1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.” 3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
Ahab is a guy who just doesn’t get it, and we really see his character flaws in this story. There is an Israelite named Naboth who has a vineyard next to the palace. Ahab wants it for a vegetable garden. So he offers Naboth a fair price for his land. But Naboth is an Israelite with some scruples. He won’t give up the land he has inherited from his ancestors. This is land acquired when the Israelites first came into the promised land. It is a big deal, but Ahab, in his petulance, cannot see that. He just sees a guy who won’t sell him the land he wants, so he goes back to the palace sullen and angry, and sulks like a spoiled child.
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. 5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?” 6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.” 15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
But Jezebel is there lurking around and she scolds the king. “Get up and eat. Cheer up! I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth!” So she concocts a plan to kill Naboth. She sets him up with a bogus day of fasting and sets up Naboth in a prominent position at the head table. There, she plants two people to call him out as a blasphemer. This carries the penalty of death, and although Naboth is completely innocent, he is taken out and stoned to death, as per the law.
Jezebel tells Ahab that Naboth is dead and Ahab gleefully goes down to his vineyard to take possession of it. But the question is, wouldn’t the family of Naboth take possession?
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’” 20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” “I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’ 23 “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ 24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
An edict is handed down through Elijah: Ahab’s family will be wiped out and Jezebel will be eaten by dogs. This shakes Ahab. He fits on the sackcloth and mourns himself. This moves the Lord. It appears that Ahab has genuinely moved toward repentance. The Lord vows that because of this, Ahab’s family will not be wiped out during his lifetime. We’ll have to see if Ahab can keep it up and move toward God.
25 (There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.) 27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”
The story of Ahab is important because we see a scoundrel like Ahab and say, “how could God endure such a guy? Why doesn’t he just wipe out Ahab right then and there? In the story of Ahab there is something that is indicative of God: He pursues. Even someone like Ahab. Is Ahab someone who can redeem himself? Paul was a murderer of Christians before his conversion and he became perhaps an ardent follower of Christ. God pursues us, no matter what we’ve done or how often we’ve done it. In Ahab’s case, he has pursued him from the start, been patently showing him that He is God. Will Ahab finally figure it out? We do know that God has a limit, and if you turn your back on Him enough, he will allow you to do what you do. But we can take heart that God doesn’t give up on us unless we completely give up on Him, and even then he stands at the door and waits.