“After These Things”
Life Lessons From Elijah • Sermon • Submitted
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1 Kings 21:1-29
1 Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
INTRODUCTION:
How we act after God works mightily in our sight is very revealing. How do we respond when we have had a major move of God in our lives? Do we strive to learn more about God's will for our lives, so that we may closer to him? Or do we follow our spiritual mountain top experiences with attitudes and actions That follow only our fleshly desires?
In our text, We find an excellent example of a person who chooses to live a life that is controlled by their emotions and fleshly desires. King Ahab of Israel had seen first hand Physical demonstrations of God’s amazing power. God granted grace on top of grace, attempting to steer Ahab and the nation of Israel back to himself.
Note how Ahab seen God work:
God sent a drought turning the nation of Israel around.
God sent a fire from heaven to revive the nation.
God sent rain to end the drought.
God granted victory over Syrian forces that were militarily superior to Israel.
Instead of repenting and turning back to God, the king had chosen farther and farther away from God. If you and I are not careful, We may find ourselves following the same pathway the king followed after all that God had shown him. The behavior that we are going to study tonight was beneath the dignity that should have been displayed by the king of Israel and definitely does not fit with who we are in Jesus Christ.
I- CONSUMED WITH COVETOUSNESS (1 KINGS 21:1-3)
I- CONSUMED WITH COVETOUSNESS (1 KINGS 21:1-3)
1 Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”
Covetousness: a strong wish to have something, especially something that belongs to someone else. To covet is to desire inordinately, to place the object of desire before love and devotion to God.
A- Ahab wanted what was not his.
A- Ahab wanted what was not his.
1- Naboth’s land was (by Jewish thought) a sacred trust from God.
(Lev. 25:23–28)
23 “The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.
24 “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back.
25 If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.
26 If there is no close relative to buy the land, but the person who sold it gets enough money to buy it back,
27 he then has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be discounted according to the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. In this way the original owner can then return to the land.
28 But if the original owner cannot afford to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land.
a- The land of a family was not to be permanently sold. It was to be returned to the family in the year of Jubillee.
b- Naboth considered the land as God’s gift to him and not to be given or surrendered to another.
2- Naboth’s behavior after Naboth’s refusal displayed his obsession with possessing Naboth’s land. He coveted what was not his to get.
B- The believer in Christ is to keep covetousness out of his life.
B- The believer in Christ is to keep covetousness out of his life.
(Exodus 20:17)
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
(Luke 12:15)
15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
(James 4:2)
2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.
1- How do we allow covetousness to creep into our lives?
a- Allowing our eyes to wander from Christ to the world.
b- Looking at what other people have instead of what Christ has given to you.
2- What does covetousness reveal about us?
a- We believe that God is unfair.
b- We believe that God is unwise.
c- We are really idolators - Things are more important that God to us. (Colossians 3:5)
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
II- DISPLAYS OF CHILDISHNESS (1 Kings 21: 4-6)
II- DISPLAYS OF CHILDISHNESS (1 Kings 21: 4-6)
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
A- Childish display of anger. (1 Kings 21:4)
A- Childish display of anger. (1 Kings 21:4)
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
1- Ahab went home “angry.”
a- זָעֵף [zaʿeph /zaw·afe/] adj. = angry, raging, out of humor, vexed.
2- - Ahab was “sullen.”
a- סַר [car /sar/] adj. = stubborn, implacable, rebellious, resentful, sullen.
B- Manipulation of others. (1 Kings 21:4-6)
B- Manipulation of others. (1 Kings 21:4-6)
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
1- Like a child, he went to his bedroom and refused to talk to anyone or look at them. He even refused to eat. He was pitching a childish fit!
2- He made Jezebel ask him what was wrong.
a- Notice that Ahab only told her the part of Naboth’s refusal that was to Ahab’s advantage in getting Jezebel’s sympathy.
b- In so doing, Ahab added bearing false witness to his already copious list of sins.
C- The believer should avoid childishness.
C- The believer should avoid childishness.
1- How does childishness creep into our lives?
a- We allow our fleshly desires and preferences to become more important than Christ’s mission.
b- We allow our emotions to govern our interaction with other people.
c- We try to manipulate other people to get our own way.
d- We resort to manipulating and twisting facts to get our own way.
2- What does childish behavior reveal about us?
a- We are immature and in need of growing-up.
(1) Like the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.
2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,
b- We are under the control of the flesh, not the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:3)
3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
(Galatians 5:19-21)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
III- CALLOUSLY SELFISH (1 Kings 21:7-16)
III- CALLOUSLY SELFISH (1 Kings 21:7-16)
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived.
9 In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor.
10 And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters.
12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people.
13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death.
14 The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”
16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
A- Ahab was so callously selfish that he did not care what it took to get his way.
A- Ahab was so callously selfish that he did not care what it took to get his way.
1- Ahab did not care what Jezebel did do get what he wanted.
a- He knew that anything done had to go against godliness and right.
b- Notice that he never asked what Jezebel was going to do. (1 Kings 21:7)
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
c- Jezebel concocted a plot to murder Naboth.
(The procedure Jezebel outlined was in agreement with the law (Deut. 17:6–7; 19:15; Num. 35:30), but the accusation was false, the witnesses were liars, and the judges had been bought off by royal intimidation. In every town there were “men of Belial—worthless fellows” who would do anything for money or just to become important. Nobody but Ahab and possibly Jezebel heard Naboth’s refusal to sell, and there was nothing in his words that could be interpreted as blasphemy. To curse God was a capital crime (Lev. 24:13–16), and cursing the king was dangerous because he was God’s appointed ruler (Ex. 22:28; Acts 23:5).)
Used the ploy of a “legal trial.”
Enlisted the help of town leaders to accomplish her illegal act.
Utilized false witnesses to present trumped-up charges against Naboth.
Engaged the whole community in the illegal and unjust execution of Naboth and his family.
d- Ahab did not care what had been done wrong by others, he only cared that he got what he wanted!
1- The land that Ahab was trying to possess was still not his to take. It should go to the next of kin!
B- There is no place for callous selfishness in the life of God’s children!
B- There is no place for callous selfishness in the life of God’s children!
1- How do we allow callous selfishness to take control of us?
a- Neglecting our personal walk with the Lord.
b- Surrounding ourselves with people who are not walking with the Lord.
2- What does callous selfishness reveal about us?
a- A heart that is not right with God.
(Matthew 5:19)
19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
b- A life that is on a downward spiral toward God’s discipline.
(Hebrews 12:6)
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
IV- COMPLETELY REBELLIOUS ( 1 Kings 21:17-26)
IV- COMPLETELY REBELLIOUS ( 1 Kings 21:17-26)
17 But the Lord said to Elijah,
18 “Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself.
19 Give him this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’ ”
20 “So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight.
21 So now the Lord says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel!
22 I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’
23 “And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.’
24 “The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”
25 (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.
26 His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)
A- Ahab wound up in the depths of rebellion against God.
A- Ahab wound up in the depths of rebellion against God.
1- Ahab went down to Naboth’s vineyard to possess it contrary to God’s law. (1 Kings 21:15-16)
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”
16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
2- Ahab was tacitly guilty of the sins of murder and theft, due to his agreement with Jezebel’s actions.
(1 Kings 21:19)
19 Give him this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’ ”
3- Ahab openly made himself an enemy of God and His messenger. (1 Kings 21:20)
20 “So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight.
4- Ahab’s rebellion against God was legendary. (1 Kings 21:25)
25 (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.
B- The child of God must beware of a rebellious spirit.
B- The child of God must beware of a rebellious spirit.
1- How does the believer wind-up in rebellion against God?
a- Neglect of personal spiritual walk and commitment to spiritual growth.
b- Allowing covetousness to control desires.
b- Choosing to focus on self and own selfish desires. (childishness)
c- Focusing on getting others to fulfill your desires rather than seeking the good of others and the will of God.
d- These ultimately lead to a choice to rebel against God.
2- What does this rebellious spirit reveal about us?
a- We are in danger of God’s judgment against us.
The scriptures teach us that our rebellion can lead to our life being cut short.
(1 Corinthians 5:5)
5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
b- We need to repent!
(Revelation 2:22)
22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.
CONCLUSION:
A- Respond properly to God’s Word. (1 Kings 21:27-29)
A- Respond properly to God’s Word. (1 Kings 21:27-29)
27 But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.
28 Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah:
29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”
1- Repent and return to God
(Revelation 3:19)
19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
(Revelation 2:5)
5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.