The “Sentence”

After Jezebel (wife of Ahab, king of Israel) had convinced local leaders to falsely accuse and execute a man named Naboth, just so that Ahab could get Naboth’s property, things may have looked pretty good for the king and queen. They had what they wanted, and they had further shown that they could “run over” those who got in their way.

However, God had something to say about this situation…

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ ”

1 Kings 21:17-19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.21.17-19.NIV

Here, the message that God has given Elijah to present to king Ahab represents justice. Ahab’s life was forfeit because the life of Naboth had been taken unjustly. As a commentator [Long, p.254 footnote, citing Whitelam] pointed out, even if a king of Israel was above the law, God was still in authority over the king.

In fact, note that – although 1) Jezebel was the one who had the letters drawn up, 2) other leaders implemented her evil plan, and 3) false witnesses had lied about Naboth – Ahab was still accountable for what had happened to Naboth and for taking Naboth’s vineyard. When we are responsible for doing the right thing, we can’t just say that we were “following orders” or that someone else caused harm on our watch, if we knowingly let bad things happen.

Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.

1 Kings 21:20 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.21.20.NIV

Do you see how Ahab and Elijah seem to have their own customary style of greeting each other? When Elijah found Ahab during a drought and outlined the contest at Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18:17-19), Ahab greeted Elijah as one who caused disaster for Israel. Here, Ahab greeted Elijah as his enemy. And (like the other time), Elijah turned things right back on Ahab, making it clear that it was not Elijah who was responsible for bad things happening, but rather Ahab’s sin.

According to verses 21-24, the punishment pronounced upon Ahab was that his family line would be destroyed. Ahab’s sin was so great that it wouldn’t just cost Ahab, but also his male descendants. Furthermore, punishment would extend to the queen as well.

To me, this seems to be a curse upon not just Ahab and Jezebel, but also upon the land. The king and queen have brought corruption to Israel through idol worship and other kinds of sin (like telling people to lie about a guy so that he would be stoned to death, just so that you can take his land for a garden). In addition, they have brought God’s wrath upon themselves, and they have probably defiled the Promised Land, as well.

So, what seemed like a short-term victory (for those who didn’t respect God) proved to be justification for their punishment. God was not tricked by Jezebel’s scheme, and Ahab’s failure to fulfill his responsibility as king over God’s people was serious. (By the way, this one event wasn’t the only thing that these two rulers had done wrong, but it seems to have been the defining event that triggered this announcement of their impending punishment.)

I realize that if you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re in the role of Naboth from this account, you might want justice to be served more quickly (perhaps before you lose what is valuable to you). However, God always has a purpose and a plan, and we can trust Him to balance the scales in the end. Remember, while God is love, in His holiness He is also just.

From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 25, 2025

References:

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.

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