“Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.” But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.” So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat! “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?” “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her. “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!” So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.”
1 Kings 21:1-16 NLT
As we read the story of Naboth, it may be tempting to forget who God is. After all, everyone in the story forgets it, except Naboth. They demonstrate again and again that they are willing to use God to their own ends, but we can be confident that God is not mocked. The treatment of Naboth will be the nail in the coffin for the Ahabic dynasty. That said, it also is a good illustration of things to remember about authority. The king had no right to take the land, even being a king. There was a prescribed order that the people were to follow despite a kings orders. Namely, God wanted legacies to remain in tact. Naboth followed the law and stood up to Ahab. This was right behavior on his part, before God and the king. Submitting to government doesn’t always mean acquiescence to it. However, Naboth also was unceremoniously killed because of it. It wasn’t a meaningless death as he died standing up for God and family. But we must remember that death is a possibility when we do.
JOSH McGARY. COM 