"Naboth's Nasty Neighbour"

1Kings 21:1-10,17-29 Aug.8/04

Insider Insubordination: Martha's Mess

The desire for power is a very basic human drive. We all desire at least some power - to be able to do things for ourselves, so we're not totally helpless and dependent. But the drive to obtain power can become an obsession. The Lord wants to teach us through His Word to remember He is the final source and judge of all power. Ultimately it is God who is in control of our lives, and judge of our power and position and how we use them, not ourselves.

      In recent years, court cases have exposed a lack of integrity of Chief Executive Officers of big corporations such as Enron and Tyco. It's all too easy for those at the top of big companies to get carried away with their power and start taking liberties with others' money. Most recently, on July 16, home decor personality Martha Stewart was sentenced to 5 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised probation including 5 months of home confinement, and a fine of $30,000. In a case of insider trading, she was convicted of obstructing justice, conspiracy, and making false statements -- lying to investigators about her sale of a company's stock just before its price plummeted. Not only did she abuse her privileged position to make a profit and then rebel against admitting it to the investigators; it appears she still minimizes the seriousness of her error. After the sentencing, she said before TV cameras, "What was a small personal matter became...an almost fatal circus of unprecedented proportion." Surely the words "small personal matter" are stretching it! Also in an interview Stewart told Barbara Walters, "I didn't cheat the little people...We're all little people. I didn't cheat anybody out of anything." If there was no cheating, where did all that unfair profit come from? And if SHE's one of the "little people", why is her name a household word? And the $30,000 fine be described as "relatively small given Stewart's wealth"? Many would long to be so "little"!

      Our Scripture today tells of another high-profile couple who played fast and loose with the power they had, only to discover they had to answer finally to God who is Lord of all.

Lord of my Possessions

In 1Kings 21, Ahab King of Israel wants to expand his holdings around one of his palaces. His neighbour, named Naboth, has a vineyard. Ahab wants to use it for a vegetable garden (seems a bit of a backward step from an established vineyard, but I guess he figured he needed more garlic or something!). The king offers to give Naboth a better vineyard or pay him fair market value, whatever he prefers. Seems fair enough. That's the way it is in commerce today - make your best offer.

      But this is Israel, and Naboth's not interested in selling the family farm. More than that, in good conscience he feels he couldn't even if he wanted to: v3 he says, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers." The land wasn't his to give: as Moses specified, it was to pass on down to that family line from generation to generation. As OT scholar Bernhard Anderson explains, "Yahweh Himself was the owner of the land. Faithful to His promise, He had brought the Israelites into a cultured country and had given the land to various tribes and clans. They were to act as stewards of Yahweh's property, administering it for the welfare of the whole community. So land-grabbing and private speculation were ruled out by the very nature of the covenant community."

      Naboth viewed his real estate as a gift from God, to be used only in accordance with God's instructions to His people. It wasn't Naboth's to dispose of or profit from just as he pleased. Similarly, Christians believe that Jesus is Lord of all our property. Our homes and possessions may be under our control, but just as "stewards" entrusted with their management; we will have to give an account to God of how we use our wealth and possessions. Jesus was very definite that life is not about "things" or "getting" or trading. He said in Mk.8(36f), "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" The state of our soul matters far more than the state of our bank account. He challenged the rich young ruler, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me." He warned the disciples, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:21,25) What matters is not being rich but having "treasure in heaven", entering God's kingdom -- not accumulating real estate.

      In the early church, none of the believers "claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32) They acknowledged God was the source and owner of all their possessions. In 2Cor.9(11) Paul says, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion..." Wealth is entrusted to us for a short time so that we can be God's agents in giving to others on His behalf. The fundamental Christian confession the Holy Spirit enables us to utter is "Jesus is Lord" (1Cor.12:3): and that includes making Him Lord of our possessions.

Lord of my Position

Next, whether we're CEO of a large company, a pastor or elder in the church, Nursery Co-ordinator or the chair of a volunteer committee in the community, we need to realize we're accountable ultimately to God for how we conduct ourselves in that office. He is Lord of my position.

      When Naboth refused to sell out to Ahab, the king went home and lay on his bed, sulking and refusing to eat. His wife, the infamous Queen Jezebel, found out the reason and responded in v7, "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." She then proceeds to write orders under the king's authority telling the city officials to hold a kangaroo court and stone him on false charges of blasphemy and treason. As a result, both Naboth and his sons (cf 2Kings 9:26) were straight-forwardly murdered. This was a clear miscarriage of justice and abuse of authority - both on the part of the king and queen, and the city officials in carrying out the unlawful commands. Anderson comments, "The murder had a pretense of legality -- enough to salve the consciences of those who had a hand in the treacherous deed."

      Jezebel was daughter of the priest-king of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast, and would be accustomed to the ruthless practices of the Phoenician and Canaanite kings. For them, the power of the monarchy was absolute: they wouldn't hesitate a moment to use the power to satisfy personal interests. Jezebel's Baal religion placed no limitations on the exercise of royal power. Absolute power whispers in the ear of a despot, "If you want it, there it is, go and get it" - no matter what it takes.

      But this was Israel, not Sidon. Here, kings and queens had to operate within boundaries set by the Ten Commandments and Law of Moses. "Yahweh had created a covenant community in which every person stood equal before the law -- whether he was rich or poor, king or private citizen.The whole community was responsible to the sovereign will of Yahweh...And when the justice of a member of the community was downtrodden by the powerful, Yahweh intervened to defend the weak and the defenseless and to restore the order and familial solidarity of the covenant community." (B Anderson) Do you see how important the Judeo-Christian religion is in restraining civil leaders from doing just as they please? Otherwise it would be a case of "Might makes Right", or "He who has the gold, rules."

      Samuel was the prophet who anointed Israel's first king in reluctant response to popular demand. When that king was officially acknowledged back in 1Sam.11, Samuel makes a farewell speech which underlines the accountability he has modeled. He says, "I have been your leader from my youth until this day.Here I stand.Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed.Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right." (1Samuel 12:2-3) He'd been the most powerful judge in the whole land, but he makes himself accountable.

      Our Lord Jesus emphasized this when his own disciples were vying amongst themselves for the best seats in the coming kingdom. In Mk.10(42-45) He said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.Not so with you.Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Power and position in the Messiah's mind entail servanthood, being responsible not abusing one's "rights". God is Lord of my position, I'm under obligation to use any power I have in compliance with Him.

Lord of my Personal Life

Acknowledging Christ's lordship makes a difference in how we act as husband and wife in a marriage relationship, too. One can't help but notice Jezebel's proud, domineering attitude compared to her weak, pouting, manipulable husband. She slams him by saying, "Is this how you act as king over Israel?" As if to say, "What are you, a man or a mouse?" Then she barges ahead and says, "I'll get you the vineyard," and proceeds to use the king's own letterhead to orchestrate the slaughter of poor Naboth and his heirs. V25 notes, "There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife."

      The leadership dynamic between Ahab and Jezebel turns upside-down God's plan for a normal, healthy Christian marriage. Ephesians 5(22-33) says the husband is the head of the wife, who is in turn to be submissive. The husband is to be the initiator, loving his wife as Christ loves the church - sacrificially, substitutionally, protectively; the wife is to respect her husband. Her chief need from him is love; his chief need from her is respect. In 1Pet.3(1,7), the husband is to be considerate to his wife, treating her with respect; the wife is to be submissive to her husband, showing purity and reverence, the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Jezebel was anything but "gentle" and "quiet".

      As in our discussion of position and power, "submissive" does not mean "under your thumb". It's about leadership; the husband is the one who must answer ultimately to God and bears final responsibility. John Piper recollects in the excellent book edited with Wayne Grudem called Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. "When my father came home he was clearly the head of the house. He led in prayer at the table. He called the family together for devotions. He got us to Sunday School and worship. He drove the car. He guided the family to where we would sit. He made the decision to go to Howard Johnson’s for lunch. He led us to the table. He called for the waitress. He paid the check. He was the one we knew we would reckon with if we broke a family rule or were disrespectful to Mother. These were the happiest times for Mother. Oh, how she rejoiced to have Daddy home! She loved his leadership. Later I learned that the Bible calls this “submission.”

      "But since my father was gone most of the time, Mother used to do most of those leadership things too. So it never occurred to me that leadership and submission had anything to do with superiority and inferiority. And it didn’t have to do with muscles and skills either. It was not a matter of capabilities and competencies. It had to do with something I could never have explained as a child. And I have been a long time in coming to understand it as part of God’s great goodness in creating us male and female. It had to do with something very deep...Over the years I have come to see from Scripture and from life that manhood and womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a good and loving God. He designed our differences and they are profound. They are not mere physiological prerequisites for sexual union. They go to the root of our personhood."

      Submission does not mean the wife has to become a doormat, yielding to even sinful actions; Jesus is Lord over both husband and wife. Submission can be described as "disposition to yield to the husband’s authority and an inclination to follow his leadership...Biblical headship for the husband is the divine calling to take primary responsibility for Christlike, servant-leadership, protection and provision in the home. Biblical submission for the wife is the divine calling to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts." You just don't see that in Ahab's wuss-iness or Jezebel's domineering, for they didn't make God the Lord of their personal lives in their marriage relationship.

Lord of my Posterity (Payback)

God is also the Lord of what comes after us, in terms of both our eternal reward and our descendants. Ahab sinned majorly so Elijah pronounced the consequence in vv19-23. "‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood— yes, yours!’...you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.‘I am going to bring disaster on you.I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel— slave or free."

      God is in charge of payback. The cruel senseless death of Naboth and sons had not gone unnoticed. Ahab's own descendants would be totally wiped out; how this happens is recorded later in 2Kings 9-10. His attempt with Jezebel to establish a lasting dynasty would prove futile all too soon.

      The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes that the Lord rewards those who obey Him. Jesus said in Mk.10(29f), "No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields— and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life." He told us to love our enemies and "lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." (Luke 6:35) Several times in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt.6:4,6,18) Christ said, "your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." And Paul wrote to the church that we should work at whatever we do "with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." (Colossians 3:23-24) God is a rewarder of those who seek Him and, conversely, concerning the wicked He says, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." (Heb.11:6; Dt.32:35)

Lord of my Prayer Life

Finally, God pays special attention to our worship practices, our prayer life. Ahab was notorious for promoting Baal worship as urged by his wife; v26 records that "he behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols..." Thankfully the historian fast-forwarded the details. We might suppose Ahab's depravity would make him a write-off totally as far as grace is concerned. But Elijah's harsh words made an impression on the king. He responded to God's judgment by tearing his clothes, fasting, and going around in public meekly and in sackcloth (v27). Bad as he was - pouty, a pushover for the latest evil craze - Ahab still knew how to repent. He seems to have been genuinely sorry, for God tells Elijah in the last verse in the chapter (v29), "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

      You're never too far gone to repent. There's no sin too big for the cross to handle. The only unforgivable sin mentioned in the Bible is that against the Holy Spirit - refusing to acknowledge His convicting voice, totally hardening your heart.(Mt.12:31f) "There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord" -- yet the Lord responded to Ahab's repentance and in mercy granted a deferral on the coming judgment. However much you have sold yourself to do evil - you feel like you've "sold out" one too many times - we have a Redeemer who paid the price to buy you back. God promised in 2Chron.7(14), "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." He calls through the prophet Joel (2:13f), "Rend your heart and not your garments.Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing..."

      For an example of someone who "sold out" to do evil, consider Simon the sorcerer of Samaria in Acts 8. He offered the apostles money in an attempt to buy the ability to give the Holy Spirit. But God refuses to be turned into a vending machine. Peter rebuked him saying, "...your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord.Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8:22-23)

      Jesus is Lord of our prayer life. When we've been held captive to sin, He can free us when we repent, humble ourselves, trust in His grace and abounding love, and cast ourselves upon Him for cleansing.

A Good Steward

Jesus is Lord of all - Lord of my possessions, my position, my personal life, my posterity, and Lord of my prayer life. "If He's not Lord of all, He's not Lord at all." We can avoid the grief that befell Ahab if we "sell out" to God rather than selling ourselves to do evil. And those are the only two options, there's no in-between.

      We began by referring to some powerful people who'd abused their position by playing fast and loose like Ahab and Jezebel - CEOs including Martha Stewart. But at least one billionaire is a good steward of what's been entrusted to him. His name is actually David L Steward, founder of World Wide Technology, which sets up computer networks for the government and various big businesses (you may have heard of some of them - GM, Boeing to name a couple). Steward grew up as one of 8 children in a working-class Christian home in Missouri with little money. At one time, their house didn't even have indoor plumbing. Those early experiences gave him a sense of gratitude for all he has gained. After working for the railroad then Federal Express, he started a couple of businesses that used large computer networks to focus on finding inefficiencies in the rail and trucking industries. In 1990 these merged to form WWT, with a few employees and a quarter-million dollars. A few years later, the business was $3.5 million in debt and Steward's car was repossessed off the company parking lot. Steward says during that time he remained focused to "seek first the Kingdom of God", despite what other people were saying and the distraction from bill collectors. He got the idea to set up computer networks for other companies. In 2003, just 13 years later, WWT employed 450 employees and pulled in $1.1 billion in sales.

      David Steward believes he has been "blessed to be a blessing" to others, which is why he tithes and gives back to the community, serving on the board of 16 different charitable and business organizations. He credits his faith as being the secret to his success. He's written a book called Doing Business by the Good Book: 52 Lessons on Success Straight from the Bible. He says, "The business principles in the Bible are relevant today.And my biggest job is to serve the people of this organization." Did you catch that? "My biggest job is to serve the people of this organization." He's not out to get power for its own sake like Jezebel; he's allowing God to enable him to serve others like Jesus. For instance, providing the best health care, pension plan, resources and facilities for his employees.

      May the Lord steer us to seek first His Kingdom, and the dividends of making Him CEO in every dimension of our lives. Let's pray.