Sermon Tone Analysis

Text:

1 Kings 21:1-20

For time sake, we’re only going to read it as we go through the text this morning, so please keep your Bible open or your bulletin out where you can see it to follow along.

Sermon Title:

How to Ruin the People of God in 5 Easy Steps

Thesis:

To Destroy the People of God, we must simply break God’s formula for Leadership and Servanthood.

Introduction:

(Insert Introduction Statements, Illustration)

- Brief Explanation of Text

Problem to be addressed

Solution/Restate Thesis

Step I: Throw a Fit

Naboth is a Jezreelite, and from what we can tell from the text, he is a somewhat righteous man who knows the law.

He knows the way things should go.

He made one mistake, though, it would seem - he happened to be one of those people who just looked after his own, his own affairs, his own business, and also happened to live next to Ahab’s winter home.

They actually discovered and excavated this palace in the early 1990’s - and it was, basically, a castle.

It had towers, a moat, everything.

The moat was dry, being in Palestine, but still, it would have looked similar to some castles you’ve seen on TV.

And, starting with Ahab, we know that the Israelite kings would go to Jezreel - about 25 miles north of Samaria, Israel’s capital at the time, and that’s where they’d spend the winter months.

Kind of how some folks in North Dakota like to escape to Arizona for a few months out of the year.

Ahab goes to his winter home, and he happens to notice this vineyard nearby.

He thinks to himself, “Hey, this is a pretty nice spot of land, and it would make me a nice little vegetable garden.

So he offers to buy the property, he’s nice about it, he even offers a fair price for it.

By all accounts, from the outside looking in, Ahab seems like he’s doing the right thing.

Let me tell you why he’s not.

For starters:

Ahab is approaching this from a Canaanite mentality.

In Canaanite culture, land was simply a commodity to trade and sell for profit.

Ahab’s initial offer to Naboth is fair - if you’re a pagan.

If you do not worship the God of Israel.

We know Ahab did not do this.

Earlier in 1 Kings 16, we’re given insight into Ahab’s character.

1 Kings 16:30 “And Ahab the son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh more than all who were before him.”

1 Kings 16:31 “Now it happened, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians as a wife, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.”

He erects an altar for the false god Baal, even builds a house for Baal, and 1 Kings 16:33 “Ahab also made the Asherah.

Thus Ahab did more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”

People often want to blame Jezebel for all Ahab’s problems, but truly, Ahab was just as guilty.

Marrying Jezebel was just one of many of the rebellious things he did, and he will pay a price for it, but Ahab is not a righteous king.

If anyone ever tries to defend Ahab and Jezebel, by the way, be cautious of such a person - either they speak from ignorance or from a kindred spirit to these two, and neither one is a good thing.

They’re wicked people - and the fact that Ahab even gets it in his mind to make this offer to Naboth tells us where his priorities are.

Also, it shows us the purposeful thumbing of his nose at God’s law.

Look at Naboth’s words: “Yahweh forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

In Israelite culture, property belonged to families - not to whoever had the most gold.

Naboth’s response strongly implies to us, as the readers, that selling this property would displease God, and disregard His law.

This vineyard was Naboth’s ancestral land, and it was to stay in his family forever.

We see this fact made clear in the law.

Leviticus 25:23 “‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but sojourners and foreign residents with Me.”

Now, if someone did need to sell their land, God says, Leviticus 25:25 “‘If a brother of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his possession of land, then his nearest kinsman redeemer is to come and redeem what his brother has sold.”

This way the property stays in the family - but if there is no kinsman redeemer, he can buy it back based on how long and how fruitful it had been to the person who purchased it, and even then, if he couldn’t afford it...

Leviticus 25:28 “‘But if he has not found sufficient means to return it to himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his possession of land.”

So Ahab is in the wrong here - for even approaching Naboth and making the offer.

Keep in mind Ahab was also a descendent of Jeroboam, an Ephraimite.

Naboth is a Jezreelite.

The law was very clear in Numbers 36:7 ““Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.”

To be clear, Ahab shows a complete disregard for God’s order.

What. A. Baby.

He goes into his house “sullen” - the Hebrew word is “sahr” - and it means “resentful”, “ill-humored”, or literally, “so upset”.

And he’s “ENRAGED”, which is the Hebrew word “za-eph”, some translators take it to mean “vexed”, or “angry” but the LSB has a better beed on it - he’s throwing a tantrum.

It literally means he is in a “furious rage.”

If you have ever had kids you know this anger.

The King of Israel is throwing a temper tantrum.

And not only that, he’s pouting.

He has thrown himself on his bed, he won’t look at anyone, and he’s refusing to eat his dinner.

He’s acting like a child.

King Hezekiah, when he is facing actual death - he turns his face away.

2 Kings 20:1-2 “In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death.

And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh...”

This is how a king acts when he’s about to die - in Ahab’s mind, Naboth standing up to him, Naboth’s choosing God’s will over his will, “Well, ya may as well kill me because I’m not getting my way.”

That’s the message he is sending here.

We do this, too.

When we don’t get our way, we may not throw a fit and embarrass ourselves, but when we do not get what we want how we want it, when our pride says we must have what we want, and we do not get it - we throw a fit.

And when we do it in the church, it it damaging to the people of God.

The kids call it “being a Karen”, because that’s the stereotype of the kind of woman who walks into the store and is so upset she wants to speak only to the manager… because her son got ketchup on his happy meal, when she clearly, plainly said “no ketchup”.

In the church, among the people of God, it goes beyond being a Karen - it’s being an Ahab, it’s being a Jezebel.

So we have to pause and ask...

How does Christ compare to this?

Jesus, who was actually wronged, was actually betrayed, was actually struck in the face by those who oppressed Him… how did He handle it?

Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.””

Truthfully, Ahab probably didn’t know God’s law about property, because Ahab didn’t care for God’s will concerning property.

When we are in prayer, and we are saying - like Christ - not my will, but your will be done - it becomes a lot easier to not be angry when God’s will is being carried out before our eyes.

But if we want to destroy God’s people, we just have to try undermine God’s will, and throw a fit when it doesn’t work out.

Step II.

Let Someone Else Lead You

Here we go.

Weak men produce evil women.

That’s not a sexist statement, that’s a Biblical fact.

When men do not rise up and be the men God has called them to be, women rule, children rule, and it is in judgment of the men not stepping up to be the men of God they’re called to be.

Nowhere do we see this made any clearer than here in Ahab and Jezebel.

Jezebel gets all the hate but Ahab would not lead his wife as a man is called to lead his wife, instead he lets her lead because he is too weak, too full of his own self-pity, his own rage...

See, Naboth didn’t want a wife, he wanted a nanny.

He wanted a nursemaid.

He wanted a mommy.

This is a disgusting fact of American society - so many men want to continue being boys, so they force their wives to act like their moms.

It’s disgusting.

It’s Ahab and Jezebel, and judgment is coming.

She comes in, “Why are you so sad?

Why aren’t you eating?”

And the subtle question, the real question is, “Why aren’t you acting like the king?