Broken Kingdoms: WK3 - THU
A Kingdom of Blood - 1 Kings 21:1-16
1 Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. 14 The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
What a story, right? Here you have a king throwing a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way, and a queen, willing to lie, cheat, and kill, in order to make her husband happy. I guess we can see in this story why Ahab and Jezebel were drawn to each other; birds of a feather…
Jezebel has shown her colors before in the narrative. When Yahweh used Elijah to show them all who the real God is, Jezebel wand Ahab were humiliated. Jezebel wanted revenge on Elijah, for he not only caused them shame, he also had the prophets of Baal and Ashera killed. After she heard what happened, she sent this message to Elijah, 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” (I Kings 19:2)
What a contrast between the kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel, and the kingdom of God. Where Ahab and Jezebel lie, steal, and kill to get their way, Jesus becomes a servant, turns the other cheek, and even loves the outcasts and the lowliest of society. Where violence and anger leads the kingdoms of man, love and sacrifice are the calling cards of the kingdom of God.
Did you know that for the first 300 years of the Jesus movement, his followers were largely pacifist (anti-violent)? It wasn’t until Constantine made Christianity legal in 313 AD, then Emperor Theudas made Christianity the official religion of the state in 380 AD, that Christianity began “waging war” in the name of God.
Yesterday was Juneteenth, the day we recognize the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. In honor of that day, and with one of my favorite and impactful quotes, I want to share how a 20th century Civil Rights leader explained what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God and fight the evil in our world. In a sermon he gave at his church in 1957, King said, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
The lines are pretty clear between the kingdoms of man and the kingdom of God. One kingdom leads to more hate and more violence and more power-grabbing, whereas the other leads to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Which kingdom will you live in?
1 Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. 14 The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
What a story, right? Here you have a king throwing a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way, and a queen, willing to lie, cheat, and kill, in order to make her husband happy. I guess we can see in this story why Ahab and Jezebel were drawn to each other; birds of a feather…
Jezebel has shown her colors before in the narrative. When Yahweh used Elijah to show them all who the real God is, Jezebel wand Ahab were humiliated. Jezebel wanted revenge on Elijah, for he not only caused them shame, he also had the prophets of Baal and Ashera killed. After she heard what happened, she sent this message to Elijah, 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” (I Kings 19:2)
What a contrast between the kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel, and the kingdom of God. Where Ahab and Jezebel lie, steal, and kill to get their way, Jesus becomes a servant, turns the other cheek, and even loves the outcasts and the lowliest of society. Where violence and anger leads the kingdoms of man, love and sacrifice are the calling cards of the kingdom of God.
Did you know that for the first 300 years of the Jesus movement, his followers were largely pacifist (anti-violent)? It wasn’t until Constantine made Christianity legal in 313 AD, then Emperor Theudas made Christianity the official religion of the state in 380 AD, that Christianity began “waging war” in the name of God.
Yesterday was Juneteenth, the day we recognize the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. In honor of that day, and with one of my favorite and impactful quotes, I want to share how a 20th century Civil Rights leader explained what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God and fight the evil in our world. In a sermon he gave at his church in 1957, King said, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
The lines are pretty clear between the kingdoms of man and the kingdom of God. One kingdom leads to more hate and more violence and more power-grabbing, whereas the other leads to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Which kingdom will you live in?
- Do you think followers of Jesus are ever justified in causing violence? Why or why not?
- Because everything incarnates, what do you feel you are giving your allegiances to in your life right now, and what kind of fruit is it producing in you?
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