King Ahab Scammed And Killed Naboth!

Divine Intelligence Beyond The Human Mind!®

KING AHAB SCAMMED AND KILLED NABOTH!

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were extremely covetous and wicked people. He exploited his monarchy and power to greedily covet and possess properties of defenseless people. Naboth owned a beautiful vineyard close to Ahab’s palace. It was choice property and Ahab coveted it for himself. However, Naboth refused to give or sell it to him.

1 Kings 21:2-3: “And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house …. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.” According to the divine statute, it was not legal for Naboth to give or sell his inheritance to Ahab and Jezebel. It was an inheritance, which belonged to Naboth and his family.

Ahab did not desire to pay Naboth the fair market value for his property. However, he and his wife Jezebel devised to scam and kill Naboth and take his inheritance. Verses 5-7: “… Jezebel his wife … said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad …? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another … and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? … I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” They exploited the divine ordinance of blasphemy in their scheme to lie and scam Naboth and took his property. Jezebel pretended that Ahab designated a religious service to honor Naboth. Naboth imagined that the letter he received was to honor him at a religious service. However, the letter was a deceptive device to destroy him.

Jezebel wrote letters. Verse 8: “So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal ….” Verse 9: “… saying … set Naboth on high ….” Verse 10: “… set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.” Verse 13: “And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.”

The men of Belial were influential and wicked men who lied and said that Naboth blasphemed God and King Ahab. Blasphemy was a sin unto death. God declared to Moses in the Old Testament, Leviticus 24:16: “… he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death … all the congregation shall certainly stone him ….” Instead of them honoring him, they set him up for execution. Naboth was extremely gullible because he responded to an ungodly letter and went to the celebration of his own death with his enemies. He thought that a wicked congregation, who were thieves, was coming to honor him. The wicked will never honor the righteous.

Ahab, his wife, sons, and wicked congregation died in infamy, because of their greed. They were a family of serpents. 2 Kings 10:11: “So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.” Jehu said, 2 Kings 9:36: “… This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel.” The Syrian army defeated and killed Ahab in battle. Ahab said, 2 Chronicles 18:33: “… Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.” Verse 34: “… and about the time of the sun going down he died.” God judged the family of Ahab for their sins against Naboth and all defenseless people whom they had scammed and slain.

King Hezekiah was a wise king. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, sent a letter to him. Hezekiah prayed and God said to him not to answer Sennacherib’s letter. 2 Kings 19:14: “And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.” 2 Kings 18:36: “… the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.”

Jehoshaphat was a godly man who allied himself with Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, who was a thief, to do business with him. God did not prosper their works. 2 Chronicles 20:37: “… Eliezer … prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.” Ahaziah scammed King Jehoshaphat. He was like his father Ahab. He embezzled Jehoshaphat’s money out of their enterprise. He designed and engineered ships improperly. Therefore, they could not sail. King Solomon proclaimed, Proverbs 29:24: “Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul ….” Thieves will scam you when you connect your business interest with them!

King David was not like King Ahab. He had integrity and respect for Ornan a Jebusite who was not Jewish. He paid him the full market price for his threshing floor. He made an altar, and interceded in prayer to God to stop the sickness and death hovering over the people of God. King David said, 1 Chronicles 21:24: “… I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD … without cost.”

Jesus proclaimed, St. Matthew 5:18: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The word of the Lord is current and true in all eras, teaching us to beware of sophisticated scammers who covet properties and monetary investments of humanity!

In the New Testament, St. John 10:32: “Jesus answered … Many good works have I shewed you … which of those works do ye stone me?” The enemies of Jesus falsely accused him of blasphemy. Verse 33: “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy ….” Jesus Christ performed many miracles and the Jewish leaders were envious of Him because they could not perform miracles. These are some of Jesus’ good works and miracles, which He performed. Jesus fed the hungry, raised the dead, healed the sick, and saved sinners. St. Matthew 14:19-21: “And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.” St. John 11:43-44: “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” St. Matthew 8:16: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.”

Apostle Paul’s name was Saul of Tarshish, prior to his conversion to Christianity. He was a powerful enemy to the Christian church. Acts 9:1-2: “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” Now we understand, when the enemy writes a letter, do not answer it!

Conclusion, God said, Jeremiah 3:15: “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

All Scriptures are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

The above sermon is among Pastor Marilyn Thomas' e-book titled, "DIVINE INTELLIGENCE BEYOND THE HUMAN MIND! ® From The Spiritual University Of God," consisting of sixty sermons. Click here for details at amazon.com, or here at Barnes and Noble.