Bible Questions Answered:
“...in bible class we were talking
about Naboth, how that he wouldn't give the king his garden and then
the kings wife planned to have him killed. Naboth doesn't seem to be
such a good man, he should have just given the king what he
wanted...”
Jesse/ Edinburgh, Scotland United
Kingdom
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
I Kings 21:1-29 NLT Naboth’s
Vineyard
1 Now there was a man named Naboth,
from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel 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.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen
because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to
the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his
wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re
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 don’t
worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s
name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and
other leaders of the town where Naboth lived.
9 In her letters she commanded:
“Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, 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.”
11 So the elders and other town
leaders followed the instructions Jezebel 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 wouldn’t sell you?
Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”
16 So Ahab immediately went down to
the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
17 But The Lord said to Elijah,
18 “Go down to meet King Ahab of
Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in
Jezreel, claiming it for himself.
19 Give him this message: ‘This is
what The Lord says: Wasn’t 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!’”
20 “So, my enemy, you have found
me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I
have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in The
Lord’s 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 Israel!
22 I am going to destroy your family
as I did the family of Jeroboam 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 Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in
Jezreel.’
24 “The members of Ahab’s family
who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the
field will be eaten by vultures.”
25 (No one else so completely sold
himself to what was evil in The Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the
influence of his wife Jezebel.
26 His worst outrage was worshiping
idols just as the Amorites had done—the people whom The Lord had
driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)
27 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.
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.”
Naboth's reply to the king was...
I Kings 21:3 “The
Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed
down by my ancestors.”
Naboth,
refused the king.
More
fully explained, here again is the reason why Naboth “could not,”
sell or permanently give away his land.
Leviticus 25:23
NLT (Be sure to read the whole
chapter. See also Numbers 36:1-13,
and Exodus 34:9.)
“The
land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to
Me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for Me.
Naboth
could not, because God had commanded that all land remain with the
original tribal owners.
Naboth
had been faithful to The Lord, and with what result?
I Kings 21:13,14
NLT
13 “...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.”
“Oh
no, Pastor you must have that wrong! Surely a man who does God's
bidding will only be blessed!”
Matthew 16:24-27
NKJV
24
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me.
25
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake will find it.
26
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27
For the Son Of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Surely
some would think today, “What's the big deal, let the king have the
vineyard, so what?” But it is a “big deal,” for whenever we
loose sight of God's command and give “ground,” to the enemy, we
not only placate him, we diminish our association with The Lord.
Matthew 6:24 NLT
“No
one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other;
you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and money.
Such
a trite concern, a vineyard, and the temptations to sell off our
“spiritual heritage” with The Lord, may well come as seemingly
trite as well.
II Corinthians
6:14-18 NLT (God's Temple.)
14
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness
be a partner with wickedness? How can Light live with darkness?
15
What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a
believer be a partner with an unbeliever?
16
And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we
are the temple of
The
Living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them.
I will be their God, and they will be My people.
17
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves
from them, says The Lord.
Don’t
touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.
18
And I will be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters,
says The Lord Almighty.”
Naboth
said “no,” to the king, but The Lord said “yes,” to Naboth,
and in His kingdom, he forever remains.
Revelation
2:10,11 NLT
10
Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will
throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten
days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give
you
the
crown of life.
11
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to The Spirit and understand
what He is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be
harmed by the second death.
