The Verdict Came

O. T. #809  "The Verdict Came"
August 10, 2016
1 Kings 21-Part 2
Give him this message This is what the LORD says: Wasn't it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth? 1 Kings 21:10 NLT


LET IT GLOW

Naboth knew the dangers of disobeying a ruthless king, but refused to violate God's law and courageously refused Ahab's request for his ancestral land. Israelites were not to sell their land permanently, for the Promised Land belonged to God (Lev. 25:23). To acquire Naboth's vineyard for her husband, Queen Jezebel  committed several cries: forgery, hypocrisy (using the religious ritual of fasting to cover up the scheme), perjury, and murder. She even had Naboth's sons killed (2 Kings 9:26).
(David Jeremiah)

But God knew all that happened. He sent Elijah to settle the matter with the king:

• Ahab called Elijah his enemy in the NLT version.
• Elijah told that he came because Ahab sold himself to what is evil in the LORD's sight.
• The Lord's message to Ahab was that He was going to bring disaster on him and consume him.
• God would destroy Ahab's descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel!
• God was going to destroy Ahab's family as He did the family of Jeroboam and Baasha for he led Israel into sin and made God very angry. Those dying in the city would be eaten by dogs and those dying in the field would be eaten by vultures.
• Jezebel's body would be eaten by dogs on the plot of land Ahab got from Naboth.

Verse 25 says, No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD's sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.

His worse outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done.

Good news is found here-When Ahab heard this message he went into deep mourning, tearing his clothing, dressing in burlap, and fasting.
If you are like me, you wonder if it was all a show, a put on, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
However, God sees into the heart. He asked Elijah if he saw how Ahab humbled himself before God. Because of that, God changed His time of executing judgment, not during Ahab's lifetime, but his sons and dynasty would be destroyed.

Numbers 32:23 states, Be sure your sins will find you out.

Do we confront those who do wrong and warn them of God's discipline? Are we praying for them to come to repentance?

LET IT GROW

Elijah announced doom to the household of Ahab, and in a short time his prophecies came true (2 Kings 9-10). Ahab himself had "sold himself to do wickedness" and therefore he had to accept the wages he had earned. the king humbled himself before the Lord (whether sincerely or hypocritically, we do not know), so the Lord postponed the punishment. (Wiersbe)

We must accept God's sovereignty on those occasions when He seems harsh by our standards, and also when He seems too merciful by our judgment. (Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary)

God took notice and reduced Ahab's punishment. The same Lord who was merciful to Ahab wants to be merciful to you. No mater how evil you have been it is never too late to humble yourself, turn to God, and ask for forgiveness. (Life Application Study Bible)


LET IT GO

                              ... and let God handle those doing wrong when I have done all I can do.
                              ... and stay faithful to God so I am not among those who do wrong.