Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
A king wanted a vineyard next to his palace, and the man who owned it would not sell. What follows shows how a small wish, left unchecked, grew into robbery and murder, and why one ordinary man said no.
The link to the chapter before
Just before this, Ahab had spared a wicked foreign king whom God's justice had condemned. One writer sets that scene beside this one.
C. KnappThis Ahab could call a wicked foreign king "brother" and spare him, though divine justice had doomed that king to destruction. Now, for the sake of gardening and enlarging the grounds around his palace, he sets out to murder a true brother. Though he was king, his neighbour Naboth fearlessly refuses his offer.
Nearness that bred coveting
The vineyard lay right beside the palace, where the king could see it. His first move looked like an honest business offer.
Edward DennettThe king saw it and coveted it for himself. It was near to his house, and he wanted it for a vegetable garden. So he tried to get it from Naboth, either by a swap or by buying it. On the surface this was fair and honest. But Ahab knew, or should have known, that he could get it only by pushing Naboth to break the law of God.
Ahab was already known for worshipping Baal. Another writer puts this new appetite in the same class.
H. L. RossierFresh circumstances show us the king's moral condition. Covetousness overruns his heart, an eager greed for something God had not given him. Now this is idolatry just as much as the worship of Baal is (Col. 3:5). Ahab, dominated by the enemy, has simply passed from one form of idolatry to another.
Land that was never Naboth's to sell
Under the law an Israelite could sell the harvests of his land. He could never sell the land itself, because God owned it.
H. L. RossierTo make an exchange, or even to take the value of the land in money, would mean that Ahab would take full and final possession of his neighbour's vineyard. Now an Israelite who feared God could not accept such terms. When he sold his land, he sold only its harvests, since the year of jubilee would restore his property to him (Lev. 25:15)… In reality the land, the ground itself, did not belong to the people, but to the Lord: "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land" (Lev. 25:23-24).
Some have called Naboth stubborn. One writer answers that charge.
C. KnappThis was not obstinacy on Naboth's part, as some have supposed; nor was it a stubborn refusal to give up his legal rights just to do his king a favour. He was contending not for his own rights, but for God's, and for the rights of those who would come after him. Standing on his own rights hardly suits a man who owes everything to God's free grace. The law made merciful provision for a man who had fallen into extreme poverty. He could sell the land, but only until the year of jubilee, when it went back to the original owner or his heirs. Naboth could not plead poverty, so he had no excuse to sell his vineyard, even to the king.
A rare kind of man
Naboth's stand rested on faith. One writer asks whether that faith is still found.
W. W. FeredayNaboth was a man of faith. His father valued what the Lord had given him, and Naboth valued it too. He would die rather than surrender what really belonged to God. The Naboth spirit seems rare in our time. Their children think very little of the divine principles their fathers prized — principles for which many of them lost everything.
The eye that was on the vineyard all along
The scene looks like a private matter between two men. It was never private.
The Christian's FriendAhab lay on his bed, irritated by Naboth's refusal to sell his vineyard. The wicked Jezebel was working out how to destroy Naboth. All the while, God was watching. The sinner may leave Him out of all his thoughts, but the day of reckoning will come just as surely.
Summary
- Nearness. The vineyard lay beside the palace. What Ahab could see, Ahab wanted.
- Wanting. Greed for what God had not given him is idolatry in a new form. Ahab traded one god for another.
- Owning. The land belonged to the Lord, so no one could sell it outright. Israelites sold harvests, not ground, and the jubilee gave the land back.
- Refusing. Naboth's "no" defended God's rights and the rights of those who came after him, not his own comfort. Writers note that this spirit is rare.
- Watching. The whole scheme unfolded under God's eye. The day of reckoning comes just the same.