Chapter Twenty-One

 1Ki 21:1  And it happened after these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab the king of Samaria. 

1Ki 21:2  And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, and it shall be a garden of green herbs for me, for it is near my house. And I will give to you in its place a better vineyard than it. If it is good in your eyes, I will give silver to you, the price of this one. 

1Ki 21:3  And Naboth said to Ahab, Far be it from me, by Jehovah, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you. 

1Ki 21:4  And Ahab came into his house sullen and angry over the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken. For he had said, I will not give the inheritance of my fathers to you. And he lay on his bed and turned away his face, and would not eat food. 

1Ki 21:5  And his wife Jezebel came in to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit sullen that you are not eating food? 

1Ki 21:6  And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you desire, I will give you a vineyard in its place. And he said, I will not give you my vineyard. 

1Ki 21:7  And his wife Jezebel said to him, Do you now rule over Israel? Rise up, eat food and let your heart be good. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 

1Ki 21:8  And she wrote letters in the name of Ahab, and sealed with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles of his city, dwelling with Naboth. 

1Ki 21:9  And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 

1Ki 21:10  And set two men, sons of worthlessness, across from him; and they shall testify of him, saying, You have cursed God and the king. And they shall bring him out and stone him; and he shall die. 

1Ki 21:11  And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters that she sent to them. 

1Ki 21:12  They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth to sit at the head of the people. 

1Ki 21:13  And two men, sons of worthlessness, came in and sat across from him. And the men of worthlessness testified of him before the people, even Naboth, saying, Naboth has cursed God and the king. And they took him out to the outside of the city, and stoned him with stones. And he died. 

1Ki 21:14  And they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. 

1Ki 21:15  And it happened when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned, and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Rise up, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, that he refused to give to you for silver. For Naboth is not alive, but dead. 

1Ki 21:16  And it happened, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. 

1Ki 21:17  And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 

1Ki 21:18  Rise up, Go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. 

1Ki 21:19  And you shall speak to him, saying, So says Jehovah, Have you murdered, and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, So says Jehovah, In the place where the dogs lick the blood of Naboth, so the dogs shall lick your blood, even yours. 

1Ki 21:20  And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he said, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in the eyes of Jehovah. 

1Ki 21:21  Behold, I shall bring evil on you, and shall take away your posterity, and cut off to Ahab him who urinates against a wall, both bond and free in Israel. 

1Ki 21:22  And I shall give up your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked to anger, and have caused Israel to sin. 

1Ki 21:23  And also Jehovah has spoken of Jezebel, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 

1Ki 21:24  He who dies of Ahab in the city, the dogs shall eat. And the birds of the heaven shall eat him who dies in a field. 

1Ki 21:25  Surely, none has been like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, whom his wife Jezebel incited. 

1Ki 21:26  And he did abominably, to go after idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah expelled from before the sons of Israel. 

1Ki 21:27  And it happened, when Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 

1Ki 21:28  And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 

1Ki 21:29  Have you seen that Ahab has been humbled before Me? Because he was humbled before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days. I will bring the evil on his house in the days of his son. 

Verses 1-16 Summary: Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, but Naboth will not sell/trade it away. Ahab becomes distraught and sulks in bed and will not eat. Jezebel hears of it and conspires to have liars cast false accusations against Naboth that he would be executed. After they do it, Jezebel reports the death to Ahab and tells him to take the vineyard. 

1. Why would it have been wrong for Naboth to sell his vineyard to Ahab?  (Lev. Chapter 11) The Year of Jubilee was an indication that land or other property was of the promise of God. It was to stay in the family that God gifted it to. If the family fell on hard times property could be "sold" but must be made redeemable or just returned in the year of Jubilee (every 50 years). If the property was within a walled city, if it was not redeemed within one year, the purchaser kept it (likely Naboth's dilema). 

Note: If Israel was so sinful with idolatry, why would blaspheme against God matter? Naboth cites Jehovah and his understanding of the significance of releasing a God-given property. Was Israel "completely" evil? What do we learn from this? The answer is disturbing. We/They can have an outward appearance of righteousness in regards to Jehovah and still be found unfaithful. The problem is IDOLATRY. I say this constantly, God has righteous avenues to affording grace to those seeking Him with honest hearts. Literally everyone in the scriptures finds grace in Jehovah if they seek it correctly (in one form or another). The cut-off point for Jehovah is when we put idols into our lives.

Verses 17-24 Summary: God tells Ahab through Elijah that his house is as cursed as Jeroboam and Baasha. His lineage will be cut off. Even Jezebel will die a humiliating death.

Note: Again, Ahab calls Elijah his enemy. Why, and what does that say about humans? Humans have the ability to rationalize away their own responsibility in personal and public matters. Ahab would have done well to mourn before God, repent and beg for forgiveness. There is a pride factor that not only keeps him from God, but also insists on saving face. It's everyone else's fault. 

Verses 25-29 Summary: The final of God's accusations against Ahab includes idolatry. Ahab becomes humbled and even acts the part. Unfortunately, the curses against him and his house stand.

2. Was Ahab's heart in his repentance? It is assumed no since God did not relent on the final outcome. However, for his outward showing, God's grace was that Ahab would not have to witness his family's executions. Remember his sullen attitude over Naboth? In that scene he turned away and was sad. Similarly, he "went softly" when he heard the verdict against him and his family. It humbled him, it made him sad, but we do not see him seeking God.