1 Kings 21:15 says, And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. When she heard that Naboth was dead, Jezebel went to Ahab and told him to get up and go take possession of Naboth's vineyard because he was dead. She didn't tell Ahab about her part in his death nor that she had him killed in his name. People who get what we want for us today may not always be honest about how they got it, and we should never just accept things blindly without question. Sometimes, we may be offered something that God doesn't even want us to have. Verse sixteen adds, And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he quit lying in bed in self-pity and got up and took possession of the vineyard. Nothing motivates people more at times than getting something they want and thought they couldn't have, but we as followers of Christ must first make sure that what we are getting is in accordance with God's will and was gotten legally. Just getting our way should never be our prime motivator. Verse seventeen continues, And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, About the time Jezebel was speaking to Ahab, God was speaking to Elijah. God is always aware of what is going on in the world, and as Christians, He may call on us to address the problem. Verse eighteen states, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. Just as Jezebel told Ahab to arise and go to Naboth's vineyard, God told Elijah to arise and go there as well. Of course, they were going for different reasons. God may send us to a place where something evil is being done, but before He can, we must arise spiritually. We cannot be effective in doing God's work if we are spiritually asleep. Even if we are awake spiritually, we still must obey God's call if we are to be effective Christians. Verse nineteen adds, And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. Elijah was to ask Ahab if he had killed Naboth. Even though Ahab was not directly responsible for Naboth's death, he was morally responsible since it was his greed or selfishness that had resulted in Naboth's death. We cannot escape the responsibility of things being done for us because of our desires by saying that someone else actually carried out the plan for us to get what we want. Elijah was also to tell Ahab that one day the dogs would lick his blood in the place where Naboth had died. Unless we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, one day we will be held accountable for our sins and sent away into everlasting punishment. Verse twenty continues, And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Ahab asked Elijah if he had found him and called Elijah his enemy, but Ahab was actually an enemy of God, and God had sent Elijah to him. God will always know where those who are doing evil in the world are. Elijah told Ahab that he had found Ahab because of the evil that he had sold himself to in order to do evil in the sight of the LORD. Elijah did not say that he was an enemy of Ahab himself, but that God had sent him to Ahab because of Ahab's wickedness. We are sent to witness to people today not because we are their enemy, but because of the sin in their life and we have the gospel to share with them. Verse twenty-one declares, Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, Elijah told Ahab that God was going to destroy all of his family. Though our descendants will never be spiritually destroyed for our sins, if we are worshipping other gods, it may lead to their never accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. What we can be sure of is that those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior will meet a fate much worse than physical death. They will be forever separated from God and never be a part of His kingdom. Verse twenty-two adds. And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. Elijah told Ahab that God was going to do to him the same thing that He had done to Jeroboam and Baasha because of their sins, and that was to remove their families from ruling over Israel. Today, individually we either become a part of God's kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ, or we are forever cut off from His kingdom. Of course, we will never rule there, but will always worship God and do His will for us. Verse twenty-three continues, And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. God also pronounced judgment on Jezebel, saying that she would be eaten by the dogs by the wall of Jezreel. As horrible as this may seem, it wasn't as bad as the fact that she was going to go away to everlasting punishment. Even if we die a horrible death, it won't compare at all to the everlasting destruction that is to come spiritually if we refuse to accept salvation that God has so graciously made available. Verse twenty-four says, Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. Ahab was told that his descendants wouldn't even be buried when they died, either being eaten by the dogs in the city or the birds in the field. Again, this may sound horrible, but what happens to our body when we die is of little importance. It is what happens to our soul that is going to affect us forever. Verse twenty-five adds, But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. God through Elijah said that there was no one as bad as Ahab, who was guilty of participating in sin that Jezebel stirred up. Ahab's greed led to Jezebel's actions on his behalf. We cannot avoid being held responsible for sins that we encourage others to do for our benefit. Verse twenty-six continues, And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. Elijah said God had judged Ahab not only for the actions of Jezebel on his behalf, but also because Ahab, the king of Israel, had given in to the worship of false gods. This is ultimately going to be what everyone is judged for. We either accept God as the only God or we worship idols and will be forever separated from Him. Verse twenty-seven states, And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. When Ahab heard this, he believed it and at least went through the motions of repenting. Matthew Henry says Ahab was still a hardened sinner, but he was afraid of God, even if he didn't accept Him as the true God. Just going through the motions of repentance is never going to save us. Verse twenty-eight adds, And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Verse twenty-nine continues, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. God told Elijah because Ahab humbled before Him, that He would not bring evil on Ahab but on his sons. Still, this did not make Ahab a part of God's kingdom, and one day he would die and go away to an everlasting punishment. We should always be more concerned with the soul than the body.
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