Deeper Commentary
1Ki 21:1 It happened after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite
had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, right next to the palace of Ahab king
of Samaria-
Josephus and the LXX have chapters 20 and 21 the opposite way around.
It was Ahab's incredibly selfish behaviour over the vineyard which led to
the judgment at the hand of the Syrians described in 1 Kings 20.
"The Jezreelite... in Jezreel" emphasizes how Naboth was part of the land he
lived upon. It was his because he was from Jezreel.
We note throughout the similarities with David's sin against
Uriah over Bathsheba in 2 Sam. 11. David likewise was in the king's house
when he covets that which belongs to his neighbour (2 Sam. 11:2). He tries
to get Bathsheba by offering Uriah a "present"- "there
followed him a present from the king" (2 Sam. 11:8). Uriah's "I will not
do this thing" (2 Sam. 11:11) matches Naboth's refusal. David summons
Uriah and makes him eat and drink, just as it seems there was some kind of
feast when Naboth was set on high amongst the people. David's plan to set
up Uriah's death so he could take what was personally Uriah's [his wife]
matches the plan of Ahab to get Naboth executed. Both David and Ahab
[through Jezebel] write letters to bring about the death of the man who is
getting in the way of their coveting. Naboth is put at the head of the
people, Uriah is put at the battle front. The report sent to Jezebel that
Naboth had died (:14) is recorded in the same manner as the report to
David that Uriah had died (2 Sam. 11:18,24). Ahab takes possession of that
which is Naboth's, just as David takes Bathsheba- and then they are both
rebuked by a prophet, and both genuinely repent, although the resulting
Divine judgment involved the suffering of their sons and family going
forward. The similarities are intentional. We see here that the process of
sin is as it were standard- whether in the slip of a righteous man
[David], or yet another sin in the long catalogue of sins in a sinner like
Ahab. God works to some kind of template with man, but it is also so that
all men pass through the same broad process of temptation and failure.
1Ki 21:2 Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may
have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house; and I will
give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I
will give you its worth in money-
"House" is LXX "threshingfloor".
Ahab is acting exactly as Samuel predicted the kings of Israel would
act, in taking away vineyards and inheritances from God's people (1 Sam.
8:14). "Naboth" means 'fruitful' so he was identified with
the fruitfulness of his vineyard. To take it from him was to take him away
from who he was as a person. But Ahab didn't care for that.
Ahab comes
over as the spoilt child who never grew up. We recall how Ahab loved
horses, for he personally had gone around Israel during the drought
seeking for fodder for them. For him, the worst thing about the drought
was the damage done to his horses. And this demand for a vineyard next to
his own house seems to reflect the same characteristics. The
Divinely
inspired record presents his character in an absolutely consistent and
realistic way, unheard of in contemporary national histories.
Naboth wanted to turn the vineyard into a "garden of herbs", a vegetable patch, presumably to provide food for his servants in his house. We get the impression that he paid no attention to the fact he was downgrading the work of generations in building up a vineyard. His intention was to uproot the vines and turn it into a vegetable patch. Typical of the flesh, he focused upon an idea and became obsessed with fulfilling it. Again we see the psychological credibility of the Biblical record.
1Ki 21:3 Naboth said to Ahab, May Yahweh forbid me, that I should give the
inheritance of my fathers to you!-
Naboth was a worshipper of Yahweh, obedient to the relevant parts of
the Mosaic law about inheritances. "The inheritance of my fathers" is
clearly alluding to the law (Lev. 25:27,28; Num. 36:7,8).
This yet again
shows how wrong Elijah had been to insist that he was the only true
worshipper of Yahweh left. He maybe knew Naboth, for he was told to go to
Naboth as if he knew the place and man (:18). But Elijah judged him to be
unfaithful to Yahweh, for this or that petty reason. The record brings
before us several individuals who were faithful to Yahweh at this time,
yet Elijah considered none of them genuine. And yet despite his arrogance
and wrong sense of spiritual superiority, God still works through Elijah
and seeks to bring him to the humility which is the acme of spiritual
maturity.
1Ki 21:4 Ahab came into his house-
Ahab returned to Samaria from his other home in Jezreel. It's clear the
vineyard was in Jezreel not Samaria (2 Kings 9:16,26).
Sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite
had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of
my fathers. He laid himself down on his bed, and turned away his face, and
would eat no bread-
The character portrayal of Ahab is
consistent, as we would expect from a Divinely inspired record. There is a
clear connection with how he "came into his house sullen and angry"
because Naboth would not sell him his vineyard (1 Kings 21:4)and how in 1 Kings 20:43 again Ahab "went to his house sullen and angry"
because he was condemned for not having obeyed God's word. We get
the impression of an overgrown spoilt child. The LXX puts 1
Kings 20 and 21 the other way around. The experience with Naboth was
intended to teach him obedience to God's word. He failed, so he "went to
his house sullen and angry". He didn't learn from that lesson. And so he
does the same again, when he fails to be obedient on an even more
significant level.
1Ki 21:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, Why is your
spirit so sad, that you eat no bread?-
Ahab comes over as pathetically weak and dominated by his wicked but
far stronger wife. Away from her, he appears to have more potential for
spirituality. The Divinely inspired record achieves perfect and credible
characterization of the individuals. The sad spirit of Ahab is
matched by Jezrbel telling him to be of a merry heart in :7. The spirit is
the heart, and this interprets what is the work of the Holy spirit.
1Ki 21:6 He said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said
to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I
will give you another vineyard for it’. He answered, ‘I will not give you
my vineyard’-
LXX adds "the inheritance of my fathers". Such argument from the law of
Moses
(see on :3) was of no value to Jezebel, who was a Gentile idolater.
1Ki 21:7 Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you really now govern the
kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I
will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite-
She could have phrased this another way. But the way she puts it, she
seeks to put herself above God and to play God. For the whole argument in
:3 and :6 LXX was that God had given specific inheritances to His people,
and they were not to be sold or traded. But she claims to be able to give
Naboth the vineyard. Perhaps too her emphasis is upon the way she had a
plan to "give" Naboth the vineyard for free, without him even needing to
pay for it. We are left with the question as to what Ahab ought to have
done or said at this stage. He surely knew his wife was going to hatch a
plan which was wrong. But he says nothing, and is happy to go along with
inheriting the vineyard. Jezebel totally doesn't understand that being the
king of Israel meant ruling only as representative of God, Israel's true
king. She wrongly assumed that the leadership position meant power to have
what you wanted.
Jezebel was a Gentile. She was used to the system of Tyre, where [as in Egypt] all land belonged to the king, in that case, her father. She failed to accept that under Yahweh, the land belonged not to the monarch but to Yahweh, and to those to whom He had given it. For it seems that Joshua split up the land between the heads of families, looking forward to how we shall each have our own unique inheritance in God's Kingdom. This likewise is hard for Gentiles to understand- that all land is God's, and He has given it to His people only as temporary possession in this life, and in that sense the concept of freehold ownership is null and void when God is in the equation.
1Ki 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his
seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his
city, who lived with Naboth-
Presumably at Jezreel, not Samaria. Ahab was deeply upset that he
couldn't have the vineyard next to his holiday home in Jezreel; it wasn't
even next to his palace in Samaria. That the "elders and nobles" went
along with her evil plan shows their fear of her and their deep moral
weakness.
1Ki 21:9 She wrote in the letters saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth
on high among the people-
The wicked hypocrisy was that a fast was proclaimed because of the
realization of sin (1 Sam. 7:6; Joel 2:12). Naboth was apparently held in
high repute, and was to be given a prominent seat at the ceremony for
repentance. Some evidence was to be given that things weren't going well
in the town, and there needed to be repentance. Naboth was given a place
of high honour and prominence because Jezebel knew that when a person in
high public visibility is convicted of sin, especially sin which has made
others suffer, there is an immediate upsurge of public anger against them.
And this would allow Naboth to be killed without undue public protest. Obadiah
likewise was in a senior position in Jezebel's corrupt system and yet was
faithful to Yahweh. Naboth likewise. They are set in contrast to Elijah
who was more public about his faith and yet lacked any care for people. Naboth
was perhaps known as a worshipper of Yahweh, and so possibly he, like
Elijah, was blamed for the drought. It's quite possible this chapter
describes an event during the drought, especially seeing God had fired
Elijah from his ministry in 1 Kings 19.
1Ki 21:10 Set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them testify
against him saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and
stone him to death-
To curse God's representative was seen as cursing God (1 Kings 21:10;
Ex. 22:28). And so to curse "Yahweh's anointed" was seen as cursing Yahweh
(2 Sam. 19:21) and worthy of death. The two witnesses were supposed to be
enough to convict someone. In this case, the fact Naboth was known as a
Yahweh worshipper and could prove it... was willingly ignored. It was to
be a kangaroo court knowingly set up to prove a man guilty of death from
the start. We note that Jezebel used scripture and Yahweh worship
in order to destroy Naboth, perhaps a tacit reflection of how Yahweh's law
was still partially respected; for she alludes to the law that two
witnesses were required for capital punishment (Dt. 17:6; 19:15). It
recalls the petty obedience to the law during the Lord's condemnation and
crucifixion.
We could equally render "You cursed the gods [idols] and Moloch", as if Jezebel was accusing Naboth of unfaithfulness to the Baal cult.
1Ki 21:11 The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in
his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in
the letters which she had sent to them-
Their careful obedience to this woman rather than to God is an
allusion to Dt. 16:18, where such elders were to "judge just judgment",
and they did the very opposite.
1Ki 21:12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people-
To "proclaim a fast" is a phrase used specifically for calling a fast
and special meeting for repentance. The idea was that someone had sinned
and everyone in town was suffering because of it. It is the term used in
Is. 58:5 for how God was intensely angry with the proclamation of such
fasts for sinful agendas.
1Ki 21:13 The two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. The
base fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence
of the people saying, Naboth cursed God and the king! Then they carried
him out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones-
There was a semblance of obedience to the Mosaic law, as there was in
the condemnation and execution of the Lord Jesus. There were two witnesses
(Dt. 17:6; 19:15); and stoning was indeed the punishment for blasphemy
(Lev. 24:16), and was conducted outside the city according to the spirit
of Lev. 24:14, just as the Lord Jesus died "outside the camp". Naboth's
sons were also killed, so that there could be no possibility of any
argument in future about the inheritance (2 Kings 9:26).
Elijah is never set up as a type of the Lord Jesus, whereas Naboth is-
because as the Lord Himself observed, Elijah didn't have His spirit.
1Ki 21:14 Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth has been stoned, and is
dead-
Ahab immediately and eagerly took possession of the vineyard, riding
to Jezreel along with Jehu and Bidkar (2 Kings 9:25). We should not
therefore think that he was merely manipulated by Jezebel, he was willing
and eager himself.
1Ki 21:15 It happened, 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 you for money; for Naboth
is not alive, but dead-
The taking possession was apparently in the sense of permanently
having the vineyard registered in his name. For he could have leased it
from Naboth until the next Jubilee year. And possibly renewed the lease
after that. But Ahab was so obsessive about what he wanted. He wanted the
vineyard as his permanent possession. This was why Naboth had to be
killed, along with his sons (2 Kings 9:26) so that they would not have any
argument for inheriting it later. Ahab is reasoning in a very long term
manner, forgetting his own mortality. He 'just loved the idea' not only of
the vineyard, but of adding it to his inheritance. And so Naboth and his
sons had to die, and the people and leaders of Jezreel led into major sin.
And yet legally it is hard to see how he could have added it to his
inheritance, unless he was some relative of Naboth. So all the drama was
to obtain a piece of legal documentation that was always going to be
questionable as to its validity.
Therefore he did this evil "in vain" (:20 LXX,
MT "sold yourself to do evil").
1Ki 21:16 It happened, 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-
Ahab "tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, in sorrow for what he had
done" (1 Kings 21:16 LXX- omitted in the AV).
See on :27. He repented and yet continued in his sin at the same
time. This is psychologically credible. Men do this all the time. But in
:27 it seems he did come to true repentance. See on 1 Kings 18:41
for another example of his genuine but momentary repentances.
1Ki 21:17 The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite saying-
"The Tishbite" is perhaps added in accordance with the theme
developed here. Naboth is repeatedly called the Jezreelite, and Ahab, we
are reminded, was from Samaria (:18). Israel were to abide in the
inheritances they had been given, and not do what Ahab had done, and covet
those of others.
1Ki 21:18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in
Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down
to take possession of it-
The idea was that Ahab was from Samaria but had taken possession of
property in Jezreel. "Go down" may mean Elijah was then in Carmel. Perhaps Elijah was being directed back to Gideon (Jud. 7:9), David (1
Sam. 23:4) and Moses, who were addressed by God with the same words (Dt.
9:12). He would have earlier seen Moses as Judaism does today, the
unreachable acme of spirituality and closeness to God. But now he was
being taught, as we are, that no Biblical character is a mere Sunday
School figure; but rather our real practical inspiration. But as discussed
on 1 Kings 19, Elijah was set up with the possibility of being like Moses,
but ultimately failed to rise up to his humility.
1Ki 21:19 You shall speak to him saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, Have you
killed and also taken possession?’-
The sin of taking possession (see on :15 for what it involved) is
seen as separate to the murder. We note that Ahab is held as culpable for
the murder. Even if Jezebel was likewise responsible. The guilt for sins
like this never rests with just one person. Neither Ahab nor ourselves can
wriggle out of responsibility by complaining we were manipulated into it.
Otherwise human behaviour becomes of no real value before God, and man is
reduced to a mere puppet of others and situations with no real individual
personality and election in how we live life.
You shall speak to him saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, In the place
where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even
yours’-
According to 1 Kings 22:38 the dogs [LXX "the swine and the dogs"]
licked Ahab's blood in the pool of Samaria, just outside the gate of
Samaria; not in Jezreel. It could be argued that "the place" refers not to
a geographical locality, but rather to the place where the garbage was
thrown outside a city gate. The Lord uses 'Gehenna' to describe such a
place as a figure for condemnation. Another option is that Naboth
was executed and had his blood licked up in Samaria, at the court of Ahab
there. The way 1 Kings 22:38 triumphs in the
fulfilment of the prophecy suggests there was no perceived gap between the
prediction and its fulfilment. But another possibility is that because of
Ahab's repentance, the sentence was modified, just as that upon Adam was
(for he didn't die in the day he sinned, although he did die). This
reflects God's openness to human repentance in response to His stated
judgments. In the gap between statement and fulfilment, there can be
repentance and a change of outcomes. This is what gives intensity to our
living in that gap. LXX adds to 1 Kings 21:19 "and the harlots shall wash
in thy blood". 1 Kings 22:38 LXX says that this was fulfilled. Perhaps the
idea is that they washed themselves in a spring in the rubbish dump where
Ahab's blood as it were was eternally present.
2 Kings 9:25,26 appears to see this
prophecy as fulfilled in the death of Joram, Ahab’s son: "Lift him out,
and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite;
for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab how
the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ‘For the blood of Naboth and for
the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I
will repay you on this very plot of ground.’ Now therefore lift him [i.e.
Joram] out and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the
word of the Lord". So we see here how because of Ahab's repentance, the
judgment was reinterpretted and reapplied, transferred as it were, to his
son. This shows how open and flexible God is, and how extremely sensitive
He is to human repentance. Even when, as in Ahab's case, that repentance
is very nuanced and unstable. And we see many cases of where God clearly
intended a ministry for someone but they let the ball drop, and it was
transferred [with some ammendments] to another person. Elijah and Elisha
are a classic case.
1Ki 21:20 Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, my enemy? He answered, I
have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of
Yahweh-
What appeared to be mere manipulation of a weak minded man by his
wicked, dominant wife was in fact judged as a selling of himself to do
evil. Weak mindedness was indeed Ahab's problem, but it did not thereby
make him less culpable for what he actually did. Selling oneself is the
language of prostitution. The implication is that Ahab was in covenant
relationship with Yahweh, but had prostituted himself to do evil.
The
reasons he did this aren't allowed to ameliorate that judgment- his spoilt
upbringing, the dominance of his wicked wife over his naturally weak mind,
all these factors were weighted in God's judgment of him, but didn't
finally ameliorate what he had done. LXX adds that he sold himself "in
vain". I explained on :15 that the whole obsession of "taking possession"
of the vineyard probably didn't even work out for Ahab in legal terms as
he so coveted.
1Ki 21:21 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you
away and will cut off from Ahab every male, and him who is shut up and him
who is left at large in Israel-
Elijah simply announces to Ahab: “Behold I will bring evil on
you...”. We expect this to be prefaced by a “Thus says the Lord”-
but Elijah was so close to God he assumed he was speaking directly from
Him. And yet Elijah doesn’t repeat what God had told him to say in :19.
Was he too familiar with God? Assuming he knew God’s will and words? But
it must be said that he improves- in 2 Kings 1:6 he says that what he says
is the word of Yahweh, and he repeats verbatim what he was told to say. We
too know God’s word. We know the Bible text well. But this can lead to an
assumption that we speak for God; that we must be right in all our
attitudes and positions we adopt on issues. This is rather similar
to how initially he says there will be no rain according to his
word. He knew it was God's will that there be no rain if Israel sinned.
But it raises the same issues- was he over familiar with God? Lacking
humility? Or was his style reflective rather of a deep intimacy with God
which came from familiarity with His word? Or, most likely, a bit of a
mixture of these strands.
The destruction of Ahab's children, including those "shut up" as too
young to go outdoors alone, and those "at large" and independent, matches
how Ahab had murdered the sons of Naboth in order to ensure the
inheritance would be unquestionably his (2 Kings 9:26).
All his obsession
with getting "possession" of the vineyard (see on :15) were to be "in
vain" (:20 LXX) because his descendants would all be destroyed.
1Ki 21:22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation
with which you have provoked Me to anger, and have made Israel to sin-
God can be grieved [s.w. 'provoke to anger']. He has emotions, and
His potential foreknowledge doesn't mean that these feelings are not
legitimate. They are presented as occurring in human time, as responses to
human behaviour. This is the degree to which He has accommodated Himself
to human time-space limits, in order to fully enter relationship and
experience with us. As He can limit His omnipotence, so God can limit His
omniscience, in order to feel and respond along with us.
The charge that Ahab made Israel to sin refers not just to his idolatry, but specifically in this context to what he did to Naboth. He had involved the elders and people of Jezreel in this sin, and set an example to others that they could despise God's principles about inheritance (see on :3). Sin is sin largely because of the effect it has upon others.
1Ki 21:23 Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel
by the rampart of Jezreel-
The "rampart" of Jezreel where Jezebel was to be eaten (1 Kings
21:23) is s.w. "trench" in 2 Sam. 20:15. It would refer to the trench
immediately below the city wall. Jezebel was in a house on the city wall
when she was thrown out of it (2 Kings 9:36,37), and her body would have
landed in the drainage ditch which was probably dry. Dogs wandered there
looking for scraps of food thrown out of the windows of the houses on the
city wall.
1Ki 21:24 The dogs will eat him who dies of Ahab in the city; and the
birds of the sky will eat him who dies in the field-
This repeats the judgment upon Jeroboam in 1 Kings 14:11. Ahab was
another example of how Jeroboam made subsequent generations to sin, and
thereby to share his judgment. Ahab was intended to have learnt from the
history of Jeroboam, and we who have far more Biblical history available
to us than he did... are intended to do the same from the biographies
which the Bible is full of. Our responsibility is thereby the greater.
1Ki 21:25 But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which
was evil in the sight of Yahweh-
See on :20.
Whom Jezebel his wife stirred up-
The idea may be that there was no man who did so much evil at the
stirring up of his wife. So many turn down the call of Christ because
their partner is against it. We see here for all time the call to brave
individuality, to totally personal response to God's principles. The word
"stirred up" means to persuade or entice, suggesting Ahab was resistant,
but allowed himself to be persuaded against his basic conscience. And his
naturally weak minded personality was no excuse. Zedekiah likewise was
persuaded against his basic conscience (Jer. 38:22 s.w.), and was still
judged for allowing himself to be persuaded.
Chronicles says "Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead", just as Jezebel persuaded Ahab to do wickedness (1 Kings 21:25 Heb.). It is a story of sin leading to sin, and sinful attitudes and behaviour spreading through wrong and unwise associations.
1Ki 21:26 He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that
the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel-
The idea is that they followed the idols just as the Amorites did.
And that may be a general term referring to the local Canaanite
population. The idea is that a worship of their gods was revived by Ahab.
He did exactly what people did who were driven out of the Kingdom for
doing those things. He utterly refused to learn from Biblical history.
1Ki 21:27 It happened, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his
clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth,
and went softly-
"They that will be rich... have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Tim. 6:9,10). The
Greek translated "pierced themselves through" is related to the verb 'to
crucify'. We are asked to crucify ourselves, to give up the brief
materialism of this life. Yet if we refuse to do this, we still pierce
ourselves through, we crucify ourselves, with the pain which comes from a
mind dedicated to materialism and self-fulfilment, a life devoted to
reaching the end of a rainbow. So what is the logical thing to do? It's
crucifixion either way. The idea of piercing self through with sorrow is
actually a direct quote from the LXX of 1 Kings 21:27, where Ahab was
pierced with sorrow as a result of his coveting of Naboth’s vineyard. And
yet when Naboth was dead, Ahab tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, in
sorrow for what he had done (1 Kings 21:16 LXX- omitted in the AV); but
these very words are used in describing how when Ahab heard the words of
his condemnation, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth (21:27). His
sin brought him to tare his clothes, just as he did when his condemnation
was pronounced. In his seeking for happiness he pierced himself through
with the sorrow of condemnation.
1Ki 21:28 The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite saying-
Surely Elijah was meant to tell Ahab this but there is no evidence Elijah spoke the words of mercy to Ahab of :29.
If he did, we can imagine they would have gone right against the grain of
his judgmental nature. He would have been the first to point out reasons
to think Ahab's repentance wasn't complete or even genuine. But Elijah was
being taught God's extreme sensitivity to human repentance, even if it is
incomplete and the intensity of it may not be maintained.
God is eager to respond to any slight movement towards Him, as we see in
the prodigal son parable.
1Ki 21:29 See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles
himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son’s
days will I bring the evil on his family-
And God kept His word about this (2 Kings 9:25), although if 1 Kings 20
follows 1 Kings 21 (see on :1), then Ahab's repentance was not totally
maintained. We see here how Divine prophecies can be modified; the
essence of them comes true, but at different times and in ammended ways to
what was originally spoken. Elijah could have been the prophet like unto
Moses, but that prophecy was reinterpretted and reapplied to the Lord
Jesus at a later point. And so it is with the many restoration prophecies,
which could have come true at the return from Babylon but were reapplied
to the last days.
God knew all Elijah’s weakness as He knows ours, and He
perceives them far better than we do. And He actively worked with Elijah
to bring him to a greater perception of Him. Elijah was told by God that
Ahab “humbles himself before Me”.
And Elijah was asked to "see" this, to perceive it, to notice it
and think about. Yet Elijah also lived a life “before
the Lord” (1 Kings 17:1); it’s as if God was trying to get Elijah to see
himself in a similar position to Ahab. Living “before the Lord” is not
only about faith in prayer and being aware of God. It’s also about being
contrite before our Father, aware of our own very personal spiritual
desperation. And it was this humility which Elijah lacked. And the Father
sought to teach him it by drawing a similarity between Elijah and the man
whom he spiritually despised- Ahab. In many Christian lives, we are much
more spiritual than others around us. Yet we may be led to perceive that
actually we are in essence no better than those to whom we consider
ourselves so spiritually superior. See on 1 Kings 19:11.
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