The inheritance of the Lord is
obtained by grace and grace alone. Let's read the first three verses
again. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth, the
Jezreelite, had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace
of Ahab, king of Samaria. 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 I will give thee for it a
better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I
will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to
Ahab, the Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance
of my fathers unto thee. That may sound very reasonable
on the surface what Ahab proposed here, but verse three is the
key. What Ahab was asking Naboth to do was forbidden of the Lord.
This was the Lord's inheritance, the land that he gave unto Naboth's
fathers. Subsequently to him the Israelites
were not to sell their land Because it was given to them by God as
an inheritance And it's a clear picture of God's grace This was
God's blessing upon them and the inheritance that he gave
them it pictures glory itself it pictures the promised land
of spiritual Significance where we'll dwell in in that place
only pictured by the land flowing with milk and honey on this earth. When they, what the Israelites had, what
they possessed, what they owned and all that it produced, all
blessings that came from it, life itself came from the land
and it was freely given to them. They didn't earn it. The Lord
said, you'll drink out of wells you didn't dig. and you'll plant
in ground you didn't till, and they did, they didn't earn it,
they did not buy it with money, which they earned, which is always
a picture of works in the scripture. To buy the gift of God with money
is blasphemy because money pictures what you earned by your works.
It's a picture of God's grace toward his people, the inheritance
of eternal life in Christ, that's what it symbolizes. And remember
the rich young ruler who said, what must I do to inherit eternal
life? What must I do? How much is it
going to cost me? That's what, that's what I have
to say. I want this inheritance, except
he didn't even bother to acknowledge it as such. and I want to pay for, I want
to buy, how much is it going to cost me? That's not how it
works. That's not how inheritances are obtained. God's inheritance
of eternal life doesn't come by what you do or what I do. It comes freely by the grace
of God, which is in Christ crucified. That inheritance is ours. The
inheritance of God pictured by this property is ours by virtue
of being joint heirs with Jesus Christ. And Christ paid the price
for that on Calvary. We had no, not one mite or one
drop of sweat. And Ahab didn't care anything
about that. He makes no, he gives no acknowledgement even of that.
That means nothing to him. And that's the problem. God's command, God's grace, God's
gift of life by the precious blood of his son is nothing to
Ahab. To the Israelites, it was everything. Ahab presumed to buy that which
is only freely received from God. And once you understand
that premise in this chapter, all of the rest of it comes clear.
Remember that judgment had already been passed upon Ahab in chapter
20. And what reaction did he have to that in verse 43? He
was resentful. This is the two words. It kind
of just sounds like he was sad in the words that they use in
the King James. But those words mean resentful
and angry. The judgment of God ticked him
off. that God would presume to pass
judgment upon him, a king. So what is his response to God's
condemnation of him? And he represents all religion
in this. And he has the same response
in our text. Those same words were used, resentful
and angry, when Ahab told him no. And he represents all religion.
He defies God. by presuming to buy that which
is denied him by God, given to others, but not him, not his
to claim. Ahab would trade his own works
for the inheritance of God, no deal. Verse four, and Ahab came
into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth
the Jezreelite had spoken to him, angry and resentful. For
he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
Here's what he said. And let's keep this in mind.
I will not give thee the inheritance of my father. God forbid that
I give that which God has given me and told me this is yours. You can't even sell it if you
want to. It's yours. You can't lose it. You can't
earn it. You can't lose it. This is the
inheritance of eternal life in Christ. And he laid him down upon his
bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread, he moped. But Jezebel, his wife, came to
him and said unto him, why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest
no bread? Again, Ahab's reaction to what
God said. And take note of this now. It
wasn't what Naboth said. It wasn't that he had a dispute
with Naboth here. That might have been Ahab's perception
of it. But Ahab was mad at Naboth, but
the reason Ahab could not get what he wanted was because God
said so. But Ahab was bitter and resentful
and rebellious and angry again. In verse six, 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 vineyard for it. And he answered,
I will not give thee my vineyard. Does that sound like an accurate
account of what happened? That's not what Naboth said. They have completely left out
the part about this land being the Lord's inheritance to Naboth's
fathers and ultimately to him. That was everything to Naboth. That's the only reason he gave
why he wouldn't part with the land. Otherwise, great, you know,
better vineyard, you know, wonderful. Sounds like a pretty good deal.
But the one reason he gave was this is the Lord's inheritance.
How dare I just give that away to you? But it was nothing to
Ahab, nothing. He didn't even mention it. In
spiritual terms, Ahab despised the grace of God. It meant nothing
to him. All this land was to him was
fleshly consolation. He was angry and upset. And he
set his eyes on this vineyard and said, well, I'll enjoy this
and get over my anger at what had happened before. Verse seven,
and Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the
kingdom of Israel? Who's in charge here? You're
acting like you have to live by what this man said. You're
the king. arise and eat bread and let thine
heart be merry, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. This verse is very telling. It
gives us another perspective on the great evil of fleshly
idolatrous religion in its hatred of God, its terrible pride. I'll give it to you. We'll do
it my way. If God won't do it our way, we'll
do it our way. We will. Antichrist. That's the voice of Satan coming
from Jezebel's mouth. Did you notice that? I will,
I will give it to you. Isn't that what Satan said? I'll
give it to you. Did God withhold something from
you? I'll give it to you, that's the
devil's motto, I will. And particularly those words
I will are spoken in rebellion to the truth, the revelation,
the gift, the grace of God. I will, we'll make this all about
my will, no matter what God said. Jezebel says, I will give it
to you, but it clearly wasn't Jezebel's to give. Religion will
forgive you if you go and, you know, promise some things and
count some things and tithe, you know, give plenty of money
to the church. They'll pardon you. That's not theirs to give. You see false religion clearly
in this, as God said that eternal life only comes by his free and
sovereign grace, and that we're hanging helpless upon the mercy
of God in Christ, I'll give you the inheritance. Just come down
here to the front, say this prayer, repeat after me, I'll give it
to you. that which can only be received
freely by the grace and blessing of God, purchased by redeeming
love and the precious blood for the sinner in Christ, is promised
by those who hate the God of the Bible, and they presume to
deliver on that promise by their own idolatrous, evil, God-defying
devices. It's not up to them. It's not
theirs to give. And as our text teaches, the
result of that is that everybody involved in that is destroyed
and sent to hell. Everybody. Think about what that land represents. The Israelites were redeemed
from the bondage of Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb.
And so by that blood, They didn't know
anything in Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt
and gave them the promised land. The roots of what was harvested
from that property were nourished by the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
A hostile takeover of that which is the unspeakable gift of God's
grace and eternal love of his elect. That's an assault upon
the very throne of heaven and on the very character of God
himself. Nahab gave no thought for that.
Jezebel didn't care about that. Verse eight, so she wrote letters
in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters
unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling
with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters
saying, proclaim a fast and set Naboth on high among the people.
Not real clear to me anyway, why it says set Naboth on high,
but that's what religion does. Let's brag or let's make him
a big shot. And it probably has something to do with getting
him to trust them so that they could infiltrate his life to the point
of setting him up. Set him on high among the people
and 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. And the men of his city,
even the elders and the nobles, who were the inhabitants of his
city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written
in the letters which she had sent unto them, they proclaimed
a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. 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. And then they sent to Jezebel
saying Naboth is stoned and is dead. So Jezebel throws a little
bit of the Bible into her scheme, doesn't she? Some of this is
according to God's law. The reasons for being stoned
and that. And she said, he's blasphemed
God. Let's bring God, let's make it sound legitimate. We'll talk
about God just like they talk about God. She throws a little
Bible into it, uses the name of God to make it sound legitimate
so that people will fall for it. But that just makes the conniving
evil of her wretched heart even worse, even blacker, more abominable,
just like modern man-centered free will religion. The fact that they even use the
name of God at all, and then completely pervert His gospel, they conspire and
trample underfoot the precious blood in order to deliver the
kingdom to those who would take it by their own schemes and efforts.
And in doing so, they forsake their own mercy. See if this rings any bells and
keep this in the back of your mind for a little bit. They plotted
the death of Naboth so that they could have what rightfully belonged
to Naboth. Keep that thought in mind. Verse
15, and it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was
stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, arise, take possession
of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused
to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive but dead. And it
came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab
rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite to
take possession of it." Evil plot accomplished. A seemingly
successful scheme. Yeah, Ahab owns the vineyard
now. That's what he wanted all along.
Everything turned out just the way he wanted to. He can walk
around in it. He can enjoy the beauty of it.
He can console himself over the news that the prophet in chapter
20 gave him. He can eat and drink and be merry.
Look at the Antichrist religion of this world in all of its shameful
glory. Looks like they're very successful,
doesn't it? Sure, their doctrine doesn't exactly match up with
what the Bible says, but the vineyard is theirs. Look at the
success that they enjoy. But who has the last word on
who takes possession of God's inheritance? Verse 17, the word
of the Lord came. to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria.
Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he has gone
down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him,
saying, Thus saith the Lord, hast thou killed and also taken
possession? And thou shalt speak unto him,
saying, Thus saith the Lord, in the place where dogs lick
the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And
Ahab said to Elijah, hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he
answered, I found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work
evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon
thee, will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him
that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left
in Israel, and will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam.
the son of Nebat, there was nobody as evil as Jeroboam until Ahab
came along. Like the house of Baasha, the
son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked
me to anger and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake
the Lord, saying, the dog shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that doth of Ahab in the
city, the dog shall eat, and him that doth in the field shall
the fowls of the air. God has something to say about
this whole thing of taking that for yourself that's only God's
to give. Remember that thought that you
held in the back of your head a while ago? Something you might
have been reminded of maybe by that? Look at verse 19 in our
text. Thus saith the Lord, hast thou
killed and also taken possession? Two things about that. This is
us by nature. We have killed. We murdered God's son. And we'll also take possession
of that which is God's alone to give. Will we by defiance and rebellion
and resentment and anger against God lay claim to the kingdom?
That's exactly what we do by nature. Also, this was David's sin. He killed and he took possession. But look at the difference. In 2 Samuel 12, 13, when Nathan
revealed to David that he was the evil man in the story that
he told, David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. I killed a man and I took possession
of his wife, something that didn't belong to me. And Nathan said unto David, the
Lord also hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. What a difference. The Lord said to Ahab, hast thou
killed and also taken possession? The dogs will lick your blood. even in the same place where
the blood of Naboth was licked by dogs. Was the difference that one man's
sin was more evil than the other? No, the difference is grace. It's grace. It's the whole lesson
of this chapter, that salvation, Prosperity, life is God's to
give. It's God's to give. It's his
prerogative to bestow it. And it doesn't happen any other
way. The Lord decides who inherits
life and who doesn't. And notice that it doesn't say
here that the Lord He ignored David's sin. Nathan doesn't say, here the
Lord has dismissed your sin. Doesn't say he's disregarded
your sin. The Lord has put away that sin. You will not suffer the consequences
of sin. The wages of sin is death. The
Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die. We know by God's grace how that
happens. How does God put away sin? There's
only one other verse in all of the scripture where those three
words occur. Put away sin. One verse besides that one. Hebrews
9.26, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation
of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The rest of this chapter, how
sad it is to see in the part we just read, when the Lord tells, he tells the prophet what to
say to Ahab. Elijah comes after that to where
Ahab is, and Ahab says, have you found me, O mine enemy? Best I could tell, Ahab just
had one friend in the world. One man who would tell him the
truth. One man who would defy him in his godlessness and idolatry
and say, thus saith the Lord. One friend. And Ahab considered
him his enemy. It's so sad. Could Ahab have been saved? Did he repent? He humbled himself
before the Lord in these last verses. Was the Lord gracious
to him? I believe that we're deliberately
shown here how that God is ready to pardon. I know that the case was decided
in eternity. I know the Lord is sovereign
and he knows the end from the beginning, but we don't. The Lord said, you come to me
and I'll give you life. That matter has already been
decided in your case in eternity, but what about in your experience? What about my message to you
tonight? Come to him that you might have
life. Don't sit there and dwell on
the fact that the case has already been decided. Of course it has,
God's God. But God's command to you is,
come unto me and I'll give you rest. We're shown how that the Lord
delights to show mercy. But in the next chapter, we see
that Ahab is not truly changed. He was humble and he went softly
for a while. I'll let you look that word up
on your own. That's a good word. He went softly. He went gently. Well, I said I was gonna let
you look it up, so I'm not gonna say anymore. That's kind of beautiful, isn't
it? He went softly. for a while, and then in the
next chapter, he's right back to worshiping idols again. How
terribly, terribly sad. Was Ahab too evil to save? It says in verse 25 that he had
sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of God. But do we know anybody else that
did that? The Apostle Paul said, we know that the law is spiritual,
but I'm carnal, sold under sin. But because of God's free choice
and the gift of his grace, the message of this whole chapter,
Paul was able to say in 1 Timothy 1.16, I obtained mercy. I obtained mercy. That freedom, Freedom from bondage
that the Israelites enjoyed and prosperity, the heritage which
that land epitomized is God's inheritance alone to give by
the blood of his lamb. And no one outside of God's electing
grace and mercy and the precious blood of Christ has any claim
upon it. It's called mercy for a reason. By God's grace, may our prayer always be, God
be merciful to me, the sinner.