mh_parser/vol_split/11 - 1Kings/Chapter 21.xml

<div2 id="iKi.xxii" n="xxii" next="iKi.xxiii" prev="iKi.xxi" progress="60.72%" title="Chapter XXI">
<h2 id="iKi.xxii-p0.1">F I R S T   K I N G S</h2>
<h3 id="iKi.xxii-p0.2">CHAP. XXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iKi.xxii-p1">Ahab is still the unhappy subject of the sacred
history; from the great affairs of his camp and kingdom this
chapter leads us into his garden, and gives us an account of some
ill things (and ill indeed they proved to him) relating to his
domestic affairs. I. Ahab is sick for Naboth's vineyard, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.1-1Kgs.21.4" parsed="|1Kgs|21|1|21|4" passage="1Ki 21:1-4">ver. 1-4</scripRef>. II. Naboth dies by
Jezebel's plot, that the vineyard may escheat to Ahab, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.5-1Kgs.21.14" parsed="|1Kgs|21|5|21|14" passage="1Ki 21:5-14">ver. 5-14</scripRef>. III. Ahab goes to take
possession, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.15-1Kgs.21.16" parsed="|1Kgs|21|15|21|16" passage="1Ki 21:15-16">ver. 15-16</scripRef>.
IV. Elijah meets him, and denounces the judgments of God against
him for his injustice, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.17-1Kgs.21.24" parsed="|1Kgs|21|17|21|24" passage="1Ki 21:17-24">ver.
17-24</scripRef>. V. Upon his humiliation a reprieve is granted,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.25-1Kgs.21.29" parsed="|1Kgs|21|25|21|29" passage="1Ki 21:25-29">ver. 25-29</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="iKi.xxii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21" parsed="|1Kgs|21|0|0|0" passage="1Ki 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iKi.xxii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.1-1Kgs.21.4" parsed="|1Kgs|21|1|21|4" passage="1Ki 21:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.21.1-1Kgs.21.4">
<h4 id="iKi.xxii-p1.8">Naboth's Vineyard Refused to
Ahab. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 899.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.xxii-p2">1 And it came to pass after these things,
<i>that</i> Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which <i>was</i>
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 <i>is</i> near unto
my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it;
<i>or,</i> if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of
it in money.   3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p2.1">Lord</span> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p3">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,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.2" parsed="|1Kgs|21|2|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. 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 <i>considers a field and buys it</i>); 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, <i>Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's house.</i> 2. The repulse he met
with in this desire. Naboth would by no means part with it
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.3" parsed="|1Kgs|21|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>The Lord
forbid it me;</i> 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,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.28" parsed="|Lev|25|28|0|0" passage="Le 25:28">Lev. xxv. 28</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.20.43" parsed="|1Kgs|20|43|0|0" passage="1Ki 20:43"><i>ch.</i> xx.
43</scripRef>) <i>heavy and displeased</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.4" parsed="|1Kgs|21|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), 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 <i>yet all
this avails him nothing</i> 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.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iKi.xxii-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.5-1Kgs.21.16" parsed="|1Kgs|21|5|21|16" passage="1Ki 21:5-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.21.5-1Kgs.21.16">
<h4 id="iKi.xxii-p3.7">Naboth Murdered by Jezebel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p3.8">b. c.</span> 899.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.xxii-p4">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 <i>another</i> 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, <i>and</i> 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
<i>them</i> with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and
to the nobles that <i>were</i> 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 <i>then</i> carry him
out, and stone him, that he may die.   11 And the men of his
city, <i>even</i> the elders and the nobles who were the
inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them,
<i>and</i> as it <i>was</i> 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, <i>even</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p5">Nothing but mischief is to be expected when
Jezebel enters into the story—<i>that cursed woman,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.9.34" parsed="|2Kgs|9|34|0|0" passage="2Ki 9:34">2 Kings ix. 34</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p6">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, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.5" parsed="|1Kgs|21|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. 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
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.6" parsed="|1Kgs|21|6|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), yet
invidiously concealed Naboth's reason for his refusal, representing
it as peevish, when it was conscientious—<i>I will not give it
thee,</i> whereas he said, <i>I may not.</i> What! says Jezebel
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.7" parsed="|1Kgs|21|7|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), <i>Dost thou
govern Israel? Arise, and eat bread.</i> 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,
<i>Dost thou now govern Israel?</i> 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: "<i>Dost thou govern
Israel,</i> 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 <i>give thee the
vineyard of Naboth;</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p7">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p8">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 <i>the adulteress will
hunt for the precious life,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.6.26" parsed="|Prov|6|26|0|0" passage="Pr 6:26">Prov.
vi. 26</scripRef>. Revenge is sweet. Naboth must die, and die as a
malefactor, to gratify it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p9">(1.) Never were more wicked orders given by
any prince than those which Jezebel sent to the magistrates of
Jezreel, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.8-1Kgs.21.10" parsed="|1Kgs|21|8|21|10" passage="1Ki 21:8-10"><i>v.</i> 8-10</scripRef>.
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 <i>secundum allegata et
probata—according to allegations and proofs</i>) 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: "<i>Proclaim a fast;</i>
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 <i>set him on high
among the people,</i> 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
<i>under colour of justice</i> 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 <i>violent perversion of justice and
judgment</i> as was truly monstrous, yet such as we are directed
<i>not to marvel at,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.8" parsed="|Eccl|5|8|0|0" passage="Ec 5:8">Eccl. v.
8</scripRef>. The crime they must lay to his charge was
<i>blaspheming God and the king—</i> 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
<i>carry him out and stone him.</i> His blaspheming God would be
the forfeiture of his life, but not of his estate, and therefore he
is also charged with treason, in <i>blaspheming the king,</i> for
which his estate was to be confiscated, that so Ahab might have his
vineyard.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p10">(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 <i>as it was
written in the letters</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.11-1Kgs.21.12" parsed="|1Kgs|21|11|21|12" passage="1Ki 21:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>), neither made any
difficulty of it, nor met with any difficulty in it, but cleverly
carried on the villany. They stoned Naboth to death (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.13" parsed="|1Kgs|21|13|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), 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
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.9.26" parsed="|2Kgs|9|26|0|0" passage="2Ki 9:26">2 Kings ix. 26</scripRef>), <i>I have
seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons.</i> Perhaps
they were secretly murdered, that they might not claim their
father's estate nor complain of the wrong done him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p11">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 <i>wickedness in the place
of judgment!</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.16" parsed="|Eccl|3|16|0|0" passage="Ec 3:16">Eccl. iii.
16</scripRef>. (2.) To lament the hard case of oppressed innocency,
and to mingle our tears with <i>the tears of the oppressed that
have no comforter,</i> while <i>on the side of the oppressors there
is power,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.4.1" parsed="|Eccl|4|1|0|0" passage="Ec 4:1">Eccl. iv. 1</scripRef>.
(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 <i>there are just men
to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked</i>
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.8.14" parsed="|Eccl|8|14|0|0" passage="Ec 8:14">Eccl. viii. 14</scripRef>), but all
will be set to rights in the great day.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p12">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, <i>Naboth is stoned and is dead,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.14" parsed="|1Kgs|21|14|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.10.6-2Kgs.10.7" parsed="|2Kgs|10|6|10|7" passage="2Ki 10:6,7">2 Kings
x. 6, 7</scripRef>. 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 <i>Naboth is
not alive, but dead;</i> therefore, says she, <i>Arise, take
possession of his vineyard,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.15" parsed="|1Kgs|21|15|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.9.25" parsed="|2Kgs|9|25|0|0" passage="2Ki 9:25">2 Kings ix. 25</scripRef>. If Naboth's sons were all put
to death, Ahab thought himself entitled to the estate, <i>ob
defectum sanguinis</i>—<i>in default of heirs</i> (as our law
expresses it); if not, yet, Naboth dying as a criminal, he claimed
it <i>ob delictum criminis</i>—<i>as forfeited by his crime.</i>
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 <i>of
purer eyes than to behold iniquity,</i> and yet for a time <i>keeps
silence when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than
he,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Hab.1.13" parsed="|Hab|1|13|0|0" passage="Hab 1:13">Hab. i. 13</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iKi.xxii-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.17-1Kgs.21.29" parsed="|1Kgs|21|17|21|29" passage="1Ki 21:17-29" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.21.17-1Kgs.21.29">
<h4 id="iKi.xxii-p12.7">Ahab's Doom Foretold. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p12.8">b. c.</span> 899.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.xxii-p13">17 And the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.1">Lord</span> came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,  
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which <i>is</i> in
Samaria: behold, <i>he is</i> in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he
is gone down to possess it.   19 And thou shalt speak unto
him, saying, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.2">Lord</span>,
Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak
unto him, saying, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.3">Lord</span>, 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 <i>thee:</i> because thou hast sold thyself to work
evil in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.4">Lord</span>.
  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 <i>me</i> to anger, and made Israel to
sin.   23 And of Jezebel also spake the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.5">Lord</span>, 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.6">Lord</span>, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.  
26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all
<i>things</i> as did the Amorites, whom the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.7">Lord</span> 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
<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xxii-p13.8">Lord</span> 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: <i>but</i> in his son's days will I bring the evil upon
his house.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p14">In these verses we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p15">I. The very bad character that is given of
Ahab (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.25-1Kgs.21.26" parsed="|1Kgs|21|25|21|26" passage="1Ki 21:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25,
26</scripRef>), 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, <i>did that which was right.</i> But, as to Ahab, there was
<i>none like him,</i> so ingenious and industrious in sin, and that
made a trade of it. He <i>sold himself to work wickedness,</i> 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,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.6.23" parsed="|Rom|6|23|0|0" passage="Ro 6:23">Rom. vi. 23</scripRef>. Blessed Paul
complained that he was <i>sold under sin</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.7.14" parsed="|Rom|7|14|0|0" passage="Ro 7:14">Rom. vii. 14</scripRef>), as a poor captive against his
will; but Ahab was voluntary: he <i>sold himself to sin;</i> of
choice, and as his own act and deed, he submitted to the dominion
of sin. It was no excuse of his crimes that <i>Jezebel his wife
stirred him up</i> 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 <i>most abominably in following idols,</i>
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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p16">II. The message with which Elijah was sent
to him, when he went to take possession of Naboth's vineyard,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.17-1Kgs.21.19" parsed="|1Kgs|21|17|21|19" passage="1Ki 21:17-19"><i>v.</i> 17-19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p17">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 <i>sin set in order
before his eyes.</i> (1.) The person sent is Elijah. A prophet of
lower rank was sent with messages of kindness to him, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.20.13" parsed="|1Kgs|20|13|0|0" passage="1Ki 20:13"><i>ch.</i> xx. 13</scripRef>. 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 <i>ex post facto</i>—<i>as an accessary after the
fact.</i> 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 <i>purchased with blood</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.12" parsed="|Hab|2|12|0|0" passage="Hab 2:12">Hab. ii. 12</scripRef>) and thou hast <i>caused
the owner thereof to lose his life?</i>" <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.31.39" parsed="|Job|31|39|0|0" passage="Job 31:39">Job xxxi. 39</scripRef>. 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 <i>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,</i>
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.20.14 Bible:Job.20.20 Bible:Job.20.23" parsed="|Job|20|14|0|0;|Job|20|20|0|0;|Job|20|23|0|0" passage="Job 20:14,20,23">Job xx. 14, 20,
23</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p18">2. Let us see what passed between him and
the prophet.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p19">(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 (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.36.12" parsed="|2Chr|36|12|0|0" passage="2Ch 36:12">2 Chron. xxxvi. 12</scripRef>), was ready to
fly in his face. <i>Hast thou found me, O my enemy?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.20" parsed="|1Kgs|21|20|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. This shows, [1.] That
he hated him. The last time we found them together they parted very
good friends, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.18.46" parsed="|1Kgs|18|46|0|0" passage="1Ki 18:46"><i>ch.</i> xviii.
46</scripRef>. 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 <i>tell him the truth,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.16" parsed="|Gal|4|16|0|0" passage="Ga 4:16">Gal. iv. 16</scripRef>. 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:
<i>Hast thou found me?</i> 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 <i>countenance change, the joints of his loins were
loosed, and his knees smote one against another.</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p20">(2.) Elijah denounced God's wrath against
Ahab: <i>I have found thee</i> (says he, <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.20" parsed="|1Kgs|21|20|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), <i>because thou hast sold
thyself to work evil.</i> 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 (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.19" parsed="|1Kgs|21|19|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>): <i>Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?</i>
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. <i>Terra transit cum onere—The
land with the incumbrance.</i> [2.] He passes judgment upon him. He
told him from God that his family should be ruined and rooted out
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.21" parsed="|1Kgs|21|21|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>) and all his
posterity cut off,—that his house should be made like the houses
of his wicked predecessors, Jeroboam and Baasha (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.22" parsed="|1Kgs|21|22|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>), particularly that those who
died in the city should be meat for dogs and those who died in the
field meat for birds (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.24" parsed="|1Kgs|21|24|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>), which had been foretold of Jeroboam's house
(<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.14.11" parsed="|1Kgs|14|11|0|0" passage="1Ki 14:11"><i>ch.</i> xiv. 11</scripRef>), and
of Baasha's (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.16.4" parsed="|1Kgs|16|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 16:4"><i>ch.</i> xvi.
4</scripRef>),—that Jezebel, particularly, should be devoured by
dogs (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.23" parsed="|1Kgs|21|23|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), which
was fulfilled (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.9" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.9.36" parsed="|2Kgs|9|36|0|0" passage="2Ki 9:36">2 Kings ix.
36</scripRef>),—and, as for Ahab himself, that the dogs should
<i>lick his blood</i> in the very same place where they licked
Naboth's (<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.10" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.19" parsed="|1Kgs|21|19|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>—
"<i>Thy blood, even thine,</i> 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,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p20.11" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.22.38" parsed="|1Kgs|22|38|0|0" passage="1Ki 22:38"><i>ch.</i> xxii. 38</scripRef>. 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xxii-p21">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
<i>rent his clothes</i> and <i>put on sackcloth,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.27" parsed="|1Kgs|21|27|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. 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 <i>fire and a hammer,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.29" parsed="|Jer|23|29|0|0" passage="Jer 23:29">Jer.
xxiii. 29</scripRef>. 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,
<scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.22.8" parsed="|1Kgs|22|8|0|0" passage="1Ki 22:8"><i>ch.</i> xxii. 8</scripRef>. 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: <i>Seest thou</i>
(says God to Elijah) <i>how Ahab humbles himself;</i> 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: <i>Seest thou how Ahab humbles
himself?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xxii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.29" parsed="|1Kgs|21|29|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>.
In consideration of this the threatened ruin of his house, which
had not been fixed to any time, should be <i>adjourned to his son's
days.</i> 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 <i>rejoices against
judgment.</i> 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 <i>go to his house
justified.</i></p>
</div></div2>