Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 110: Ahab

Good morning everyone!

Today I read 1 Kings 21-22. And a lot happened in today's reading, but I'm only going to focus on one.

Ahab steals a vineyard.

Now, who is Ahab? He is a king over Israel. He's the very wicked king who married Jezebel. Heard of her? We'll learn more about them when we get to the Chronicles.

But today, I want to talk about Ahab and this vineyard.

So, Ahab is returning from a battle that he lost (because he's wicked and God does not fight for him) and he passes the vineyard of Naboth. He stops to ask Naboth to sell or give him his vineyard. Naboth refuses.

Now, Naboth refused because God commanded that they were never to sell or give away the inheritance of their fathers. A law that Ahab knew.

Jezebel did not know the law, but she was more wicked than Ahab, serving many gods and idols.

So, Ahab doesn't get the vineyard, and he goes home to pout about it, refusing sleep and food.

Jezebel demands to know what's wrong, and when he tells her that Naboth wouldn't give him his vineyard (cleverly leaving out God's law), she declares that she will get the vineyard for him.

So she writes to the elders of Naboth's city and tells them to appoint him to a high position during a fast and have two men speak against him, that he cursed God and the king.

Now, a man could not be put to death on the word of only one witness, but two or more, he could be.

So they speak against Naboth and he is stoned to death.

Ahab gets the vineyard.

Wicked, wicked people.

Now, God speaks to Elijah and sends him to speak with Ahab.

God declares through Elijah that the dogs will lick the blood of Ahab and the dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel (Naboth's home) and Ahab's household will be utterly destroyed.

1 Kings 21:25 - Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

Ahab did many other wicked things and he provoked God to anger continually.

However, after the word of God came to him through Elijah, he put on sackcloth and mourned and humbled himself and repented.

Thus, God postpones bringing down Ahab's house until the days of his son's rule. Isn't that amazing? After all the wicked things Ahab did, when he repented and humbled himself, God did not visit the calamity on Ahab's house in Ahab's day.

Had Ahab repented of every evil deed and checked Jezebel's behavior, and turned from wickedness, God would have forgiven him. As it was, God did not send calamity on Ahab's house during his reign when he repented of taking Naboth's vineyard.

No matter what we've done, God is faithful to forgive us when we sincerely repent and humble ourselves and turn from our sin.

We'll learn more about Ahab and Jezebel in the Chronicles, though I'm sure you know a lot of their story already.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 2 Kings 1-3.