Ahab wants a vineyard owned by his neighbor, Naboth. Naboth, however, is unwilling to part with
the inheritance his family had received from the Lord when the land was
apportioned originally. In Israel, as
opposed to the surrounding nations, property rights were sacrosanct, even the
king could not compel someone to give over their property. Ahab simply wants a vegetable garden close to
the house and when Naboth refuses to sell, he pouts like a child. Jezebel, who was not Jewish, asserts the
divine right of kings to do as they choose, which is her heritage. Jezebel follows Jewish law in one respect,
she asks that two worthless men bring a charge against Naboth for cursing the
king. Jewish law required not one, but
two witnesses in order to bring a charge against someone. How do you go about finding two “worthless”
men? Apparently it wasn’t a problem,
they were found, did as instructed and Naboth was stoned for his
infraction. This is an incredibly rare
thing in the Old Testament, a story where the law regarding stoning someone to
death was actually carried out. This
frees up the vineyard for Ahab to take it over.
What does it mean to be submitted to the lordship of
God? Jesus shows here what it means to
be a faithful subject of the King. He is
surely famished after the forty day fast He has just completed but when satan
tempts Jesus to act to turn stones into bread, Jesus refuses to do so because
the Father has not commanded such a thing.
Jesus was always moved to act not on His own timing or at the particular
demands of others, but when the Father prompted Him to act, thus, not all in
Israel were healed, only those the Father willed. Next, satan tempts Jesus to
test the love of the Father by throwing Himself down so that the angels, in
accord with prophecy, will keep Him safe from harm. Finally, he tempts Jesus to bow down and worship
him in order to receive the kingdoms of earth.
Did satan know considerably less about Jesus than he thought or were
these simply his best attempts? Jesus’
submission to the Father, trust of the Father, and the heavenly kingdom which
He would receive for faithfulness were far more significant than anything else.
The Corinthian church needs first to be reminded that what
has brought them together is the grace of God in Christ Jesus. From that foundation, Paul can move on to
speak about the divisions. It is Christ
who will sustain them to the end, not Paul or Apollos or Cephas. There is no excuse for divisions about
men. It is the old argument about who is
greatest that the disciples used to have and in the end it is settled by
pointing from men to Jesus. I have actually experienced the division Paul
speaks about. I have people in my life
who are upset with me because I said something about their favorite TV pastor
they didn’t like. We need to keep our
eyes and hearts fixed on God’s kingdom and not man’s. Jezebel cared nothing for God’s law, He
wasn’t her god but her husband was king so she dedicated herself to extending
that kingdom no matter what it took.
Satan offered Jesus earthly kingdoms and He held out for the eternal
one. We can appreciate men who preach
the power of the cross to us but we can only worship the One who died there.
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