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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in First King's chapter
Speaker 1: twenty one, and this is what we read. Now. There
Speaker 1: was a man named Nabeth from Jezreel who owned a
Speaker 1: vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
Speaker 1: One day, Ahab said to Nabeth, since your vineyard is
Speaker 1: so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy
Speaker 1: it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give
Speaker 1: you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer,
Speaker 1: I will pay you for it. But Nabeth replied the
Speaker 1: Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that
Speaker 1: was passed down by my ancestors. So Ahab went home
Speaker 1: angry and sullen because of Nabeth's answer. The king went
Speaker 1: to bed with his face to the wall and refused
Speaker 1: to eat. What's the matter. His wife, Jezebel asked him,
Speaker 1: what's made you so upset that you're not eating? I
Speaker 1: asked Nabeth to sell me his vineyard or trade it,
Speaker 1: but he refused, Ahab told her, are you the king
Speaker 1: of Israel or not? Jezebel demanded, get up and eat something,
Speaker 1: and don't worry about it. I'll get you Naabeth's vineyard.
Speaker 1: So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with
Speaker 1: his seal, and sent them to the elders and other
Speaker 1: leaders of the town where Nabeth lived. In her letters,
Speaker 1: she commanded call the citizens together for a time of
Speaker 1: fasting and give Nabeth a place of honor, and then
Speaker 1: seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him
Speaker 1: of cursing God and the King. Then take him out
Speaker 1: and stone him to death. So the elders and other
Speaker 1: town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters.
Speaker 1: They called for a fast and put Nabeth at a
Speaker 1: prominent place before the people. Then the two scoundrels came
Speaker 1: and sat down across from him, and they accused Nabeth
Speaker 1: before all the people, saying he cursed God and the King.
Speaker 1: So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death.
Speaker 1: The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel Nabeth has
Speaker 1: been stone to death. When Jezebel heard the news, she
Speaker 1: said to Ahab, you know the vineyard Nabeth wouldn't sell you, well,
Speaker 1: you can have it now he's dead. So Ahab immediately
Speaker 1: went down to the vineyard of Nabeth to claim it.
Speaker 1: But the Lord said to Elijah, go down to meet
Speaker 1: King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will
Speaker 1: be at Nabeth's vineyard in Jezreel claiming it for himself.
Speaker 1: Give him this message. This is what the Lord says.
Speaker 1: Wasn't it enough that you killed Nabeth? Must you rob
Speaker 1: him too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick
Speaker 1: your blood at the very place where they licked the
Speaker 1: blood of Nabeth. So, my enemy, you have found me,
Speaker 1: Ahab exclaimed you. Elijah, Yes, Elijah answered, I have come
Speaker 1: because you have sold yourself to what is evil in
Speaker 1: the Lord's sight. So now the Lord says, I will
Speaker 1: bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy
Speaker 1: every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike
Speaker 1: anywhere in Israel. I am going to destroy your family
Speaker 1: as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
Speaker 1: and the family of Beshah son of Ahijah. For you
Speaker 1: have made me very angry and have led Israel in
Speaker 1: desin and regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, dogs will eat
Speaker 1: Jezebel's body at the plot of land in Jezreel. The
Speaker 1: members of Ahab's family who die in the city will
Speaker 1: be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the
Speaker 1: field will be eaten by vultures. No one else so
Speaker 1: completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord's
Speaker 1: sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.
Speaker 1: His worst outrage was worshiping idols, just as the Amorites
Speaker 1: had done, the people whom the Lord had driven out
Speaker 1: from the land ahead of the Israelites. But when Ahab
Speaker 1: heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap
Speaker 1: and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about
Speaker 1: in deep mourning. Then another message from the Lord came
Speaker 1: to Elijah. Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself
Speaker 1: before me? Because he has done this, I will not
Speaker 1: do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen
Speaker 1: to his sons. I will destroy his dynasty. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the opportunity to spend some time looking at it.
Speaker 1: We thank you that in a chapter like this, we
Speaker 1: see cautions that you're giving to us as to how
Speaker 1: to interact with other people in this world and honor you. Lord.
Speaker 1: You expect that your people walk with integrity, that what
Speaker 1: we do publicly and privately match. We could see Ahab
Speaker 1: and Jezebel acting in a very underhanded way and coveting
Speaker 1: things that don't belong to them, and dishonoring you in
Speaker 1: the worship of idols, and setting their hearts against you.
Speaker 1: And Lord, when we see that kind of activity, it
Speaker 1: reminds us of the state that we were in when
Speaker 1: you found us. Our hearts were set against you, we
Speaker 1: were not inclined toward you, but you softened our hearts
Speaker 1: invited us to receive the gift of salvation through faith
Speaker 1: in your son, Jesus Christ. And in line with that, Lord,
Speaker 1: we know that you show us your mercy and your grace.
Speaker 1: And we know Lord that You're love is very evident
Speaker 1: and visible around us. So Lord, we pray that we
Speaker 1: would love you in return. We pray that we would
Speaker 1: put you first in our minds and in our hearts
Speaker 1: and in our lives, that we wouldn't bow the need
Speaker 1: to idols, but that we would worship you with sincerity
Speaker 1: and humility. We're grateful, Lord for your presence with us,
Speaker 1: and we thank you for all these things in Jesus' name. Amen,