1 Kings 21 commentary

Naboth, perhaps, had been pleased that he had a vineyard situated so near the palace, but the situation proved fatal to him; many a man's possessions have been his snare, and his neighbourhood to greatness, of bad consequence. Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves. It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition, but from the mind: as we find Paul contented in a prison, so Ahab was discontented in a palace. He had all the delights of Canaan, that pleasant land, at command; the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasures of a court, and the honours and powers of a throne; yet all avails him nothing without Naboth's vineyard. Wrong desires expose men to continual vexations, and those that are disposed to fret, however well off, may always find something or other to fret at.

When, instead of a help meet, a man has an agent for Satan, in the form of an artful, unprincipled, yet beloved wife, fatal effects may be expected. Never were more wicked orders given by any prince, than those Jezebel sent to the rulers of Jezreel. Naboth must be murdered under colour of religion. There is no wickedness so vile, so horrid, but religion has sometimes been made a cover for it. Also, it must be done under colour of justice, and with the formalities of legal process. Let us, from this sad story, be amazed at the wickedness of the wicked, and the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. Let us commit the keeping of our lives and comforts to God, for innocence will not always be our security; and let us rejoice in the knowledge that all will be set to rights in the great day.

Blessed Paul complains that he was sold under sin, Ro 7:14, as a poor captive against his will; but Ahab was willing, he sold himself to sin; of choice, and as his own act and deed, he loved the dominion of sin. Jezebel his wife stirred him up to do wickedly. Ahab is reproved, and his sin set before his eyes, by Elijah. That man's condition is very miserable, who has made the word of God his enemy; and very desperate, who reckons the ministers of that word his enemies, because they tell him the truth. Ahab put on the garb and guise of a penitent, yet his heart was unhumbled and unchanged. Ahab's repentance was only what might be seen of men; it was outward only. Let this encourage all that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe the holy gospel, that if a pretending partial penitent shall go to his house reprieved, doubtless, a sincere believing penitent shall go to his house justified.

CHAPTER 21

1Ki 21:1-4. Naboth Refuses Ahab His Vineyard.

1-3. Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel--Ahab was desirous, from its contiguity to the palace, to possess it for a vegetable garden. He proposed to Naboth to give him a better in exchange, or to obtain it by purchase; but the owner declined to part with it. In persisting in his refusal, Naboth was not actuated by any feelings of disloyalty or disrespect to the king, but solely from a conscientious regard to the divine law, which, for important reasons, had prohibited the sale of a paternal inheritance [Le 25:23; Nu 36:7]; or if, through extreme poverty or debt, an assignation of it to another was unavoidable, the conveyance was made on the condition of its being redeemable at any time [Le 25:25-27]; at all events, of its reverting at the jubilee to the owner [Le 25:28]. In short, it could not be alienated from the family, and it was on this ground that Naboth (1Ki 21:3) refused to comply with the king's demand. It was not, therefore, any rudeness or disrespect that made Ahab heavy and displeased, but his sulky and pettish demeanor betrays a spirit of selfishness that could not brook to be disappointed of a favorite object, and that would have pushed him into lawless tyranny had he possessed any natural force of character.

4. turned away his face--either to conceal from his attendants the vexation of spirit he felt, or, by the affectation of great sorrow, rouse them to devise some means of gratifying his wishes.

1Ki 21:5-16. Jezebel Causes Naboth to Be Stoned.

7. Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel?--This is not so much a question as an exclamation--a sarcastic taunt; "A pretty king thou art! Canst not thou use thy power and take what thy heart is set upon?"

arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard--After upbraiding Ahab for his pusillanimity and bidding him act as a king, Jezebel tells him to trouble himself no more about such a trifle; she would guarantee the possession of the vineyard.

8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal--The seal-ring contained the name of the king and gave validity to the documents to which it was affixed (Es 8:8; Da 6:17). By allowing her the use of his signet-ring, Ahab passively consented to Jezebel's proceeding. Being written in the king's name, it had the character of a royal mandate.

sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city--They were the civic authorities of Jezreel, and would, in all likelihood, be the creatures and fit tools of Jezebel. It is evident that, though Ahab had recently been in Jezreel, when he made the offer to Naboth, both he and Jezebel were now in Samaria (1Ki 20:43).

9. Proclaim a fast, &c.--Those obsequious and unprincipled magistrates did according to orders. Pretending that a heavy guilt lay on one, or some unknown party, who was charged with blaspheming God and the king and that Ahab was threatening vengeance on the whole city unless the culprit were discovered and punished, they assembled the people to observe a solemn fast. Fasts were commanded on extraordinary occasions affecting the public interests of the state (2Ch 20:3; Ezr 8:21; Joe 1:14; 2:15; Jon 3:5). The wicked authorities of Jezreel, by proclaiming the fast, wished to give an external appearance of justice to their proceedings and convey an impression among the people that Naboth's crime amounted to treason against the king's life.

set Naboth on high--During a trial the panel, or accused person, was placed on a high seat, in the presence of all the court; but as the guilty person was supposed to be unknown, the setting of Naboth on high among the people must have been owing to his being among the distinguished men of the place.

13. there came in two men--worthless fellows who had been bribed to swear a falsehood. The law required two witnesses in capital offenses (De 17:6; 19:15; Nu 35:30; Mt 26:60). Cursing God and cursing the king are mentioned in the law (Ex 22:28) as offenses closely connected, the king of Israel being the earthly representative of God in His kingdom.

they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him--The law, which forbade cursing the rulers of the people, does not specify the penalty for this offense but either usage had sanctioned or the authorities of Jezreel had originated stoning as the proper punishment. It was always inflicted out of the city (Ac 7:58).

14-16. Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession--Naboth's execution having been announced, and his family being involved in the same fatal sentence (2Ki 9:26), his property became forfeited to the crown, not by law, but traditionary usage (see 2Sa 16:4).

17-19. Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?--While Ahab was in the act of surveying his ill-gotten possession, Elijah, by divine commission, stood before him. The appearance of the prophet, at such a time, was ominous of evil, but his language was much more so (compare Eze 45:8; 46:16-18). Instead of shrinking with horror from the atrocious crime, Ahab eagerly hastened to his newly acquired property.

20. thou hast sold thyself to work evil--that is, allowed sin to acquire the unchecked and habitual mastery over thee (2Ki 17:17; Ro 7:11).

21-22. will make thine house, &c.--(see on 1Ki 15:29 and 1Ki 16:3-12). Jezebel, though included among the members of Ahab's house, has her ignominious fate expressly foretold (see 2Ki 9:30).

27-29. Ahab ... rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly--He was not obdurate, like Jezebel. This terrible announcement made a deep impression on the king's heart, and led, for a while, to sincere repentance. Going softly, that is, barefoot, and with a pensive manner, within doors. He manifested all the external signs, conventional and natural, of the deepest sorrow. He was wretched, and so great is the mercy of God, that, in consequence of his humiliation, the threatened punishment was deferred.

After these things - This and the twentieth chapter are transposed in the Septuagint; this preceding the account of the Syrian war with Ben-hadad. Josephus gives the history in the same order.

Give me thy vineyard - The request of Ahab seems at first view fair and honorable. Naboth's vineyard was nigh to the palace of Ahab, and he wished to add it to his own for a kitchen garden, or perhaps a grass-plat, גן ירק gan yarak; and he offers to give him either a better vineyard for it, or to give him its worth in money. Naboth rejects the proposal with horror: The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee. No man could finally alienate any part of the parental inheritance; it might be sold or mortgaged till the jubilee, but at that time it must revert to its original owner, if not redeemed before; for this God had particularly enjoined Lev 25:14-17, Lev 25:25-28 : therefore Naboth properly said, 1Kgs 21:3, The Lord forbid it me, to give the inheritance of my fathers. Ahab most evidently wished him to alienate it finally, and this is what God's law had expressly forbidden; therefore he could not, consistently with his duty to God, indulge Ahab; and it was high iniquity in Ahab to tempt him to do it; and to covet it showed the depravity of Ahab's soul. But we see farther that, despotic as those kings were, they dared not seize on the inheritance of any man. This would have been a flagrant breach of the law and constitution of the country; and this indeed would have been inconsistent with the character which they sustained, viz., the Lord's vicegerents. The Jewish kings had no authority either to alter the old laws, or to make new ones. "The Hindoos," says Mr. Ward, "are as strongly attached to their homesteads as the Jews were. Though the heads of the family be employed in a distant part of the country, and though the homesteads may be almost in ruins, they cling still to the family inheritance with a fondness bordering on superstition.

He laid him down upon his bed - Poor soul! he was lord over ten-twelfths of the land, and became miserable because he could not get a poor man's vineyard added to all that he possessed! It is a true saying, "That soul in which God dwells not, has no happiness: and he who has God has a satisfying portion." Every privation and cross makes an unholy soul unhappy; and privations and crosses it must ever meet with, therefore: - "Where'er it goes is hell; itself is hell!"

Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? - Naboth, not Ahab, is king. If he have authority to refuse, and thou have no power to take, he is the greater man of the two. This is the vital language of despotism and tyranny.

She wrote letters in Ahab's name - She counterfeited his authority by his own consent; and he lent his signet to stamp that authority.

Proclaim a fast - Intimate that there is some great calamity coming upon the nation, because of some evil tolerated in it.

Set Naboth on high - Bring him to a public trial.

Set two men - For life could not be attainted but on the evidence of two witnesses at least.

Sons of Belial - Men who will not scruple to tell lies and take a false oath.

Thou didst blaspheme God and the king - Thou art an atheist and a rebel. Thou hast spoken words injurious to the perfections and nature of God; and thou hast spoken words against the crown and dignity of the king. The words literally are, Naboth hath Blessed Clod and the king; or, as Parkhurst contends, "Thou hast blessed the false gods and Molech," ברכת אלהים ומלך And though Jezebel was herself an abominable idolatress; yet, as the law of Moses still continued in force, she seems to have been wicked enough to have destroyed Naboth, upon the false accusation of blessing the heathen Aleim and Molech, which subjected him to death by Deu 12:6; Deu 17:2-7. The first meaning appears the most simple.

Many think that the word ברך barach signifies both to bless and curse; and so it is interpreted in most Lexicons: it is passing strange that out of the same word proceedeth blessing and cursing; and to give such opposite and self-destructive meanings to any word is very dangerous. Parkhurst denies that it ever has the meaning of cursing, and examines all the texts where it is said to occur with this meaning; and shows that blessing, not cursing, is to be understood in all those places: see him under ברך, sec. vi.

And stoned him with stones - As they pretended to find him guilty of treason against God and the king, it is likely they destroyed the whole of his family; and then the king seized on his grounds as confiscated, or as escheated to the king, without any heir at law. That his family was destroyed appears strongly intimated, 2Kgs 9:26; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, And the Blood of His Sons, saith the Lord.

Arise, take possession - By what rites or in what forms this was done, we do not know.

Go down to meet Ahab - This was the next day after the murder, as we learn from the above quotation, 2Kgs 9:26.

In the place where dogs licked, etc. - It is in vain to look for a literal fulfillment of this prediction. Thus it would have been fulfilled, but the humiliation of Ahab induced the merciful God to say, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in the days of his son, 1Kgs 21:29. Now dogs did lick the blood of Ahab; but it was at the pool of Samaria, where his chariot and his armor were washed, after he had received his death wound at Ramoth-gilead; but some think this was the place where Naboth was stoned: see 1Kgs 22:38. And how literally the prediction concerning his son was fulfilled, see 2Kgs 9:25, where we find that the body of Jehoram his son, just then slain by an arrow that had passed through his heart, was thrown into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; and there, doubtless, the dogs licked his blood, if they did not even devour his body. There is a similar idea of the propriety of punishment overtaking the culprit in the place where he had committed the crime, expressed by Orestes to Aegisthus, Soph. Elect. 1495. - Χωρει δ' ενθαπερ κατεκτανες Πατερα τον αμον, ὡς εν ταυτῳ θανῃς. - Go where thou slew'st my father,

That in the self-same place thou too may'st die.

Thou hast sold thyself to work evil - See a similar form of speech, Rom 7:14 (note). Thou hast totally abandoned thyself to the service of sin. Satan is become thy absolute master, and thou his undivided slave.

The dogs shall eat Jezebel - This was most literally fulfilled; see 2Kgs 9:36. The carcasses of poor Hindoos, and of persons who have received public punishment, are thrown into the rivers, and floating to the side, are devoured by dogs, vultures, and crows.

Did sell himself to work wickedness - He hired himself to the devil for this very purpose, that he might work wickedness. This was to be his employment, and at this he labored.

In the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up - A good wife is from the Lord; a bad wife is from the devil: Jezebel was of this kind; and she has had many successors.

He rent his clothes - He was penetrated with sorrow, and that evidently unfeigned.

Put sackcloth upon his flesh - He humbled himself before God and man.

And fasted - He afflicted his body for his soul's benefit.

Lay in sackcloth - Gave the fullest proof that his repentance was real.

And went softly - Walked barefooted; so the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. The Vulgate has demisso capite, "with his head hanging down." Houbigant translates went groaning. Jarchi says that the word אט at, used here, signifies to be unshod. This is its most likely sense. All these things prove that Ahab's repentance was genuine; and God's approbation of it puts it out of doubt. The slow and measured pace which always accompanies deep and reflective sorrow is also alluded to by Aeschylus, where the Chorus are thus shortly addressed on the defeat of Xerxes. - Aesch. Pers. 1073. Γοασθ' ἁβροβαται "With light and noiseless step lament."

Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself - He did abase himself; he did truly repent him of his sins, and it was such a repentance as was genuine in the sight of God: He humbleth himself Before Me.

The penitent heart ever meets the merciful eye of God; repentance is highly esteemed by the Father of compassion, even where it is comparatively shallow and short-lived. Any measure of godly sorrow has a proportionate measure of God's regard; where it is deep and lasting, the heart of God is set upon it. He that mourns shall be comforted; thus hath God spoken, and though repentance for our past sins can purchase no favor, yet without it God will not grant us his salvation.

AND it came to pass after these things▪ that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel , hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

Where one of Ahab's Palaces was, as the other was in Samaria.

3 And Naboth said to Ahab, the LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee .

For God hath expresly, and for divers weighty reasons forbidden the alienation of Lands from the Tribes and Families to which they were allotted, Levit. 25. 15, 23, 25. Numb. 36. 7. Ezek. 46. 18. And although these might have been alienated till the Jubilee, yet he durst not [illegible: 1+ letters]ell it to the King for that time; because he supposed, that if once it came into the Kings hand, especially to be made a Garden of Pleasure, and affixed to his Palace, neither he, nor his Posterity could ever recover it again; and so he should both offend God, and wrong his Posterity; which, being as it seems, a Pious Man, he durst not do.

4 And Ahab came into his house, heavy and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said▪ I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers: and he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face , and would eat no bread .

From the Light, and Company which either then were with him, or might come to him, to the Wall, as Hezekiah did under a like Dejection of Spirit, Isa. 38. 2.

Refused to eat meat in his usual time.

7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Doest thou now govern the kingdom of Israel ? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Art thou fit to be King, that canst put up such Affronts from thy Subjects, and hast not the Courage to use thy Absolute Power to dispose of them, and theirs, as seemeth good unto thee?

8 So she wrote letters in Ahabs name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders, and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth.

Whom she very well knew to be fit for her purpose.

i. e. In Iezreel. So she seeks to destroy him with a pretence of Justice, and with as little reflection upon Ahab, as might be.

9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast , and set Naboth on high among the people.

To remove all suspition of hatred, or evil design in Ahab, and to beget a good opinion of him amongst his people, as if his afflictions had done him good, and as if he were grown zealous for Gods Honour, and careful of his Peoples welfare, and therefore desirous to prevent the further displeasure of God against his City and Kingdom, and in order thereunto to enquire into all those sins which provoked God against them, and effectually to purge them out.

In a scaffold, or some other high-place, where Malefactors were usually and fitly placed, that they might be seen, and their Defence heard by all the People.

Marginal references: Heb. in the top of the people.

10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme ▪ God and the king: and then carry him out , and stone him that he may die .

Heb. Bless. Blessing is put for cursing and blaspheming, as Iob 1. 5. and 2. 9. so also here, as is apparent, because his blessing God and the king had been no Crime. It is a Figure called Euphemismus. God would have Blasphemy so much abhorred, that it should not easily and unnecessarily be named by its proper name▪ Compare Psal. 16. 4.

To the place where Malefactors were punished, which was out of the City, Lev. 24. 23. Ios. 7. 24. Mar. 15. 20. Heb. 13. 12. partly, to shew that they were unworthy of all humane society, and abhorred by all the people: and partly, because the place where they were killed, was thereby ceremonially polluted.

The proper punishment of Blasphemers, Lev. 24. 15, 16.

As one that Cursed his God, and his Political Father, his King. See Exod. 21. 17. and 22. 28.

Marginal references: Heb. bless. So Gr. Job 2. 5, 9.; Act. 6. 11.; [illegible: 1+ letters]ev. 24. 14.

11 And the men of his city, even the elders, and the nobles, who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them , and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

Which is not at all strange in them who had for a long time cast off the fear and sense of God, and prostituted their Consciences and Religion to please their King, and sold themselves▪ to all manner of wickedness, and could not now make a safe▪ and honourable retreat, and durst not disobey Iezabel's command, by whom they knew the King was wholly governed, and who could easily have taken away their Lives in the same manner, if they had refused to kill Naboth.

13 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died.

And his Sons with him, a[illegible: 1+ letters] it may be thought from 2 King. 9. 26. that so the King might have an undisturbed possession; for which they might pretend those examples, Numb. 16. 32. Ios. 7. 24. But these were examples of extraordinary vengeance, and by special warrant from God, and the Law of God was positively contrary to it, Deut. 24. 16.

Marginal references: Heb. bless. So Gr.; 2 Kin. 9. 26.

14 Then they sent to Jezebel , saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

By whom they knew the Affairs of the Kingdom were managed, and this Design contrived.

15 ¶ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naborth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

Either, First, By right of confiscation, to repair the injury which he did to the King by blaspheming him. Or, Secondly, By tyrannical Usurpation. Or, Thirdly, By right of Inhesitanee: for some say that Ahab was his next Kinsman, his Sons being Dead; which they judge more likely, because his Land was next to the Kings.

18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria : behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

Either, who now is there, and about to depart thence to Iezreel: or, who commonly dwells there.

Or rather, he will be; by that time that thou comest thither, thou shalt find him there.

19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession ? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, [illegible: 1+ letters]n the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine .

Thou hast murde[illegible: 1+ letters]ed an Innocent and Righteous man; and instead of repenting for it, thou hast added another piece of injustice and violence to it, and art going confidently and chearfully to reap the Fruit of thy wickedness. He ascribes Iezabel's Fact to Ahab, because Iezabel did it by his Connivence, and Consent, and Authority, and for the satisfaction of his inordinate Appetite.

Quest. How was this fulfilled, when Ahab's blood was not licked in Iezreel, which was in the Tribe of Issachar, but in the Pool of Samaria, chap. 22. 38. which was in the Tribe of Ephraim? Ans. First, This was done, though not in the same individual place, yet in the same general place, i. e. in the Territory of Samaria, within which Iezreel was; and in a place of the same nature, a publick and common place; for such was both the place of Naboth's Execution, and the Pool of Samaria. Secondly, This was particularly accomplished in his Son Ioram, as is affirmed, 2 King. 9. 25, 26. whose blood is not improperly called Ahab's blood, because Children are said to be born of their Parents blood. See Ioh. 1. 13. Act. 17. 26. Obj. These words, thy blood, even thine, shew that it is meant of Ahab's Person. Ans. True, the threatning was so directed and designed at first; but afterwards, upon his humiliation, the punishment was transferred from him to his Son, as is expressed, ver. 29. Obj. This is said to be fulfilled in Ahab's Person, chap. 22. 38. Ans. Either that may be referred to some other Prediction or Commination not elsewhere mentioned: or rather, it intimates, that it was in part, and in some sort fulfilled in him, though not so severely and opprobriously, nor with such Characters of the Curse as it was in his Son; whence he there mentions onely the thing, without any regard unto the place here designed. But it may further be observed, That although upon Ahab's humiliation the Curse here threatned might seem to be wholly translated from his Person to his Posterity; yet upon Ahab's return to sin, in the next Chapter, he brings back the Curse upon himself, and so it is no wonder if it be in some sort fulfilled in him also. Thirdly, The Hebrew word, rendred in the place where, may be, and is by some learned men otherwise rendred, either thus, Instead of this that; that being frequently said to be done in anothers place, which was onely done in his stead: or, like as: or, because that. So it doth not design the place, but the cause and reason of this Judgment. And in this sense the same word is used, Zech. 2. 10.

20 And Ahab said to Elijah , Hast thou found me , O mine enemy ? And he answered, I have found thee : because thou hast sold thy self to work evil in the sight of the LORD .

Upon, and after his delivery of the message last mentioned, which it was needless to repeat.

Dost thou pursue me from place to place? Wiltst thou never let me rest? Art thou come after me hither with thy unwelcome messages?

That art always disturbing, threatning, and opposing me, and expressing not so much Gods mind, as thy own hatred and enmity against me. Comp. ch. 22. 8.

The hand of God hath found and overtaken thee in the very act of thy sin.

Thou hast wilfully and wholly resigned up thy self to be the bondslave of the Devil, or Baal, and of wicked Iezabel, to do whatsoever they persuade thee to do; as a man that sells himself to another is totally in his Masters Power, and must employ all his time and strength for his service. Compare 2 King. 17. 17. See on Rom. 7. 14.

i. e. Impudently and contemptuously. Withal he minds him, that although his sin was in a great measure hid from the eyes of men by Iezabel's cunning contrivance, yet it was evident and known to God who, would require it at his hands.

21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and left in Israel,

e Of which see on chap. 14. 10.

Marginal references: Chap. 14. 10. [illegible: 1+ letters] King. 9. 8.; Sam. 25. 22.; Chap. 14. 10.

23 And of Jezabel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the ‖ wall of Jezreel.

Or, by the ditch, or fort: or, in the portion, as it is explained 2 King. 9. 36. the Hebrew chel, here, being put for chelek, used there by an Apocope of the last Hebrew Letter, which is not unusual in the Hebrew Tongue.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters] Kin. 9. 36. [illegible: 1 word] ▪ ditch.

25 ¶ But there was none like unto Ahab , which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up .

None among all the Kings of Israel which had been before him.

This is added to shew, that temptations to sin are no excuse to the sinner.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] ▪ [illegible: 1 word].

26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites , whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

i. e. The seven Nations of Canaan, all called by this name, as Gen. 15. 16. and 48. 22. Amos 2. 9, 10.

27 And it came to pass when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly .

i. e. Slowly and silently, after the manner of mourners, or those who are under a great consternation, and in deep consideration.

29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me , I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his sons days will I bring the evil upon his house.

i. e. In my presence, and upon my threatning. But this humiliation or repentance of Ahab's was onely external and superficial, arising from the terror of Gods Judgments; and not sincere and serious, proceeding from the Love of God, or a true sense of his sin, or a solemn purpose of amendment of his Life, as appears, because all the particulars of his repentance here, ver. 27. are external and ritual onely; nor is there the least intimation of any one sign or fruit of his true repentance, as that he restored Naboth's Land, or reproved his infamous Wife; but in the very next Chapter you find him returning to his former Vomit, hating and threatning the Lods Prophets, &c.

i. e. The Judgment threatned, both that ver. 19. which was not inflicted upon Ahab with so much ignominy, and with that particular signature of Gods vengeance, that it was to be done in the same place, as it was upon his Son Ioram; and especially that, ver. 21, 22▪ which was wholly suspended until his Sons days.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ Kin. 9. 25.

1Ki 21:1-2

Ahab wanted to obtain possession of the vineyard of Naboth, which was in Jezreel (אשׁר refers to כּרם), near the palace of the king, either in exchange for another vineyard or for money, that he might make a vegetable garden of it. From the fact that Ahab is called the king of Samaria we may infer that Jezreel, the present Zerin (see at Jos 19:18), was only a summer residence of the king.

1Ki 21:3

Naboth refused to part with the vineyard, because it was the inheritance of his fathers, that is to say, on religious grounds (חלילה כּי מיהוה), because the sale of a paternal inheritance was forbidden in the law (Lev 25:23-28; Num 36:7.). He was therefore not merely at liberty as a personal right to refuse the king’s proposal, but bound by the commandment of God.

1Ki 21:4

Instead of respecting this tender feeling of shrinking from the transgression of the law and desisting from his coveting, Ahab went home, i.e., to Samaria (cf. 1Ki 21:8), sullen and morose (סר וזעף as in 1Ki 20:43), lay down upon his bed, turned his face (viz., to the wall; cf. 2Ki 20:2) - “after the manner of sorrowful persons, who shrink from and refuse all conversation, and even the sight of others” (Seb. Schmidt) - and did not eat. This childish mode of giving expression to his displeasure at Naboth’s refusal to comply with his wish, shows very clearly that Ahab was a man sold under sin (1Ki 21:20), who only wanted the requisite energy to display the wickedness of his heart in vigorous action.

1Ki 21:5-7

When Jezebel learned the cause of Ahab’s ill-humour, she said to him, “Thou, dost thou now exercise royal authority over Israel.” אתּה is placed first for the sake of emphasis, and the sentence is to be taken as an ironical question, as it has been by the lxx. “I (if thou hast not courage enough to act) will procure thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

1Ki 21:8-10

The shameless woman then wrote a letter in the name of Ahab, sealed it below with the royal seal, which probably bore the king’s signature and was stamped upon the writing instead of signing the name, as is done at the present day among Arabs, Turks, and Persians (vid., Paulsen, Reg. der Morgenl. p. 295ff.), to give it the character of a royal command (cf. Est 8:13; Dan 6:17), and sent this letter (the Chethîb הסּפרים is correct, and the Keri has arisen from a misunderstanding) to the elders and nobles of his town (i.e., the members of the magistracy, Deu 16:18), who lived near Naboth, and therefore had an opportunity to watch his mode of life, and appeared to be the most suitable persons to institute the charge that was to be brought against him. The letter ran thus: “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people, and set two worthless men opposite to him, that they may give evidence against him: Thou hast blasphemed God and king; and lead him out and stone him, that he may die.” Jezebel ordered the fasting for a sign, as though some public crime or heavy load of guilt rested upon the city, for which it was necessary that it should humble itself before God (1Sa 7:6). The intention was, that at the very outset the appearance of justice should be given to the legal process about to be instituted in the eyes of all the citizens, and the stamp of veracity impressed upon the crime of which Naboth was to be accused. העם בראשׁ...הושׁיבוּ, “seat him at the head of the people,” i.e., bring him to the court of justice as a defendant before all the people. The expression may be explained from the fact, that a sitting of the elders was appointed for judicial business, in which Naboth and the witnesses who were to accuse him of blasphemy took part seated. To preserve the appearance of justice, two witnesses were appointed, according to the law in Deu 17:6-7; Deu 19:15; Num 35:30; but worthless men, as at the trial of Jesus (Mat 26:60). אלהים בּרך, to bless God, i.e., to bid Him farewell, to dismiss Him, as in Job 2:9, equivalent to blaspheming God. God and king are mentioned together, like God and prince in Exo 22:27, to make it possible to accuse Naboth of transgressing this law, and to put him to death as a blasphemer of God, according to Deu 13:11 and Deu 17:5, where the punishment of stoning is awarded to idolatry as a practical denial of God. Blaspheming the king is not to be taken as a second crime to be added to the blasphemy of God; but blaspheming the king, as the visible representative of God, was eo ipso also blaspheming God.

1Ki 21:11-13

The elders of Jezreel executed this command without delay; a striking proof both of deep moral corruption and of slavish fear of the tyranny of the ruthless queen.

1Ki 21:14-15

When the report of Naboth’s execution was brought to her, she called upon Ahab to take possession of his vineyard (רשׁ = רשׁ, Deu 2:24). As Naboth’s sons were put to death at the same time, according to 2Ki 9:26, the king was able to confiscate his property; not, indeed, on any rule laid down in the Mosaic law, but according to a principle involved in the very idea of high treason. Since, for example, in the case of blasphemy the property of the criminal was forfeited to the Lord as cherem (Deu 13:16), the property of traitors was regarded as forfeited to the king.

1Ki 21:16-19

But when Ahab went down to Jezreel to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, Elijah came to meet him by the command of God, with the word of the Lord, “Hast thou murdered and also taken possession?” The question served to sharpen his conscience, since Ahab was obliged to admit the fact. בּשׁמרון אשׁר means “who lives at Samaria,” for when Elijah came to meet him, Ahab was in Jezreel, Elijah then said to him still further: “Thus saith the Lord: In the place where the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, will they also lick thine, yea, thy blood.” אתּה גּם serves as an emphatic repetition of the suffix (cf. Ges. §121, 3). This threat was only so far fulfilled upon Ahab, from the compassion of God, and in consequence of his humbling himself under the divine judgment (1Ki 21:27-29), that dogs licked his blood at Samaria when the carriage was washed in which he had died (1Ki 22:38); but it was literally fulfilled in the case of his son Joram, whose corpse was cast into Naboth’s piece of ground (2Ki 9:25-26).

1Ki 21:20-24

Ahab answered, “Hast thou found me (met with me), O mine enemy?” (not, hast thou ever found me thine enemy? - Vulg., Luth.) i.e., dost thou come to meet me again, mine enemy? He calls Elijah his enemy, to take the sting from the prophet’s threat as an utterance caused by personal enmity. But Elijah fearlessly replied, “I have found (thee), because thou sellest thyself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.” He then announced to him, in 1Ki 21:21, 1Ki 21:22, the extermination of his house, and to Jezebel, as the principal sinner, the most ignominious end (1Ki 21:23). הרע לעשׂות חתמכּר to sell one’s self to do evil, i.e., to give one’s self to evil so as to have no will of one’s own, to make one’s self the slave of evil (cf. 1Ki 21:25, 2Ki 17:17). The consequence of this is πεπρᾶσθαι ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν (Rom 7:14), sin exercising unlimited power over the man who gives himself up to it as a slave. For 1Ki 21:21, 1Ki 21:22, see 1Ki 14:10-11; 1Ki 15:29-30; 1Ki 16:3, 1Ki 16:12-13. The threat concerning Jezebel (1Ki 21:23) was literally fulfilled, according to 2Ki 9:30. חל, written defectively for חיל, as in 2Sa 20:15, is properly the open space by the town-wall, pomoerium. Instead of בּחל we have בּחלק in the repetition of this threat in 2Ki 9:10, 2Ki 9:36-37, and consequently Thenius and others propose to alter the חל here. But there is no necessity for this, as בּחלק, on the portion, i.e., the town-land, of Jezreel (not, in the field at Jezreel), is only a more general epithet denoting the locality, and חל is proved to be the original word by the lxx.

1Ki 21:25-26 1Ki 21:25, 1Ki 21:26 contain a reflection on the part of the historian concerning Ahab’s ungodly conduct, whereby he brought such an ignominious end upon himself and his house. וגו היה לא רק, “only there has not been (one) like Ahab,” i.e., there was no one else like Ahab, “who sold himself,” etc. הסתּה for הסיתה, from סוּת, to entice, to seduce or lead astray (cf. Ewald, §114, a., and Ges. §72, Anm. 6). ויּתעב, and he acted abominably. Amorites: for Canaanites, as in Gen 15:16, etc.

1Ki 21:27-29

This terrible threat made such an impression upon Ahab, that he felt deep remorse, and for a time at least was sincerely penitent. Rending the clothes, putting on the mourning garment of hair (שׂק), and fasting, are frequently mentioned as external signs of humiliation before God or of deep mourning on account of sin. יהלּך אט, he walked about lightly (slowly), like one in deep trouble. This repentance was neither hypocritical, nor purely external; but it was sincere even if it was not lasting and produced no real conversion. For the Lord Himself acknowledge it to be humiliation before Him (1Ki 21:29), and said to Elijah, that because of it He would not bring the threatened calamity upon Ahab’s house in his own lifetime, but only in the days of his son. אבי for אביא, as in 1Ki 21:21.

Naboth's Vineyard Refused to Ahab. (b. c. 899.)

1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Here is, 1. Ahab coveting his neighbour's vineyard, which unhappily lay near his palace and conveniently for a kitchen-garden. Perhaps Naboth had been pleased that he had a vineyard which lay so advantageously for a prospect of the royal gardens, or the vending of its productions to the royal family; but the situation of it proved fatal to him. If he had had no vineyard, or it had lain obscure in some remote place, he would have preserved his life. But many a man's possessions have been his snare, and his neighbourhood to greatness has been of pernicious consequence. Ahab sets his eye and heart on this vineyard, v. 2. It will be a pretty addition to his demesne, a convenient out-let to his palace; and nothing will serve him but it must be his own. He is welcome to the fruits of it, welcome to walk in it; Naboth perhaps would have made him a lease of it for his life, to please him; but nothing will please him unless he have an absolute property in it, he and his heirs for ever. Yet he is not such a tyrant as to take it by force, but fairly proposes either to give Naboth the full value of it in money or a better vineyard in exchange. He had tamely quitted the great advantages God had given him of enlarging his dominion for the honour of his kingdom, by his victory over the Syrians, and now is eager to enlarge his garden, only for the convenience of his house, as if to be penny wise would atone for being pound foolish. To desire a convenience to his estate was not evil (there would be no buying if there were no desire of what is bought; the virtuous woman considers a field and buys it); but to desire any thing inordinately, though we would compass it by lawful means, is a fruit of selfishness, as if we must engross all the conveniences, and none must live, or live comfortably, by us, contrary to the law of contentment, and the letter of the tenth commandment, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house. 2. The repulse he met with in this desire. Naboth would by no means part with it (v. 3): The Lord forbid it me; and the Lord did forbid it, else he would not have been so rude and uncivil to his prince as not to gratify him in so small a matter. Canaan was in a peculiar manner God's land; the Israelites were his tenants; and this was one of the conditions of their leases, that they should not alienate (no, not to one another) any part of that which fell to their lot, unless in case of extreme necessity, and then only till the year of jubilee, Lev. xxv. 28. Now Naboth foresaw that, if his vineyard were sold to the crown, it would never return to his heirs, no, not in the jubilee. He would gladly oblige the king, but he must obey God rather than men, and therefore in this matter desires to be excused. Ahab knew the law, or should have known it, and therefore did ill to ask that which his subject could not grant without sin. Some conceive that Naboth looked upon his earthly inheritance as an earnest of his lot in the heavenly Canaan, and therefore would not part with the former, lest it should amount to a forfeiture of the latter. He seems to have been a conscientious man, who would rather hazard the king's displeasure than offend God, and probably was one of the 7000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal, for which, it may be, Ahab owed him a grudge. 3. Ahab's great discontent and uneasiness hereupon. He was as before (ch. xx. 43) heavy and displeased (v. 4), grew melancholy upon it, threw himself upon his bed, would not eat nor admit company to come to him. He could by no means digest the affront. His proud spirit aggravated the indignity Naboth did him in denying him, as a thing not to be suffered. He cursed the squeamishness of Naboth's conscience, which he pretended to consult the peace of, and secretly meditated revenge. Nor could he bear the disappointment; it cut him to the heart to be crossed in his desires, and he was perfectly sick for vexation. Note, (1.) Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment and makes men torment themselves; it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour; it is the heaviness of the heart and the rottenness of the bones. (2.) It is a sin that is its own parent. It arises not from the condition, but from the mind. As we find Paul contented in a prison, so Ahab discontent in a palace. He had all the delights of Canaan, that pleasant land, at command the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasures of a court, and the honours and powers of a throne; and yet all this avails him nothing without Naboth's vineyard. Inordinate desires expose men to continual vexations, and those that are disposed to fret, be they ever so happy, will always find something or other to fret at.

Naboth Murdered by Jezebel. (b. c. 899.)

5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? 6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. 7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Nothing but mischief is to be expected when Jezebel enters into the story—that cursed woman, 2 Kings ix. 34.

I. Under pretence of comforting her afflicted husband, she feeds his pride and passion, and blows the coals of his corruptions. It became her to take notice of his grief and to enquire into the cause of it, v. 5. Those have forgotten both the duty and affection of the conjugal relation that interest not themselves in each other's troubles. He told her what troubled him (v. 6), yet invidiously concealed Naboth's reason for his refusal, representing it as peevish, when it was conscientious—I will not give it thee, whereas he said, I may not. What! says Jezebel (v. 7), Dost thou govern Israel? Arise, and eat bread. She does well to persuade him to shake off his melancholy, and not to sink under his burden, to be easy and cheerful; whatever was his grief, grieving would not redress it, but pleasantness would alleviate it. Her plea is, Dost thou now govern Israel? This is capable of a good sense: "Does it become so great a prince as thou art to cast thyself down for so small a matter? Thou shamest thyself, and profanest thy crown; it is below thee to take notice of so inconsiderable a thing. Art thou fit to govern Israel, who hast no better a government of thy own passions? Or hast thou so rich a kingdom at command and canst not thou be without this one vineyard?" We should learn to quiet ourselves, under our crosses, with the thoughts of the mercies we enjoy, especially our hopes of the kingdom. But she meant it in a bad sense: "Dost thou govern Israel, and shall any subject thou hast deny thee any thing thou hast a mind to? Art thou a king? It is below thee to buy and pay, much more to beg and pray; use thy prerogative, and take by force what thou canst not compass by fair means; instead of resenting the affront thus, revenge it. If thou knowest not how to support the dignity of a king, let me alone to do it; give me but leave to make use of thy name, and I will soon give thee the vineyard of Naboth; right or wrong, it shall be thy own shortly, and cost thee nothing." Unhappy princes those are, and hurried apace towards their ruin, who have those about them that stir them up to acts of tyranny and teach them how to abuse their power.

II. In order to gratify him, she projects and compasses the death of Naboth. No less than his blood will serve to atone for the affront he has given to Ahab, which she thirsts after the more greedily because of his adherence to the law of the God of Israel.

1. Had she aimed only at his land, her false witnesses might have sworn him out of that by a forged deed (she could not have set up so weak a title but the elders of Jezreel would have adjudged it good); but the adulteress will hunt for the precious life, Prov. vi. 26. Revenge is sweet. Naboth must die, and die as a malefactor, to gratify it.

(1.) Never were more wicked orders given by any prince than those which Jezebel sent to the magistrates of Jezreel, v. 8-10. She borrows the privy-seal, but the king shall not know what she will do with it. It is probable this was not the first time he had lent it to her, but that with it she had signed warrants for the slaying of the prophets. She makes use of the king's name, knowing the thing would please him when it was done, yet fearing he might scruple at the manner of doing it; in short, she commands them, upon their allegiance, to put Naboth to death, without giving them any reason for so doing. Had she sent witnesses to inform against him, the judges (who must go secundum allegata et probata—according to allegations and proofs) might have been imposed upon, and their sentence might have been rather their unhappiness than their crime; but to oblige them to find the witnesses, sons of Belial, to suborn them themselves, and then to give judgment upon a testimony which they knew to be false, was such an impudent defiance to every thing that is just and sacred as we hope cannot be paralleled in any story. She must have looked upon the elders of Jezreel as men perfectly lost to every thing that is honest and honourable when she expected these orders should be obeyed. But she will put them in a way how to do it, having as much of the serpent's subtlety as she had of his poison. [1.] It must be done under colour of religion: "Proclaim a fast; signify to your city that you are apprehensive of some dreadful judgment coming upon you, which you must endeavour to avert, not only by prayer, but by finding out and by putting away the accursed thing; pretend to be afraid that there is some great offender among you undiscovered, for whose sake God is angry with your city; charge the people, if they know of any such, on that solemn occasion to inform against him, as they regard the welfare of the city; and at last let Naboth be fastened upon as the suspected person, probably because he does not join with his neighbours in their worship. This may serve for a pretence to set him on high among the people, to call him to the bar. Let proclamation be made that, if any one can inform the court against the prisoner, and prove him to be the Achan, they shall be heard; and then let the witnesses appear to give evidence against him." Note, There is no wickedness so vile, so horrid, but religion has sometimes been made a cloak and cover for it. We must not think at all the worse of fasting and praying for their having been sometimes thus abused, but much the worse of those wicked designs that have at any time been carried on under the shelter of them. [2.] It must be done under colour of justice too, and with the formalities of a legal process. Had she sent to them to hire some of their banditti, some desperate ruffians, to assassinate him, to stab him as he went along the streets in the night, the deed would have been bad enough; but to destroy him by a course of law, to use that power for the murdering of the innocent which ought to be their protection, was such a violent perversion of justice and judgment as was truly monstrous, yet such as we are directed not to marvel at, Eccl. v. 8. The crime they must lay to his charge was blaspheming God and the king— a complicated blasphemy. Surely she could not think to put a blasphemous sense upon the answer he had given to Ahab, as if denying him his vineyard were blaspheming the king, and giving the divine law for the reason were blaspheming God. No, she pretends not any ground at all for the charge: though there was no colour of truth in it, the witnesses must swear it, and Naboth must not be permitted to speak for himself, or cross-examine the witnesses, but immediately, under pretence of a universal detestation of the crime, they must carry him out and stone him. His blaspheming God would be the forfeiture of his life, but not of his estate, and therefore he is also charged with treason, in blaspheming the king, for which his estate was to be confiscated, that so Ahab might have his vineyard.

(2.) Never were wicked orders more wickedly obeyed than these were by the magistrates of Jezreel. They did not so much as dispute the command nor make any objections against it, though so palpably unjust, but punctually observed all the particulars of it, either because they feared Jezebel's cruelty or because they hated Naboth's piety, or both: They did as it was written in the letters (v. 11, 12), neither made any difficulty of it, nor met with any difficulty in it, but cleverly carried on the villany. They stoned Naboth to death (v. 13), and, as it should seem, his sons with him, or after him; for, when God came to make inquisition for blood, we find this article in the account (2 Kings ix. 26), I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. Perhaps they were secretly murdered, that they might not claim their father's estate nor complain of the wrong done him.

2. Let us take occasion from this sad story, (1.) To stand amazed at the wickedness of the wicked, and the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. What a holy indignation may we be filled with to see wickedness in the place of judgment! Eccl. iii. 16. (2.) To lament the hard case of oppressed innocency, and to mingle our tears with the tears of the oppressed that have no comforter, while on the side of the oppressors there is power, Eccl. iv. 1. (3.) To commit the keeping of our lives and comforts to God, for innocency itself will not always be our security. (4.) To rejoice in the belief of a judgment to come, in which such wrong judgments as these will be called over. Now we see that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked (Eccl. viii. 14), but all will be set to rights in the great day.

III. Naboth being taken off, Ahab takes possession of his vineyard. 1. The elders of Jezreel sent notice to Jezebel very unconcernedly, sent it to her as a piece of agreeable news, Naboth is stoned and is dead, v. 14. Here let us observe that, as obsequious as the elders of Jezreel were to Jezebel's orders which she sent from Samaria for the murder of Naboth, so obsequious were the elders of Samaria afterwards to Jehu's orders which he sent from Jezreel for the murder of Ahab's seventy sons, only that was not done by course of law, 2 Kings x. 6, 7. Those tyrants that by their wicked orders debauch the consciences of their inferior magistrates may perhaps find at last the wheel return upon them, and that those who will not stick to do one cruel thing for them will be as ready to do another cruel thing against them. 2. Jezebel, jocund enough that her plot succeeded so well, brings notice to Ahab that Naboth is not alive, but dead; therefore, says she, Arise, take possession of his vineyard, v. 15. He might have taken possession by one of his officers, but so pleased is he with this accession to his estate that he will make a journey to Jezreel himself to enter upon it; and it should seem he went in state too, as if he had obtained some mighty victory, for Jehu remembers long after that he and Bidkar attended him at this time, 2 Kings ix. 25. If Naboth's sons were all put to death, Ahab thought himself entitled to the estate, ob defectum sanguinis—in default of heirs (as our law expresses it); if not, yet, Naboth dying as a criminal, he claimed it ob delictum criminis—as forfeited by his crime. Or, if neither would make him a good title, the absolute power of Jezebel would give it to him, and who would dare to oppose her will? Might often prevails against right, and wonderful is the divine patience that suffers it to do so. God is certainly of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and yet for a time keeps silence when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he, Hab. i. 13.

Ahab's Doom Foretold. (b. c. 899.)

17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord , Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord , In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord . 21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel also spake the Lord , saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. 25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord , whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

In these verses we may observe,

I. The very bad character that is given of Ahab (v. 25, 26), which comes in here to justify God in the heavy sentence passed upon him, and to show that though it was passed upon occasion of his sin in the matter of Naboth (which David's sin in the matter of Uriah did too much resemble), yet God would not have punished him so severely if he had not been guilty of many other sins, especially idolatry; whereas David, except in that one matter, did that which was right. But, as to Ahab, there was none like him, so ingenious and industrious in sin, and that made a trade of it. He sold himself to work wickedness, that is, he made himself a perfect slave to his lusts, and was as much at their beck and command as ever any servant was at his master's. He was wholly given up to sin, and, upon condition he might have the pleasures of it, he would take the wages of it, which is death, Rom. vi. 23. Blessed Paul complained that he was sold under sin (Rom. vii. 14), as a poor captive against his will; but Ahab was voluntary: he sold himself to sin; of choice, and as his own act and deed, he submitted to the dominion of sin. It was no excuse of his crimes that Jezebel his wife stirred him up to do wickedly, and made him, in many respects, worse than otherwise he would have been. To what a pitch of impiety did he arrive who had such tinder of corruption in his heart and such a temper in his bosom to strike fire into it! In many things he did ill, but he did most abominably in following idols, like the Canaanites; his immoralities were very provoking to God, but his idolatries were especially so. Israel's case was sad when a prince of such a character as this reigned over them.

II. The message with which Elijah was sent to him, when he went to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, v. 17-19.

1. Hitherto God kept silence, did not intercept Jezebel's letters, nor stay the process of the elders of Jezreel; but now Ahab is reproved and his sin set in order before his eyes. (1.) The person sent is Elijah. A prophet of lower rank was sent with messages of kindness to him, ch. xx. 13. But the father of the prophets is sent to try him, and condemn him, for his murder. (2.) The place is Naboth's vineyard and the time just when he is taking possession of it; then, and there, must his doom be read him. By taking possession, he avowed all that was done, and made himself guilty ex post facto—as an accessary after the fact. There he was taken in the commission of the errors, and therefore the conviction would come upon him with so much the more force. "What hast thou to do in this vineyard? What good canst thou expect from it when it is purchased with blood (Hab. ii. 12) and thou hast caused the owner thereof to lose his life?" Job xxxi. 39. Now that he is pleasing himself with his ill-gotten wealth, and giving direction for the turning of this vineyard into a flower-garden, his meat in his bowels is turned. He shall not feel quietness. When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, Job xx. 14, 20, 23.

2. Let us see what passed between him and the prophet.

(1.) Ahab vented his wrath against Elijah, fell into a passion at the sight of him, and, instead of humbling himself before the prophet, as he ought to have done (2 Chron. xxxvi. 12), was ready to fly in his face. Hast thou found me, O my enemy? v. 20. This shows, [1.] That he hated him. The last time we found them together they parted very good friends, ch. xviii. 46. Then Ahab had countenanced the reformation, and therefore then all was well between him and the prophet; but now he had relapsed, and was worse than ever. His conscience told him he had made God his enemy, and therefore he could not expect Elijah should be his friend. Note, 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, Gal. iv. 16. Ahab, having sold himself to sin, was resolved to stand to his bargain, and could not endure him that would have helped him to recover himself, [2.] That he feared him: Hast thou found me? intimating that he shunned him all he could, and it was now a terror to him to see him. The sight of him was like that of the handwriting upon the wall to Belshazzar; it made his countenance change, the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Never was poor debtor or criminal so confounded at the sight of the officer that came to arrest him. Men may thank themselves if they make God and his word a terror to them.

(2.) Elijah denounced God's wrath against Ahab: I have found thee (says he, v. 20), because thou hast sold thyself to work evil. Note, Those that give up themselves to sin will certainly be found out, sooner or later, to their unspeakable horror and amazement. Ahab is now set to the bar, as Naboth was, and trembles more than he did. [1.] Elijah finds the indictment against him, and convicts him upon the notorious evidence of the fact (v. 19): Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? He was thus charged with the murder of Naboth, and it would not serve him to say the law killed him (perverted justice is the highest injustice), nor that, if he was unjustly prosecuted, it was not his doing—he knew nothing of it; for it was to please him that it was done, and he had shown himself pleased with it, and so had made himself guilty of all that was done in the unjust prosecution of Naboth. He killed, for he took possession. If he takes the garden, he takes the guilt with it. Terra transit cum onere—The land with the incumbrance. [2.] He passes judgment upon him. He told him from God that his family should be ruined and rooted out (v. 21) and all his posterity cut off,—that his house should be made like the houses of his wicked predecessors, Jeroboam and Baasha (v. 22), particularly that those who died in the city should be meat for dogs and those who died in the field meat for birds (v. 24), which had been foretold of Jeroboam's house (ch. xiv. 11), and of Baasha's (ch. xvi. 4),—that Jezebel, particularly, should be devoured by dogs (v. 23), which was fulfilled (2 Kings ix. 36),—and, as for Ahab himself, that the dogs should lick his blood in the very same place where they licked Naboth's (v. 19— "Thy blood, even thine, though it be royal blood, though it swell thy veins with pride and boil in thy heart with anger, shall ere long be an entertainment for the dogs"), which was fulfilled, ch. xxii. 38. This intimates that he should die a violent death, should come to his grave with blood, and that disgrace should attend him, the foresight of which must needs be a great mortification to such a proud man. Punishments after death are here most insisted on, which, though such as affected the body only, were perhaps designed as figures of the soul's misery after death.

III. Ahab's humiliation under the sentence passed upon him, and the favourable message sent him thereupon. 1. Ahab was a kind of penitent. The message Elijah delivered to him in God's name put him into a fright for the present, so that he rent his clothes and put on sackcloth, v. 27. He was still a proud hardened sinner, and yet thus reduced. Note, God can make the stoutest heart to tremble and the proudest to humble itself. His word is quick and powerful, and is, when the pleases to make it so, like a fire and a hammer, Jer. xxiii. 29. It made Felix tremble. Ahab put on the garb and guise of a penitent, and yet his heart was unhumbled and unchanged. After this, we find, he hated a faithful prophet, ch. xxii. 8. Note, It is no new thing to find the show and profession of repentance where yet the truth and substance of it are wanting. Ahab's repentance was only what might be seen of men: Seest thou (says God to Elijah) how Ahab humbles himself; it was external only, the garments rent, but not the heart. A hypocrite may go very far in the outward performance of holy duties and yet come short. 2. He obtained hereby a reprieve, which I may call a kind of pardon. Though it was but an outside repentance (lamenting the judgment only, and not the sin), though he did not leave his idols, nor restore the vineyard to Naboth's heirs, yet, because he did hereby give some glory to God, God took notice of it, and bade Elijah take notice of it: Seest thou how Ahab humbles himself? v. 29. In consideration of this the threatened ruin of his house, which had not been fixed to any time, should be adjourned to his son's days. The sentence should not be revoked, but the execution suspended. Now, (1.) This discovers the great goodness of God, and his readiness to show mercy, which here rejoices against judgment. Favour was shown to this wicked man that God might magnify his goodness (says bishop Sanderson) even to the hazard of his other divine perfections; as if (says he) God would be thought unholy, or untrue, or unjust (though he be none of these), or any thing, rather than unmerciful. (2.) This teaches us to take notice of that which is good even in those who are not so good as they should be: let it be commended as far as it goes. (3.) This gives a reason why wicked people sometimes prosper long; God is rewarding their external services with external mercies. (4.) This encourages all those that truly repent and unfeignedly believe the holy gospel. If a pretending partial penitent shall go to his house reprieved, doubtless a sincere penitent shall go to his house justified.