1 Kings 21:1-16 — Naboth’s Vineyard
1 Kings 21:17-29 — The Lord Condemns Ahab and He Repents
1 Kings 22:1-40 — Ahab is Prophesied Against and is Killed in Battle
1 Kings 22:40-53 — Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah, Ahaziah Reigns in Israel
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Ahab continues his vile legacy of following his pagan wife’s lead. In this story, we read that Jezebel hears Ahab’s whining about Naboth’s vineyard and fixes the problem by having him murdered. From her world view, this selfish act makes sense. Ahab associates himself fully to Jezebel’s self-centered philosophy and as a result we read, “there was never anyone like Ahab…urged on by Jezebel his wife..the vilest…” (1 Kings 21:25-26).
We shouldn’t be shocked by her actions. She stages the murder of Naboth in this particular story (ch 21) because she has no faith in God, no foundation in Christ, she simply sees something in her way and takes action. During a talk yesterday, one of the speakers said, “don’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians.” That’s not news, surely we’ve heard that reminder before. We know intuitively it takes a lot more patience and understanding to work with the unchurched…they don’t “naturally” follow our rules. And we should NOT expect them to. The hard part is somehow embracing the perverse, the drug dealer, those addicted to (fill in the blank) without becoming even one tiny bit like them. We have to remain completely reliant on Jesus, full of faith and bold enough to embrace those he would have sought after if he where walking around our streets today. “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'” (Luke 5:31-32) Our task is difficult, but our motives must be pure. God please help me to seek the sick, the hurting, those who don’t even know they are ill and be a part of your plan to show them true life, true love.