7. Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. 9. In those letters she wrote: "Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death." 11. So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. If governments deemed property worthy of public interest, they could take someone’s land or property for a price. This principle is called eminent domain. In the United States, it's limited by the Bill of Rights, which grants a right to due process of law and fair compensation.
This can be easily abused, not only in public life, but in private sectors as well. Many developers will force older people out of their homes “for the good of the community” sometimes for a fair price and often not. Desires turn into envy, which turns into greed, and falls into sin.
Naboth’s land was taken after legal means have been exhausted so the King could have a vegetable garden. The queen saw Ahab sullen and tells him to cheer up she will get the land for him. Jezebel hypocritically proclaims a day of fasting. Although she personally denies the laws of Jehovah, she uses this fast as means to falsely accuse Naboth. She instructs the elders of the city to set up Naboth so that two witnesses falsely testify against him claiming he cursed God and King so that way he could be stoned to death. That is exactly what happened.
The King’s family sideswipes the law and involves the whole city in a charade just so Ahab could get a vegetable garden. The elders were willing to be bribed and followed the dictates of an immoral, lying queen. Scoundrels and scum are more interested in money than lives. They lie in front of the tribune. They publicly keep the law by stoning him to death yet he was an innocent victim. With Naboth gone the land was now available for King Ahab. Power over the innocent is achieved once again. Desire turned to envy which turned into sin in order to get what does not belong.
Kings and leaders manipulate and kill people for their wants. This is what happened to Jesus. The High Priest Caiaphas wanted his innocent victim, the sinless Son of God killed. Since Jesus did no wrong the best they could do was to have two witnesses bribed with money to tell lies that Jesus committed something worthy of death.
Powerful people use whatever means they can to get what they want and sin grows. There are many defenseless victims who lose houses, land, money, property and even lives. It isn’t fair, but there is One who keeps the final books. There will come a day of reckoning. It is God who is the final judge.
Stealing and cheating become means of acquiring things that do not belong to us. It can be as serious as stealing cars to as simple as lying filling out time sheet or income tax forms.
Application: How is your heart?
Prayer: Today pray as the Psalmist prays in 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
