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1 Kings 21
Chapter 21: Naboth's Vineyard
1 Kings 21:1-7 ~ Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard
The story of the unjust death of Naboth is Part II of the Elijah cycle. Naboth is from the town of Jezreel, located in the Jezreel Valley. There is some confusion over which of the king's palaces was adjacent to the land owned by Naboth. The king's palace in Jezreel is another palace (18:45) and not the same as the palace in the capital city of Samaria (2 Kng 9:25-26). Naboth owns a vineyard near the king's palace that is part of his original ancestral lands allotted to his family in the conquest of Canaan.
1 Kings 21:8-10 ~ Jezebel's plan to take Naboth's vineyard
Jezebel understands that according to the Law her husband does not have the power to confiscate Naboth's land without threatening his throne, and so she devises a plan to manipulate the Law to bring about the death of an innocent man and secure his property for her husband. She uses her husband's official royal seal in the letter she sent to the elders of Naboth's city. The seal makes the command official and has the force of the king behind it.
Question: What law will she use to have Naboth killed? See Ex 22:27 and Lev 24:16.
Answer: Under the law it was forbidden to curse/blaspheme the name of God or His appointed ruler. The penalty for blaspheming God was death by stoning.
Question: Who does Jezebel seek to make accomplices in her evil plan?
Answer: She makes the elders and important men in Naboth's city her accomplices.
Her actions show her contempt for Yahweh's Law. If the Law will not allow her husband to behave with the rightful powers of a king, then she will abuse the Law and manipulate it to her advantage. Her statement by her actions is that she is a "law unto herself". It is the same sin committed by all men and women who believe that are above the laws of God and men.
1 Kings 21:11-16 ~ The murder of Naboth
Question: Why did the village elders and prominent men obey Jezebel's letter and cooperate in Naboth's unjust death?
Answer: Either they feared Jezebel's retribution if the failed to cooperate or they hoped to receive some royal compensation or both factors motivated them to commit this grave sin.
Naboth is unjustly accused of blasphemy and unjustly executed. It is a travesty of justice carried out by Queen Jezebel and the rulers of his city. Naboth of Jezreel can be seen as a "Biblical type" of Jesus of Nazareth. A "Biblical type" is: "a person, thing, action, or event that foreshadows new truths, new actions, or new events. In the In the Old Testament, Melchizedech and Jonah are types of Jesus Christ. A likeness must exist between the type and the archetype, but the latter is always greater. Both are independent of each other. God's call for the return of the Israelites from Pharaoh's bondage typifies the return of Jesus Christ from his flight into Egypt. In the New Testament, the destruction of Jerusalem, foretold by Christ, was the antitype of the end of the world" (Catholic Dictionary, John H. Hardon, S.J., page 441-42). Studying Biblical typology reveals to the student of Sacred Scripture the newness of God's message in Christ on the basis of the figures/types which announce Him in the deeds, words, and symbols found in the Old Testament and revealing that "The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New", as St. Augustine taught. For example, Noah's flood and the ark in which eight people were saved prefigured salvation by Baptism, just as the manna in children of Israel ate in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread come down from heaven" (Jn 6:32; 1 Cor 10:1-6); also see CCC 128, 130, 1094.
Question: How is Naboth a "Biblical type" of Jesus and how many comparisons do you see between Naboth's unjust death and Jesus Christ?
Answer:
| Naboth of Jezreel | Jesus of Nazareth |
| A conspiracy was formed against Naboth because the king envied Naboth's possession of a vineyard (1 Kng 21:1-7). | The religious leaders wanted to put Jesus to death because of their envy of Jesus' influence over the "vineyard" that was Israel (Is 5:7; Mt 27:18). |
| Witnesses were called to give false testimony against Naboth (1 Kng 21:10, 13a). | Witnesses were called to give false testimony against Jesus (Mt 26:59-61). |
| Naboth was charged with the sin of blasphemy by the village elders and was condemned to death (1 Kng 21:10, 13). | Jesus was charged with the sin of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and was condemned to death (Mt 26:65-66). |
| Naboth was innocent (2 Kng 21:8-14). | Jesus was innocent (Jn 18:38, 19:4, 6). |
| Naboth was executed outside the city (2 Kng 21:8-13). | Jesus was executed outside the city (Jn 19:20). |
| Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2015 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved. | |
Jezabel and Ahab (c. 1863) (Frederic Leighton)
1 Kings 21:17-26 ~ Elijah pronounces God's judgment against Ahab and Jezebel
It is interesting that Ahab didn't even try to deny his part in Naboth death when confronted by Elijah.
Question: What did we learn in verse 19 that was not revealed previously about Naboth's death?
Answer: He was even denied a proper burial.
Elijah's prophecy of Ahab's death in verses 19-20 and the prophecy of the dogs licking of his blood is fulfilled in 1 Kings 22:37-38 and takes place in Samaria. Jezebel will die in Jezreel in 2 Kings 11:30-37.
1 Kings 21:27-29 ~ Ahab repents
By this time Ahab has had enough evidence of Elijah's prophecies to believe that the judgment he has pronounced will come to pass and so he demonstrated the repentance of his sins by his actions. Yahweh brings Ahab's acts of repentance to the attention of His prophet and pronounces a reprieve in His judgment against the House of Omri.
Question: How could Yahweh so easily extend His mercy to King Ahab?
Answer: It was because God judged his repentance to be sincere; however, God has not withdrawn His judgment on the penalty Ahab must pay for the murder of Naboth.
No sin is too great that it cannot be forgiven. Yahweh's acknowledge of Ahab's repentance is another sign of God's mercy to a repentant sinner. However, God is both merciful and just. Ahab must still atone for the murder of Naboth "this is justice for Naboth. Ahab's dynasty has been spared because of his repentance, but not his life. Because of Ahab's repentance, God will grant his son the opportunity not to follow in his father's footsteps. However, if his son fails to make use of God's mercy, he will pay the full price of the judgment in the loss of the Omride dynasty.
CHALLENGE: “How would you argue for the existence of God?”
DEFENSE:One argument proceeds from the existence of contingent things (i.e., things that could be different than they are).
1. Some things are contingent.
2. All contingent things require a current cause for why they are the way they are.
3. There cannot be an infinite regress of current causes.
4. Therefore, there must be a first, necessary (non-contingent) cause.
5. The first, necessary cause is God.
6. Therefore, God exists.
The premises of this argument are lines 1, 2, 3, and 5. The conclusions (lines 4 and 6) follow
from them.
Line 1 is true by experience. Many things could be different than they are. A person may be standing or sitting. A table may be painted red or green. A pyramid may be built or taken apart.
Line 2 is verified by experience. At any moment, there is a reason why a thing is the way it is. For example, if a person is standing, the atoms in his body are arranged a certain way and he is related to something else (e.g., the ground) so that he is standing on it. If a table is painted red, the atoms in its surface are arranged a certain way and will reflect certain frequencies of light.
Line 3 acknowledges that there can be a hierarchy of current causes. For example, the atoms in a standing person’s body may be held in place by the four fundamental forces known to physics (electromagnetism, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity). It is possible that these forces may, in turn, be based on a deeper set of presently unknown forces. However, this chain cannot go on forever in this way because in that case there would be no ultimate explanation for why the person is standing. If there is to be an ultimate explanation for why the person is standing, it must be based on something that is not, in turn, based on something else. Therefore, there must be a first cause, which is also necessary (not contingent). Proposing an infinite regress of causes for which we have no evidence also violates Occam’s Razor.
Line 5 is based on the standard understanding of God as the First Cause and as a necessary Being.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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