This is an interesting story from the first Book of Kings, and will continue tomorrow. Ahab is the king of Israel and he wants a neighboring vineyard that the owner doesn't want to sell. He goes home and tells his wife, Jezebel, that he is too sad and angry to even eat.
She devises a plan to get Naboth killed, and this passage is the result. Do you ever wonder why passages such as these are included in Scripture? I know I do.
Are they included as warnings, or are they there to let us know that history of Israel was not without its scandalous behavior?
We are aware that Jezebel was a wicked woman. She plotted the death of Elijah – even though she didn't succeed – but she was successful in getting Naboth killed. She got people to lie about him, claiming that he had cursed God and the king, and they stoned him to death as punishment for his crime.
There were other kings and queens of Israel who sinned and led others to sin. And there were good kings and queens as well.
But we need to remember that we can be seduced by leaders who make us believe that what we are doing is the right thing. This happened in Germany during the Holocaust; it has happened in Northern Ireland, in the Middle East, in South America. It can happen anywhere!
We need to be watchful and not be led astray just because someone is in a position of authority.
