1 Kings 21

Ahab wanted the vineyard that was next to his house. The only problem was that it was owned by Naboth. When Ahab made an offer, Naboth refused to sell his family inheritance. So Jezebel had a solution: falsely accuse Naboth of blasphemy and have him executed. Then Ahab can confiscate the land!

But God was not pleased. He sent Elijah to Ahab with this message:

“This is what the LORD says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!” (1 Kings 21:19, NLT)

Because of what Ahab did, he would suffer the same judgment as Jeroboam: God would destroy Ahab’s house and end his dynasty. And Jezebel’s body would be eaten by dogs!

“There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.” (1 Kings 21:25–26, NIV84)

Ahab was responsible before God for his actions, but he was also highly influenced by his wicked wife. A woman can wield a tremendous sway over her husband, either for good or for evil. In the case of Naboth, Ahab was carried away by his own covetousness, and that led to murder and robbery. But even though Jezebel and Ahab thought they got away with it, they couldn’t escape the judgment of God. Neither can we.

Idolatry was the perennial problem of Israel and Judah. Their refusal to turn from their idols would send both nations into captivity. But we don’t have to worry about that…do we? Actually, the last words of the apostle John’s first epistle are, “Little children, keep yourself from idols.”

In my opinion the greatest idol today is self. May God have mercy on us and deliver us from its deadly power.