TEXT: I Kings 21

SUBJECT: Life of Elijah #9: Naboth's Vineyard

Today brings us to the eighth sermon in our study of Elijah. Our interest, however, is not in the prophet himself, but in the Lord Jesus Who was using him to advance His cause. This chapter features four compelling characters: Ahab and Jezebel, Naboth and Elijah. But it's not about any of them; it's about Christ. If we miss Him in the chapter, we've missed its point entirely. I Kings 21--no less than John 3--testifies to Jesus Christ. May God lift the veil that we may see Him. Amen.

Ahab is a man of insatiable appetities. He own a magnificent palace in Samaria and a country estate in Jezreel. He's not content, however, with what he has. He spies a vineyard which--he thinks--will be a fine addition to his summer home. He makes a fair offer to its owner who has the gall to say "No" to his king. Naboth is a principled man. Centuries before God had divided the land of Canaan among the tribes and families of Israel. The farm had been entrusted to him; it was his duty to work it till it was bequeathed to his own son. The idea of selling it, therefore, was abhorrent to Naboth. It was a desecration of God's gift.

Naboth's decision left Ahab deeply upset; he showed it. He went home in a foul mood, sullen over not getting what he wanted. Jezebel was disdainful; if he wanted Naboth's vineyard, she'd show him how to get it. She wrote to the city fathers of Jezreel to proclaim a fast and charge Naboth was blasphemy; false witnesses were hired against him; he was found guilt and stoned to death for his sin. His vineyard was now occupied; Ahab seized it for his own.

Surveying his new property, the king couldn't be happier with himself. Until an old friend shows up; Elijah has come to the vineyard to pronounce the LORD's judgment. Ahab's blood will be licked up in the same place as Naboth's. His queen would suffer a similar fate. His dynasty would be overthrown; his family destroyed to the last man.

For the first time in his life, perhaps, Ahab trembles before the Word and takes upon himself the clothing and bearing of a penitent. Did he repent in the saving sense? No he didn't. But he did publicly humble himself. God takes notice and commutes his sentence.

Ahab returns to the palace a broken man; Elijah goes back to his hiding place, awaiting the Word's fulfillment.

What is the Lord Jesus doing in these fateful events? Four things stand out.

In the first place, He is seeing through the royal hypocrisy. The execution of Naboth was both technically legal and visibly pious. The letter of the Law was followed with meticulous care.

All of these criteria were met. Naboth was found guilty and justly put to death for his crimes. Or so it seemed to the casual viewer. But our Lord's view is more than casual. He does not "judge according to appearance", but "judges with righteous judgment". He knew the outward respect for His will camoflauged a heart at enmity with Him and not subject to His Law.

This He did repeatedly when He walked among us. He was never taken in by the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. These were men devoted to religion; always praying, ever giving alms; fasting twice a week. But He saw them as they were: "White washed tombs full of dead men's bones". He pronounced many woes upon them!

His penetrating insight has not been dulled by time; nor has He lost His indignation for hypocrisy. What He saw through and condemned in Ahab, He sees through in us, and passes the same judgment. Let us beware of "Drawing near to Him with our lips, while our hearts are far from Him". If our hearts are in rebellion, our good deeds are worse than useless--they're abominations. Amos 5:21 decries public religion apart from private devotion: "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your solemn asseblies".

What was wrong with these religious meetings? In one way, nothing was wrong. In another way, everything was amiss. The meetings were decent, orderly, and orthodox. But those who attended them were not; they were unjust, unrighteous, and secretly devoted to their idols. The Lord Jesus knew all about it. He abhorred their hypocrisy.

His opinion never changed. He knew the men of His day were also eager to engage in public worship. But he also knew they came to these meetings carrying grudges and ill-feelings. He urged them: "First be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift".

Let us think often of our Lord's all-seeing eye. Not to stir terror in our souls, but to produce reverence and godly fear".

In the second place, our Lord is judging Ahab for his sins. The king was not only caught but condemned. The penalty for murder is death; Ahab has shed innocent blood; his blood will be shed for it. "God is love". No one who knows Christ can doubt that. But His love does not nullify His justice. He doesn't choose between the two; He is both, simultaneously, at all times.

People who deny or doubt the justice of Christ have never read the Bible. No one--including Moses and Paul--ever spoke more often or explicitly about hell. It is He who described its never-ending punishment: "Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched". It is He who described the vast number who will make it their eternal home: To "many in that day", He will say, "Depart from Me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you". It is He who will execute the judgment: "The chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire".

Our Lord Jesus is loving, patient, and kind. He's not to be trifled with, however. He hates sin more than any man does; He'll punish it more than any man can. Many see Him as "non-judgmental". Paul saw Him as quite the opposite: God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead".

Let us ponder our Lord's hate for sin and promise to judge it as it deserves: "The Father has committed all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).

In the third place, our Lord was offering mercy while pronouncing judgment.

Ahab might have been struck dead for his sin. He had long been guilty of various capital offenses. Yet he still lived. Moreover, the judgment pronoucned in Naboth's vineyard would not be immediate; years would pass before it was fulfilled.

Why? There was no lack of power or justice in Christ. He had cut down other men for fewer crimes and less serious than Ahab's. But Ahab lives; his semi-repentance is acknowledged. The judgment is delayed. Why? So that Ahab might fully repent of his sins and find their remission. The LORD "Takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live". In "wrath, [He] remembered mercy".

Longsuffering is an attribute of our Lord Jesus; one of His most admirable. In the New Testment, He gives His people--and sinners--chance after chance to repent. It is He who wants to fertilize the tree once more before consigning it to the flames. His longsuffering is our salvation. If He were impatient with sinners, we'd all be damned. "We ourselves were once foolish" says Paul.

If the One who hates sin far more than we is so patient with sinners, dare we be quick to judge them? God forbid! Let us "Be slow to speak and slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God". Let us learn what the Pharisees wouldn't: "I will have mercy and not sacrifice".

Finally, our Lord was saving His people from their enemies. The people of Israel feared Syria, Judah, and the other nations at their borders. But Ahab was a much greater threat. As long as he and his wife ruled, Israel would have no peace. But God loves His people, and will not allow them to suffer without end. Thus, after many delays, He at last cuts down the arch-villians, and replaces them with a man better than they.

Our Lord Jesus "knows our frames". He knows how much we can bear. He never permits us to suffer beyond the breaking point. Thus, we mustn't fear or loathe those who do us wrong. They cannot do us more harm than He decrees. When they have filled up their quota of persecution, He'll take them out of our lives. Hopefully by conversion; possibly by death. But either way, they're removed from our lives, and we rest better for it.

The murder of Naboth was a "frowning Providence". But behind it, the Lord Jesus hid "a smiling face". May we look through our problems to see our Savior working them for our good and His glory. Amen.

TEXT: I Kings 21

SUBJECT: Life of Elijah #9: Naboth's Vineyard

Today brings us to the eighth sermon in our study of Elijah. Our interest, however, is not in the prophet himself, but in the Lord Jesus Who was using him to advance His cause. This chapter features four compelling characters: Ahab and Jezebel, Naboth and Elijah. But it's not about any of them; it's about Christ. If we miss Him in the chapter, we've missed its point entirely. I Kings 21--no less than John 3--testifies to Jesus Christ. May God lift the veil that we may see Him. Amen.

Ahab is a man of insatiable appetities. He own a magnificent palace in Samaria and a country estate in Jezreel. He's not content, however, with what he has. He spies a vineyard which--he thinks--will be a fine addition to his summer home. He makes a fair offer to its owner who has the gall to say "No" to his king. Naboth is a principled man. Centuries before God had divided the land of Canaan among the tribes and families of Israel. The farm had been entrusted to him; it was his duty to work it till it was bequeathed to his own son. The idea of selling it, therefore, was abhorrent to Naboth. It was a desecration of God's gift.

Naboth's decision left Ahab deeply upset; he showed it. He went home in a foul mood, sullen over not getting what he wanted. Jezebel was disdainful; if he wanted Naboth's vineyard, she'd show him how to get it. She wrote to the city fathers of Jezreel to proclaim a fast and charge Naboth was blasphemy; false witnesses were hired against him; he was found guilt and stoned to death for his sin. His vineyard was now occupied; Ahab seized it for his own.

Surveying his new property, the king couldn't be happier with himself. Until an old friend shows up; Elijah has come to the vineyard to pronounce the LORD's judgment. Ahab's blood will be licked up in the same place as Naboth's. His queen would suffer a similar fate. His dynasty would be overthrown; his family destroyed to the last man.

For the first time in his life, perhaps, Ahab trembles before the Word and takes upon himself the clothing and bearing of a penitent. Did he repent in the saving sense? No he didn't. But he did publicly humble himself. God takes notice and commutes his sentence.

Ahab returns to the palace a broken man; Elijah goes back to his hiding place, awaiting the Word's fulfillment.

What is the Lord Jesus doing in these fateful events? Four things stand out.

In the first place, He is seeing through the royal hypocrisy. The execution of Naboth was both technically legal and visibly pious. The letter of the Law was followed with meticulous care.

All of these criteria were met. Naboth was found guilty and justly put to death for his crimes. Or so it seemed to the casual viewer. But our Lord's view is more than casual. He does not "judge according to appearance", but "judges with righteous judgment". He knew the outward respect for His will camoflauged a heart at enmity with Him and not subject to His Law.

This He did repeatedly when He walked among us. He was never taken in by the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. These were men devoted to religion; always praying, ever giving alms; fasting twice a week. But He saw them as they were: "White washed tombs full of dead men's bones". He pronounced many woes upon them!

His penetrating insight has not been dulled by time; nor has He lost His indignation for hypocrisy. What He saw through and condemned in Ahab, He sees through in us, and passes the same judgment. Let us beware of "Drawing near to Him with our lips, while our hearts are far from Him". If our hearts are in rebellion, our good deeds are worse than useless--they're abominations. Amos 5:21 decries public religion apart from private devotion: "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your solemn asseblies".

What was wrong with these religious meetings? In one way, nothing was wrong. In another way, everything was amiss. The meetings were decent, orderly, and orthodox. But those who attended them were not; they were unjust, unrighteous, and secretly devoted to their idols. The Lord Jesus knew all about it. He abhorred their hypocrisy.

His opinion never changed. He knew the men of His day were also eager to engage in public worship. But he also knew they came to these meetings carrying grudges and ill-feelings. He urged them: "First be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift".

Let us think often of our Lord's all-seeing eye. Not to stir terror in our souls, but to produce reverence and godly fear".

In the second place, our Lord is judging Ahab for his sins. The king was not only caught but condemned. The penalty for murder is death; Ahab has shed innocent blood; his blood will be shed for it. "God is love". No one who knows Christ can doubt that. But His love does not nullify His justice. He doesn't choose between the two; He is both, simultaneously, at all times.

People who deny or doubt the justice of Christ have never read the Bible. No one--including Moses and Paul--ever spoke more often or explicitly about hell. It is He who described its never-ending punishment: "Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched". It is He who described the vast number who will make it their eternal home: To "many in that day", He will say, "Depart from Me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you". It is He who will execute the judgment: "The chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire".

Our Lord Jesus is loving, patient, and kind. He's not to be trifled with, however. He hates sin more than any man does; He'll punish it more than any man can. Many see Him as "non-judgmental". Paul saw Him as quite the opposite: God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead".

Let us ponder our Lord's hate for sin and promise to judge it as it deserves: "The Father has committed all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).

In the third place, our Lord was offering mercy while pronouncing judgment.

Ahab might have been struck dead for his sin. He had long been guilty of various capital offenses. Yet he still lived. Moreover, the judgment pronoucned in Naboth's vineyard would not be immediate; years would pass before it was fulfilled.

Why? There was no lack of power or justice in Christ. He had cut down other men for fewer crimes and less serious than Ahab's. But Ahab lives; his semi-repentance is acknowledged. The judgment is delayed. Why? So that Ahab might fully repent of his sins and find their remission. The LORD "Takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live". In "wrath, [He] remembered mercy".

Longsuffering is an attribute of our Lord Jesus; one of His most admirable. In the New Testment, He gives His people--and sinners--chance after chance to repent. It is He who wants to fertilize the tree once more before consigning it to the flames. His longsuffering is our salvation. If He were impatient with sinners, we'd all be damned. "We ourselves were once foolish" says Paul.

If the One who hates sin far more than we is so patient with sinners, dare we be quick to judge them? God forbid! Let us "Be slow to speak and slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God". Let us learn what the Pharisees wouldn't: "I will have mercy and not sacrifice".

Finally, our Lord was saving His people from their enemies. The people of Israel feared Syria, Judah, and the other nations at their borders. But Ahab was a much greater threat. As long as he and his wife ruled, Israel would have no peace. But God loves His people, and will not allow them to suffer without end. Thus, after many delays, He at last cuts down the arch-villians, and replaces them with a man better than they.

Our Lord Jesus "knows our frames". He knows how much we can bear. He never permits us to suffer beyond the breaking point. Thus, we mustn't fear or loathe those who do us wrong. They cannot do us more harm than He decrees. When they have filled up their quota of persecution, He'll take them out of our lives. Hopefully by conversion; possibly by death. But either way, they're removed from our lives, and we rest better for it.

The murder of Naboth was a "frowning Providence". But behind it, the Lord Jesus hid "a smiling face". May we look through our problems to see our Savior working them for our good and His glory. Amen.