The Set Up

King Ahab of Israel had set his heart on a particular piece of land on which to grow vegetables. Unfortunately for him the owner, Naboth refused to sell, and having his hopes frustrated Ahab went to his room and sulked. When Jezebel his wife heard what was troubling the king she immediately decided to take matters into her own hands. She was confident that this was a problem she could solve. Whether she had determined how she was going to do it at that stage is not clear, but she was in doubt that she could secure the vineyard that Ahab had set his heart on. Jezebel may have taken some time to come up with the right plan but eventually decided on a course of action that not only resulted in the death of a righteous man but also drew the elders and leaders of the city into her guilt.

Jezebel wrote letters to the city leaders under the seal of King Ahab. The leaders may even have believed that the letters came from Ahab himself but in any event they simply went along with what was asked of them. Jezebel instructed these leaders to proclaim a fast and place Naboth in front of the people. They were to act as if they were conducting a judicial proceeding with Naboth, the accused, on trial before them. Then they were to produce to accusers who would declare that Naboth had been guilty of blaspheming God and the King. As the King of Israel was the representative of God, any blasphemy directed at him was considered to be blasphemy of God himself, so the alleged offences could have been one and the same. That the allegations were false would have been clear to both the leaders of Jezreel and to Naboth, but before this group he had no chance of a fair trial. Any pretence of justice was removed with the instructions of Jezebel to take Naboth out and stone him to death without seeking a defence or entertaining any argument on his behalf.

The elders and civic leaders of Jezreel must have been fully aware of the injustice that was being committed; yet they remained silent. In the face of a command from the king they meekly accepted their role and joined in the guilt of Ahab and Jezebel. The politician/philosopher Edmund Burke once wrote ‘all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing’. This was certainly the case in the days of Jezebel, the good men of Jezreel knew that they were in the presence of evil but rather than take a stand for righteousness sake they did nothing and evil triumphed. In fact they did more than nothing; they joined in the conspiracy. Perhaps they were afraid of the consequences if they resisted, maybe they thought that some benefit would come their way if they agreed to the King’s proposal. Or perhaps they just blindly obeyed what they saw as a legitimate command. There is no question that we are called to live in submission to our political and civic leaders, and when we are in the workplace or at school the concept of rightful authority extends to those who are our superiors. And of course this concept extends to the family. But what happens when one of those with legitimate authority asks is to do something that is clearly wrong or even evil? Do we go along and claim that we are only obeying orders? Do we do nothing? Or do we take a stand for righteousness sake, even if it will mean almost certain suffering for us?

The leaders of Jezreel chose to engage in the conspiracy to not only defraud the descendents of Naboth of his land but to commit murder. By their silence and complicity they perpetrated injustice not only on Naboth but on the whole of Israel. The leaders and elders did as they were commanded and conducted their mock trial. These men were probably once the friends of Naboth, men who lived with him in the city. That Naboth knew them is clear. Twice they are referred to as having lived with him in Jezreel. They would have sat in the gate together and talked over the events of the world and probably discussed all the things that were happening: the drought, the amazing events on Mt Carmel and the appearance of that strange prophet Elijah. They might even have shared war stories following the recent triumphs over the Arameans, but now they were being told to set up one of their fellows, a neighbour and land owner who had done nothing wrong except refuse to sell his land to the King. He was a man who had placed his obedience to God above the prospect of material gain and now he was going to be betrayed by his friends.

Once the trial was over Naboth was taken outside and stoned to death. In the account of this tragedy it is revealed that Naboth’s sons were also killed at this time. The result of these acts of murder was that there was no one to claim the land,  a person who was guilty of blasphemy forfeited his property to God but if he was convicted of treason then the land was forfeit to the king. The way was clear for Ahab to come and take it for himself. Until this moment Ahab had remained apart from the conspiracy that was taking place but as soon as he received word from Jezebel that Naboth was dead he went with unseemly haste to take possession of his land.

Why Ahab would be so concerned with a vegetable garden is not at all clear. It is unlikely that he would have been out tilling the land and planting turnips or other crops for his own amusement. And as king he could have the best of land wherever he wanted as long as wasn’t part of the inheritance God had given to his people. But for some reason he had his heart set on this particular piece of property and he was prepared to allow others to scheme, defraud and murder on his behalf just so he could have it. Now Naboth and his family were dead Ahab could have what he wanted. I wonder how he felt when he took possession. Was it all worth it; did he feel satisfied? Or was there an empty feeling inside, a sense of disappointment that what he now had didn’t give him the pleasure that he had expected. All too often the things we set our heart on fail to give the fulfilment we think they will when we get them. This may be true of a new car or house, a career or academic success. More frequently than we would like to admit the gain of these things fails to fill the desires we have deep within. Jesus made it clear that we should seek his Kingdom before anything else and when we do he would satisfy all of our needs. The problem is that when we focus on our wants or what we see as our needs we will be left empty and still grasping for more.

Ahab was God’s representative in Israel. He had money, power and status, he had married into the wealthy nations nearby and secured himself against attack through the treaties he had made and yet he was unsatisfied. With all that he had his inability to secure a vegie garden left him sullen and vexed. Now that he had it, it is unlikely that he was anymore satisfied or fulfilled. If our lives consist of the sum of our possessions, then we like Ahab, are likely to be left disappointed and unfulfilled.