King Ahab, the ruler of Samaria,
set his eye upon a piece of property which belonged to Naboth the
Jezreelite. Ahab really desired to have this
vineyard for his own since it was next door to his palace.
He envisioned planting an herb garden there. He approached Naboth
about acquiring the property from him and made him a fair
offer for the parcel. But this property was precious
to Naboth and he would not sell it. King Ahab became very distressed
at Naboth's refusal to sell, so much so that he couldn't even
eat because of his disappointment. So Ahab's lovely wife, Jezebel,
promised to get the vineyard for him. Through treachery and
false witness in the name of religion, she brought about the
unlawful stoning and death of Naboth. Then Ahab was able to
claim the vineyard as his own property in this devious and
unlawful manner. There are some today who preach
a message which they call the gospel, wherein they picture
God as in many ways like Ahab and his dilemma in acquiring
the property of Naboth. First of all, they depict man
as being in control of his property, that is, his free will, which
is sacrosanct and unassailable. Then they tell us that God really
wants to acquire the property of the man, but is powerless
to obtain it, since he cannot or will not violate the man's
free will. Thus the Lord, according to their
theory, can only wait helplessly by, hoping that the man will
change his mind. They tell us that the Lord has
made man in a very generous offer in exchange for his property,
and is willing to bless the man if he will but give in and take
the Lord up on his offer. In somewhat the same fashion
as Ahab's wife sought to bring relief to Ahab's distress, some
have come up with various schemes to persuade the man to relinquish
his property. They might use carnivals, soup
kitchens, fine buildings, and wonderful programs for the whole
family which promote various religious orders, persuasive
orators preaching either health and wealth for all who have faith,
or the certainty of hell, fire, and damnation for all who reject
the Lord's offer. Practically no method is unacceptable
as long as it can produce results. The desired result is to get
men, by whatever means is available or useful, to take the offer
which the Lord, according to them, has made, and turn over
their property, that is, their free will, to him, thereby making
him happy and relieving his distress, and them gaining great benefit
thereby. This, they tell us, is how men
are saved, and the Lord is made joyful. There is nothing in the
scriptures that would lead us to believe that such a scheme
as this is true in any sense of the word. The God who rules
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth
has made all things for his own pleasure. He is the creator of
all things from nothing which does now appear, and no one has
any right or standing to question his doing or his disposal of
that which is his. Thus he is not trying or hoping
to gain anything from the creature. Rather, he has revealed to the
creature that he has determined to dwell with those whom he has
chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world.
It is here in the midst of these poor, afflicted, and unprofitable
servants that he has taken up his abode as he molds their wills
and gives them repentant hearts which run after him, declaring
allegiance to the glorious King of Zion. He demonstrates His
love and affection for them by laying down His life for them
in order to purchase their redemption and set them free from the curse
of the law and the dominion of sin. But God commended His love
toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. The display of His mercy to the
helpless of this world defines His habitation. A father of the
fatherless and a judge of the widows is God in His holy habitation. He has demonstrated that he will
show mercy in perfect concert with his justice, as Christ is
that one who does not only dispense mercy, but does so by satisfying
the demands of his holy law. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. Have you known Christ in his
dwelling place? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream.net.