1 Kings 21:1-16--Naboth's Vineyard

1 Kings 21:1-16
English Standard Version

Naboth's Vineyard
21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.

5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And 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 please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

​15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “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.” 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

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Ahab coveted land that did not belong to him, a violation of the tenth commandment that we so often forget about.  Ahab had no respect for the Law that told the Israelites not to give up their ancestral land as it was an eternal inheritance to each family that they were to pass on from generation to generation.  Apparently Naboth had no children to inherit his land, but it should have gone to one of his brothers or uncles or another close relative to stay in his family after his death.

Ahab saw the vineyard and envisioned how it could be a beautiful royal garden and figured that Naboth should be happy enough to exchange his vineyard for another or to just sell his vineyard to the king in exchange for money.  It wasn't like the king (the government was trying to take it without what they imagined to be just compensation).  We do this today and the government today also doesn't understand such claims of not wanting to give up family land and demands that you either relocate or sell, but that they are going take your land from you.

Ahab went home and pouted and sulked because he did not get his way.  He laid in his bed and wouldn't eat so that everyone knew he was upset.  His wife Jezebel came to him (she never gave him godly counsel for she was a priestess of the false gods that the Israelites worshiped) and she told him that he was the king and that he should have just taken what he wanted by force because in her mind the whole land belonged to the king anyways--that's how it works in every other country.  Why shouldn't the king get anything that would make him happy?  However, Ahab is called "king," but is really a "prince" and the LORD is king.  The Land belongs to the LORD and He has given it to His people Israel as part of the royal covenant that He made between the king and the king's subjects (land for obedience).

Jezebel decides she will step in and usurp the authority of the king and act in his place.  She writes official letters on the king's royal parchment and seals them with the royal seal (signs his name to them giving them the full weight of a royal decree) and conscripts others to arrange the assassination of Naboth.  In a way, this story reminds me a bit of David and Bathsheba, only David did the coveting and arranged the murder all by himself--he didn't need a Jezebel beside him to commit the murder for him.  Both started with coveting something that didn't belong to the kings though--a piece of land in once case and another man's wife in another case.  Jezebel found it easy to convince the elders of Naboth's village or town to go along with this plan and they easily found worthless men to bring about a false charge against him (again, another violation of the Law, but it seems that not many in Israel cared about the Law anymore unless it was tot their advantage).

After the death of Naboth, Jezebel reports to Ahab that Naboth is dead and that he should stop feeling sad and go and take possession of the vineyard that he wanted, and that's exactly what he did.  It doesn't appear that he mourned the loss of Naboth at all, nor did he feel sorry for what he and Jezebel did.  He was a wicked king and part of that is that he was spoiled and had a wife who made sure that he got everything he wanted (really what she wanted) at any cost--even by killing innocent people.  This is just one more act from Ahab and Jezebel that show us that the LORD's judgment on them will be just, and we now long for it in our hearts.  How long O LORD until you replace this bad king with a better one? How much longer will you let the people keep on sinning and following after false Gods?  When will all the evil and wickedness around us come to an  end, or at least be restrained?  Our hearts long for this even in today's culture.