I Kings 21
Dear RTB’ers,
Lust. That’s the word that came to me from today’s reading. We typically think of lust in a sexual context, but it’s also a good word for expressing any excess desire. I have occasionally joked about lusting after something that I really like that I haven’t enjoyed for a while, like wings at Madison Garden in Richmond, one of my all-time favorite foods. So, lust is a good word for expressing Ahab’s desire for Naboth’s vineyard. Being turned down left him sullen and vexed (again, as in I Kings 20:43 from yesterday), such that his wife, Jezebel intervened with her murder plan. Her plan for Naboth’s death brings to mind David’s plan for Uriah’s death. There it was David’s lust for Bathsheba that brought about the entire episode.
As for Jezebel… Let’s go back a few chapters: [Ahab] took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. (I Kings 16:31b) Jezebel came from pagan roots, strikingly different from the Covenant Law under which Israel was supposed to act. Ahab’s inability to simply take Naboth’s vineyard was a foreign concept for her; pagan kings could do whatever they wanted, confiscate whatever land they desired. Still (possibly with Ahab’s guidance) she made Naboth’s death look as if it was following Covenant Law. Trickery. Treachery. Evil. We’ll see more of Jezebel’s evil influence as we read on.
Back to lust… It’s not a good thing – certainly not one to joke about for me from now on! For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (I John 2:16, NASB)
Blessings.