Jezebel wrote a letter to the elders and nobles of the city where Naboth lived, telling them to proclaim a fast and set Naboth up in the presence of the people. She said they should then bring forward two wicked men to say they had heard Naboth blaspheme God and the king. After this they were to stone Naboth to death. She did all this in Ahab’s name and under his seal, and so the elders of the city did as she had told them, and stoned Naboth to death.
What a solemn lesson we have here! What a word to any young man who is thinking of marrying an unsaved girl! Jezebel may have been a pretty girl with her painted face, for we may remark here that she is the only woman of whom we read in the Bible who used the modern art of “make-up,” but her heart was far from God, though zealous in her own religion. Dear young men, if you marry an unsaved girl, she will do many things that displease the Lord, and she will do them in your name, as Jezebel did, for that is the name she carries when you have married her. Oh be sure that you choose a girl (if you get married) who walks in the fear of God, or your life will be filled with sorrow. Be sure that she is one whom you would be happy to introduce as your wife at any time, or to have her use your name anywhere.
Poor Ahab, he was surely wrong himself, but his wife was not a helpmeet. She was more evil than he was, yet they worked together in their evil course. And so it was that after Naboth was stoned, Jezebel told her husband to go in and possess his vineyard. Ahab did so, but while he was walking through the vineyard, Elijah came down to meet him. How short are the pleasures of sin, and how uneasy we feel when trying to enjoy them! “The way of transgressors is hard,” Proverbs 13:1515Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard. (Proverbs 13:15), as Ahab soon found out. True peace and joy cannot be found apart from Christ, and in a practical way they are ours only in the path of obedience. May the Lord give us all to see the folly of self-will, and to teach us to walk humbly before Him.
Ahab did not want to see Elijah, nor to listen to his message. He thought he could hide his wicked act, but he could not. We cannot hide anything from the Lord. He knows all “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13). Elijah said to Ahab, “Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?... In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” Ahab answered, “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?” When one has a guilty conscience, he always thinks of those who point but his sins as his enemies. Yet it is a good thing to have our sins pointed out. Much better for a sinner to see his guilt now and be saved, than to see it revealed at the great white throne when it is too late, when there is no blood to cleanse from all sin. Much better too, for a believer to have his sin brought to light and to confess it, than to be allowed to go on, only to get farther and farther away from the Lord.
Elijah then told Ahab that he had sold himself to work iniquity. This is a terrible thing. Only the Lord can keep any of us, and it is an awful thing when we lose the fear of God and let loose in the paths of sin. Oh may we, as believers, pray that the Lord would keep us, for our poor hearts are capable of the most horrible sins.
ML 07/29/1956