowardice of his guilty conscience, and tried to throw all the danger on his ally,
good King Jehoshaphat of Judah; 'and they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the
dogs licked up his blood, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah the
prophet.'
So ends one of the most clear and terrible stories in the whole Bible, of God's impartial justice.
May God give us all grace to lay it to heart! We are all tempted, as Ahab was; rich or poor, our
temptation is alike to give place to the Devil, and let him lead us into dark and deep sin, by
giving way to our own fancies, longings, pride, and temper. We are all tempted, as Ahab was, to
over-reach our neighbours in some way; I do not mean always in cheating them, but in being
unfair to them, in caring more for ourselves than for them; thinking of ourselves first, and of
them last; trying to make ourselves comfortable, or to feed our own pride, at their expense. Oh,
my friends, whenever we are tempted to be selfish and grasping, be sure that we are opening a
door to the very Devil of hell himself, though he may look so smooth, and gentle, and
respectable, that perhaps we shall not know him when he comes to us, and shall take his counsels
for the counsel of an angel of light. But be sure that if it is selfishness which has opened the door
of our heart, not God, but the Devil, will come in, let him disguise himself as cunningly as he
will; and our only hope is to flee to Him in whom there was no selfishness, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who came not to do His own will, but His Father's; not to glorify Himself, but His Father; not to
save His own life, but to sacrifice it freely, for us, His selfish, weak, greedy, wandering sheep.
Pray to Him to give you His Spirit, that glorious spirit of love, and duty, and self- sacrifice, by
which all the good deeds on earth are done; which teaches a man not to care about himself, but
about others; to help others, to feel for others, to rejoice in their happiness, to grieve over their
sorrows, to give to them, rather than take from them--in one word, The Holy Spirit of God,
which may He pour out on you, and me, and all mankind, that we may live justly and lovingly,
as children of one just and loving Father in heaven.

MINISTRY-TO-CHILDREN
Free help for your children's ministry
Lesson: Israels Northern Kings King Ahab
Oct 11th by Kelly Henderson -- PRINT -- EMAIL
In the divided kingdom, none of the northern kings were
recorded as righteous in Gods eyes. They were all wicked and led their people to sin. Ahab is
usually taught when covering the study of Gods prophet Elijah. From this lesson about Ahab
students discover that Gods word reveals His truth and instructs people how to live a life that
pleases Him. Sin blinds a person to the truth and causes him to walk in darkness.
This lesson is only a guide to help you to prepare for your class. It was created for older students
but can be adapted for your individual needs. Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this
series.
Bible Story Title: Israels Northern Kings (Part 2 King Ahab)
Bible Passage: 1 Kings 21
Target Age Group: Age 9 11 (U.S. 3rd 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: PRINT this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this childrens Bible
lesson. Click here to respond
Supply List: Bibles for each student to follow along in the Bible lesson, sun glasses, clear
glasses, (or scarves if you do not have the glasses), post-it notes, pen/pencil, lunch bag, slips of
paper
Learning Goal: Students will learn that unless a person repents, sin blinds his/her heart from
Gods truth leading to further darkness with each sinful choice.
Learning Activity #1: Object lesson of how sin blinds our heart. Take a pair of sun glasses.
(Another option is to use light-colored scarves that can be seen through. Each time a sin is
mentioned add another scarf causing it to be harder to see clearly.) Choose volunteer to wear
sunglasses. Ask students for examples of sinful choices (lying, stealing, etc.) Write the sin on a
post-it note and place each example of sin on the lenses of the sunglasses. Discuss how when a
person chooses to sin and not turn from that sin it becomes easier to sin. If a person lies then it
becomes easier to steal. Add more post-it notes of the effects of going deeper into darkness by
continuing to disobey Gods truth.
Gods enemy Satan has blinded the eyes of those who have not been saved. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
When a person repents and turns from their sins and puts their faith in Jesus God removes the
blindness from their eyes. (2 Corinthians 3:15-16) Remove the post-it covered sunglasses and
replace with regular glasses. Now the person can see clearly and walk in the Light of Gods
truth.
When people become believers they still sin. If he/she doesnt repent and turn from that sin
his/her heart becomes calloused to the Holy Spirits conviction. By continuing in sin its like
exchanging the clear glasses to put on sunglasses. At first you dont really notice that you are
not walking in Gods pure light. Little by little each little sin keeps you from fully enjoying the
life that God wants you to have. The person that chooses to continue to allow sin into his/her life
doesnt lose the gift of eternal life. He/she loses the power to effectively point others to Jesus
and will miss out on the many blessings of walking in a close relationship with Jesus. A true
believer who continues to sin can expect Gods discipline. God will discipline His child for their
disobedience. (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Learning Activity #2: Grab bag with Ahab facts. The focus of the story is going to be in
chapter 21. This activity enables students to know that King Ahabs past choices of
disobedience led him to further walk in darkness instead of obedience to God. Make cards or
slips of paper with the following facts about Ahab (add or subtract as many as you need for your
class):
King Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of the kings before him. (1 Kings 16:30)
King Ahab married Jezebel who was not an Israelite and an idol worshipper and practiced
witchcraft. (2 Kings 9:22)
King Ahab built a temple in Samaria so the people could worship Baal. (1 Kings 16:32)
King Ahab allowed Jezebel to kill the Lords prophets during the 3 year famine. (1 Kings 18:4)
King Ahab told Jezebel that Elijah killed all the false prophets with the sword and she planned to
kill him. (1 Kings 19:2)
Bible Lesson: Israels Northern Kings (Part 2 King Ahab)
(Introduce lesson with Ahab grab bag facts.)
Lets open our Bibles to 1 Kings 21. Choose volunteers to read 1-3. What does Ahab want?
(Naboths vineyard) Why? (It was close to his palace and he wanted to make it into a vegetable
garden) How was King Ahab going to pay for the vineyard? (He was going to give him a better
vineyard or pay whatever Naboth asked)
The story recorded in Gods Word starts out on a good note. King Ahab wanted something and
asked for it.
Lets read Naboths answer to King Ahabs question in verse 3. When God delivered His people
from Egypt, He led them to the land He promised to give them. (Show a map ) All the tribes
except the Levites were given a portion of land called an inheritance. God recorded in His word
the requirements of each tribes portion of land. No inheritance in Israel is to pass from tribe to
tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers. Numbers 36:7
Naboths response was out of reverence and obedience to Gods commands. He was not being
selfish in keeping his property so King Ahab could not have it. He had a God-given right to keep
his land and not sell it.
King Ahab did respect Gods laws and had proven himself rebellious to Gods commands. His
disobedience darkened his perspective of how he should be living his life.
Read verse 4. What was Ahabs attitude about Naboths response? Sullen means showing
irritation by a gloomy silence or reserve. How many of you have ever been sullen because you
didnt get your way? This attitude is common with very small children and with maturity a
person should put off this poor attitude that doesnt please the Lord. Ahab was acting like a little
child by pouting because he couldnt have Naboths vineyard.
Because Ahab has added sin upon sin in his life his heart is blind to the truth of Gods word. He
is not able to recognize the main sin that is causing this childish attitude. The main sin that Ahab
is committing against God is covetousness. (Exodus 20:17) The sin of covetousness was like a
seed that was planted in Ahabs heart. He did not repent of that sin and turn away from it. As a
result the sin grew like a tree and brought forth fruit which were his words and his actions.
When sin is allowed to grow in our hearts it will come out in our words and actions. (Matthew
12:34-35, Luke 6:45)
(Verses 7-16) When Jezebel finds out why Ahab is in a bad mood she takes matters into her own
hands. She has Naboth (an innocent man) put to death. Her husband can now own the vineyard
he wanted.
Before this day arrived Ahab made sinful choices that placed him in a situation that caused an
innocent man to be murdered so he could have his way. The choice that led him on this sinful
path began when he married an ungodly woman (Jezebel) who was not an Israelite.
(Deuteronomy 7:3-4) Gods told His people not to marry anyone who was not an Israelite
because they would turn their hearts away from the One True God and they would worship false
gods.
As children you most likely arent planning on getting married any time soon. It is important to
remember that when you are old enough that if you are a believer you should not marry
someone who is not. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) A truth that you can apply at any age of your life is
who you choose to spend most of your time with. You should choose friends that walk
according to Gods truth because bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33
As we study Gods word we should always look for His attributes (character traits). We are
going to finish our lesson by looking at two attributes of God that are seen in these last verses.
First, we see that God is a righteous judge. Lets look at verses 11-13. Two men who did not
have good reputations (scoundrels) falsely accused Naboth and he was put to death. From a
human point of view this seems so unfair. It looks like the wicked get away with murder.
However, the good news is that God sees everything! He saw what happened to Naboth and sent
His prophet Elijah to Ahab to tell him what his punishment will be for his wickedness. (Verses
17-19)
God can be trusted to take care of the unfair things that happen in our lives.
The second attribute we see again in our study of Israels kings is Gods mercy. God showed
Ahab kindness by being patient with him in all of his wickedness. God did not have to allow
Ahab to continue to live and lead the people of the Northern kingdom to sin. God showed mercy
by sending His prophets with His truth. Gods truth was revealed to Ahab. He was without
excuse for living a wicked life because God was shining His light of truth to allow Ahab to turn
away from his sin and live a life that pleased the Lord.
Each time we hear Gods word He is leading us to the light of His truth. How we respond to His
truth will determine if we will walk with a clear vision of a life that pleases God or a life that is
darkened and continues to sin.
If you have never been saved God wants you to know that He loves you so much that He sent
His Son Jesus to deliver you from your sins. Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again
the third day so all who believe in Him can be saved and have eternal life.
If you have been saved the power of the Holy Spirit will help you overcome the battle over sin in
your life. Whatever sin you struggle with repent (turn away), ask God to forgive you. Ask Him
to empower you with His Holy Spirit to overcome the sin you struggle with.
Close in prayer. Father, help us to respond by obeying what you taught us today. Help us to turn
away from any sinful choices we are making so we can walk in Your light. In Jesus Name we
pray, Amen.
Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good
character.
Review Questions:
1. What did Ahab want from Naboth? (His vineyard)
2. Why did Ahab want Naboths vineyard? (He wanted to make a vegetable garden)
3. Why did Naboth say no? (The land was his inheritance and he was under no obligation to sell it)
4. How did Ahab respond to Naboths answer? (He was sullen)
5. What did Jezebel do so Ahab could have what he wanted? (She had Naboth murdered)
6. What changes do you need to make so you are not allowing sin to blind you to Gods truth?
7. How has God shown you mercy this week?
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story





Bible Stories from the
New Testament
Bible Study Home
Bible Stories from the
Old Testament
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for Children and Adults
This famous What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for Adults, Teens and Children about Ahab and Naboth is a free, printable Bible
Study resource which can be read by teens or adults or used at Sunday School for Christian children and young kids. Enjoy this free, printable
short Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for adults, teens, young children and kids taken from the Old Testament.
Free Bible Lessons on Bible Stories
Please click Free Bible Lessons to access a Bible lesson on this Bible story for children.
Printable Ahab and Naboth Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story
I Kings xxi: 1, to 29
King Ahab's home was at Samaria, the capital of the kingdom. But he had also a palace at Jezreel,
which overlooked the great plain of Esdraelon. And beside Ahab's palace at Jezreel was a vineyard,
belonging to a man named Naboth. Ahab wished to own this vineyard, and he said to Naboth, "Let
me have your vineyard, which is near my house. I would like to make of it a garden for vegetables. I
will give you a better vineyard in place of it, or I will pay you the worth of it in money."

But Naboth answered the king, "This vineyard has belonged to my father's family for many
generations, and I am not willing to give it up or to leave it."

Ahab was very angry when he heard this. He came into his house, and refused to eat; but lay down on
his bed, and turned his face to the wall. His wife Jezebel came to him, and said, "Why are you so sad?
What is troubling you?"

And Ahab answered her, "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard, or to let me give him another
vineyard for it, and he would not."

Then Jezebel said to him, "Do you indeed rule over the kingdom of Israel? Rise up, and eat your
dinner, and enjoy yourself. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth." Then Queen Jezebel sat down,
and wrote a letter in Ahab's name, and sealed it with the king's seal. And in the letter she wrote, "Let
the word be given out that a meeting of the men of Jezreel is to be held, and set Naboth up before all
the people. Have ready two men, no matter how worthless and wicked they may be, who will swear
that they heard Naboth speak words of cursing against God and against the king. Then take Naboth
out, and stone him with stones until he is dead."

Such was the fear of Queen Jezebel among all the people, that they did as she gave command. They
held a meeting, and set Naboth up in presence of the people; then they brought in two men, who told
lies, declaring that they had heard Naboth speak words of cursing against God and against the king;
and then they dragged Naboth out of the city, and stoned him, and killed him. Afterward they sent
word to Queen Jezebel that Naboth was dead, and Jezebel said to Ahab, "Now you can go and take as
your own the vineyard of Naboth in Jezreel; for Naboth is no longer living; he is dead."

Then Ahab rose in his chariot from Samaria to Jezreel, and with him were two of his captains, one
named Jehu, and another named Bidkar. Just as they were riding in the vineyard that had been
Naboth's, suddenly Elijah, the prophet, with his mantle of skin, stood before them.

Ahab was startled as he saw Elijah, and he called out, "Have you found me, O my enemy?"

"I have found you," answered Elijah, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the
Lord. In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick up your own blood. I will
bring evil upon you, and will sweep you away; and I will cut off every man-child from Ahab; and I
will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. And because your wife,
Jezebel, has stirred you up to sin, she shall die, and the wild dogs of the city shall eat the body of
Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

When Ahab heard these words of Elijah he saw how wickedly he had acted, and he felt sorrow for his
sin. He put on sackcloth, and fasted, and sought for mercy. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah,
saying, "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me, and shows sorrow for his sin? Because
of this, I will not bring the evil in his lifetime, but after he is dead, I will bring it upon his children."
.

Ahab and Naboth
Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard from Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children - The Bible Story of Ahab and Naboth
This Ahab and Naboth Bible Story was written in simple words by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut and taken from Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children
which was published in 1904. The book is also known as Harbut's Story of the Bible (Told for young and Old). Harbut's Story of the Bible
contains the famous and great stories in their connected order forming a continuous history of the Bible and its greatest stories, including the
Ahab and Naboth Bible story, which is suitable for adults and teens, young children and kids, Catholic or Protestant. This What Ahab Paid for
His Vineyard Bible Story is part of a series of famous Bible Stories. This Ahab and Naboth Bible Story from the Old Testament is independent
of all the others and can be read separately enabling parents of Sunday School teachers to tell the stories randomly or in the order in which the
stories appear in the Christian Holy Bible.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for Children, Teens and Adults
Enjoy this What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for adults, teens, children and young kids about Ahab and Naboth. The simple words
used in the Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for Adults, Teens, Children and little kids about Ahab and Naboth are an ideal resource for
Protestant or Catholic Christian parents and Christian Sunday School teachers to tell the famous and great stories of the Bible including What
Ahab Paid for His Vineyard inspired from the scriptures of the Bible about Ahab and Naboth. The simple words of this great Biblical story
about Ahab and Naboth may also be used for preschool kids. Tell the What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for Adults, Teens and
Children about Ahab and Naboth found in the Holy Bible.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story - A Free Christian Bible Study Resource
We hope that this free What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth will provide useful for Bible Study ideas for
adults, teens, children and young kids . This short Old Testament Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth for children and young kids together
with tools, activities, aids and materials on this website are designed to be used by an individual or a Christian Bible study group for Bible
lessons for young children. This Old Testament Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth will also prove useful as the basis for fun Sunday School
lessons for Christian children and small kids. All information on this What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth is
free to be used as an educational Christian Bible Study resource for adults, teens, young children and little kids.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard

Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for Children
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for
young children and small kids - a free Bible Study
resource
Read this story to young children or little kids
Free activity for learning about the Bible the Ahab and
Naboth Bible Story for young children and small kids
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for
children by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children - What Ahab Paid
for His Vineyard
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story from the Old Testament

What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for Children and Adults
This famous What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for Adults, Teens and Children about
Ahab and Naboth is a free, printable Bible Study resource which can be read by teens or adults
or used at Sunday School for Christian children and young kids. Enjoy this free, printable short
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for adults, teens, young children and kids taken from the Old
Testament.
Free Bible Lessons on Bible Stories
Please click Free Bible Lessons to access a Bible lesson on this Bible story for children.
Printable Ahab and Naboth Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story
I Kings xxi: 1, to 29
King Ahab's home was at Samaria, the capital of the kingdom. But he had also a palace at Jezreel,
which overlooked the great plain of Esdraelon. And beside Ahab's palace at Jezreel was a vineyard,
belonging to a man named Naboth. Ahab wished to own this vineyard, and he said to Naboth, "Let
me have your vineyard, which is near my house. I would like to make of it a garden for vegetables. I
will give you a better vineyard in place of it, or I will pay you the worth of it in money."

But Naboth answered the king, "This vineyard has belonged to my father's family for many
generations, and I am not willing to give it up or to leave it."

Ahab was very angry when he heard this. He came into his house, and refused to eat; but lay down on
his bed, and turned his face to the wall. His wife Jezebel came to him, and said, "Why are you so sad?
What is troubling you?"

And Ahab answered her, "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard, or to let me give him another
vineyard for it, and he would not."

Then Jezebel said to him, "Do you indeed rule over the kingdom of Israel? Rise up, and eat your
dinner, and enjoy yourself. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth." Then Queen Jezebel sat down,
and wrote a letter in Ahab's name, and sealed it with the king's seal. And in the letter she wrote, "Let
the word be given out that a meeting of the men of Jezreel is to be held, and set Naboth up before all
the people. Have ready two men, no matter how worthless and wicked they may be, who will swear
that they heard Naboth speak words of cursing against God and against the king. Then take Naboth
out, and stone him with stones until he is dead."

Such was the fear of Queen Jezebel among all the people, that they did as she gave command. They
held a meeting, and set Naboth up in presence of the people; then they brought in two men, who told
lies, declaring that they had heard Naboth speak words of cursing against God and against the king;
and then they dragged Naboth out of the city, and stoned him, and killed him. Afterward they sent
word to Queen Jezebel that Naboth was dead, and Jezebel said to Ahab, "Now you can go and take as
your own the vineyard of Naboth in Jezreel; for Naboth is no longer living; he is dead."

Then Ahab rose in his chariot from Samaria to Jezreel, and with him were two of his captains, one
named Jehu, and another named Bidkar. Just as they were riding in the vineyard that had been
Naboth's, suddenly Elijah, the prophet, with his mantle of skin, stood before them.

Ahab was startled as he saw Elijah, and he called out, "Have you found me, O my enemy?"

"I have found you," answered Elijah, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the
Lord. In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick up your own blood. I will
bring evil upon you, and will sweep you away; and I will cut off every man-child from Ahab; and I
will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. And because your wife,
Jezebel, has stirred you up to sin, she shall die, and the wild dogs of the city shall eat the body of
Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

When Ahab heard these words of Elijah he saw how wickedly he had acted, and he felt sorrow for his
sin. He put on sackcloth, and fasted, and sought for mercy. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah,
saying, "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me, and shows sorrow for his sin? Because
of this, I will not bring the evil in his lifetime, but after he is dead, I will bring it upon his children."
.

Ahab and Naboth
Bible Story
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard from Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children -
The Bible Story of Ahab and Naboth
This Ahab and Naboth Bible Story was written in simple words by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut and
taken from Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children which was published in 1904. The book is also
known as Harbut's Story of the Bible (Told for young and Old). Harbut's Story of the Bible
contains the famous and great stories in their connected order forming a continuous history of the
Bible and its greatest stories, including the Ahab and Naboth Bible story, which is suitable for
adults and teens, young children and kids, Catholic or Protestant. This What Ahab Paid for His
Vineyard Bible Story is part of a series of famous Bible Stories. This Ahab and Naboth Bible
Story from the Old Testament is independent of all the others and can be read separately
enabling parents of Sunday School teachers to tell the stories randomly or in the order in which
the stories appear in the Christian Holy Bible.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for Children, Teens and Adults
Enjoy this What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for adults, teens, children and young
kids about Ahab and Naboth. The simple words used in the Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for
Adults, Teens, Children and little kids about Ahab and Naboth are an ideal resource for
Protestant or Catholic Christian parents and Christian Sunday School teachers to tell the famous
and great stories of the Bible including What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard inspired from the
scriptures of the Bible about Ahab and Naboth. The simple words of this great Biblical story
about Ahab and Naboth may also be used for preschool kids. Tell the What Ahab Paid for His
Vineyard Bible Story for Adults, Teens and Children about Ahab and Naboth found in the Holy
Bible.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story - A Free Christian Bible Study Resource
We hope that this free What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth
will provide useful for Bible Study ideas for adults, teens, children and young kids . This short
Old Testament Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth for children and young kids together with
tools, activities, aids and materials on this website are designed to be used by an individual or a
Christian Bible study group for Bible lessons for young children. This Old Testament Bible
Story about Ahab and Naboth will also prove useful as the basis for fun Sunday School lessons
for Christian children and small kids. All information on this What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
Bible Story about Ahab and Naboth is free to be used as an educational Christian Bible Study
resource for adults, teens, young children and little kids.
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for Children
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for young children and small kids - a free
Bible Study resource
Read this story to young children or little kids
Free activity for learning about the Bible the Ahab and Naboth Bible Story for young
children and small kids
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard Bible Story for children by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Hurlbut's Bible Stories For Children - What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard
Ahab and Naboth Bible Story from the Old Testament


Is, Was and Will Be
The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word
Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty

The Spiritual Significance Of Naboth, His Vineyard, King Ahab And
Jezebel - Properly Applying God's Word
To Whom It may Concern,

I have a question for Mr. Vinson. Who does Naboth, his inheritance (the garden) and
Jezebel represent spiritually?
Thank you for your time!

J____
Hi J____,


Thank you for this question. This question reflects the fact that you are coming to see that
God's Words are all to be understood as having an inward spiritual application which
affects each and every person who reads and understands the spiritual meaning of those
words. It is a simple question, but in light of all the lies of Babylon, it will take several
scriptures to demonstrate what this story is all about.

The first principle we must remember before we answer any question, is that Christ and
His Words are Is, Was and Will Be in their application and in their character. They are
never ever to be understood simply and primarily as a story about something which
happened in the past, or as prophecy of some future event. God's Words are indeed
stories of past events and God's Words do indeed reveal future events, but whenever we
make either of those aspects of His Words our primary focus, the beast within will be
"sitting in the temple of God declaring that he is God" sitting on the throne of God in our
hearts, smugly secure in the fact that no one is aware that he is sitting on Christ's throne
in our body and is ruling over our flesh.

2 Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the day that the
kingdom of God and the coming of Christ] shall not come [Christ will not come
in our flesh], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed [the "carnal... babe in Christ 1 Cor. chapters 1-3], the son of perdition;
2 Thess 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
They are unaware simply because God has not given them the eyes to see or the ears to
hear the mystery that has been hid from the ages that "the kingdom of God is within you."

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
"Christ in you" is the King of "the kingdom within you." That is what Christ meant when
He told the Pharisees that "the kingdom of God is within you."
Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation:
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God
is within you.
And what is it that Christ is so intent on keeping hidden from the multitudes who come to
learn of Him?
Matt 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him , so that he went into a
ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Matt 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower
went forth to sow;

Matt 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in
parables?
Matt 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
It is "not given...to the multitudes to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God."
And what is that mystery? Why, it is the fact that all these parables are about the kingdom
of God and they are all being fulfilled in God's elect. The mystery is "Christ in you." The
mystery is that "the kingdom of God", with which all Christ's parables are concerned, "is
within you."

Matt 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and
without a parable spake he not unto them:
Why did He speak to them only in parables? It was because He had no intention of
allowing them to see the mysteries of the kingdom of hea ven which is "the kngdom of
heaven [Christ] is within you."
Now there are even those who want to forget the "Was" and the "Will Be" character of
God's Words and focus only on the "Is," only on the present application of God's Words.
This, too, is a snare of the Adversary and is all that is needed to miss out on the Truth of
God's Words. This is true simply because Truth is but one thing. Portions of The Truth
are not the Truth because the Truth is "the sum of thy word."

Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous
ordinances is everlasting. (NASB)

Matt 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Truth is not any part or any combination of parts which leaves out either the present or
the past or the future application of the Words of God. Jesus Christ really is "the same
yesterday and today and forever." The fact that He did not reveal Himself as such before
the New Testament was written, does not change the fact that He never changes.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
But not only is it important to realize that Christ, who is His Word, is present, past and
future, it is also equally important to notice that He always presents Himself primarily as
"Is" secondarily as "Was" And last of all as "Will Be."
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is,
and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
The "historical orthodox Christian world" has this order reversed and it is so to their own
detriment.

How many ministers in "historical orthodox Christianity" see this story in its Is, Was and
Will Be application in their own lives?
This story of Naboth's vineyard being taken away from him violently by a woman who
was in bed with the leader of God's people is nothing less than the same theme that runs
throughout God's word in parables like this one about King Ahab, his wife Jezebel and
Naboth. It is the story of Christ being slain by His own people. Remember, "Jesus Christ
[who is] the same yesterday today and forever" also tells us:
Matt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.
And He also tells us:
Luke 13:33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for
it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
What this tells those with spiritual eyes and ears is that the beast is within. He is not
outside. So when Cain killed his own brother Abel, we have God's own child killing
God's chosen Son. When Enoch's life was being sought, it was God's own sons seeking
the life of God's chosen Son. When the whole world rejected the preaching of Noah, they
were rejecting their own brother, God's chosen Son. So God baptised mankind in the
flood of Noah, just so we could see that He will not be ignored:
1 Pet 3:21 The like figure [the flood] whereunto even baptism doth also now save
us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
But our initial baptism is only the beginning of our rejection of Christ. "The man of sin is
still on the throne "in the temple" of our hearts, still wanting God's chosen, dead (1 Cor.
1-3).
So after the flood, the principle of God's own people wanting His elect dead continues.
When Ishmael, Abraham's seed, mocked Isaac, he was mocking Christ. When Esau
wanted to kill his own brother Jacob, he wanted to kill Christ. When Joseph's brothers
wanted to kill him, they wanted to kill Christ. When Joseph's own brothers sold Joseph
into Egypt for twenty pieces of silver, his own brothers were selling Christ into slavery
and death. When Judah lied to and defrauded his own daughter-in-law and wanted her
dead, Judah was lying to defrauding and wanting to kill Christ. When the "Pharaoh which
knew not Joseph" wanted to kill all the males of Israel, he was killing Christ. When He
refused to "let my people go", he was withstanding Christ. When Israel rebelled against
God in the wilderness, they rebelled against Christ. When Goliath withstood Israel, he
was withstanding Christ. When Korah and all the "famous men of renown" withstood
Moses and Aaron, they were withstanding Christ. When King Saul sought the life of
David, he was seeking the life of Christ. When King David killed Uriah and took his
wife, he was sinning against Christ.

Psa 51:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet
came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against thee [Christ], thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy
sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest.
And when King Ahab married a daughter of a Philistine king, King Ahab was rejecting
Christ and committing spiritual fornication against Christ. This story of Jezebel killing
Naboth for Naboth's vineyard is the same theme we find throughout God's Word.
Naboth's own king, who was to "judge righteous judgment", turned on him and had him
slain through the influence of the arch-typical "great harlot" who "causes my people to
commit fornication."

Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou
sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to
seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
"Things offered to idols" are false doctrines "which do not profit those who are occupied
with them." And just look at what is right here where this truth is revealed:
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Heb 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing
that the heart be established with grace; not with meats [doctrines], which have not
profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the
tabernacle.
"They which serve the tabernacle" are those Levites who are indeed called out of Israel,
but they are not chosen as priests. Since they are "called but not chosen," they cannot
minister to the people with the holy vessels:
Matt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Num 18:2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring
thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou
and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
Num 18:3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle:
only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that
neither they, nor ye also, die.
Num 18:7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office
for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given
your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh
[including Levites who are not priests] shall be put to death.
It is those who are "joined to us" but who are not permitted to "come nigh the vessels of
the sanctuary and the altar," who will turn on us to take our inheritance and to kill us.

Our vineyard and our bodies are one and the same in scripture. We must never allow "the
land to be sold to a stranger." We must always keep it within the family.
But we all, as Naboth, will not keep our inheritance. We must lose our inheritance before
our inheritance can be redeemed. Naboth knew that he was not to sell his family's land. If
we are forced to sell our land, as we all are, then when the true jubilee comes, Naboth's
'inheritance' will be redeemed and he will inherit much more than a physical vineyard.

Lev 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout
all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye
shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his
family.
This entire account is nothing less than the continuation of the divinely ordained struggle
of the seed of the serpent bruising the heel of the seed of the woman.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
When Cain killed Abel, God gave Adam and Eve (mankind) Seth (Hebrew - "instead of")
to replace slain Abel. And when the great 'Jezebel' had Christ slain, God has given to this
world His elect and has increased 'Christ's seed and has prolonged Christ's days' through
us:

Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is
behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the
church:
Christ has sent us out for Himself just as His Father sent Christ out for Himself:
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me,
even so send I you.
Christ has His elect just as He is His Father's elect and "only begotten Son." This is how
God sees it:
1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
In closing, I will remind you once more:
Matt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me.
What separates God's elect from the masses of Babylon is that God's elect apply His word
inwardly. They do not put it all off on someone else. God's elect realize that "the man of
sin, the son of perdition" is within them and is not someone else. God's elect realize that it
is they who must "live by every Word which proceeds out of the mouth of God." It is
they who "turn to see the voice which is speaking unto them."

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice,
as of a trumpet,

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I
saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of
man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a
golden girdle.
So this story about King Ahab, sheepishly following the lead of his spiritually fornicating
wife, is not a story for someone else. It is an admonition for me and for you to understand
that it is the King Ahab and his wife Jezebel who Is, Was and Will Be in us. It is King
Ahab and Jezebel in us who at one time killed Naboth and took his vineyard and now
ought to be "dying daily" and "decreasing as Christ is increasing" in us. But this is
something we see as being "behind us." And yet it is for our admonition:

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others.
Are God's elect, in their appointed time, "the children of wrath even as others?" Indeed
they were "in times past." And so it must be. Paul tells us that we are God's temple:
1 Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you?

1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
And what Is, Was and Will Be the Truth about what is necessary to enter into that temple
of God?
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from
his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of
the seven angels were fulfilled.
Until we, like Peter and all the apostles, have denied our Lord, until we, like them, are
brought to "weep bitterly" at our own awareness of our own helplessness against our own
fleshly desires to preserve and serve our flesh; until we come to see just how sinful is sin
with us, "no man is able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven
angels are fulfilled" in each of us.
Here are the words of the apostle Paul as to how we are to understand all the stories of
the Old Testament:
1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
And just look at the next verse:
1 Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
So this is what should be the direction of our spiritual growth:
John 3:30 He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease.
Those who are truly God's elect will grow past the natural reaction of putting all of God's
Words off on others. They will grow past looking down on those poor immature,
spiritually carnal, spiritual babes in Christ who are still in Babylon. God's "very elect" are
aware that it is not others but themselves who must "keep the sayings of the prophecy of
this book" and "live by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Matt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
I hope you now see who Naboth and his vineyard and Ahab and Jezebel are spiritually.
But I hope also that more than that, you are now able to see how to apply the "same
yesterday and today and forever" words of our Lord when He said:
Matt 25:40 (b) ...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me


Naboth's Vineyard
Sermon shared by Garth Wehrfritz- Hanson
Sermon:
Sermon for 2 Pentecost Yr C, 13/06/2004
Based on I Kings 21:1-21a
By Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of the Good Samaritan Societys
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta

Todays first lesson is basically a story about coveting, bearing false witness, killing and stealing. It
appears to begin in a rather painless way with Israels King Ahab seeing Naboths vineyard adjacent to
his palace and making, what seems, at first sight, a fair and just offer to purchase it to use for his
vegetable garden.

But wait a minute right there! Ahab, being king, knew very well that such an offer was not fair or just.
Why? Because for Naboth to sell off the land that his ancestors passed on to him would be the same as
Esau selling his birthright to brother Jacob for a bowel of lentil soup. You see, by keeping the land of
ones ancestors meant not only that one honoured ones own family historyit also meant that one was
keeping covenant with the LORD God, who, we remember, included the land in the covenant with Israel.
If one sold ones land that one inherited from ones ancestors and, originally, from the LORD himself,
was not that an act of abandoning the LORD and the covenant? As long as one occupied ones land, one
was affirming and living under the LORDs covenant.

So, what else could Ahab expect Naboth to say to him than a firm NO, the LORD forbids me to sell my
ancestral inheritance! However, Ahab doesnt stop there. He responds to Naboths refusal to sell by
going back to his palace, fasting, and going to bed to nurse his resentment towards Naboth and to pout
like an immature child who fails to get what they want.

Jezebel enters the narrative at this point. When Ahab tells her about Naboths refusal she asks him
pointedly, Do you now govern Israel? Jezebel had an entirely different understanding about who has a
right to what. Jezebel came from Tyre. She worshipped a Baal god whose name was Melkart. Baal means
owner and Baalism is a religion of ownership. Originally the word came to be synonymous with the
aristocracy, the land owners in the big houses. Baalism came to be a religion. When the owners needed
supernatural sanction to support their system they came up with a god to fit that need. Baalism was
more than a cult. It was an ideology about who had the right to own what.

Jezebel had come to Israel to wed Ahab when he was crown prince. Now she was Queen and she would
become Queen Mother. She was a powerful force in Israel. She was a pusher of a new mentality for she
brought with her a retinue of priests of her god. A (North) American axiom reads, It doesnt matter
what you believe just so long as you are sincere. But it does matter! This idea that some are born to
rule and own others to be owned backed by power of Jezebel was making a difference to the poor in
Israel. (See Micah 2:1-2.) Beliefs do matter and theology is important!

Jezebel did not share the religious traditions of Israel, but she knew how to get what she wanted
through dirty tricks. She sent letters in Ahabs name and signed with his seal to all the elders and free
people of Naboths city. They were instructed to proclaim a fast, perhaps because of the famine
mentioned in chapter 17. That was diabolically clever for a fast would suggest that someones sin is
responsible. Naboth was being set up even as he wasushered to the seat of honor at the assembly.
Jezebel also knew that cursing the king was a capital offense (Exodus 22:8) and that the property of
convicted people reverted to the crown. That no one questioned indicates the clout of Ahabs family.

This is the story that is history in microcosm. The names and places change but the plot remains the
same, the more powerful coveting the inheritance of some poor Naboth and getting it one way or
another. Ahab wanted vegetables out of Naboths garden. His successors have wanted other things out
of the inheritances of other Naboths: land, gold, diamonds, tea, coffee, bananas, copper, tin, coal, iron,
uranium, rubber, cotton, oil.

Enter Elijah, the prophet with the memory of a God who spoke through a burning bush on behalf of an
oppressed people, a God of justice who knows and sees and cares, a God who will not tolerate the ways
of predatory avarice, lying, and exploitation, a God whose judgement may seem to tarry yet is certain
sure. The prophetic mission of the church suggests itself here. 1

The prophetic mission to be like Elijah in our contemporary context by speaking truth to power. By
ensuring that the rights of the Naboths today are respected and protected. By calling the King Ahabs and
Queen Jezebels of today to accountability when they have plotted and schemed to covet, bear false
witness against, kill and steal from innocent and poor people. In our society, it may mean that we persist
in holding governments accountable to us regarding things like the guarantee of healthcare and
education and the proper stewardship of our natural resources not only for ourselves but also for future
generations. It may also mean that we in the free, democratic world continue to be Elijahs for those who
live under oppressive and evil regimes by insisting that the rights and dignity of the poorest of the poor
are respected and protected. This may translate into exposing publicly the abuses of power of
governments and corporate elites around the world who selfishly exist only to preserve their own
wealth and interests by denying the majority of citizens freedom and democracy. In short, the role of
prophet, the role of Elijah today is going to be as dangerous and unpopular now as it was back then in
ancient Israel. May the LORD God preserve and defend the cause of todays Elijahs just as he did in
ancient Israel!

Shifting back now to our storys conclusion, what do we learn? Well, I believe there are at least two
punch lines to this story. First, we learn that we can all be so easily tempted to covet what does not
belong to usand, before we can say Jack Frost, such temptations can spread like a deadly cancer and
escalate into further, more serious temptations and sins, until we, like Ahab and Jezebel can fall into
plots and schemes and conspiracies which wrongfully ruin or destroy others and ultimately ourselves.
Notice how this happens, first there is Ahab coveting Naboths vineyard. Then he fails to accept
Naboths NO by allowing his inner resentments to grow. On the heels of his resentments come an evil
conspiracy to bear false witness. Then, bearing false witness quickly escalates into the sins of murder
and stealing. The danger for us is to read this story as immune observers. God forbid that we saying to
ourselves: This was way back then, and can never happen to us! NOT TRUE! IT CAN HAPPEN TO US
TOO, BECAUSE WE TOO ARE SINNERS TEMPTED BY THESE SAME SINS AS AHAB AND JEZEBEL.
THEREFORE, WE NEED TO BE EVER VIGILANT, EVER ALERT TO BRING ALL OF THESE SINS INSIDE OF US TO
OUR LORD TO CONFESS THEM, SEEK HIS FORGIVENESS AND LEAVE THE SINS WITH HIMNOT ALLOW
THEM TO GROW LIKE CANCER INSIDE OF US.

The second punch line of this story is that crime does not pay! In the end, right and truth and justice
do prevail. Notice in the story how Jezebel and Ahab believe they can get away with their secret evil
conspiracy. They believe that they can hide their evil plot from everyone and use evil means to gain
what they want, what rightfully does not belong to them. Yet, this does not happen. They fail to pull it
off. Elijah the prophet has been given a message from the LORD revealing what theyve done to Naboth
and he confronts Ahab with this truth; proclaiming his prophetic oracle of the ultimate destruction of
Ahab. In the end, we learn that the oracle is trueAhab was killed at Ramoth Gilead by the Aramites
and Jezebel is pushed out of a window, falling down to her death.

May the LORD preserve us from committing the sins of Ahab and Jezebel. May the LORD help us to be
like Elijah and do what is right in all circumstances. Amen.

____________
1 Cited from: Emphasis Vol. 25, No. 1, May-June 1995 (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., Inc.), pp. 46-47.

Forgotten Men of the Bible: Naboth
By Rebecca Rushmore
We know much about many Bible characters. Such people are the
subject of frequent studies and may even have whole books or
chapters of books devoted to them and the lessons we can learn
from them. There are other people mentioned in the Bible about
whom we know very little. These people may only be mentioned
in passing or are found in only one or two places in the Bible.
Often these people are overlooked, yet they appear in our Bibles
for a reason.
John 20:30-31 tells us that Jesus did many things that were not recorded in the Bible. The things
that were recorded are to strengthen our faith. Second Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that everything in
the Bible is from God and is for our learning. With this in mind, there can be no doubt that these
little known, "forgotten" men and women of the Bible can teach us valuable lessons today.
Many people are familiar with the evil done by King Ahab and his wicked Queen Jezebel.
Beginning in First Kings, many of their crimes are recorded, including the crime against Naboth.
Often, people remember the story of Naboth and his encounter with the royal couple, but usually
the focus is placed on the "bad guys." For a moment, let's take a look at the incident from the
viewpoint of Naboth, the "good guy."
In First Kings 21 beginning with the first verse, the story of Naboth unfolds. Naboth owns a
vineyard next to the palace that greedy King Ahab decides he wants. The king offers Naboth
money or another vineyard and Naboth refuses both. Ahab, angry and disappointed to not get his
way, returns to his rooms to pout. When Jezebel learns of the reason for Ahab's pout, she urges
him to cheer up because she will get him what his heart desires. Using the king's seal, Jezebel
sends a message commanding the magistrates of Naboth's village to put him on trial and accuse
him of blasphemy against God and the king. To help ensure a guilty verdict, they are to use two
false witnesses. Jezebel's instructions are carried out, Naboth is found guilty, executed and King
Ahab claims the vineyard.
What can be learned from this brief encounter with Naboth? First, Naboth served the Lord even
in times of great idolatry and wickedness. Ahab, King of Israel at this time, is recorded to be one
of the most idolatrous leaders in Israel (1 Kings 16:29-33). Verse 33 states, "And Ahab made a
grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of
Israel that were before him." Queen Jezebel did her best to kill all of God's prophets (1 Kings
18:4). The prophet Elijah looked at the nation and felt that he was the only one serving God (1
Kings 19:10). God told Elijah that there were seven thousand in Israel that had not bowed down
to the idol Baal, but Elijah apparently had trouble noticing them for all the rest who were doing
evil (1 Kings 19:18). It was in these times of great wickedness that Naboth refuses his king's
offer based on the commandment of God (1 Kings 21:3). In many ways, the era in which we live
is no different. Many idols in the form of materialism, immorality and greed prevail in society.
Like Naboth, we can still serve God.
In addition to serving God in a land overrun with idolatry, Naboth stood strong in his convictions
and faith even when faced with potential harm. On the surface, Ahab's offer seems like a good
deal. Naboth could exchange his vineyard for money or another vineyard. However, Naboth
knew the laws of God. Leviticus 25:23-28 and Numbers 36:7 forbid the Israelites to sell any
portion of the land they inherited. To sell the vineyard or exchange it for another at the request of
the king would have been a sin. Naboth answered Ahab's request with, "The LORD forbid it me,
that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee" (1 Kings 21:3). This faithful servant of
God knew the kind of man Ahab was. It is reasonable to suppose that Naboth knew his life could
be in danger by refusing the king, yet he did what was right in the sight of God. As Naboth did
not let greed for money and land or fear of punishment stop him from doing what was right, we
must also stand for our convictions. Our treasures are to be stored in heaven instead of earth
(Matthew 6:19-21). When it comes down to obeying God or fellow man, we must choose to obey
God (Acts 4:19; 5:29).
Notice the character of Naboth. When Jezebel instructed the magistrates to put Naboth on trial,
part of her instructions included finding false witnesses. Under the Old Testament law, capital
crimes required a minimum of two witnesses for a guilty verdict. Blasphemy of God was a
capital offense under the law (Leviticus 24:15-16). Blasphemy of the king was a capital offense
by custom (2 Samuel 16:9; 19:21). Jezebel knew that the only way to convict Naboth of these
crimes and ensure his death was to use false witnesses. The willingness of the magistrates to
comply with the evil instructions of the queen again shows how corrupt and unrighteous the
people of Israel had become and is a great contrast to the righteousness of Naboth.
We can learn another thing from Naboth that should give us great comfort. Because of the evil
done by Ahab and Jezebel toward Naboth, God severely punished them. After Ahab claimed
Naboth's vineyard, God sent his prophet Elijah to deliver a message to the king. God promised
that he would wipe out the seed of Ahab; God also promised violent deaths for the pair. We need
to remember that God will punish evil. He has promised eternal life to those who obey him and
eternal punishment for those who chose to disobey (Matthew 7:21-22; Revelation 21:7-8). We
may never see our adversaries punished in this life, but we should always remember,
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19), and God always keeps his
promises (2 Peter 3:9).
King Ahab A Lesson in Grace
12Aug2012 Filed under: Sermons Author: Dave
This morning were going to take a look at one of Israels most notorious kings.
Just like King David was known for his goodness King Ahab was known for his badness. In
fact, let me just read for you how the Bible introduces him. This is 1 Kings 16:29-33.
Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asas reign in
J udah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in
the Lords sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 31 And as though it were not
enough to follow the example of J eroboam, he married J ezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal
of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 32 First Ahab built a temple
and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke
the anger of the Lord, the God of I srael, than any of the other kings of Israel before him. 1
Kings 16:29-33
So basically, what the Bible is telling us, is that Ahab was the most evil king Israel had ever
seen. He was the Adolf Hitler, the Joseph Stalin, the Osama Bin Laden of his time.
So what lessons could we possible learn from this guy? Well, I think the answer might surprise
you.
Now the Bible has a lot to say about King Ahab. Hes actually the fourth most talked about king
in the Bible. Most people know of him because of his dealings with the prophet Elijah the most
famous story being the big contest on Mount Carmel to see which God was the true God. If you
dont know that story, you can look it up in 1 Kings 18 later today. Its a good one.
But the story that were going to look at this morning is found in 1 Kings chapter 21. If you have
your Bibles with you, you can turn there with me. Starting at verse 1.
Now there was a man named Naboth, from J ezreel, who owned a vineyard in J ezreel beside
the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, Since your vineyard is
so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a
better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.
3 But Naboth replied, The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed
down by my ancestors.
1 Kings 21:1-3
Now let me just interrupt for a minute to explain why Naboth was so opposed to this deal.
At first glance, it seems like a pretty logical, fair proposal. After all, the vineyard was right
beside the palace it would certainly be convenient. And Ahab had offered to give him an even
better vineyard in its place. And if he didnt want that, Ahab was willing to flat out buy the
vineyard at a price which Im sure would have been probably more than generous. So whats
the issue?
If you remember back when Joshua lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, God divided the
land up among the 12 tribes, and then within each tribe, each family was given certain land. This
was to be their permanent possession. They were never to sell their land to anyone else. God told
them they could rent or lease their land out to others, but every 50 years, the land had to be given
back to the original family. This would ensure that every family would always have an
inheritance (from the Lord) to pass down to the next generations. It was their gift from God. It
was their Promised Land.
So thats why Naboth was so opposed to Ahabs deal. If Naboth had sold this land to Ahab, that
land would be permanently lost as a family inheritance to his sons and his grandsons and for all
the generations beyond. They would no longer have their promised land from God.
It wasnt that Ahabs deal wasnt financial sound, but it would disregard Gods instructions and
Gods promise. So Naboth replied The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that
was passed down by my ancestors. Lets see how Ahab responds:
So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboths answer. The king went to bed with
his face to the wall and refused to eat! 1 Kings 21:4
It seems Ahab didnt take rejection well. Hes a little bit of drama king, isnt he? Well, before
long, his wife, Jezebel shows up.
Whats the matter? his wife Jezebel asked him. Whats made you so upset that youre not
eating?
6 I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused! Ahab told her.
7 Are you the king of Israel or not? Jezebel demanded. Get up and eat something, and
dont worry about it. Ill get you Naboths vineyard! 1 Kings 21:5-7
Jezebel isnt about to take no for an answer. While Ahab is sulking in bed with his face to the
wall, Jezebel comes in and reminds him whos king. And as king, she believes, he should get
whatever he wants. And so, she sets out to get it for him. Verse 8
So she wrote letters in Ahabs name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and
other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. 9 I n her letters she commanded: Call the
citizens together for fasting and prayer, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 And then seat
two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take
him out and stone him to death. 1 Kings 21:8-10
Jezebels plan was simple: If Naboth wouldnt sell his property, then she would have him killed.
Of course, she didnt want to appear to be the one responsible, so she decided to frame him. She
ordered the leaders of Naboths town to have a big gathering (for prayer and fasting even being
very religious) giving Naboth a place of honor. And then she would have two worthless
scoundrels who would say anything for money to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God and
the king which, of course, was a capital offense. Then they would drag Naboth out of town and
stone him for his crime. And by the way, it wouldnt have just been Naboth that they would have
stoned. They would have stoned his entire family. Back then, the entire family paid for the
crimes of the father. Which would work perfectly for Jezebels plan If Naboth and his sons
were all killed, there would be no one to inherit the vineyard.
And thats exactly what happened.
So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions J ezebel had written in the
letters.12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people.
13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth
before all the people, saying, He cursed God and the king. So he was dragged outside the
town and stoned to death.14 The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, Naboth has been
stoned to death.
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, You know the vineyard Naboth wouldnt
sell you? Well, you can have it now! Hes dead! 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the
vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
1 Kings 21:11-16
Jezebels plan had worked. Naboth was dead. His sons were dead. Ahab could rightfully claim
the vineyard. And no one else was the wiser. Except of course, God.
All the sins that we think we hide so well, God knows. He sees it all. We can deceive all the
people around us, but we can never deceive God.
We read in verse 17:
But the Lord said to Elijah, 18 Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria.
He will be at Naboths vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. 19 Give him this message:
This is what the Lord says: Wasnt it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too?
Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the
blood of Naboth! 1 Kings 21:17-19
God knew all along. He knew exactly what Ahab & Jezebel had done. And he wasnt going to let
their sin go unnoticed or unpunished. So he sent the prophet Elijah to confront Ahab. And look
what happens when Elijah appears on the scene Verse 20.
So, my enemy, you have found me! Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. 1 Kings 21:20
Its apparent that Ahab had gotten messages from the Lord through Elijah before, and he wasnt
too fond of what Elijah had to say! But Elijah says it anyway.
Yes, Elijah answered, I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the
Lords sight. 21 So now the Lord says, I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will
destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in I srael! 22 I am
going to destroy your family as I did the family of J eroboam son of Nebat and the family of
Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.
23 And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, Dogs will eat Jezebels body at the plot of land in
Jezreel.
24 The members of Ahabs family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die
in the field will be eaten by vultures.
1 Kings 21:20-24
As you can see, this is not a a very nice message. You can see why Ahab doesnt like to get
messages from Elijah. He tells him You have sold yourself to evil. God is going to destroy
you. God is going to destroy your family. The members of your family will be eaten by dogs and
vultures. Not a very nice message at all. But, as the next couple verses remind us, God had good
reason for such a condemning message.
(No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lords sight as Ahab did under
the influence of his wife J ezebel. 26 His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the
Amorites had donethe people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the
I sraelites.) 1 Kings 21:25-26
You see it wasnt just this incident that God was condemning him for. Perhaps this was kinda
like the last straw, where God said ENOUGH. But it wasnt just this incident. Ahab had
completely sold himself to doing what was evil in the Lords sight more than anyone else!
Thats incredible. How sinful do you have to be for the Bible to describe you as the worst
sinner?! He had lived his whole life in opposition to God. And as king, he led the entire country
to do likewise.
And so God said ENOUGH. No more. God would completely destroy Ahab and his entire
family.
But then, something incredible happened.
But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He
even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.
1 Kings 21:27
Whats going on here? Ahab was repentant. He was humbling himself before the Lord. Tearing
ones clothes was a sign of deep sorrow. The burlap that he worn instead of his kingly robes was
a sign of humility and submission and mourning. It seems that this sinful king the worst of the
worst was truly sorry for what He had done and who he had become.
To put this in a more modern context, imagine that this was Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin, or
Osama Bin Laden. How would you react if you had learned that they had repented of all their
sins? What if, at the end of their lives, they truly had a change of heart and humbled themselves
before God and asked Him for forgiveness After all that they had done. Would God wipe
away the record of their sins? Would they find mercy and forgiveness?
The Scriptures answer that quite clearly.
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and
restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13
It doesnt matter how long their criminal record is. It doesnt matter how many years theyve
fought against God. With genuine repentance comes genuine forgiveness.
And this is what we see when King Ahab humbles himself before the Lord. Verse 28.
Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: 29 Do you see how Ahab has humbled
himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his
lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty. 1 Kings 21:28-29
Because Ahab humbled himself before the Lord God put off his promised destruction of
Ahabs family. His sons, who would not humble themselves before God, would be destroyed
after Ahabs lifetime.
And in this story we find many lessons that are very applicable to us.
Perhaps you dont consider yourself to be the worst of the worst. Perhaps your list of sins is not
as long as Ahabs or Bin Ladens or even the person sitting beside you. But the truth is it
doesnt really matter.
The Bible is very clear that
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
And that
The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
Those are the wages for any and all sin. We all deserve the same destruction promised to Ahab
and his family. None of us have earned any favor from God at all. The Bible even describes our
good deeds as filthy rags in Gods sight.
But thats exactly what makes grace so amazing! While weve certainly done nothing to earn
Gods favor God has lavishly poured out his favor and his grace on us.
He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay our debt he paid the penalty of death that we deserved, so
that all we must do receive mercy and forgiveness, is simply to humble ourselves before God.
As we read earlier, when we humble ourselves before God and we pray and seek Gods face and
turn from our wicked ways, God will hear from heaven and will forgive our sins.
If God has grace for Ahab then God has grace for you too.
If you have never accepted Gods gift of grace and forgiveness, if youve never humbled
yourself before God and repented of your sin, if youve never experienced the joy of knowing
that your list of sins has been wiped clean, then I encourage you why not do that today? Gods
grace is available for you. After all, God made you and He loves you like crazy and He wants to
be with you. Why not accept his grace today?

Previous in series Next in series
Table of contents for Lessons from the Kings
1. The True Condition of King Sauls Heart
2. King Hezekiah Sets the Bar for Obedience
3. Hezekiah Part Two Going to God
4. Asa Stick With God
5. King Asa No Longer Fully Committed
6. King Ahab A Lesson in Grace
7. King Amaziah vs King David A Matter of Heart
Tags: Ahab, Elijah, forgiveness, grace, king, lesson, Naboth

Ahab, Naboth, Jezebel, and Elijah: What a Story
May 12, 2008 timiekley
There are some very strange stories in the Bible. The passage I have been reading lately is found
in 1 Kings 21. This story has four main characters: (1) Naboth, (2) Ahab, (3) Jezebel, and (4)
Elijah. At first glance, this seems like a ridiculous story, hardly worth mentioning in the Bible in
the first place. What lies within it though are important keys to ministry. The story basically goes
something like this:
King Ahab wants to take possession of a vegetable garden owned by a respectable Jewish man
named Naboth. Ahab offers Naboth another vineyard for the garden or states that he will pay a
great price for it. Naboth says, The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my
fathers. Naboth basically says, I am not interested thanks but no thanks. King Ahab, being a
sore loser, marches home, goes upstairs to his room, slams the door and pouts like a 2-year-old
child. When his wife, Jezebel goes to see him, she opens the door and sees Ahab, the King of
Jezreel crying. When she asks why he is acting this way, he tells her that Naboth wouldnt give
him his garden.
Jezebel, seeing that Ahab is in a vulnerable position, says that she will get the garden for the
King. She then takes the Kings seal, writes several letters and states that Naboth should be
stoned. When she receives a letter that Naboth has been stoned and is dead, she tells the King to
go and get his land. With that, he goes and possesses the land that was owned by Naboth.
What is interesting to me is that Ahab was the King of Jezreel pouted like a baby when things
did not go his way. He then allowed his wicked wife to take the reigns and ultimately kill a man
who was only minding his own business in taking care of the land he was given to take care of. I
wonder how many men allow their wives to take the reigns when it comes to situations like that.
I am not in full-time ministry at this point of my life, but I am not surprised when I talk to some
of my friends who are pastors, that there are men who allow their wives to dictate their thoughts
when things are not going their way. They cannot take the role of leadership for themselves and
speak boldly given any situation. I had a pastor friend tell me that there was a time when he was
talking to some guy on the phone about a specific issue and he could actually hear the guys wife
telling him what to say. My friend wanted so badly to tell the guy to put his wife on the phone
since he was not able to stand up and speak bolding to him about whatever the issue was at the
time. This is a big issue in our churches today. We have a lot of men who are afraid to speak.
This definitely needs to change.
The other thought I have rests of the faith and obedience of Naboth. Naboth was only doing what
was commanded of him in Leviticus to not sell his land to another tribe but to pass it on to his
children as it was passed on to him. He worked hard to produce a great crop in that garden. As I
sit and think about Naboth, Why did Naboth have to die? If he was being obedient to the Word
of God, why did Naboth have to lose his life? Wasnt God looking after Naboth? There are, in
fact, many stories that seem to happen this way. As many may know, my friend Michael and his
fiance Trish was killed by a drunk driver almost seven years ago this upcoming July. Michael
was a talented artist and a great friend. Trish was a young girl who had fallen in love with a
godly man. Their plans included marriage, children, and the nice how with the picket fence and a
dog. It seemed as though life had dealt them a great hand to play. Unfortunately, after
worshipping God on a Wednesday night, they got in their car, began to make a left turn to go
home, and were struck by a guy who had just been released from jail the day before for drinking.
As I sit and ponder those events, which still run through my mind, I can only shake my head and
wonder why God would allow two amazing people to go so soon. You see, ministry is hard, and
confusing, and awkward, and strange, and hurts sometimes. It is not all fun in the sun life is
good stuff. There are great pains in ministry, which we all need to work through sometimes.
And, though I do not have the answers I am looking for still, I know that God is faithful, He
loves, and He is just. And, if that is all I knew about God, in this circumstance, that would be
enough to place my trust in His hands. His perfect love and grace exceeds our own. That never
makes ministry easy though. Naboth was a mere man who tended a garden near the palace of a
King and honored God. In the mist of this story, he is now dead and King Ahab has taken
possession of the garden Naboth owned.
It is then that we find out that God speaks to Elijah and tell him to go and talk to Ahab about this
event. You can almost hear Elijahs response as he hears the words of God. You see Elijah had
been a true friend to King Ahab. He has given firm advice, helped Ahab win a few battles, and
has never lied to him. For a period of almost ten years, Elijah has pleaded with Ahab to check his
motives and to turn to God. For ten years Elijah has poured his life into Ahab. So, when Ahab
sees Elijah, you would think his response would be positive. You would think his response
would be something like, Hey there, old friend. What are you doing in the neighborhood?
Would you be interested in some cookies? Unfortunately, we are told that the response of Ahab
was not what we would have expected. Instead of saying several kind words to Elijah, Ahab
says, Have you found me, O my enemy? What in the world is this about? One of the things I
have been continually told concerning the ministry is that there will be people who love you and
there will be people who hate you. No matter how much you invest in someone, his or her
response could be something like Ahabs response to Elijah. No matter what response we
receive, we must still pursue the command and obedience of God. Elijah gave the Word of the
Lord to Ahab and the word Elijah gave that Ahab and his wife Jezebel would die happened.
There are definite parts of ministry that are joyful and memorable. There are also parts of
ministry that are difficult, hard, confusing, and hurtful, and just plain agonizing. No matter what
the circumstance though, we must always be ready to give the Word of God boldly and without
delay. Gods goodness and glory shows up when we are obedient to His calling for us. When we
place our trust in God to lead us in the calling that He has for each one of us, we can be assured
that He is with us. And, despite the lows of ministry, there are also many highs that we can and
will experience when we listen and obey Christ and His Word.
Naboth's Vineyard and Ahab's Covetousness
G. E. Merrill.
1 Kings 21:2-16
And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs,
because it is near to my house


The visitor to Potsdam in Prussia, from the terrace of the palace of Sans-Souci sees near at hand a
gigantic windmill, the most conspicuous object in the landscape. He wonders that the bold miller should
have dared to build so near. But on inquiry he learns that the mill was there before the palace. In it
several generations of the same family had ground their grist and gathered their wealth ere the
attention of the Prussian kings was directed to the town as a place of residence. When palace after
palace arose, and the king came to see, behold! here was this ugly windmill, beating the air almost on
the very border of his splendid gardens. Then Frederic the Great did what Ahab did in this Bible story. He
tried to buy the mill. And the miller answered almost exactly as Naboth answered. The king raised his
offer again and again, and ended by getting angry. The miller met the royal threats by an appeal to the
court judges in Berlin. The judges supported him against the king; the mill went on grinding its corn; and
to this day its great fans are whirled by every passing breeze. The whole nation has come to regard the
mill at Potsdam at a symbol of the peace and prosperity of the poor under Prussian institutions. It has
recently come into the possession of the royal family, but only with the proud consent, at last, of the
descendants of the original owners. The world has got ahead. So far as concerns men who bear public
rule and are subjected to the judgment of society, Ahabs must now be sought in darkest Africa or in
equally benighted regions. Would that the spirit of Ahab were equally remote from all of us in our
private lives and characters! Many of us, perhaps all, are too covetous, grasping, childish, weak in
yielding to sin, even as was Israel's king.

I. THE COURSE OF TEMPTATION. It may seem to the casual reader that there was nothing wrong in
Ahab's desire, or in the way in which he sought to gain it. So far as its terms were concerned, he
proposed a strictly honourable bargain. The offer was even generous. Naboth might choose a better
vineyard, or have cash. No hardship was involved except in respect to Naboth's principles and
sentiments. But it was just here that the bargain failed as it deserved to. That Naboth merely loved the
place would have been enough. Objects of affection are often beyond price. He did not want either the
money or a better vineyard. The reason for his declining the bargain was deeper. Such a sale was an
offence against the religious and statute law of Israel. It was carefully prescribed that inherited land
should remain in the tribe where it was first owned. On this account a daughter to whom an inheritance
fell was forbidden to marry outside her tribe. The theory was that the land all belonged to God, and that
Be had parcelled it out as He wished it to remain. Now the king must have known this law; it is a stretch
of charity to suppose that he did not. His proposal, therefore, showed a thorough lack of principle, a
wicked contempt for the Mosaic code. Jezebel was virtually ruler of the realm. She said, "Dost thou now
govern the kingdom of Israel?... I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth." So Lady Macbeth drives her
husband on to the murder of Duncan. She mocks his halting courage; she provides suggestion and plan;
she does all except strike the murderous blow. She says to him at first

"He that's coming

Must be provided for; and you shall put

This night's great business into my despatch."

"If we should fail," objects Macbeth.

"We fail!

But screw your courage to the sticking place,

And we'll not fail,"

she answers. And after it is done, and he refuses to return to put the evidence of guilt upon the sleeping
and drugged servants, she exclaims

"Infirm of purpose!

Give me the daggers."Ahab is weaker than Macbeth, though not so wicked; but Jezebel and Lady
Macbeth are not far apart. When woman goes into crime, she often plunges to the extreme quicker
than man. Jezebel said, "I will give thee Naboth's vineyard." There are few events in a man's life that
stand alone. Every special sin has its long preparation. The avalanche in Switzerland rushes down at last;
but what of the melting snows all through the spring and summer, until every waterdrop has done its
work and washed away the last pebble that supported the hanging mass of earth and ice? The lightning-
flash is sudden; but what of the hidden electric forces that have been gathering in the atmosphere all
through the heated months, so that at last the bolt must leap from the cloud to meet the discharge from
the earth? So morally. Ahab started wrong, as he knew. It was not a question of one sin, but of sin. He
would have his Zidonian wife, though it meant Baal-worship. His good resolutions failed one by one.
When at last he coveted the vineyard, his evil genius was at hand as ever, and he let her go on to the
end of the transaction. Through years he had been laying the fatal train that was to shatter his kingdom
and seal his doom. Who can tell just what moment of an evil course will bring the sinner to his abyss?
After the first step every step is a peril. Even quiet consent, passive yielding, is fatal. The only safety is in
prompt, manly, uncompromising conversion turning away from sin for ever.

II. GOD'S PATIENCE. Ahab's rebellion had been long and obstinate: an alien marriage; adopted idolatry;
persecutions for conscience' sake; open disobedience in war; and now covetousness, leading him to
break the most sacred obligations, and add robbery and murder to the list of his crimes. He had had
many warnings from God. This triple crime of impiety, robbery, and murder settled the matter. God's
word comes to Elijah, and Elijah comes to Ahab. The time had come for Ahab to receive a harder lesson
than ever before. The prophet spoke Jehovah's decree, as Ahab's own signet had given authority to kill
Naboth. As Naboth had died, so should Ahab die. As Naboth's family had been cut off, so should Ahab's
race disappear. The awful curse brought him to his senses and to his knees. He rent his clothes, put
sackcloth upon his flesh, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went softly. God is always patient. We sin; He
pleads and waits. We go on grasping after what is not our own: let my will, not Thine, be done, is the
prayer offered by every deed. God warns, instructs, shows us in a thousand ways that His will is right,
and that it is in the very nature of things our destruction if we oppose it. He tempts us with every
promise, and shows us the fair destiny awaiting those who love truth and are obedient to Him. At last
some evil comes to us from our wrongdoing, and we are unfeignedly sorry; but it is more the sorrow of a
frightened than of a truly penitent soul. But the Divine heart is yet patient. The story of God's patience
with Ahab is wonderful, but it is the story of His patience with most of us. We, too, are covetous to the
last degree. My comfort, my pleasure, my wealth, my home, my loves, my will, all these will I have,
though at the expense of every other man's comfort, pleasure, wealth, home, loves, and will. And to this
desperate covetousness of ours God matches His infinite self-sacrifice.

III. THE CURSE UPON AHAB FELL AT LAST. Sin must meet its doom. Brief and selfish repentance is not
enough. If sin is not slain, it will slay. God's patience after all has its conditions. Years pass by, Ahab still
living. At last he undertakes a war, and is slain in battle. Whether soon or late, the soul that sinneth it
shall die. It stands written that though the heavens pass away, the word of the Lord shall not pass away.
It is the final verdict: "He that seeketh his life shall lose it."

IV. WHAT OF NABOTH AND HIS SONS? They were good men, so far as we are told, yet they died
miserably. They were victims of injustice and cruelty, their very piety hastening their end and making
them martyrs. Are we to conclude from this that what we have said concerning the doom of sin is
untrue? Shall we draw the inference that the good and the bad are treated alike, so that there is no
profit in godliness? It would be unfortunate to turn away from our lesson with this question
unanswered.

(G. E. Merrill.)
The Most Wicked of all Israels Kings
Introduction
In light of the lessons so far we have been observing the leadership styles of the kings of Israel
and Judah. The criteria for assessing the actions of each of the kings are based upon the book of
Deut. Where God made it clear to Moses what type of king His people should follow. When the
people asked Samuel for a king, it is significant that they asked for a king so that they could be
like other nations and that the king fight their battles for them.
The effects of the peoples choice of a king were to haunt them in a successive downward spiral
of politics and apostasy as told in the book of Kings. It is most interesting to note that scholars
believe that Jeremiah was the one that compiled the material for the book of Kings. Given his
mission to call the people to real repentance before the Babylonians come and destroy Jerusalem
and take the nation captive, it is intriguing that such a history would be written to expose the
depths of the nations rejection of Gods ways. The progressive nature of the rejection beginning
with Solomon affords the reader the opportunity to see the real nature of how improper
leadership can destroy a nation due to spiritual bankruptcy.
Personally, I am fascinated with the ways in which the kings are characterized in the book of
Kings. The ways the kings are described as being wicked or righteous are exposed in more subtle
manners than one might expect. Instead of portraying the moral character of each king in simple
black and white terms, the reader is presented with events that reveal the underlying character
weaknesses that led otherwise strong military leaders and seemingly competent political
strategists, to destroy the effectiveness of Gods people as the spiritual salt of the earth.
Ahab: The Extreme Example of a Wicked King
The story of King Ahab has always been one that has been associated with wickedness and
apostasy. With his marriage to Jezebel and his interaction with Elijah clearly he stands as a
leader that exhibits traits that are opposed to Gods directives. Yet if the reader looks carefully at
the Bibles characterization of this king, he will find that Ahab is described as obeying the words
of the prophet, of complying with Gods requests at times, much more than other kings before
him who are considered less wicked than he. Why is this so?
History shows that Ahab was quite a military leader and politician. He strengthened positions in
his kingdom and doubled urban centers. His attention to the army gave him distinction among his
peers. But this is not what God wished Israel to be known for. Notice the way in which Ahabs
weakness of character is exposed.
Ahabs Character Weakness
The "good"
Ahab was hostile to Elijahs words but obeyed them
Gathering together the people 1 Kings 18:19
Eating and drinking 1 Kings 18:41
Preparing his chariot 1 Kings 18:44
He complies with an unnamed prophet 1 Kings 20:13, 28
He rends his garment in a display of repentance. This is underscored by the Elijahs comments of
Gods approval of Ahabs sincerity by stating a stay of execution till the next generation. 1 Kings
21:20-29
The "bad"
Ahab is submissive to God and prophet but he is also submission to whoever confronts him
regardless of politics or moral standards.
Jezebels persecution of Gods prophets; Ahab is silent 1 Kings 18:4
He fails to speak up at Jezebels threat on Elijahs life 1 Kings 19:2
He accedes to an enemy for mercy against warning of a prophet. 1 Kings 20:35-43
The incident with Naboth is prime evidence of Ahabs inconsistency
Ahab wants Naboths land which is the latters inheritance
Sale of which is forbidden outside of the family
Ahab shows his usual submissiveness but begins to reveal more
He represents Naboths rejection as a personal one and not based upon principle
He substitutes "vineyard" (mere property) for the inheritance
He replaces Naboths "The Lord forbid it me" for "I will not give thee my vineyard" Thus
Ahab conveys that he has been insulted. He portrays Naboth as saying, "Perhaps I would
sell to someone else, but not to you."
Ahab is not concerned about how Jezebel will give him the vineyard.
He is not interested in how Naboth dies (Jezebel doesnt tell him Naboth was stoned)
His repentance does not rehabilitate him. 1 Kings 21:27
Ahabs Weakness and greatest sin
He is an opportunist who will follow whoever leads him, whether good or bad.
He finally is confronted with a clear decisive choice in the battle, to follow God or inclination. He
chooses badly and dies for it.
Conclusion
The characterization of King Ahab reveals his lack of commitment to God and the truth given
him. Too often we look at the actions of a person to determine a persons character. We tend to
list the good and the bad in two columns and see which list is longer. But this manner of
characterization in the Bible reveals a much deeper criteria. Just as God told Samuel when he
was sent to anoint David to not look on the outward appearance only but also upon the heart, so
we are to assess the character. What is so displeasing to God is not just sins as we describe them.
David committed some horrific acts as king, still God was said he was a man after His Own
heart. This was not just a cover up on Gods part. He could say that because David had allowed
God to cleanse his life. (See Ps 119:9-) David believed in salvation from sin not in sin. Ahab was
completely at the opposite end of the spectrum

GoBible Bible Studies For Better or For Worse
Lesson 11
Ahab and Jezebel: Abuse of Authority
(1 Kings 16, 21 & 2 Kings 9)
Print this lesson | Bookmark/Share:
Introduction: Some things are hard to gauge. When I was dating I wanted to marry a girl who
had religious beliefs and a religious zeal that was like mine. I remember one young lady I dated
who was "on fire" for God. Her Sabbaths were a whirl of religious activities, from attending
church, to attending other meetings to visiting nursing homes in the afternoon. I seemed to be her
only "secular" activity! The level of fire in my religious life was not set that high - and that
worried me. This week we study a couple who have the opposite temperature problem. He is
cold when it comes to a relationship with God and she is ice. Let's dive in and find out more
about who not to marry!
1. Ahab


1. Read 1 Kings 16:28-30. What kind of guy was King Ahab?


2. Read 1 Kings 16:25-26. Omri was the father of Ahab. Are you seeing a pattern here?
(Each generation gets worse!)


3. Read 1 Kings 16:31-32. Our lessons this quarter are about marriage. What does the Bible
suggest about King Ahab's marriage to Jezebel? (This marriage is listed among his most
memorable sins!)


1. I always thought that you had good marriage choices and bad marriage choices.
Wise and foolish marriage decisions. Is it possible that a marriage decision could
also be a sinful choice?


1. If so, how would you know in advance? What does our text suggest is
the sin problem with this marriage? (With Jezebel came the practice of
the worship of Baal.)


2. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. Is it sin to ignore this Biblical advice? (At a
minimum, this is advice to keep us from sin. The marriage of King Ahab
to Jezebel led to the worship of Baal - which clearly was sin. Marrying an
unbeliever is going to take your affections from God and redirect them
in another path.)


2. Why do Christians marry unbelievers? (In Ahab's situation, I doubt it was love -
although it might have been physical attraction in part. The Bible Knowledge
commentary informs us that one of the great "accomplishments" of King Omri's
life was his military alliance with the Phoenicians (Sidonians) which was sealed
by the marriage of Ahab to Jezebel (daughter of the Sidonian King). This
marriage brought with it increased earthly power and authority.)


4. Read 1 Kings 18:4 & 1 Kings 21:25. Was Jezebel simply someone who did not believe in
the true God? (No. She was an activist against God!)


2. Naboth's Vineyard


1. Read 1 Kings 21:1-3. Is the King making a reasonable offer? (Absolutely. A king might be
tempted to take it from you - especially this king.)


1. Why does Naboth turn it down? (This land has been in the family for a long
time.)


1. Is Naboth crazy? Why turn down the deal for sentimental reasons? (His
reasons are not sentimental. According to Numbers 36:7, God required
them to keep the land they inherited. Thus, Naboth most likely
considered it a religious obligation that he refuse the king's offer.)


2. Was Ahab a gardener? Why would he care about how close his vegetable
garden was unless he was tending it? (Apparently, this was King Ahab's summer
house. Perhaps he enjoyed gardening. Perhaps he just wanted to easily
supervise the workers.)


2. Read 1 Kings 21:4. What is the level of Ahab's emotional maturity?


1. How does this kind of maturity affect a marriage?


3. Read 1 Kings 21:5-7. Does Ahab tell his wife the truth? (Not the whole truth. He omits
the reason why Naboth's refusal is reasonable. Otherwise, the refusal seems totally
unreasonable.)


1. Leave the rest of what you know about Jezebel out of your mind. How is she
acting as a wife now? (She is doing exactly what every spouse should do. First,
she is not yelling at Ahab for acting like a little boy. Instead, she is sympathetic,
but at the same time reminding him of his position of authority. It seems to be a
gentle rebuke (although some experts in Hebrew might disagree). Second, she
says "I'll take care of your problem." Wouldn't it be nice if our spouses always
resolved those problems we cannot solve?)


4. Read 1 Kings 21:8-10. What does this reveal to us about Jezebel - other than she has a
clear plan of action for cheering up her spouse?


1. Consider that she is a worshiper of Baal. How much does she know about Ahab's
religion? (She knows the law requires at least two witnesses (Deuteronomy
19:15)to establish a fact, she knew you could not blaspheme God or curse the
ruler ( Exodus 22:28) and she knew that worshiping false gods was punishable
by stoning. ( Deuteronomy 13:6-10))


2. Would she likely also know that it was improper for Naboth to sell his land to
Ahab? (Yes.)


5. Read 1 Kings 21:11-14. In this context, consider again Naboth's refusal to sell Ahab his
land for religious reasons. What kind of man was Naboth? What kind of people ruled his
town? (The rulers were either very corrupt and evil, or they were frightened of Queen
Jezebel. Naboth was a remarkable man of principle.)


1. Read 2 Kings 9:26. What evil element is left out of our story in 1 Kings 21? (That
this evil plot required the death of Naboth's sons as well.)


6. Read 1 Kings 21:15-16. What does this story tell us about the marriage of Ahab and
Jezebel and their relationship? (It tells us that Jezebel was strong-willed and evil.
However, she did act to please her husband (or at least to preserve his authority as king
over his subjects). It also tells us that Ahab was immature, weak-willed, and
manipulated by his wife.)


7. Knowing what you do, should Naboth have traded or sold his land to King Ahab? (I
would vote, "yes." The regulations on land were not a moral issue. They were practical
rules to allow a family to support itself by the land through succeeding generations.
Here, the practical goal of God's regulation is thwarted by the death of Naboth and his
sons.)


1. Does God always intervene to protect the righteous from the evil here on earth?


8. Read 1 Kings 21:17-19. What level of guilt does Ahab have for the actions of his wife?
(This shows that Ahab knew what she was doing.)


1. To what degree are we responsible for the sins of our spouse?


1. Does your answer turn on the level of authority you have over your
spouse?


9. Read 1 Kings 21:20-24. If you do evil, will God find and punish you? (There is a false
teaching that God never acts like a judge to execute judgment. This teaching says that
because God is love He cannot execute judgment. That teaching has a very difficult time
surviving a story like this. Notice the parallel between the crime and the punishment.
God promises to cut off Ahab and his descendants just as Jezebel has cut off Naboth and
his descendants.)


1. Given what Ahab and Jezebel did, do you want your God to execute judgment
on them?


10. Read 1 Kings 21:27-29. What picture does this paint of our God? (He is a judge, but what
He wants is for us to repent! His desire is to save even the most wicked, not to destroy
them.)


3. Judgment


1. Read 2 Kings 9:6-10. Jehu was a commander of the army who had now been anointed
the new King of Israel! What do you think about the prophet? (For background read 2
Kings 9:1-3.)


2. Jehu starts on his task by heading towards the palace of Ahab's son, Joram. Read 2 Kings
9:20. Is there a connection between the way you drive and your success in life?


3. Joram comes out to meet Jehu and Jehu kills him. Jehu had heard the prophecy spoken
to Ahab, so he orders that Joram be tossed on Naboth's land. Jehu then continues on to
the palace. Read 2 Kings 9:30-31. Why did Jezebel "paint her eyes?"


1. Would Jehu be enticed? Was this foolish vanity of an older woman? (Read 2
Kings 9:32-33. Jehu is not enticed. Notice they loyalty of Jezebel's household!
They waste no time throwing her out the window.)


4. Read 2 Kings 9:34-37. Has justice been done?


5. Friend, make the right choices when it comes to God and your spouse. These choices
will have consequences here and they certainly will have consequences eternally.


4. Next week: Hosea and Gomer: Forgiving the Unfaithful.

You might also like