When we consider submission to authority, we must also consider the abuse of authority. As we have noted in other articles in this issue of The Christian, all authority ultimately comes from God. God alone has supreme authority, and all authority in this world is derived. It is most important for those in positions of power to recognize God’s supreme authority, and understand that they are accountable to God for the way they use their authority. Unhappily there have been horrible abuses of power in the history of this world, and some of them are recorded in the Word of God.
In particular, I would like to call attention to the incident in 1 Kings 21, concerning Ahab and Naboth. I will not record the entire story here, but will point out that the problem started when King Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth for “a garden of herbs.” When Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to Ahab, on the grounds that it was the inheritance of his fathers, Ahab went home very upset, went to bed, and refused to eat.
When his wicked wife Jezebel found out the cause of all this, she assured her husband that she would get the vineyard for him. She wrote letters to the elders of the city, telling them to set up a court, to accuse Naboth of blasphemy with false witnesses, and then to take him out and stone him. It is recorded that “the men of his city ... did as Jezebel had sent unto them ... Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead” (1 Kings 21:11,1411And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. (1 Kings 21:11)
14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. (1 Kings 21:14)). Then Ahab calmly went down and took possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
The Double Payback
Our hearts recoil in horror at such an abuse of power, as to accuse an innocent man falsely, then take him out and stone him. However there are two issues that are brought out here concerning authority, for the whole incident reveals the sad state of God’s people at that time.
First of all, Ahab and Jezebel’s abuse of their authority stands out prominently. Ahab’s character appears like that of a spoiled child, who went and sulked when he could not have what he wanted. Jezebel’s wicked disposition went even further, for it was she who devised the plan of the false accusation, and carried it out in Ahab’s name. When the prophet Elijah pronounced God’s judgment on both of them later in the chapter, the more severe judgment fell on Jezebel. The dogs would lick Ahab’s blood in the same place where Naboth had been stoned, but the dogs would actually eat Jezebel. What an awful end to a king and queen!
Consent to Abuse
There is another aspect of authority in this story that is equally abhorrent. What about those who consented to, and carried out, the abuse of authority by Ahab and Jezebel? There is no record that the elders of Naboth’s city made any objection to Jezebel’s orders. Instead of obeying her, they should have refused, knowing very well that Naboth was innocent. Jezebel’s order specifically said that the witnesses should be “sons of Belial,” and there is no question that these elders knew that they were acquiescing in a wicked plot to get rid of an innocent man. While Scripture does not say so, it is quite possible that those elders feared the anger of Jezebel if they refused to carry out her orders, but moral uprightness should have overruled this.
Hypocritical Blasphemy
Also the question arises, What God could Naboth be accused of blaspheming? Israel (the ten tribes) were worshiping idols at this time, and not only the Baals, but also the golden calves. Yes, it is true that several years before, Elijah had won a great victory over the worshipers of Baal on Mount Carmel, but the subsequent history would seem to indicate that the idolatry continued. Was Jezebel actually referring to Jehovah, the true God from whom they had turned away? If so, it makes the crime even worse.
It seemed that the whole nation had gotten so far away from the Lord, and from the morality that ought to have been prevalent in their hearts, that they could carry out this terrible murder without any conscience at all. All this shows us both the abuse of authority and the concession by others to that abuse, when they ought to have stood up against it.
Although you and I may say that we would never give in to something like this, it is easy, perhaps in lesser things, both to abuse authority and also to give in and consent to some wrongdoing which that authority is telling us to do. Our consciences can easily become hardened when we are surrounded by wickedness, and this was no doubt the condition of things in Israel at that time. It is a warning to us to stand firm for what is pleasing to the Lord, and to leave the consequences with Him.
W. J. Prost