He Cares for You

Mike Kirkpatrick1 Peter 5:5–7

The murder of Naboth the Jezreelite in 1 Kings 21 exposes the convergence of covetousness, governmental tyranny, and idolatry — and demonstrates that no crime against God's people escapes divine notice. The chapter divides into two broad movements: the orchestrated injustice Jezebel engineers against Naboth (vv. 1–16) and Elijah's prophetic condemnation of Ahab (vv. 17–29). Four conclusions emerge: God's people will face injustice in this world; governments may administer that injustice; God nevertheless intervenes in the affairs of men; and the abandonment of the first table of the law invariably produces the abandonment of the second. The chapter closes on a surprising note of divine mercy — even Ahab's shallow remorse moves God to suspend judgment, which becomes a ground for confidence that a true penitent who comes to Christ will receive far more.