Okay, now we're looking in the
Bible again. It won't be too much longer. We'll be finished with our study
through 1 Kings, but this evening 1 Kings chapter 21. 1 Kings chapter 21. I'm taking the title for the
message from what is said in verse 25. There was none like
unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work I mean, he worked at
it. He was a wicked man, and he worked
wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom his wife Jezebel incited
and stirred up. Now, perhaps in all Scripture,
there's none held forth as a more dishonorable man, a dishonorable
and wicked king than Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Those are prime
examples of what our flesh produces. What does it produce? It produces
wickedness. That's all this flesh can produce. Especially when this flesh is
unfettered, when it is left alone when we seek our own way and
our own will. All humanity and all people are
sinners. Is that right? Are totally, totally
depraved. Certainly it is true because
God said it's true and we've seen it in our own experience,
in our own heart, in our own flesh. There is none righteous,
no, not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God, no, not one. In Adam, he produced a whole
family of sinners, fallen Adam, and Adam all died, and Adam all
sinned. While some sinners are restrained
by God, and they are, thank God for that, some sinners are restrained
by God, Some are let loose by God to work wickedness. He doesn't restrain them. Some
are restrained, some are let loose. But even the wickedness
of sinners accomplishes the eternal decree and purpose of God. Now, I don't know how to explain
that, but I know it's so. And I'll give you the prime example
in scripture concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
You remember Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Jews and the Gentiles were
gathered together for to do? They did what they wanted to
do, didn't they? They hated the Lord Jesus Christ. But it also
says in that same scripture, they did what God purposed before
to be done. God uses even the wickedness
of men to accomplish His eternal purpose. I know that so because
He's God over all things. You remember the Psalm, Psalm
76 10, Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder
of wrath God shall restrain. Thank God He does restrain sinners
such as we are. but yet some are unrestrained.
We've seen an example of that this week, haven't we? Those
people being shot. That's what the flesh produces
when it's unrestrained. We have in this chapter, 1 Kings
21, we have in this chapter a stark contrast of character between
faithful Naboth and wicked Ahab. It appears and seems to me as
we read through this chapter that Naboth was one of those
7,000 chosen by the Lord who believed Him and worshipped Him
and followed Him and would not bow to Baal. You remember back
over in 1 Kings chapter 19, turn over there, verse 18. where Elijah
said, I'm the only one left, and the Lord replies back, 1
Kings 19, 18, yet have I left me 7,000 in Israel, all knees
which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not
kissed him. The Lord does have his elect,
doesn't he? And it appears that Naboth was
one of those elect that truly worshiped God. Grace made him
to differ. And my friend, it is only the
grace of God that has made us to differ. It's His grace and
His grace alone. We can say with the Apostle Paul,
I am what I am by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks
be to God that there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. You remember we read that in
Romans chapter 11. There is a remnant according
to the election of grace. They are chosen by grace. They
are redeemed by grace. They are called by grace. They
are fetched out by God's grace. You see, salvation is all of
God's grace. Grace alone. The only reason
this world and the mass of the population that exists and continues
is because of the elect of God. the elective God. I looked up
today the population of this world. Do you know how many people
live on this planet? 7.4 billion people. 318 million live in this United
States. 7.4 billion people. The only reason this world and the mass of population exists
and continues is for the elect's sake. Now you think about that.
The remnant according to the election of grace. In Matthew
chapter 5 it says, for he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and
on the good. He sendeth rain on the just and
the unjust. The only reason the unjust receive
the rain is because God has an elect people here that He's still
watching over and taking care of. Once His elect are called
out, and once the Lord saves that last sinner by His grace,
calls him out of darkness into God's marvelous light, you know
what's going to happen? It'll all be over. The day of
the Lord will come. when he calls his last sheep
home to himself. Matthew 24 tells us, this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations, then the end shall come. shall come." There
is an end. I know people think that this
world and this life will just go on and on and on, but that's
not what the Word of God teaches. There shall be an end when the
Lord comes back. You remember how the book ends
in Revelation 22? Even so, Lord Jesus, come. Come
quickly. Come quickly. Now, again, as
we look at this chapter, 1 King 21, It is our aim and goal to
find the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in these verses. Now here's
the first thing I want to look at in verse 1 down through verse
4. We see the lust and covetousness
of Ahab and the steadfast obedience of this faithful man named Naboth. And again, I think Naboth is
one who worshiped God, who would not bow to Baal because he loves
the word of the Lord and loves the Lord. Ahab had so much land
and so many houses, yet he wanted what was not his. He wanted what
Naboth had. Look at verse one, it came to
pass after these things that Naboth the Jesuit had a vineyard. which was in Jezreel, hard by
the palace of the king of Samaria. Now Ahab had all kind of land
and houses, but no doubt he'd been looking at that vineyard
that Naboth had. He'd been looking at that vineyard,
coveting that vineyard for who knows how long. And Ahab spake
unto Naboth and he made a deal saying, give me the vineyard
that I may have it for a garden for herbs. Because it's near
to my house, I'll give thee a better one. It seemed good to thee,
I'll even give you money for it. And Naboth said to Ahab,
The Lord forbid it. The Lord forbid it me. In other
words, he's saying the word of the Lord doesn't allow me to
sell it. The Lord has given it to me by an inheritance. That
I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And
Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because the word
which Naboth the Jezreelite hath spoken to him." What did he speak
unto him? Well, thus saith the Lord. The
Lord said, I can't sell my inheritance. I will not give thee the inheritance
of my father's. And he laid him down upon his
bed and turned away his face. And he was just sick. His covetousness
had consumed him. He could not eat bread. Naboth
had received the inheritance from the Lord, and according
to the law, Leviticus 25, 33, he was not allowed to sell it. Verse 3 said, The Lord forbid
it me that I should give the inheritance of my father unto
thee. Therefore, both out of regard to the law of God and
to the good of his family, would not part with it at any rate,
that is, it was not for sale. He said it's the Lord's inheritance. Now I want you to hold your place
there and this scripture came to my mind when I was reading
that. Psalm 44, when Israel took the land of Canaan by the power
of God, the Lord divided up the land between the tribes. In Psalm 44, Verse 1, we've heard
with our ears, O God, our fathers had told us what work thou didst
in their days and in times of old, how thou didst drive out
the heathen with thy hand and plantest them, how thou didst
deflect the people and cast them out, for they got not to land
in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save
them, but thy right hand and thine arm in the light of thy
countenance, because thou hadst favor unto them, Thou art my
king, O God, command deliverances for Jacob." You see, it wasn't
by their own arm or their right hand, but because the Lord had
favor upon them. The wise man Solomon said, buy
the truth and sell it not. Wisdom and instruction and understanding. Get hold of it and don't let
go of it. Now here's the gospel message
for us. We have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by an inheritance
of grace, don't we? The Lord giving those people
that land and vineyards and all those things. It's a picture
of God giving us all blessing and salvation by His grace. All
that we have comes from the hand of our God. The salvation we
enjoy and all blessings of the gospel come to us by the sovereign
inheritance of His mercy. The mercy of the Lord and His
grace. He's blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. Find Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, verse 17. Verse 16, the Spirit
Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are children
of God. Romans 8, 17. And if children,
if we are children of God, by His grace then heirs, Heirs of
God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. If so be that
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together with
Him. For I reckon that the suffering
of this present time not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us. We have an inheritance. And it's
the inheritance of grace, isn't it? All grace now and glory forever. Find Hebrew chapter 9. Naboth was not going to give
away his inheritance because he knew it was a gift of the
Lord. And the inheritance we have and the salvation that we
enjoy as believers is a gift of his inheritance unto us in
Hebrews 9. Verse 14, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? And for this cause, he's the
mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption and transgressions that were under the First Testament,
that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance. For where a testament is, there
is also an necessity of the death of the testator. For a testament
is a force after the man is dead, otherwise it is of no strength
at all while the testator liveth." The Lord Jesus Christ died that
we might have the inheritance of grace. Now find one of the
scriptures, find 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1
verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy
has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance. It's the inheritance of grace,
isn't it? Inheritance that's incorruptible, that's undefiled,
that fadeth not away. It's reserved for you in heaven
who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed at the last time. So Naboth had his inheritance
by the will of God, by the grace of God, and he received it as
the gift of God's grace. And every spiritual blessing
that we have, we have in and by and through and because of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Something else about Naboth,
Naboth would not compromise the holy law of God. He would not
compromise, would he? He said, no, the word of the
Lord said I can't sell my inheritance. He would not compromise the holy
law of God and it cost him his life. Well, Ahab disregarded
the law. He said, I don't care what God
says, I want it. I'll buy it, I'll trade. He disregarded
the word of the Lord, didn't he? And here we see the difference
between a believer and an unbeliever. A believer receives the Word
of God, not as it is the Word of man, but as it is in truth
the Word of God. The believer receives the Word
of God, and he believes the Word of God, doesn't he? While an
unbeliever would compromise and disregard. the word of the Lord. And here's another lesson for
us. We cannot compromise the gospel to satisfy anyone. Now Naboth could have compromised
and he could have satisfied the king. He probably would have
been the king's friend. But he would not compromise.
And we cannot compromise the gospel of the Lord Jesus to satisfy
anyone. Can we? No. Not mama. Not daddy, not brother, sister,
nor anyone else. Paul said, if I preach to please
men, I'm not the servant of Christ, right? And if we compromise the
gospel, we just reveal that we don't really believe the gospel.
Turn over here to Acts chapter four for a minute. I believe
it's Acts chapter four. I may have the wrong reference
here. We'll find out in a minute. Acts chapter 4. Yeah. You remember
when Peter and John healed that man in the temple and said that
they did it in the name of Christ? And they were threatened not
to preach anymore? Acts 4.18. You got it? Acts 4.18. And they called them and commanded
them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. Peter
and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in
the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, you judge. We cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard." We are going to obey God. Now
one other scripture here in the book of Acts, find Acts chapter
5, Acts chapter 5 verse 28. And here again, they're out preaching
in the temple. And they're caught up, verse
28 of Acts 5, saying, didn't we straightly command you that
you should not teach in his name? And behold, you filled Jerusalem
with your doctrine and intended to bring this man's blood upon
us. And Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to
obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted
with His right hand to be Prince and Savior, for to give repentance
to Israel, and forgiveness of sin. And we are witnesses of
these things. And so is also the Holy Ghost,
whom God hath given to them that obey Him." We ought to obey God. rather than men, and that's exactly
what Naboth was doing. That's a good example for us,
isn't it? One more note here found in verse
4 in our text. Ahab came into his house heavy,
displeased because of the word of Naboth, but really it was
the word of the Lord, wasn't it? Word of the Lord, Naboth had
spoken to him for he said, I will not give the inheritance of my
father's and he laid down upon his bed and turned away his face
and would not eat. I mean he was upset like a spoiled
brat. That's what a spoiled brat does.
He says, I'm not going to eat. He runs away in his bedroom and
hides his face in his pillow and he gets mad at mom and dad.
At least that's the way my boys did. is the sin of its own punishment.
Think about that. Discontentment is the sin of
its own punishment. Ahab went to his bed sick in his palace, but he had everything,
but he was still discontented, wasn't he? Because he didn't
get his way. He had unfulfilled lust. Unfulfilled. And it just drove
him crazy. While we see the Apostle Paul,
when he was put in prison for the gospel's sake, we find him,
what? Content. Find Philippians chapter
4. Philippians, the book of Philippians
chapter 4. Look at verse 11, Philippians
4. Now, not that I speak in respect of want, for I've learned in
whatever state I am to be content. Where was Paul when he wrote
this? In prison. He's on death row. I know both
how to abase, I know how to abound. Everywhere and all things I'm
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to
suffer and eat. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me. He was content even though he
was in prison. And here's Ahab in his palace
and very discontented, isn't he? A good lesson for us. Godliness with contentment is
great gain. We brought nothing into this
world, we're going to carry nothing out. Let us therefore be content
with what God has blessed us with. Now, verses 5 down through
verse 16 back in our text. When his wife Jezebel finds out
that Ahab is sick and in bed and not eating, his wife came
to him and said, Why are you so sad and not eating? And he said to her, Because Naboth
the Jezreelite said unto him, Give me thy vineyard, for I said
unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money or else If it please
thee, I'll give thee another vineyard. And he answered, I
will not give you my vineyard. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto
him, Dost thou govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread. Let thy heart be merry. I'll,
I'm going to fix it. I'm going to fix it. I'm going
to give the vineyard of Naboth, the Jesuit, I'm going to give
it to you. Now, wait a minute. It's not
hers to give. But she's going to connive and
kill Naboth. Jezebel's wicked plan to satisfy
the covetous wicked spirit of sinful Ahab. Notice something
here though, Ahab doesn't tell Jezebel the whole story. He said he wouldn't sell it to
him, he wouldn't trade with him, but what did he leave out? He
left out the most important thing. He wouldn't do that because the
word of the Lord said he couldn't do that. You see how he just
disregarded the word of the Lord altogether. It's kind of, sarcasm by Jezebel when she says
to Ahab, wait a minute now, aren't you the king? In verse seven,
thus thou govern the kingdom of Israel. And here's this little
peon over here. He won't give you the vineyard
and you can't take it from him. You're not king enough to take
it from him. He's not, is he? He's a weak
man. Now she schemes to kill Naboth. Naboth must die as a malefactor
to gratify her wicked heart. He's offended my husband, she's
thinking. Now he must die. To her, revenge
was sweet, wasn't it? She said, I'm going to get even
with Naboth. And she does it. This is interesting. She uses
religion. She uses the law. the law of
Moses, the biblical law, to try to find a reason to condemn him.
He did blaspheme God and the king. Look at verse 10. She wrote letters in verse 9,
in Ahab's name, and sealed it to the elders of the city, proclaimed
a fast and set Naboth on high, and set two men, the sons of
Belial, before him to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst
blaspheme God, Here before she disregards the word of the Lord,
now she's using to her advantage, she said, oh, I'm going to follow
the law now. Naboth's a blasphemer, and she
gets these two witnesses to bear a false witness against him that
he did blaspheme, and they take him outside the city, They proclaimed
the fast, verse 12. There came in two men, the children
of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial went 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. You see, she
used her religion, didn't she, to put to death this faithful
man. Is not this exactly what the
Pharisees did when they felt threatened from the Lord Jesus
Christ? When they heard the truth of
the Lord Jesus Christ declared that He is God, come to save
us, they used their religion to condemn Him. Turn to John
19. John 19, verse 7. When Pilate brought the Lord
Jesus Christ forth, after he had been scourged and beaten,
and said, Behold, a man, when the chief priest, verse 6, therefore,
and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him,
crucify him, John 19, verse 6. Pilate said unto him, You take
him, you crucify him, I find no fault in him. The Jews answered
and said, answered him, that is Pilate, We have a law. Oh! They disregarded most of it and
misused what they did follow. We have a law and by our law
he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. No, he
declared himself he is the son of God. But they used their religion
to condemn him, didn't they? The Jews said we have a law and
by our law he ought to die. Now, if you look at the marginal
reference there, it's Leviticus 24, 16. And that reference says,
anybody who blasphemes God according to the law of Moses, he is to
be stoned. Now, you see what Jezebel is
doing? She's just making a convenient use of the law for her own wicked
purposes. Just as the Pharisees did to
put the Lord Jesus Christ to death. Which leads me to this
thought. There is much evil done in this
world and done in the name of somebody's religion, isn't it? Wars and murders down through
history. Many of them have been done in
the name of some sect or some religion. The Islamic terrorists
say they are acting in the name of what? Allah. You see they use their religion
to promote their wickedness. According to Sharia law in the
Quran, the writings of the Prophet Muhammad the infidels must die,
and we are all infidels. According to them, if we do not
bow down to Mohammed and Allah, according to the Sharia law,
the writing of the Prophet Mohammed, the infidel must die. You see,
we are all infidels, how wicked men are, just like Jezebel, they
use the wickedness of their own heart and they do it in the name
of their God to kill whoever they think is in opposition to
their way. I told you there are 7.4 billion
people on this planet. You know how many are Muslim? 1.5 billion. 1.5 billion. That's a lot. They seek us no good. Our president yesterday, I heard
this out of his own mouth, and it sickened my stomach. Our own
president said yesterday that the Muslims and the religion
of Islam One of the great religions in this world. Really? What has it produced? Nothing
but rebels, murderers. I guess the only thing, and I'm
saying this with tongue-in-cheek, the only thing that really has
produced is a Louisville lip, Muhammad Ali. I guess that's
the only thing that I can say is good about what the Muslims
have been able to produce, Muhammad Ali. Islam is one of the great religions
of this world. It's nothing but a religion of
works. It's a false religion. It hasn't
saved and cannot save a flea. You ever wondered why Cassius
Clay, Muhammad Ali, tried to do so many charitable works when
he got out of the ring? He was trying to work his way
to heaven. That's what, you see there's
no difference between the Muslim and the Mormons. There's absolutely
no difference between the Muslims and the Mormons. Between mainstream
Baptist churches and Buddhists. They all teach salvation by works. One way or the other. And if
you stand in opposition against them, They'd kill you if they
could. And the Muslims do. They'd cut
your head off. Well, what happened to Naboth? Well, they did proclaim a fast.
The false witnesses did say that Naboth was a blasphemer. He wasn't
a blasphemer. He honored God. But they carried
him forth out of the city and stoned him and killed not only
him, but here's a reference I want you to find, 2 Kings 9. 2 Kings chapter 9, 2 Kings 9 verse 26, 2 Kings 9 verse 26, Surely I have
seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith
the Lord, I will requite thee this plait, saith the Lord, now
therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground according
to the word of the Lord." They killed not only Naboth, but they
killed his family. Naboth is dead, and I hope he
died for the same reason that Stephen died. Turn over here
to the book of Acts again, chapter 6. The book of Acts, chapter
6. I trust that Naboth died As Stephen
died here, full of faith. In Acts 6, verse 8, Stephen,
full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles. Here's
another man that was stoned because he would not compromise. There
arose certain in the synagogue which is called the synagogue
of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexanders, of them of Cilicia
and Asia, and disputing with Stephen. They were not able to
resist the wisdom by which he spake. They did suborn men, which
said, We have heard him speak blaspheming words against Moses
and against God. They stirred up the people and
elders and scribes and came upon him and caught him in the council
and set up false witnesses and said, This man ceases not to
speak blasphemous words against this holy place. We have heard
him say that Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and
shall change the custom which Moses delivered us. And all that
sit in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had
been the face of an angel." You see the same story, isn't it?
They did what they did to Stephen. Now turn to Acts chapter 7. They
did what they did to Stephen in the name of their religion.
And what happened to him? Stephen would not compromise.
He preached the gospel of Christ. Acts 7 verse 54, When they heard
these things, they were cut to the heart and gnashed on him
with their teeth. that he, being full of the Holy
Ghost, looked upon him steadfastly." These pack a wild dog. These are religious Pharisees. But he being full of the Holy
Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, Behold,
I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right
hand of God. And then they cried out with
a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon Him with one
accord and cast Him out of the city and stoned Him. And the
witnesses laid down their clothes at the young man's feet whose
name was Saul." Saul of Tarsus watched this happen. And they
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, saying, Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit. And they kneeled down and cried
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep." I trust Naboth
died the same way Stephen died in faith, calling upon the Lord. Now, Ahab is not going to get
away with this. Turn back to 1 Kings chapter
21 verse 17. After he finds out that Naboth
is dead, Ahab is not going to get away with this, that's what
I meant to say. Ahab is not going to get away
with stealing this property and murdering Naboth. He takes the vineyard, it came
to pass verse 16, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab
rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take
it. The Lord knows. Verse 17, And the word of the
Lord came to Elijah, that despite saying, Arise, go down, and meet Ahab
king, which is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard
of Naboth, wherever he is gone, and thus speak unto him, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, Thou hast killed, and taken possession. Thou shalt speak unto him, saying,
Thus saith the Lord in the place where the dog licked the blood
of Naboth, shall the dog lick up thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, You
found me. I'm guilty. You found me where
I shouldn't have been. You found me, and you're my enemy. You found, where did he find
him? He found him in the vineyard. Whose vineyard was it? He was
Naboth's. And he answered, I found thee
because thou hast sold thyself to work evil inside the Lord.
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee. I'll take away thy posterity,
cut off from Ahab, him that pitted against the wall, and him that
is shut up left in Israel. I'll make the house like unto
the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. made Israel to sin. In Jezebel
verse 23, also the Lord saying, The dog shall eat Jezebel by
the wall of Jezreel. Judgment fell on both of them.
Ahab and Jezebel. While he took possession of the
vineyard, the Lord was preparing judgment for his whole house,
his family. Seventy sons of Ahab were killed,
and you know who killed them? The same elders in Jezreel, Jehu
the king, told them to go kill Ahab's family. The same elders
were told to execute his family. Now think of that scripture where
the Lord says through Moses, be sure your sin will find you
out. Judgment is pronounced upon Ahab
and his family by the word of the Lord. The all-knowing eye
of God has been beholding this whole transaction. He knew every
move that Jezebel and Ahab were making. He sees all the wicked
deeds of all people. But notice this, He didn't stop
the wicked designs of Jezebel, nor the wicked deeds of the elders
of Jezreel, nor the hands of those that cast the stones. The
Lord didn't stop them. Could He? Yes. Why didn't He? Even so, Father, or so it seems
good in thy sight. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? And whatever he does, it is right. Of him, and through him, and
to him are all things." Ahab says to God's prophet Elijah,
you found me And you're my enemy. Here's the prophet of God. Not
my friend, you're my enemy. Paul said to the Galatians, he
said this, Am I your enemy? Because I tell you the truth.
Elijah told him the truth, didn't he? And he didn't consider him
a friend. Now notice verse 21. The Lord said, Because you've
worked evil in the sight of the Lord, behold, I will bring evil
upon thee." Now, hold your place there and turn to this scripture
we've read many times. Isaiah 45. I will bring evil
upon thee. He brought down death on his
whole household. Isaiah 45. I will bring evil
upon thee, will take away thy prosperity and cut off your whole
family. Isaiah 45, 5. I am the Lord,
there is none else. There is no God beside me. I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know
from the rising of the sun from the west, that there is none
beside me. I am the Lord, there is none
else. I form the light, I create darkness. How does He create
darkness? By withholding the light. I make
peace, I create evil. How does He do that? By withholding
goodness. I, the Lord, do all these things. The Lord brought judgment down
on His house. Look at verse 25. 1 Kings 21,
25. But there was none like unto
Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness. Now he got
exactly what he deserved, didn't he? The wages of sin is death. I don't want what's coming to
me, I want mercy. By his grace, which did sell
himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord. whom Jezebel
his wife stirred up, and he did abominable things, following
idols, according to all things did as the Amorites did, whom
the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. And it came
to pass, now this is interesting, I'll let you go with this thought
here. It came to pass when Ahab heard those words, he heard the
judgment of God through the prophet of God, that he ripped off his
clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay
in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came
to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, See how Ahab humbleth himself
before me? Because he humbleth himself before
me, I will not bring the evil in his days, that is, killing
his family. I'm going to kill him, but his
sons. in his days, but in his son's
days will I bring this evil." I'm going to bring this evil
upon this house. Here we see Ahab's false repentance
and temporary remorse before the prophet of God and the word
of God. His humiliation arose from his dread of punishment.
That's what it rose from. Not from true fear of God. It's much like the Apostle Paul
when he preached before Felix, remember? Felix trembled, but
he never repented. Ahab had a false, I mean, Ahab
had a false repentance here, but it wasn't a true repentance.
It says of Felix, when Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance,
and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered and said, go thy
way for a convenient season. I'll call for thee. And he never
did. We never read of Ahab. He never reproved Jezebel for
the murder of Naboth. He never had a true repentant
heart. He did not restore the vineyard to Naboth's family,
which would have been done of a true repentant man. He never
did leave his idols. In the next chapter, he quickly
consults the 400 false prophets of the groves, expressing his
hatred for a true prophet of the Lord. We'll see that next
week. This was not true repentance,
but he was given a temporary reprieve. The sentence was pronounced
on him and his family, and it was not taken off, but was executed
by the Lord. However, let me close with this
thought. This may be an encouragement
to those who are truly humbled for their sins, and those who
really do and are granted repentance, because they shall receive the
forgiveness by the hand of God. Pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for
it is great. Pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for
Thy name's sake. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, The
sinner. God does grant true repentance. God does grant true faith. But
there is false repentance. And there is false faith. God
save us from that. Okay.