Sermon Tone Analysis

Elijah and Elisha 11.

Can we please turn to 1 Kings 21? [P] We have been looking at the prophet Elijah; the record of Israel continues on in the Bible but Elijah does not figure until he appears briefly in this chapter.

Elijah was the man of God who stood alone for יהוה!

Or was he? [P] He, himself maintained: “I am the only one left”: [1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of יהוה.]

And in: [1 Kings 19:10 He said, “….

I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 1 Kings 19:14 Then he said, “….

I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”]

I don’t think Elijah was lying; he was right there in the presence of יהוה, talking to Him face-to-face.

You do not lie in His all-seeing, all-revealing, presence.

As far as he was aware; he was convinced that he was the only one left.

But something happened; we move on in time and there are other prophets around, other men of God.

Either they were ones that Elijah was unaware of at the time, or perhaps they were hidden in the woodwork and came out.

Or, perhaps, there was a move of God in response to what happened on Mount Carmel and men were raised up for God.

The nation as a whole didn’t turn back to יהוה but it seems that individuals may have responded.

Hadn’t יהוה Himself said that He would leave 7,000 that would not bow the knee to Baal?

But as time moves on we encounter other prophets: [1 Kings 20:13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, …… 1 Kings 20:22 Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, ….. ].

Then in [1 Kings 20:28 Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, ….. ] Here were men of God speaking up on His behalf.

[1 Kings 20:35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of יהוה, “Please strike me.”]

The “sons of the prophets” were a school of prophets, men being raised up to have a prophetic ministry.

Up to this time prophets have been individuals, now we are seeing an organized scheme for training them.

There was a group of them: [1 Kings 20:41 the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets.]

plural; there was a recognized group of them.

Ahab was contemplating going to war against Syria/Aram with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, this was the third time he’d fought Aram since we last met him on mount Carmel, so time has moved on: [1 Kings 22:8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of יהוה, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.

He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”]

Later on, near the end of Elijah’s time: [2 Kings 2:3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, ….. 2 Kings 2:5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, …] There was a group at Bethel, and a group at Jericho, and another group: [2 Kings 2:7 Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.]

Israel was in a spiritually low state but יהוה was still at work.

[P] We can take encouragement!

Our nation is in a spiritually low state; godlessness has become the norm.

It is respectable now to be irreligious and Christianity carries a stigma.

But יהוה is still at work!

He has His men, and women, who stand up and speak up on His behalf.

We see this in the passage before us: great spiritual declension, but God is still at work.

The sorry spiritual state of Israel at this time is akin to the way our nation is now.

And it goes right to the top: [P] Idolatry, doing away with יהוה, was rampant: [1 Kings 21:1–29 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

[P] Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, (it was convenient for him) and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.”

But Naboth said to Ahab, “יהוה forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

(here was another man who stuck to his principles, he swore in the name of יהוה) [P] So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.

(he felt sorry for himself, had a pity-party) [P] But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?”

So he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.’

(oh, how reasonable, considerate, rational and humanistic) But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel?

(Who was wearing the pants in that household?)

Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

(Jezebel took charge.

Took the initiative to get what she wanted – it is not an unusual thing!

People everywhere are doing it, taking charge to get their own way – selfishness!) [P] So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name (taking her husband’s authority) and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city.

Now she wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a feast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’

(false witnesses were hired to tell lies, perjure themselves) Then take him out and stone him to death.”

(they were going to frame Naboth.

Someone gets in your way, you have them killed, tread on others to get your own way) So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, (who was ruling Ahab or Jezebel?) just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them.

[P] They proclaimed a feast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.”

[P] So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

(they did exactly as they had planned.

They conceived evil and carried it out) Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, [P] “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”

(he got what he wanted and he didn’t even have to pay anything for it.

He was king and could do as he wanted: dominate and rule over others.

Jesus said that this is what the Gentiles do) When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, [P] Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Then the word of יהוה came to Elijah the Tishbite, (Yes, he is still around, still hearing from יהוה, still His servant, doing what He tells him) saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.

(יהוה knew exactly where Ahab was and what he was doing – you cannot hide from יהוה!) “You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says יהוה, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’

And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says יהוה, (twice thus says יהוה!) “In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.”

’ ” [P] Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?”

And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of יהוה.

(we use to have a memory verse as kids: “Be sure your sin will find you out” Num 32:23)“Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, (the two previous dynasties of Israel that were wiped out) because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, (it is a dangerous thing, and extremely foolish, to make יהוה angry) and because you have made Israel sin.

(it wasn’t just him, his sin had an effect on others, he was leader, others followed his example of sin) “Of Jezebel also has יהוה spoken, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’

“The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.”

(it was a message of unrelenting judgement.

יהוה was not pleased with Ahab!) Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of יהוה, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

(what we do is done in the sight of יהוה!)

He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom יהוה cast out before the sons of Israel.

(what a diatribe against Ahab!

There is the Scripture’s commentary on Ahab!

He stands out in the Bible as the most evil of kings.

Here was a man who did not please God!

They don’t come much worse.

But listen to what takes place next!

It is a most amazing thing!) [P] It came about when Ahab heard these words, (why did God tell him what He was going to do?

To warn him, turn him back) that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, [P] and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.

(Ahab listened to the word of יהוה through Elijah, he’d never taken any notice previously but what does he do now?

He REPENTS!

He was miserable, he mourned his sin, realized the consequences of what he had done.

And what does יהוה do?) Then the word of יהוה came to Elijah the Tishbite, [P] saying, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me?

Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.”]

What יהוה said would still happen, but Ahab’s repentance brought a reprieve; he was spared from seeing this evil.

It is a long passage, so I am not going to go into a detailed verse by verse exposition; rather, let’s just pick out a few simple points.

Here we have Ahab, the king, the leader to the nation; and what do we find?

He is like a petulant 2-year-old!

Twice he says “give me” [P] (verse 2 &6).

Are we “gimme” Christians?

Our prayers can be like that: “Gimme this, gimme that”!

Ahab saw something that someone else had and he wanted it.

There is a word for it: Covetousness!

It is the type of thing the prophet Micah denounced: [Micah 2:2 They covet fields and then seize them, and houses, and take them away.

They rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.]

It is a sin!

The tenth commandment stated: [Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”]

It is not just an Old Testament law: [Ephesians 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.]

It excludes you from the Kingdom of God!