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you could turn in your Bibles to first Kings chapter 21 first Kings chapter 21 last week in chapter 20 we noted it it was something at the beginning of the end for a abbe a hub released ben-hadad after two successful victories over the Syrians in battle God handed ben-hadad over to Ahab and he let him go and so God sent an unnamed prophet some suppose it's michaiah to prophesy to him that God would indeed kill a hab notice in chapter 20 at verse 42 then he said to him thus says the Lord because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction therefore your life shall go for his life and your people for his people so the king of Israel went to his house Solon and displeased and came to Samaria so that was the first statement concerning his impending death chapter 21 a hab does not help his cause in his exercise of tyranny over this man namath and certainly when we get to chapter 22 he once again rejects the Word of God and dies in battle on the battlefield so I'll begin reading in chapter 21 at verse 1 and it came to pass after these things that namath the jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel next to the palace of ahab king of samaria so Ahab spoke to neighbor saying give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is near next to my house and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it or if it seems good to you I will give you it's worth and money but nay both said to Ahab the Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my father's to you so Ahab went into his house Solon and displeased because of the word which naynay bought the jezreelite had spoken to him for he had said I will not give you the inheritance of my father's and he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would not eat no food but Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food he said to her because I spoke to neighbor the jezreelite and said damn give me a vineyard for money or else if it pleases you I will give you another vineyard for it and he answered I will not give you my vineyard and Jezebel his wife said to him you now exercise authority over Israel arise eat food and let your heart be cheerful I will give you the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite and she wrote letters and Ahab's name sealed them with a seal and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with nay both she wrote in the letter saying proclaim a fast and seat namath with high honor among the people and seat two men scoundrels before him to bear witness against him saying you have blaspheme God and the king then take him out and stone him that he may die so the men of his City the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city did as Jezebel had sent to them as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them they proclaimed the fast and seated namath with high honor among the people and two men scoundrels came in and sat before him and the scoundrels witnessed against him against nebith in the presence of the people saying nay bosses blaspheme God and the king then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones so that he died then they sent to Jezebel saying nebith has been stoned in his dead and it came to pass when Jezebel heard that namath had been stoned and was dead the Jezebel said to Ahab arise take possession of the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite which he refused to give you for money when a boss is not alive but dead so it was when Ahab heard that Namath was dead that they have got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite then the word of the lord came to elijah the tishbite saying arise go down to meet a hab king of israel who lives in samaria there he is in the vineyard of naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it you shall speak to him saying thus says the Lord you murdered and also taken possession and you shall speak to him saying thus says the Lord in the place where dogs licked the blood of nebith dogs shall lick your blood even yours so 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 the Lord behold I will bring calamity on you I will take away your posterity and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel both bond and free I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of baisha the son of a high john because the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger and made Israel sin and concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke saying the dog shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel the dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field but there was no one like a hab who had sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife stirred him up and he buddy behaved very abominably in following idols according to all that the ammonites had done whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel so it was when they have heard those words that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about mourning and the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying see how a has humbled himself before me because he has humbled himself before me I will not bring the calamity in his days in the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house amen well there are two broad sections in this particular chapter in the first place we have the murder of nae boss in verses 1 to 16 and then secondly the condemnation of Ahab in verses 17 to 29 and as I said the the text of the narrative his building up ultimately to chapter 22 when Ahab meets his end he's a foolish King he's a godless King he's an idolatrous King he has done and exceeded the wickedness of those who had gone before him which is really saying something because there were a lot of wicked kings prior to 1/2 but in the first place let's look at the murder of Namath and note the desire of Ahab in verses 1 to 7 we noticed that this man called Namath in Jezreel has a particular vineyard it's next to a hub's Palace there in Jezreel earlier in chapter 18 we learned that that Ahab does have a residence in Jezreel so he has this particular desire and he makes this offer and it is a generous offer it is a a gracious offer that a.ab gives to neighbor notice in verse 2 so Ahab spoke to neighbor saying give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is near next to my house and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it or if it seems good to you I will give you it's worth and money that is a generous offer he could have just went over and seized it or just told his wife Jezebel that he wanted it as it does play out later in the passage see she certainly does achieve this or gain this for him but note the refusal by Namath in verse 3 they both said to Ahab the Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my father's to you now the fact that he that he invokes the name of God indicates that he does this under the auspices of God and I think the argument is very simple as to why Namath refuses this even generous offer it was God who promised the land to Abraham it was God who delivered the land to the children of Israel by Joshua and in Joshua after they conquered the land the land was then allotted tribally to the people in Israel it was a gift from God it was an inheritance of the father's and that is what he alludes to he says the Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my father's to you now there were certain instances where a person could sell his or sell his land but it was very restricted to those who are in poverty and in the the design was that they would ultimately get it back again when God gifted the land to these particular tribes it was a gift from the Lord it was to be confined to that particular family or to that particular tribe you can read about that in Leviticus chapter 25 verses 23 to 28 and then as well in numbers 36 verses 7 & 9 so under certain circumstances an Israelite might part with his land but namath obviously is not in those particular circumstances and so he refuses he doesn't do it rudely he doesn't do it callously he doesn't do it in an ungodly manner but he does in fact do it with a degree of firmness and I think Davis explains it well he says that namath Treasures God's land gift passed down via his ancestors more than making bucks or placating Kings nebith is nasty not nasty but definite his refusal is couched in strong language but one cannot say he is obnoxious he had a perfect right to refuse Ahab's offer he did so because his thinking was covenantal rather than pragmatic note that in his reply nay both identifies himself as a man subject to God and caring for God's law so nebith is to be commended here for not wanting to part with his tribal a lot men he is to be commended for not wanting to sacrifice this vineyard even for the handsome or generous offer given by a hab so that Ahab could extend his holdings and make a vegetable garden out of this particular piece of land and so we see then the response of a AB in the conversation with Jezebel remember back in chapter 20 when he gets this news in verse 42 he goes to his house Solon and displeased and he came to Samaria well the same thing is true in verse 4 so Ahab went into his house Solon and displeased because of the word which nay bought the jezreelite had spoken to him for he had said I will not give you the inheritance of my father's and he laid down on his bed and turned away his face and woody food so basically the text is telling us that he was pouting he wasn't able to get this particular vineyard he wasn't able to engage in this new sort of vegetable garden to sustain and support well I thought it was to sustain and to support it was probably a matter of convenience it happened to be next to his his summer home or his winter home or whatever it was there at Jezreel it was something that would have proved convenient and a blessing to him he doesn't get it on principle and nevertheless he's sullen and displeased we might also read that he was a bit rebellious this did not make him happy and everybody would be able to tell certainly Jezebel is able to tell because she says to him in verse 5 why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food now this is good and commendable life should care for her husband should ask why he doesn't come down for dinner should ask why he's refusing the pot roast that's a you know a decent trade in an otherwise very unholy woman and certainly she runs with it in the opposite direction but let's just commend her we're great or give her some credit where credit is due why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food now know what she says in respond well first let's look at his response he says I spoke to me about the jezreelite and said then give me your vineyard for money or else if it pleases you I will give you another vineyard for it the answer I will not give you my vineyard now he makes nay both sound obstinate in his reply to Jezebel he doesn't mention anything about nay boss appeal to the name of God and to the inheritance law inheritance laws in Leviticus chapter 25 now there may be two reasons one of two reasons why he does it this way because on the reading here in verse 6 he makes it sound like name off just said I will not give you my vineyard no reason no argument no rationale I will not give you my vineyard maybe he told Jezebel that to illicit the type of response that Jezebel actually engaged in or he may not have mentioned that because he knew good and well that Jezebel didn't care about Israelite inheritance laws one then whichever the case he does change though responsive maybethe as he replies to Jezebel now her response in verse seven is very telling matthew henry makes a good observation about Jezebel he says nothing but mischief is to be expected when Jezebel enters into the story that cursed woman matthew henry's absolutely right when Jezebel enters the scene we cannot think for a moment that a Hobbs going to just be content with the answer from Namath and carry on as life was but no Jezebel essentially says you need to pull up your big boy pants and get in there and take what you want that's what she says you now exercise authority over Israel arise eat food and let your heart be cheerful I will give you the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite another words act like the king that you are remember that Jezebel hails from Phoenicia and her daddy was the king in a particular and this in Phoenicia when her daddy the king wanted a parcel of land I doubt he went home sullen and displeased after having been rejected with reference to that land he probably just killed the inhabitants and took the land for himself in fact one commentator said she had been trained in the absolute istic traditions of the Phoenicia city states to her a hub seems a weakling and he ought to seem a weakling to each and every one of us as well as the narrative unfolds now he is ultimately held responsible he is culpable Elijah the Tishbite comes to him and not to Jezebel with reference to the murder of Namath what happens under his command is ultimately his responsibility he is a gutless King operating here hiding behind his wife's skirts ultimately and that is the way the text reads and that is the way we are to understand it now note her particular plan first of all verses 8 to 10 she sends a letter this letter carries with it authority notice she wrote letters in a Habs name sealed them with his seal so she wanders upstairs goes into the to his off his home office opens up his desk drawer takes out his letter had in his signet ring drafts this letter and sends it to the elders and to the nobles of Jezreel notice as well that this plan falls under a religious guys it is going to be an unjust wicked murder of a particular man but it's going to have all the trappings of religion it's going to have all the trappings of legal procedure it is going to have all of that at least outwardly but inwardly it's a sham it's a it's a means by which they can liquidate this particular man and steal his land notice verse 9 she wrote in the letter saying proclaim a fast and seat namath with high honor among the people robert alter explains a common function of an ad hoc communal fast was to supplicate God an excuse me when some ill had befallen the community because of an offense committed within the community so she says call a fast assemble a fast and then I want you to bring nabe off and see him with high honor among the people and then see two men again this is under the guise of proper legal procedure nevermind that they engage in a summary execution with no regard whatsoever for due process or cross-examination or the defendant being able to plead his particular case but nevertheless on the surface it's got this guise of religiosity it's got this guise of judicial process see two men scoundrels are literally sons of Belial and then have them bear witness against him saying now this plan carries with it a very serious charge you have blaspheme God and the king so this is not only blasphemy but it's treason against the crown you see it can not go well for Namath as this whole thing unfolds before his eyes it is a kangaroo court it is mock it is horrible and this is the sort of thing that is happening at the governmental level so you have blaspheme God and the king then take him out and stone him that he may die so that's her plan that's the particular letter now note the execution of the plan and note the culpability of these leaders in verse 11 so the men of his City the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city did as Jezebel had sent to them as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them now I think that this confirms what I mentioned earlier in chapter 19 remember in chapter 19 and verse 4 Elisha under the berm tree Elisha there is distressed he is sorrowful he is depressed and he asks God to kill him he asks God to take it and then we posit it or hypothesized that one of the reasons why he might have been despondent in that particular situation is because he saw fire come down from heaven on Mount Carmel and consume the offering that Elijah had offered and then on the heels of that he saw God answered prayer with reference to ending the drought so two powerful displays of God most high and the nation continued to rebel and reject God this is what depressed Elijah this is why in chapter 19 verses 10 and 14 he tells God specifically what his problem is he says essentially the whole nation has gone astray from you they have rejected you if they broken your covenant they have they have you know broke despised your altars the whole whole thing like that this confirms it the people did not repent she is able to appeal to these elders and Nobles of this particular City this city of Jezreel and they're all too happy to just follow blindly what this wicked woman suggests or tells them to do as well we ought to appreciate the two forms of jaha injustice that the text sets forth before us there was a Roman politician and lawyer it's not just politicians in our day that are they were politician / lawyers back in cicero's day he lived in about you know the the last century BC and he made this observation there are two kinds of injustice the first is found in those who do an injury Allah Jezebel and Ahab the second in those who fail to protect another from injury when they can you see that is the culpability of these elders and these Nobles this was a godless plant a godless thing on the part of Jezebel they should have balked at this the fact that she tells them to call two scoundrels two sons of Belial to just assert that this man had committed blasphemy and treason against the crown and then take him out and stone him this should make any leader of any city say wait a minute boss what you're doing is wrong Cicero is right there is the act of propagation of evil and then there is the failure to act on the part of spineless people who stand by and do nothing John Gill says that Jezebel should contrive so wicked Ischia scheme and that there should be such sons of Belial among the common people to swear such falsehoods need not seem strange he said that's not surprising you'll always find sons of Belial and any any body politic he says brought that the elders and Nobles of the city the chief magistrates thereof should be so sadly and universally depraved as to execute such a piece of villainy is really surprising and then he makes this beautiful statement we're going to revisit at the end because I think this passage sets this truth forth he says idolatry when it prevails takes away all sense of humanity and justice you know why abortion and euthanasia and sodomy and all manner of lawlessness flourish in our society it is ultimately an idolatry problem it is ultimately a reality that man has exchanged the true and living God and he worse the creature when we fail to render obedience to the first table of the law the second table always always follows suit if we will not fear God and honor God we will victimize the helpless we will steal from those who are poor we will rape pillage and destroy because when there is no thought of God and the minds of man all bets are off I think he's absolutely bang-on idolatry when it prevails takes away all sense of humanity and justice Davis comments on verse 11 he says the text is telling us but injustice flourishes not only by wickedness but by weakness you see brethren we may not be in the position to actively propagate the sorts of evils that go on in our generation but if we passively want a a stand by will all these things sort of go on and we don't write a raise any voice of opposition or seek to intervene as we are able then we're as guilty maybe not as guilty is actually cutting someone's throat but we are certainly guilty he goes on to say not merely from a lack of goodness but by a lack of guts and I think this passage is reminiscent of what we see in judges 15 you remember the particular instance there the Philistines want to arrest they want to see Samson and instead of Judah standing behind Samson rallying alongside with them and opposing the Philistines the Judah heights are giving up Samson to the Philistines the Judah heights actually say to Samson don't you realize the sort of benefits we have under Philistine rule don't you understand the kind of blessing that we have under Philistine rule Judah was the tribe initially that that went into the Promised Land and engaged in the conquest by judges 15 they are giving up the savior of Israel to the hands of godless Philistines it's the same sort of thing it was the wretched Philistines that wanted to see Samson but it was the wretched Judah hide that gave him up into their hands so the culpability of the elders and nobles is palpable in this passage now note the execution of her plan in verses 12 to 14 it goes according to plan in fact if the chapter ended at verse 16 we would say we have the perfect crime we would say that this was absolutely successful as far as Jezebel was concerned as far as a hub was concerned everybody won everybody got what they wanted Jezebel got to throw around or run a wait a hub ultimately got his new vegetable garden everybody prospered of course except for Namath and the guilt the guilt of these men involved so they proclaim the fast they see tane bought down and they have the sons of Belial notice in verse 13 B these guys don't miss a step nabe off has blaspheme God and the King now then they took him outside the city and stone and with stones so that he died then they sent to Jezebel saying nebith has been stoned and is dead so this was indeed the lawful penalty for blasphemy in Leviticus chapter 24 verses 14 to 16 if someone was found guilty of blasphemy they would be executed they would be stoned to death but as we see obviously there is no due process here you see the Scriptures call specifically in Deuteronomy 17 and in Deuteronomy 19 for the presence of two or three witnesses that doesn't mean you get two sons of Belial there to allege a charge and then you just proceed from there due process means hearing witness statements due process meat examining the evidence due process means letting the defendant have his his day in court to defend himself perhaps if namath had been enabled to speak he would have said it's because the inheritance lost because the Leviticus 24 they would have never found in guilty of blasphemy against God and against the king this was a mockery of justice and you also ought to know that it wasn't only neighbor but all of his sons were executed as well in 2nd Kings chapter 9 verse 26 it tells us it wasn't just Namath it was all of his sons why do you think Jezebel had a vested interest in slaying all of his sons so there would be no heir for this particular land allotment the deed was done and now the report goes back to 1/2 the good news 4 a.m. notice in verse 15 it came to pass when Jezebel heard that naynay baath had been stoned and was dead that Jezebel said to Ahab arise take possession of the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite which he refused to give you for money for namath is not alive but dead see what a wretched terrible thing not only what she did but the fact that this godless wonder now goes and he takes this particular property what a terrible human being a huh bad everything coming to him that he got and then verse 16 so it was when they have heard that neighbours was dead that a-ha a-ha got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of naboth the jezreelite now there's some question as to why he would have been able to take this land certainly the heirs were gone so in terms of nabe off passing the field of the the land on to his sons you you certainly couldn't do that some suppose that because nebith had been found guilty of a capital crime than his land would be turned over to the crown others suppose that a hab and nebith may have been kin they may have been relatives and there's some merit to that thought because their land or their property was right next to each other and Jezreel i maintained that it was an ungodly unlawful confiscation of personal property when the tishbite cons he says not only have you murdered but you have taken possession he stole the land in the Trump campaign I remember that whole time where there was that big question about eminent domain I'm not you know picking on Trump here I'm just we all heard about eminent domain eminent domain is when the government can seize private property from a person as long as that will benefit the public again a wretched concept in and of itself but this isn't even that this wasn't a piece of land that was going to benefit the public this was a piece of land that was going to benefit a half namely it was going to provide him some more vegetables so a case of eminent domain gone drastically wrong under the hand of this godless man house says a half and his queen have added murder stealing and oppression - they're already serious religious sins you see up to this point a hub has been an idolaters we have seen that we have witnessed that we have seen him break you know the worship of bail right into the political capital of the northern try on northern kingdom specifically in Samaria he has done terrible things all along the way and now as it were he is adding to his resume to underscore just what a godless man he is but as I said if we didn't have the rest of chapter 21 at this point it would appear to be an apparent success it would appear to abet the perfect crime you see we live in a world governed by a sovereign god we live in a world that does take notice of such things like eminent domain who takes notice of such things like governmental tyranny who takes notice of such things like oppression and wickedness and that brings us to consider the condemnation of Ahab in verses 17 to 29 notice God's response verse 17 then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying now we need to remember that there wasn't a conscientious elder or noble in the city of Jezreel that went to his prayer closet and say Lord we engaged in a travesty of justice today we sentenced to death a poor man by the name of name off on the testimony of two sons of Belial with no due process or no nothing of the sort nobody told god this God knows what's happening to his people God knows the in justices that we face in this world and God's timeframe may differ from ours but God's certain execution of justice and judgment is always sure you see we might say why did not intervene earlier and spare namath from this particular death I don't know got a purpose that on whatever date this was de Baath was going to pass from this life into the next and that may trouble us and it may puzzle us in terms of why didn't he act sooner I can't answer why God doesn't act sooner but I can't affirm with the entirety of Scripture he does act and he will visit with judgment those who trouble his people this is the message of 2nd Thessalonians 1 and Paul says it's right with God to repay with tribulation those who try the church you see the people of God have become spineless wimps as well any concept of divine retribution makes us uneasy and uncomfortable we don't like the thought of an Old Covenant God wiping out the masses somehow the New Covenant God wiping out an inocent Sapphira doesn't seem to trouble us so much but in the church today all talk of divine retribution seems to have gone by the wayside boyfriend second Thessalonians is for the church and it is for us to praise God for and to pray to God for His divine intervention against the wicked who indeed destroy his people so the Lord acts the word of Yahweh comes to Elijah the Tishbite saying now he is told to go and reprove a hab arise go down to meet a hab king of Israel who lives in Samaria there he is in the vineyard of naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it you shall speak to him saying thus says the Lord have you murdered and notice and also taken possession he sees this lame he confiscated this land it was government overreach you know again we look at the sorts of things that are happening and happening in our day there is nothing new Under the Sun brethren if you know there were bakers back in that day there would have been you know perhaps forced to bake cake cakes for you know homosexual people I realize probably not but but the sorts of oppression that we see today it has a long pedigree if we learn anything from this particular chapter besides the fact that God will indeed visit with punishment those who trouble his church realize that as long as the people of God desire to live godly in this world they will suffer persecution we will face manifold in Justices and it's a horrific thing and I hear these stories and it makes me just shudder to think what's happening in Canada and in the u.s. when persons are are not given you know the sorts of rights that ought to be afforded to citizens and yet leather and we see that very thing he ran a Baath was railroaded from beginning to end I mean you you can't miss that but God comes and he speaks and then notice there's a prophecy included here as well in the place where dogs licked the blood of nay both dogs shall lick your blood even yours now a head actually dies closer to Samaria and some say well he didn't die where Namath did they're at Jezreel it may simply mean as Namath died near Jezreel so Ahab is going to die near Samaria the point is is that the dogs are going to lick up their blood what does that indicate they didn't even give Namath a decent burial I mean that was the bit you know adding insult to injury in Israel when you didn't give a proper burial we've already seen that in chapters I think 11 and 14 where men died the sons of Kings died and they were not given a proper burial they were basically food for the dogs and for the birds of the air so they didn't even give this man a proper burial and so the prophecy is is that Ahab's going to die and die they're gonna lick up his blood now know the word of the prophet in verses 20 to 26 I mean if they have as anything Ahab is tenacious notice in verse 20 so Ahab said to Elijah have you found me o my enemy remember in chapter 18 he calls Elijah the trouble er of Israel I'm sorry in chapter ya chapter 18 he calls Elisha the troubler of Israel it is an Elijah that's troubling Israel but listen to what this admission is have you been have you found me o my enemy what's Elijah's job Elijah's job is to speak forth the Word of God and they have sees him as the enemy matthew henry makes the observation that man's condition is very miserable that has made the Word of God his enemy and his condition is very desperate that reckons the ministers of that word his enemies because they tell him the truth you see this says a whole lot more about Ahab than it does about Elijah now note the word of the Prophet in verses 20 to 26 he identifies her rather he tells him I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord and this is a statement that shows that he has gone headlong into sin abomination wickedness and rebellion he promises that there would indeed be calamity on a hab and an end to his dynasty that's the language employed behold I will bring calamity on you I will take away your posterity and will cut off from Abe every male in Israel both bond and free it's an end of Ahab's dynasty that's an end of his sort of lineage that's an end of his legacy that political leaders so often like to boast off this is very similar to what happened with Jeroboam the son of Nebat and baisha the son of a high John that's what he says in verse 22 we go back to chapter 15 for Jeroboam we go back to chapter 16 for baisha we see not thirst their deaths but the deaths of their sons an end to their dynasty they will no longer you will no longer have seed of your or fruit of your loins on the throne and then as well he says that there would indeed be an end for Jezebel and this is one of those passages where we just Amen the Lord don't we I mean if you don't Amen verses 23 and 24 you don't have a proper understanding of righteousness or justice I mean this woman is terrible she's an ungodly horrible horrible woman Matthew Henry elsewhere said unhappy princes those are and hurried a pace towards their ruined who have those about them that stir them up to acts of tyranny and teach them how to abuse their power unhappy as Ahab that he has this woman for a wife and then no there is a commentary a bit here a commentary by the narrator in verses 25 and 26 it's almost as if to say well let me just remind you what we're dealing with in this man Ahab before you start getting all misty eyed and thinking wow this isn't really fair I mean he had a bit of a lapse in judgment you know overall he's a pretty decent guy no let's read verse 25 there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife stirred him up and he behaved very abominably in following idols according to all that the amorite had done whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel now let's just look back at verse 25 he sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife skurd him up incited him to do evil now some might be led to consider well you know it really wasn't his fault I can hear that today right he was a victim and it wasn't his fault it was his terrible wife she's the one that caused him to engage in this sort of sin I mean you give this tax to a good lawyer and he's gonna have a have you know walking he's gonna have a hat off the hook he's gonna have a happy you know playing golf next we does that is that what their text indicates he sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife stirred him up I can do no better than quoting Davis here he says that Jezebel incited a hab to evil does not lessen but aggravates a Habs guilt it makes it worse he is the king in Israel and he is letting this wretch tell him what to do gay how Davis goes on email him and tell him I called him Ahab tonight he'll love that for it shows he was not only wicked but weak not simply sinful but spineless that's what we're dealing with here yeah he's a wretch in and of himself but he allows himself to be incited by another wretch but the chapter ends on a very high note and the high note is seen in God note verse 27 so it was when a had heard those words that he tore his clothes and puts a cloth on his body and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about mourning the King humbles himself at God's Word here the indictment affected him he got a bit misty eyed at this particular point the word penetrated that hard heart now I don't believe he was repentant I would I think we probably described this as as remorse because notice what he doesn't do he doesn't confess his sin now I guess he could have done that and the tax doesn't record it for us but but based on what follows in the text I don't think that is the case he doesn't get rid of the vegetable garden and he certainly doesn't listen to the prophetic word in chapter 22 but nevertheless there's a bit of remorse here I mean even this hard rock of a man nevertheless hears these words tears his clothes put sackcloth on his body he fasts it he lays in sackcloth and morning now as I said the text ends on a high note and that high note is the grace mercy kindness and goodness of God look at verse 28 and the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying see how Ahab has humbled himself before me not amazing again this is you know anthroposophy God's not learning this is an improper predication but it evidences to us or indicates something to us of God's gracious character and mercifulness and His goodness stiva says it's almost like he he pokes Elijah in the rib and says did you see that did you see that he he humbled himself it's almost as if God looking upon the mass of humanity sees so little of these sorts of expressions that the faintest resemblance of one evokes his attention Elijah did you see what he did there now in the goodness and kindness of God he doesn't suspend or he doesn't rather and the possibility of judgment he does suspend it and he gives him something of a stay of execution it says because he has humbled himself before me I will not bring the calamity in his days in the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house now we'll see that in second Kings chapters 9 and 10 when Jehu that soldier of God Most High goes about executing the household of a hack a hab is going to die but the dynasty will succeed him at least for a time again this isn't repentance this isn't God saying well I'm not gonna judge you anymore but it is in a sense a stay of execution I think that's good news for sinners yet I think we could preach the grace of God from first Kings chapter 21 verse 28 if God is prone to look at that kind of repentance favorably what does he do when a sinner actually casts him/herself upon the mercy of God through Jesus Christ is he going to refuse him is he gonna forsake him resistant is he gonna say no I won't have you know John 6:37 goes right along with this passage all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out this is that God I will certainly not cast out even when an Ahab who is still a wretch who has been underscored in verses 25 to 26 as the supreme wretch even when this man tears his clothes and humbles himself before the Lord God says to Elijah did you see that he actually showed some humility so if a sinner comes to the Lord Jesus Christ do we have any reason to doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to receive him if the Lord Jesus Christ or have God Most High is going to show some degree a favor to an Ahab he's certainly going to show a degree of favor to those who come to him through the Lord Christ Most High it's not a beautiful thing that our God displays in this particular section well in conclusion a few few lessons kind of a repeat but it should hopefully drive it home in the first place the fact that God's people face injustice in this world you know here's where here's another place where we can really just adore and praise God for what our Savior went through on our behalf could Jesus identify with me boss absolutely he could because there were false witnesses brought up to testify against Jesus Matthew chapter 26 Christ really identifies with his people he is like us in all points tempted like us in all points yet without sin Christ knows what it's like to be an a moth in this world Christ knows what it's like to have the difficulties and the injustice is Christ knows what it's like to face godless mobs worse who are crying out away with him away with him crucify him I mean if anything they both ought to lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ this one who was turned over by two false witnesses and ultimately summarily executed I mean if anything Namath is just a bit of a glimpse of the horrors of what our Savior went through on our behalf but the fact is brothers and sisters the moment we expect that everything's always going to go hunky-dory for us in this world that's the moment we have forgotten the word of God perhaps we have unwittingly swallowed the health wealth and prosperity gospel perhaps it's not the kind of a Benny Hinn or a Kenneth Copeland perhaps it's not quite that severe but there might be that mindset in all of us well I'm a believer why am I having any difficulty I'm a believer why is there ever any trouble I'm a believer why am I ever sorrowful brethren oftentimes it's because you're a believer that you're having those trials and you're having those sorrows and you're having those difficulties what did we learn with King David of Israel remember when he is anointed in 1st Samuel chapter 16 what happens on the heels of that his troubles begin when the Spirit comes upon David that's when his life got difficult when he was tending I mean yeah he had to kill bears and lions I can't imagine you know that was a fun thing that what's worse a barrel lion or a human being that's got that bear lion sort of ferocity I take my chances with bears and lions sometimes and with people and I'd like to carry bear spray around town not because I'm afraid of bears because I'm afraid of you know crackheads that want to cut my throat those those are the people are really scary hate the Bears you know they don't wake it up in the morning saying how do I ruin people's lives I guess maybe they do but but but you see this in just or the injustice is that we face or oftentimes associated with the fact that were believers have we unwittingly swallowed the health wealth and prosperity gospel consider David's greater son when does his troubles begin after the Spirit comes upon him what happens at his baptism that the triune God is present at the Jordan at the Jordan River the father says this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased he affirms is his love and his delight in the son the Spirit descends upon and like a dove and then the very next scene what happens the spirit drives him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil why do we think we're gonna have it easy in this world I mean really it may not be the Benny Hinn's a variety or smiling joel osteen variety but have we sucked down this false gospel that everything's gonna be hunky-dory for us on our Christian walk we're never gonna have problems we're never gonna face injustice we're never gonna have any opposition I submit that if those things never happen to you you're probably not living godly in Christ Jesus try being a faithful Christian in the workplace try being a faithful Christian in society try being a faithful Christian neighbor try being a faithful brother in a context where there are unfaithful people that hate and despise God if we're not suffering to some degree or other now I'm not saying go out and yell that everybody's going to hell and repent or perish so people throw things at you and do you know I'm not saying that but brethren this passage teaches us the people of God are going to face injustice in this world secondly the fact is that governments may administer injustice governments may and we see it happening I mean look at what happens in this passage you talk about government overreach the unlawful confiscation of private property obviously the unlawful murder of the owner of said private property the unlawful rejection of due process and of course the unlawful arrogance of tyranny and oppression of God's people Davis again makes this observation I think it's fitting I think it's appropriate and I think we ought to take heed ordinarily we are to submit to government always we should beware of it always we should beware of it again submit honor pay your taxes do it Paul says in Romans 13 but guard your back I mean brethren I could voice my concerns and a whole host of things about government let's just keep our minds focused a ball upon a Hubbs government thirdly the fact that God intervenes in the affairs of men this is conspicuously obvious as well fit crime as far as they have is concerned and then the Tishbite shows up I mean what a killjoy that must have been right what a bummer I mean he might have had his gardener out there you know doing the lines okay I want my beets there I want my peas there I want my beans there and then the Tishbite comes and says hey guess why God saw what you did I mean this couldn't have been a happy occasion for a hat not that I care about his happiness the Lord renders justice on those who oppose him and his people and I do want to just read second Thessalonians chapter one a passage that the people of God ought to be familiar with in every age of the church but unfortunately in our age again I don't think we're very comfortable with the vengeance and the judgment and the justice of God but Paul encouraged the church in Thessalonica 2nd Thessalonians 1:4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy excuse me of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you you know you see this when persons say well what about the Old Testament where God told Israel to go in and utterly destroy those Canaanites how do we respond to that we don't typically say the Canaanites had it coming they were reckless wretched godless wicked people that engaged in brutality murder and rape they deserve the Vengeance of God I guarantee you we don't answer the question that way we dance around and we try to pretend that you know well it really you know it doesn't mean that and God look brethren they had it coming to them the grim reality is is that God raised up not so righteous Israel to go in and destroy the the less than righteous are Canaanites but you know else when Israel Apes canaanites what does God do he raises up the Assyrians to destroy them when Judah Apes the the Israelites before and the Canaanites before he raises up Babylon and sends them in to destroy that's not capricious he's not arbitrary he's not picking on innocent people he is judging wicked godless people and that is characteristic of the divine nature that's how we ought to answer the question person say well that sounds like genocide well when a whole race it violates the law of God and the Lord brings judgment to bear upon him it's his call he's a just God it's righteous with them Paul says it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you I don't know that we embrace that reality as well salvation and redemption and all those sorts of things that we love to speak of always and necessarily include an opposite lords there is destruction involved in salvation in other words when God saves Israel time and time again throughout the Old Testament what does that usually mean it means he destroys their enemies the two go hand-in-hand salvation and judgment cannot be you know bifurcated or or or polarized where there is the one there is necessarily going to be the other where does our salvation lie ultimately in the judgment of God upon his own dear son you see when we get to the New Jerusalem we see various statements in chapters 21 and 22 about those outside the City of God and we say well you don't know that it just seems a little bit unfair no it's a bless of reality I want to know when I'm in the New Jerusalem all the riff-raffs on the outside don't you don't you want to know that they're not going to get over the gates don't you want to know that they're not going to come and rape you don't you want to know they're not gonna come and manufacture drugs and sell them on the fair city streets of the New Jerusalem that exclusion of the wicked is one blessed aspects of avid they'll not be there anymore that's a good thing that's why in chapter 19 of Revelation after the fall of Babylon in chapter 18 what did the saints in heaven do they cry hallelujah to the Lord God Most High for his judgments because the has fallen you see judgment is good righteousness is good justice is good the church somehow feebly and spineless Lee wants to apologize for God's actions he never calls on us to apologize for his actions he calls upon us to set forth the truth of his work in all of its accuracy as well fourthly we got four minutes don't freak out the fact that idolatry leads to manifold social ills the rejection of the first table is always followed by a rejection of the second table of the law again in Chapter 1 in the book of Romans prior to all of the wickedness all of the homosexuality all of the lawlessness that is detailed there by the Apostle the chief or arch sin is although they knew God they did not honor him as God nor were their hearts thankful you see when we exclude God from a society then this is what we get and everybody wants to say well where is God when bad things happen it's like we just want God to make sure life goes well that's all God is for isn't it wasn't that the cry on September 11th where was God on September 11 who cared on September 10 who cares now but as long as we need protection then God is our friend that's like the genie in the bottle that's the holy horseshoe that's the you know the four-leaf clover that's bail manipulating him to provide us with health wealth and prosperity God will not have it as Gil said idolatry when it prevails takes away all sense of humanity and justice probin says abandoned of God Exodus 21 to 6 inevitably leads to abandonment of righteousness we see the reality of this in first Kings 21 in this society given over to idol worship covetous neat covetousness leads on to false testimony murder and theft you see that first table offenses second table offenses that's not accidental when we reject God will ultimately brutalize man that's the problem in abortion that's the problem in euthanasia it's a god problem it's because men hate God they'll murder babies because men hate God they'll murder old people because men hate God don't murder that little boy that 10 month old in London England that's the reason it's idolatry so yes we need to preach against the social ills but we need to set forth Christ and him crucified he's the answer to the problems that face us in every generation that's the culturally relevant solution here that sometimes well we can't reach our culture unless we address these particular issues what more culturally relevant issue a doctrine is there than Christ and him crucified you preach that God blesses it it fixes things it really does and then the fact that God is indeed a merciful God I just want to end with two quotes by Dylan at matthew henry with reference to verse 29 that that that see a hub has humbled himself before me moment gilsu this was not a pardon only a reprieve the sentence pronounced on him and his family was not taken off nor countermanded only the execution of it prolong it has promised that the destruction of his family should not be in his lifetime but after his death in his son's days otherwise he himself died a violent death and the dogs licked his blood as were foretold but he says this however this may be an encouragement to those who are truly humbled for their sins and really repent of them that they shall receive forgiveness at the hand of God since he showed so much regard to an outward humiliation patents if you're trying to lead somebody to the savior first you would do worse to go to first Kings 21:29 and say look this is a God of mercy I mean he you know suspended judgment on a hat for a time over that imagine if you actually come to Jesus and then matthew henry says this encourages all those that truly repent and unfaded lee believed the holy gospel if a pretending partial penitent shall go to his house reprieved doubtless a sincere penitent shall go to his house justified praise God the gospel is in 1st Kings 21 29 well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word and for what it teaches us so many wonderful lessons in a dark and bleak chapter but it's also a gracious and a merciful chapter and I thank you that you grant us grace and so much of our repentance is a sham and so much of it is is shabby at best and nevertheless you receive us and you're merciful to us and you're kind to us how we thank you that you have not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded US according to our transgressions how we thank you that there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared and may texts like these always call us to repentance and faith and call us to a humility before our God go with us now we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen [Applause]