Elijah, Part 55

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house." I Kings 21:27-29

Amazingly, this chapter ends with a demonstration of mercy toward Ahab. The king of Israel had persisted in wickedness through all the messages which God had sent him. He had worshiped false gods and consented in the murder of many righteous men. At last his evil had grown so great that God had sent His prophet to tell the king that there was no more opportunity for grace. He and his family would most certainly die in violent agony. God would wipe them from the face of the earth. The end had come for Ahab, and not only he, but also his wife, children, and grandchildren would suffer the awful penalty his rebellion against the almighty.

And at that point, Ahab - always a coward who lacked the courage of any convictions - went into mourning. He engaged in all the outward forms of repentance. He tore his clothes, wore uncomfortable cloth, and changed his demeanor. He acted like a sorrowful sinner looking for mercy.

Yet we know that Ahab had not repented within his heart. Only one chapter later we find him consulting false prophets and imprisoning another prophet of Jehovah. He would willingly oppose the will of God and go to war in a cause not sanctioned by the Lord.

What, then, was he doing? Why did he respond to Elijah as he did? We cannot escape the conclusion that Ahab's tears were either a terrified response to the graphic prophecy of his family's destruction or a jaded attempt to trick God into sparing him. In either case, his tears were those of Judas and did not demonstrate repentance. The paragraph heading in our Bibles which calls this "Ahab's Repentance" are wrong; neither the word nor the concept occur in this passage.

Why, then, did God respond as He did? It is most remarkable to us that God responded to this false show of tears. We expect the Lord to ignore such sentimentality. However, God relents to some degree - postponing the destruction of Ahab's family while he lives. His judgment is not reversed, but its execution is stayed for a time.

The reason given is not repentance but rather one element of repentance: humility. "Because he has humbled himself before me…" says the Lord. Humility is not only the wisest course; it is always the right course before God. Although Ahab's repentance was a fraud, his outward humility had to be taken into account. God would not destroy the king so long as the king was humble before Him.

First, this forms the necessary background to Christ's command to forgive seventy times seven times. Peter's question to our Lord had an obvious point: at some point we can assume that repentance is not genuine. God certainly knew that Ahab didn't feel any remorse within his heart, yet He relented for a time. When He calls us to forgive after obviously fraudulent repentance, He calls on us to do no more than He himself has done.

Secondly, and of even greater import, if God was willing to respond favorably to the half-hearted, superficial repentance of Ahab, how will He respond to true repentance? The king's tears may not have revealed a heart of humility, but God's response did demonstrate a heart of compassion. He stands ready to forgive those who truly humble themselves in spirit before His face.

Elijah, Part 54

Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.” I Kings 21:21-24

With these terrible words Elijah pronounced the judgment of God against King Ahab. The words are chillingly final, but do not imagine that they are in any way harsh. Ahab received precisely what he deserved, and in fact the Lord had been very patient with him. The king was assigned his own prophet, a faithful man who pointed out to him the evil of his ways. He had ample opportunity to hear and obey the word of the Lord. Nevertheless, he had persisted in idolatry and oppression, and most recently he had consented in the murder of a righteous man. God’s judgment was certainly just, but more than that may be said.

The judgment which Elijah pronounced was also a certain judgment. There could be no question that God would follow through on it. The prophet demonstrated this fact with reference to earlier demonstrations of God’s justice. Jeroboam had an opportunity to walk with God, but he refused. He would not listen to the prophets who warned him. Consequently his family was eradicated and others took the throne of Israel. The same had happened with the house of Baasha, and now it would happen to the line of Omri as well.

How often has God judged sin? How many times do men need to see the terrible consequences of rebellion before they repent before the Lord? Sin brings judgment; this is no secret. It is splashed alike across the pages of Scripture and history. Yet the world is populated with Ahabs who imagine that they will escape the consequences of their sin.

We also see the absolute horror of falling under the judgment of God. Our modern ears cringe at the mention of dogs and birds eating the flesh of Ahab and his family. Such language is common to the warnings of the Lord. It is reminiscent of the descriptions of eternal damnation for those who will not hear the word of the Lord.

In fact, it is this which should make us tremble when we read the condemnation of Ahab. His fate is the fate of all those who refuse to give God His due. The slaughter which would come upon Ahab and Jezebel would encompass not only their children and grandchildren, but all those who bowed the knee to Baal in both Israel and Judah. Every rebel against God’s rule will have his day of reckoning. Does that not terrify you as you think of the world in which we live?

Yet even in this dark pronouncement there is a touch of light, if only we will look far enough in Scripture to find it. Ahab, Jezebel and their children would die terrible, violent deaths. Their grandchildren would also be obliterated, many of them by the hand of their own wicked daughter, the future queen of Judah. But out of this bloodbath God would mercifully remove one infant into the sanctuary of His Temple. The sole surviving descendent of Ahab would grow to be king Joash of Judah, the fulfillment in his day of God’s covenant with David.

Yes, Ahab stands in the list of ancestors of our Lord. It is a distinction which will never do him any good, but the fact still demonstrates that God’s wrath, though perfect and thorough, never overturns His gracious plan to redeem His people. The condition of the world is terrible, but the same God who judges the wicked also delivers the humble and contrite.

Elijah, Part 53

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.
I Kings 21:20

Oh, how little Ahab had learned! Elijah had already explained it to him; it was not the prophet who troubled Israel, but the king who led them away from the worship of Jehovah. Those words had also been verified; Baal could bring no storm, but the Lord restored the land with rain. Yet Ahab reverted to his attitude of distain. Elijah said things he does not like, so the prophet was called an enemy.

Only notice that this time Elijah made no attempt to dispute what he says. Ahab asked if he had found him, and he agreed that he had. By implication he also agreed that he was Ahab’s enemy. Indeed, God had become Ahab’s enemy, and Elijah was only God’s messenger. This is as bad a condition as any man can find himself in.

The phraseology with which Elijah rebuked the king is telling. He had “sold himself to do evil.” We are reminded of the Apostle’s language; we are either slaves to sin or slaves to Christ. Ahab, the king of Israel, should have been a bond-servant of Jehovah. Instead, he had willingly entered another slavery. He had made himself a slave to sin. Now it was his master, but that did not excuse him in the eyes of God.

All of that is somewhat obvious, but notice something further in this passage. Ahab, having become a slave to sin, also had a conscience. The repeated visits from Elijah had some effect on him. He spoke as a hunted man. He knew that Elijah was looking for him, and in truth God was looking for him as well. What a terrible condition that man is in who sells himself to do evil. Ahab knew that sooner or later the prophet would find him and probe his guilty conscience once again. Messages from God are unavoidable.

The truth is that God does seek those who do evil, and He does find them. The disaster which would fall on Ahab was unavoidable, as it does on any who does evil in the sight of God.

Elijah, Part 52

“And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”
I Kings 21:19

And these are the words which Elijah must finally speak to Ahab. Last week we considered the implications for the people of God - that He is always watching over us and will avenge the injustices done to us. For a moment let us consider the import of these words to Ahab.

Elijah had spoken to Ahab on only a few occasions before. The first time he laid down the challenge of God to Baal: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” God’s first embassy to Ahab was essentially to say that Jehovah, the God of Israel, lives. Furthermore, Baal, the storm-god of the Phoenicians, does not. But Ahab ignored the Word of the Lord.

Elijah’s next words to Ahab were these: “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.” Because Ahab had failed to turn from idols unto the Lord, God next told him directly that he had sinned and that he was personally responsible for the disaster that had fallen upon his people. Ahab still ignored the Word of the Lord.

The next word which Ahab heard from Elijah was addressed to all the elders of Israel, but he was chief among them. “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” Here the prophet called the sinners to repentance. God is gracious, and He would yet receive those who came humbly to Him. Again, Ahab ignored the Word of the Lord.

The last word which Ahab had heard from Elijah was a message of grace: “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” There is no record of Ahab joining in when the people cried out “The Lord, He is God!” Nevertheless, the people having humbled themselves before Him, God was prepared to pour out the blessing which He had been withholding from the land. The prophet had communicated the mercy of God as well as His righteous anger. Once more, though, Ahab ignored the Word of the Lord.

Think of that! Ahab had ignored not one but four messages from the Lord. God lives. You have sinned and brought disaster on yourself. Turn from sin and trust in God. The mercy of God is still offered. Can any sinner expect more than this from the God he has offended? Yet Ahab was stony-hearted and would not listen.

Consequently, God had only one more message for him. This was to be Elijah’s last visit, and the message itself was terrible. Essentially Elijah said, “God is finished with you, and He is going to destroy you.”

It is an inevitable message to all those who will not listen to the Word of God. Sooner or later every sinner who does not repent receives this message. How terrible a thing it is to ignore God when He pronounces His justice and His mercy before sinners!

Elijah, Part 51

As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.
I Kings 21:15-18

And so that was it. Ahab wanted the vineyard, Jezebel was willing to take it, and there was nothing Naboth could do about it. The righteous man who stood up for his principles was murdered, and no one in all Israel cared. The king is so far from caring about the perversion of justice and the cold-blooded murder of one of his subjects that he gleefully takes possession of the land he wanted. The people went back to their own lives, for the most part convinced that Naboth had gotten what he deserved. The worthless Baal-worshipers who lied in court feared nothing; the queen would protect them.

But that was not really the end of the story. The wickedness of men is never the end of the story. God was watching, and He was not pleased with the thing Ahab had done. He had never concerned himself with the approbation of the Almighty, but now his days were numbered. As soon as Ahab set foot on Naboth’s ground, God dispatched his prophet to bring words of doom to the king.

It is remarkable how God cares for the upright of heart. Ahab had done much wickedness in His day. He had married outside the faith, imported the false god Baal, and blasphemed in many ways. He had permitted the murder of the prophets of God and he had refused to repent when provided with abundant evidence of God’s power. Neither the chastisement of the drought nor the miraculous demonstration on Mt. Carmel had touched his heart.

Yet it was this small act - the murder of a righteous man - that stirred God to action. God would not rest in avenging the blood of Naboth until Ahab’s race had been eradicated from the earth. Ahab himself would die a violent death, as would Jezebel, and as would all of their children. One great-grandchild alone of all their seed would be preserved in order to keep the promise that God made to David.

God cares deeply about His people - even the nameless ones who labor in obscurity, seeking to glorify Him and to keep His laws. Naboth was one such man, and we are allowed to see the attentiveness of God to his plight in order that we might never forget that He has His eye upon His children always.

This is an encouraging thought when we find ourselves oppressed. It is also a sobering thought when we consider our obligations toward the people of God. He cares for us - for every one of us. Do we also treasure those who are called according to His name?

Elijah, Part 50

And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.” I Kings 21:11-14

“What we need,” says the man of this world, “is better laws.” Naboth could tell you otherwise.

No matter how sound the laws of any society, when those laws are not applied by upright, God-fearing rulers and people the society cannot be moral. The most striking feature of the murder of Naboth is that it was carried out within the framework of the laws of Israel. Jezebel did not merely have Naboth dragged off in the middle of the night. She did not have an assassin slip into his vineyard and kill him while he pruned his vines. She did not need to do so.

Instead she arranged things according to the laws of the land. She provided witnesses and had him charged with a capital crime. Everything was done with an outward veneer of righteousness; the punishment was correct for the alleged crime. It was not difficult for her to find witnesses, for in the Baal-worshiping culture of Israel “worthless men” were commonplace. She herself was just such a worthless one, and she had no fear of God to keep her from this monstrous crime.

Naboth’s murder is a perfect demonstration of the futility of law to transform the hearts of men. The system which Jezebel twisted to her own uses was not merely a good system, it was God’s system! The outward form of Naboth’s trial was according to the laws set down by Moses. If she could use the very laws of God to murder an innocent man, why would we assume that better laws will ever stop oppression? Only when men’s hearts are submitted to the rule of God can we ever hope to see godliness prevail.

The best of laws cannot produce that submission. For that we must look to Another who was falsely accused and subjected to judicial murder. Christ, the giver and fulfiller of the law, like Naboth was killed through a wicked misapplication of the law. Yet in his death He was victorious, and He continues to conquer the hearts of men. When He wins men to Himself, then and only then will they act righteously. The gospel offers far greater hope than the law.

Elijah, Part 49

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” I Kings 21:8-10

One function of the story of Naboth is to illustrate the comparative worthiness of religions. The people of Ahab’s day thought that they had been richly blessed by the new wisdom from the North. They had escaped the constricting regulations by which their forefathers had served Jehovah and were enjoying the spiritual freedom which came with the new relaxed reign.

But the ambition of men demands restraint. Without it, the mighty will overpower the weak. Where God’s law is removed, men enjoy their imagined freedom for a day, but soon they must recognize that they are no more than slaves of the powerful. God’s rule over men is the only safeguard of the weak individual. Without its constricting regulation the individual must be at the mercy of the powerful.

It is in this light that we must consider the case of Naboth. How did this common individual fare under Jehovah, and how under Baal?

The laws of Jehovah provided for Naboth. It is true that he was forbidden to sell his inheritance, but neither could anyone take it from him. Kings come and go, and while some kings would care about maintaining the Naboths of this world, inevitably others would not care about them at all. God, however, had provided in His law for Naboth. He was to have his vineyard free and clear, and he was to have the freedom to work it and to live from it. His right to live and labor on his own land was secured so long as God’s law was the law of the land.

All that changed when Ahab married a Phoenician princess. For a time no one realized it; there was such relief at not having to worry about the Commandments any longer. Soon, though, the selfish king would turn his eye on someone’s land. The desire of the private individual to remain on his land and to live of his own labor was not important to Ahab, for he had rejected the God who says that such things matter. He hated Naboth, and his heathen wife knew just what to do about it.

Without God’s law, not only was there no protection for Naboth’s vineyard, there was also none for Naboth himself. The godless government that didn’t care about the inheritance laws thought nothing of stealing a man’s land, nor even of killing him in the process. Jezebel was even willing to co-opt the outward form of biblical law in order to achieve the ends of theft and murder. A trial was set up in the form dictated by Moses, but it was a sham.

From that moment it was clear that no Israelite was anything more than a slave. The king could kill whomever he wished and take whatever he wished. So it always will be when God’s laws are despised. Without them the powerful will take whatever they want.