Lessons About Character and Ways of God

Context and Overview of 1 Kings 20-21

0:06 Let us turn tonight to 1 Kings chapter 21 as we continue our studies in the life and ministry of the prophet Elijah.

0:16 Believe it or not, this is the 25th in our series of studies, and I only know because I put the numbers at the top of the outline so that I have some order in filing them away. You say, but how come we've jumped from the end of chapter 19 to chapter 21? What about chapter 20? Well, it says nothing distinctly about the ministry and life of the prophet Elijah.

0:40 We left him last week, a man of God, fully restored from a state of spiritual despondency and discouragement, a man who had the joy of seeing his successor chosen by God. And we focused our attention then upon the call of Elisha to the prophetic office. And then for a period of a couple of years, we lose track of the prophet Elijah and his newly anointed assistant and servant, his minister in training, Elijah. And there's very little hint even in scripture as to what they may have done during that period of time.

1:18 The 20th chapter, which follows the record of the call of Elisha, is the account of two unusual military deliverances given to Israel, and in particular to the nation of Israel under the leadership of Ahab. Assyria sought to swallow her up, and God wonderfully delivered his people, and then eventually there was the...

1:40 these two battles in which the prophets indicated to Ahab that God would give victory to Israel in order that Ahab might know that the Lord was Jehovah. There is, however, just a hint concerning what Elijah may have been doing during this time, for we read in verse 13 and in verse 28 of the 20th chapter of the activity of other prophets. Behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab, king of Israel, verse 13. And then, again in verse 28, and a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel.

2:17 And then in verse 35, and a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of the Lord. So apparently during this period of time when Elijah was not occupied with rebuking the sin of Ahab, he began his work of constituting the school of the prophets, which became such an instrument in the hands of God for the preservation of truth, the truth in Israel in the days ahead. So we can, on this basis, assume with some degree of certainty that Elijah was not just off on a vacation in Florida somewhere soaking up the sun, but he was busy, and being, as it were, relatively released from the concerns of the court of Ahab, he was busy in seeking to establish once again the prophetic office in Israel with these gathering together, gathering together of these young men which came to be called the school of the prophets. Now, so much then for the general content of chapter 20. I will ask you to follow closely as I read the 21st chapter. We'll go back over the narrative, seeking to capture the basic facts of it, and then tonight we shall just look into one area of the lessons of this chapter.

The Narrative of Naboth's Vineyard: Scene 1 - Ahab's Desire and Naboth's Denial

3:32 I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a good four or five weeks in this chapter. And it came to pass after these things, that is, these two marvelous deliverances militarily that God had given to Israel, and then the failure of Ahab to take care of this fellow Ben-Hadad whom God had appointed for slaughter and whom Ahab, in a false kind of pity, spared. After these things, that Nabath, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab said, And Ahab spake unto Nabath, 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 Nabath said to Ahab, The Lord forbiddeth me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Nabath made, that the Jezreelite had spoken to him. For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

4:47 And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Nabath, 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.

5:17 And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Nabath, the Jezreelite. And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and the nobles that were in the city, and that dwelt with Nabath.

5:40 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Nabath on high among the people, and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king, and then carry him out, and stone him to death. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them, They proclaimed a fast, and set Nabath on high among the people. And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. And the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Nabath, in the presence of the people, saying, Nabath did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Nabath is stoned, and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Nabath was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Nabath the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money.

6:56 For Nabath is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Nabath was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Nabath the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Nabath whither he is gone down to take possession of it.

7:23 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 the dogs licked the blood of Nabath shall the dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord.

7:58 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up, and him that is left at large in Israel. And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Basha, the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and hast made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dog shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dog shall eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of heavens eat.

8:39 But there was none like unto Ahab who did sell himself to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols according to all that the Amorites did, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord, that came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me?

9:17 Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. Let us pause to pray and ask the blessing of God upon our study of this portion of His holy word. Our Father, we do believe that this narrative we have read is true and is given to us not that we might merely know something of Hebrew history, but that we might be instructed in doctrine, in righteousness, that we might be reproved, that we might be better acquainted with Yourself, with Your Son, and with our own hearts. And to this end we pray that our study may be used of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the purpose for which You have given it to us. Hear us in this our prayer. Amen.

The Narrative of Naboth's Vineyard: Scene 2-5 - Jezebel's Plot, Naboth's Death, Elijah's Confrontation, and Ahab's Repentance

10:16 Now, whenever we come to one of these historical narratives, I have emphasized again and again, perhaps to the point of being tedious, but because it is necessary, I will emphasize it again. If we are to understand what God would say to us in the passage, we must first of all have firmly entrenched in our minds the facts of the narrative. And I want to spend a few minutes at the beginning of our study tonight seeking to crystallize the facts in your own minds, so that when you are done tonight, you can think back through the story and meditate upon the lessons that it would contain. But unless you have the facts straight, you will misinterpret the lessons contained in the narrative. Look upon this as a narrative with five scenes, and they break down very naturally into the five paragraphs. I have noticed that a number of you have been purchasing paragraph Bibles, in particular the American Standard Version, the 1901 edition, and the 1901 edition of the Bible. This makes me very happy. Enough of you have them now that I feel quite at liberty

11:23 to preach from it, and you will find this a great asset in your study. And you will notice in your American Standard Version that this chapter, chapter 21, is broken down into five paragraphs. Let's look at them as five scenes in the narrative. Scene 1, which encompasses verses 1 through 4, has three main areas of thought. You have in the first place the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the first place, the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the second place, the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the third place, the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the fourth place, the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the fifth place, the desire of God for the end of the world. You have, in the sixth place, the denial of Ahab, the denial of Naboth, and then the reaction of Ahab to that denial. What is Ahab's desire? God has wonderfully delivered him and his armies from the hands of the Assyrians. You would think that after such things, for it says in verse 21, it came to pass after these things, that he would be found stirred up to acknowledge the goodness of God. He has just received a rebuke from a prophet for his failure to serve him, and to slay Ben-Hadad. This is a call to repentance.

12:23 But instead of this man receiving the goodness of God and the rebukes of God as an incentive to seek the face of God, he sits around looking for a new toy. He wants some new little trinket to make life a little bit more livable and interesting. One of the things we're going to come to in this chapter in future weeks is what it reveals about the nature and character of sin. And this is one of the most powerful lessons I won't stop to enlarge upon it now.

12:53 But after these things, wonderful deliverances by God, a severe rebuke from God, this man is out looking for a piece of real estate. What a picture of the man Ahab. And as he sees this piece of real estate lying next to the palace, next to his regal dwelling place, he covets it. He says, I want that piece of real estate.

13:16 And so he goes to this man Naboth and he gives him a proposition. He says, let me have this piece of land or in exchange for another piece of land or I'll pay your money for it. So much for the desire of Ahab. Now notice the denial of Naboth.

13:31 Naboth says in verse 3, The Lord forbid it me, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. Now is he some kind of an old miser who had a hunk of real estate and said, you ain't going to get my piece of real estate. What was behind Naboth's reaction? Well, you notice he reacts by invoking the very name of Jehovah.

13:57 Here, no doubt, was one of those 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal. And Naboth was simply acting as a man whose conscience was bound by Scripture. For God had very explicitly instructed his people that they were not to sell their land to others as though it were their own possession. They might make an exchange, but then in the year of Jubilee, which came every 50th year, the land was to be returned to its original owner.

14:28 You find this very clearly taught in Leviticus 25, 23. And if you have an American Standard Version, all you need to do is check the little number by Naboth's response and you come up with this. You don't need to be a profound Bible student. You just need a good center column reference.

14:43 Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 23.

14:49 Here's the clear commandment of God to his people. And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. God says the land into which I bring you is my land. You have no right to buy and sell it even at great personal gain or if you feel benevolent at great personal loss.

15:12 It's my land and I allot it to the given tribes according to my discretion and you're not to, I'm a monkey with what I have ordained. Then again in Numbers 36 and verse 7 we find a similar command. Numbers 36 and verse 7. So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

15:45 Therefore Naboth's response was not the response of an old miser. Who was clinging to his piece of real estate. It was the response of a man seeking to walk in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless. Naboth was a righteous man who was willing to risk the wrath of the king for the sake of obedience to the law of his God.

16:07 Another night we're going to do a character study on Naboth. I can only suggest that there's much here in this man that's so commendable. So his answer is the Lord forbid it me. My conscience is bound by the word of Jehovah.

16:22 I cannot sell it to you. So the desire of Ahab in scene one. We have the reaction, the denial of Naboth. And then we have the reaction of Ahab.

16:35 What does he do? Verse 4. Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word of Naboth. Like a little child who has come to his mama saying to good humor man's outside can I have ice?

16:49 I scream and she says no. And the little child turns and pulls a long face that would rip gouges in the front lawn with the chin and goes off to sit under a tree and to pout. You all laugh because you've seen your children do that time after time. This is the reaction of Ahab.

17:08 I can't have my piece of real estate. I'm going to pout. So he comes into his house with a heavy countenance. The pronouncement of God's displeasure through the prophet produced no heavy countenance.

17:19 Produced no weightiness of spirit. But because he can't have his piece of real estate that has caught his fancy he turns himself to the wall. Get the picture now. Lays down upon his bed.

17:30 Turned away his face and would eat no bread. And they knocked on the door and said it's time to eat Ahab. He said go away don't bother me. I'm in great heaviness of heart.

17:38 Pouting like a spoiled brat. That's scene one. Now what's scene two? Scene two begins with verse five and it contains two main thoughts.

17:53 The appearance of Jezebel and the reaction and plotting of Jezebel. This woman Jezebel seemed to have an uncanny sensitivity to the moods of her husband. It's suggested later on in the narrative as you remember in my reading that Ahab did all of this wickedness more than any other king who preceded him whose wife Jezebel stirred him up. And she seemed to know the kind of moods in which she could catch this vacillating man.

18:22 And when he was in those proper moods she could move him to her own evil designs. And so Jezebel appears and talks so softly and lovingly and it just drips with honey as she comes and says why is thy spirit so sad? And you eat no bread. And so he tells her and she says why have you forgotten?

18:44 Aren't you the king? Don't you rule in Israel? Who is this little Naboth to say to you you won't have my land? And so she then apparently on the spot she was a genius in conceiving evil.

18:59 On the spot as a reflex reaction she conceives this crime that looks for a time like the perfectly executed crime. And she forges these letters puts upon them the seal of the king even brings some religious overtones. She's going to accuse Abel Ahab sorry Naboth of cursing Jehovah. But she care about Jehovah not a quid.

19:28 All she was concerned about is her own flesh and the propagation of the worship of Baal and the other heathen gods of the Sidonians. That's all she was concerned about. But she puts a religious flavor and she knows where there'll be some willing perpetrators of her deed for apparently she was in cahoots with some of the elders of the city for as you read the narrative it seems to indicate that she let them know that this was all a put up job. So she sends this note saying proclaim a fast so that people will be alerted that some terrible thing has happened some terrible calamity has beset their town and when their attention is all directed to you to explain the calamity then get these two base fellows to come and at the mouth of two or three witnesses say we're going to use scripture. The accusation would be made and Naboth will be condemned of the sin of blasphemy against God and disrespected the king and according to the law of Moses he should then be stoned to death. So that's the second scene that confronts us. Now scene three what do we have?

20:33 We have the accomplishment of the plot and the apparent triumph of Ahab and Jezebel. That begins with verse 11 and we read the account. The men of the city did as Jezebel says and the plot worked out perfectly. Not a hitch.

20:49 No delay. No delay. Everything works out just as she had conceived this terrible plot. Everything fit together like a puzzle.

21:01 I'm sure she was found praising her heathen gods that all things were working together according to her own plan. I'm sure she offered an extra sacrifice to some of her heathen deities because there wasn't a hitch. Everything went smoothly. The word comes back.

21:18 Naboth is dead and with the glee and the sense of guilt and the sense of inner exaltation of her triumph she goes to Ahab and she says Naboth is dead and so together they make their way to look over their piece of newly acquired real estate. And can't you picture them as they look over this apparently very beautiful vineyard and they converse one with another concerning the wonderful way that everything's worked out for their good then to satisfy them. And if everything ended here it'd be a tragic story but it doesn't for it moves from this scene into the next one that we'll call scene four beginning with verse 17 the prophet's encounter with Ahab and the prophet's message of doom. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah saying go down to meet him and oh if you ever use your imagination use it here. Apparently Jezebel has gone back and Ahab is alone or she leaves sometime between the time that the prophet starts and the time he gets there. And Ahab looking over at his new toy delighting in it and he hears some footsteps behind him and perhaps he turns hoping to see his wicked wife returning and all of a sudden he turns white as a ghost.

22:40 And all the blood is drained out of his countenance and he sees that rugged hairy man the last man in the world he wants to see at a time like this. And he says hast thou found me oh mine enemy? The prophet encounters him and with that calmness that he knew when he first met him years before when he came unannounced and uninvited and stood in the court of Ahab and said according to my word no doom or rain three years the heavens will be shut up. This same man comes unannounced uninvited taking the initiative and says to this man God knows everything you've done and he's disclosed it to me you've killed and you've taken possession of this vineyard in a wicked way. And then the prophet delivers his message of doom in verses 21 to 24 a message of doom that first of all focuses upon Ahab it focuses upon his household saying both Ahab and his household will be cut off and then a message of doom that focuses upon Jezebel saying that she too shall die a terrible woman. Death. Then the last scene that encounters us in this chapter is the scene which has the reaction of Ahab to this pronouncement of doom by the prophet

24:07 when he hears these words he rends his clothes puts on sackcloth and walks softly. There is some semblance of repentance it is not true repentance and that will be another area that we'll study some future Lord's Day evening the difference between genuine and spurious repentance as seen in the reaction of Ahab but then the word of the Lord comes afresh to Elijah saying even in the light of this surface repentance there will be a delay there will be a postponement of judgment for a time and so the chapter ends. Now if you've got the facts before you you've got that shift from one event to another the desire of Ahab the reaction of Naboth negatively Ahab's pouting Jezebel comes to the scene Jezebel plots the next scene we find her plot being fulfilled and then she and Ahab rejoicing in their triumph then the scene of the prophet's appearance the pronouncement of judgment closing out the chapter with the surface repentance of Ahab and the withholding of judgment for a time now those are the facts I hope you don't find that tedious the only way you'll learn your Bible is to grapple first of all with the facts you've got to do some it's not popular in preaching to do that anymore but to launch right into something that's scintillating and will titillate the minds of people but true preaching will labor first of all to establish the facts

God Sees and Knows All Sinful Deeds

25:36 alright then having established the facts what is God saying to us in this passage and I confess that I've wrestled with how to grapple with this there are so many lessons in so many areas and so many ways to approach them but I've settled upon a way and I hope it's the best way for us at this juncture though I might switch horses in the middle of the stream the way we're going to approach it rather than taking each paragraph and seeking to extract the given lessons we want to come to the entire chapter going through with a rake as it were and the first time seeking to rake out all that the chapter tells us about the nature and character and the ways of God then we want to go through the chapter and see what it tells us about the nature and character and fruits of sin then we want to go through the chapter again and see what it tells us about different individuals who are found in the world and in the church and the lessons of their character so the way we're going to approach it then is to go back through a number of times seeking to glean those lessons that focus upon a given area tonight we'll start at the best place to start what does this chapter reveal about the character and the ways of God well in the first place it reveals that God sees and knows all the details of all the sinful deeds of all men

27:04 God sees and knows all of the details of all the sinful deeds of all men scripture tells us in precept all things are naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do scripture tells us the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good no doubt Ahab had an intellectual acquaintance with that precept that the eyes of the Lord are in every place but a man can hold that as a theological concept and still be relatively at ease in his sin but when you stand in the midst of a Naboth's vineyard thinking you've perpetrated the perfect crime and no one knows and you turn around and see in a light a soldier who points his finger and says God knows and the breath goes out of you and the blood drains from your countenance you've suddenly been gripped in a way that otherwise you wouldn't with this theological fact that God sees and knows all the sin of all men that says worlds to us tonight no doubt I'm speaking to some tonight who have congratulated themselves

28:31 that you have perpetrated the perfect lie some of you youngsters you've deceived mom and dad and you really thought it was perfect deception nobody knows weeks and months have passed since you've told the lie for some of you adults maybe it's been years lies that are almost buried in your own memory but even as I speak they begin to resurrect themselves you really thought like Ahab and Jezebel you did the perfect crime oh I'm not talking about some crime against society but a lie an area of deception I remind you that's as fresh in the mind of God as though that fabrication just fell from your lips in the past ten seconds he sees and knows all the evil deeds of all men our Lord Jesus spoke to this subject so clearly in the twelfth chapter of the gospel of Luke when he said to his own disciples verse one the latter part of the verse beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy play acting being one thing out here before men but being another thing in your heart

29:57 and he says this is what will cure you in measure of that terrible sin of hypocrisy notice there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and nothing hid that shall not be known whatsoever you've said in the darkness shall be heard in the light what you've spoken in the ear in the inner chambers you're so convinced that this has got to be kept secret you take a person by the arm and you say here come into my most private place of my home and even there lest anyone hear when you've got them behind two closed doors that's a pretty secret secret isn't it the Lord says what is whispered in the ear in the inner chamber shall be proclaimed upon the housetops would you turn white if God suddenly gave to this preacher an insight to some of your perfectly told lies and I began to say why hast thou would your face be drained of blood and your heart begin to pound quickly do you have a backlog of things that you think you've buried from the sight of God my friend I submit to you that one of the great lessons of this passage is that nothing is buried

31:24 we marvel when we stand by a computer and see it whirling wheels in a matter of moments dig up knowledge that may have been buried away for years but in the day of judgment almighty God will set before men even the secret thoughts of their hearts from the time of their infancy oh dear young people if you believe that what are you going on living a lie before your parents before your preacher before your Sunday school teacher before your Sunday school teacher am I speaking to some adults living a lie a backlog of sin built up in secret you think perfectly covered up oh yes to the eye of man it may be as was this terrible sin of Ahab and Jezebel God is saying through the prophet nothing nothing nothing is hid from my eye blessed be God there is no secret sin which the blood of Christ will not perfectly cleanse one of the most glorious facts of the gospel is that God can so cleanse us from sin that even his eye can't find anything against which to bring accusation that's pretty thorough cleansing isn't it imagine being so clean that even the scrutiny of the eye of God can search and say I find nothing

32:52 all is covered in the blood and righteousness of my God my son but listen he doesn't say that concerning any sin that you deliberately keep in the shades and shadows of impenitence he does that with sin that is brought out in honest repentance and confession for the scripture says he that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh that shall have mercy if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness I say to you who've never known what it is to experience deep and true repentance for your sin you couldn't enter into that hymn tonight Lord like a publican I stand and sadly confess my sin I call upon you this night to repent and seek the mercy of God in Christ and dear child of God it's an old and basic truth of which we need to be reminded again and again there'll be no rest for you keeping those areas of sin covered since no one else knows why should I be bothered to really go through the inner pain

God Permits the Temporal Triumph of Evil

34:17 of true confession and repentance I'll tell you why if you're a true child of God there'll be no rest nor peace till you do you read the sixth Psalm and you read the story of a man who tried to hide he said day and night thy hand was heavy upon me I make my couch to swim with my tears read the thirty-second Psalm read the fifty-first Psalm oh how foolish to try to bury things beneath the sight of our God the first lesson then I say that this passage contains concerning the nature and character of God is that he sees and knows all the details of all the sinful deeds of all men secondly this passage tells us that God often permits the triumph of evil over good for a time have you asked the question when you were listening to the reading of this narrative if God knew about that terrible plot of Jezebel and he obviously did why didn't he stop it? could he have stopped it? he could have caused the letters to be intercepted could have caused them to be lost many things God could have done but it's as though the Lord willfully and deliberately

35:46 ties his own hands behind his back for no one else can tie them none can stay his hand when he would put it forth but when God puts it behind him none can bring it out that's why the Psalm is praised Lord put thy hand out of thy bosom Lord you've hidden your hand of power and I can't wrench it free Lord be pleased bring forth the arm of your power none can stay the hand of God but God and here God deliberately puts his hands behind his back and he watches Jezebel come to Ahab and he watches the workings of her wicked mind and heart conceiving the plot and he watches the letter go to the town where Nabok lived and he watches this terrible mock trial and he watches the stones fall upon an innocent man's head and he watches the blood gush forth and he watches him gasp and twitch and die and he does nothing Nabok gasps his last breath beneath a heap of stones his name rots beneath a mound of false accusations and lies the man who lived in uprightness before that community of male worshippers dies as a blasphemer in their eyes Ahab lives to reap the fruits

37:12 Jezebel lives to gloat in the success of her scheming what kind of a God is this? I'll tell you what this tells us that the God of the Bible is the God who often allows the temporal triumph of evil over good as we saw in our study this morning scripture reveals that that's the order of things now and what happens because it is so? if people don't understand why at least in some measure God operates this way it'll do two things it'll produce arrogance and false security to the sinner and perplexity and shaking of the faith of the saint what produces arrogance in a woman like Jezebel? she can conceive a plot like this and get away with it she can actually live to gloat in the death of an innocent worshipper of Jehovah and go on worshipping Baal makes her feel good and so because the heavens are not rent with a thunderbolt of God she becomes all the more brazen in her rebellion against that God am I talking tonight to some who've been able to triumph in the course of evil? and it's produced arrogance as God says in the 50th Psalm because you sinned, God says, and I kept silence

38:38 you thought I was altogether like unto yourself did I forgot? is there anyone struggling arrogantly here tonight? because God has not brought judgment upon your lies your impiety, your impenitence your refusal to bow to his dear son listen carefully, God has a word for you dear child of God, have you been perplexed and has your faith been shaken? like the man in the 73rd Psalm he got all shook up when he saw this he said, I look out and there are the wicked men they get their gains by deceit and treachery and dog-eat-dog business principles and yet when it comes time, they retire they live out their days, they die in ease and I look at this man over here trying to serve Jehovah and he's got nothing but problems morning, noon and night troubles, troubles, troubles buckets full of them and he says, this disturbs me I don't understand this now let's be honest are you so mature in your faith that you're never shaken by the temporary triumphs of evil? do you wonder at times, why didn't God do something? you see the things happening in our own land wicked, unprincipled men sweeping away in a period of months and years the landmarks established by the godly labors and efforts of generations and they make you say, Lord, why don't you do something?

40:04 if you're thinking at all, I'm sure at least the thought has crossed your mind but what are you going to do when you see the triumph of evil over good for a time? child of God you've got to remember, as we pointed out this morning God never said you're full portions down here God never said you'd get what you deserved down here He never did never did in fact, He tells you that this will happen and tells you what to do about it 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 20 and following is God's prescription for the child of God who experiences the triumphing of evil over his own good for what glory is it when ye sin and are buffeted for it if you take it patiently but if when you do well here's Neba saying my conscience is bound by the law of Jehovah even though you're the king I have a greater king than you Ahab my king is Jehovah his law says I cannot sell you this land I must obey him he's doing well and what happens? he ends up getting a pile of stones on his head that's some reward for serving the Lord, isn't it? that sure doesn't fit the modern gospel come to Jesus He'll take you out of your fords into Cadillacs He'll take you from three-room bungalows to ten-room split levels come to Jesus and everything will be fine! I'm glad nobody preached that to Neba he might have cast off his faith in the hour of trial

41:33 and the Lord nowhere tells us that He tells us here in Peter if when ye do well and you're buffeted for it He knew this would come and ye take it patiently this is acceptable with God for here unto where you call this is what you were called to to a situation where evil will triumph over the good and He says in your Savior you see the perfect example of this He left you an example of this He left you an example that you should follow His steps He did no sin no guile was found in His mouth when He was reviled He reviled not again when He suffered He threatened not but here's the key committed Himself or His cause to Him who judges righteously the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the clearest example of the apparent triumph of evil over good you see the parallel with Neba's experience and that of our Lord false witnesses accused Him of being what a blasphemer because He claimed to be God and they accused Him of trying to undermine the authority of Caesar same accusations He died in innocence beneath a heap of false accusations and what did He do in the hour of His death He said Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit forgive them for they know not what they do child of God when evil seems to triumph over good in your life

43:00 you must learn to commit your cause to Him who judges righteously and then in the second place you must rest in the infinite love and wisdom of God of whom it is said His thoughts are not our thoughts neither are His ways our ways as the heavens are high above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts and His ways above our ways Charles Spurgeon said something that's been of great help to me I may have quoted on a previous occasion he said faith is reason at rest in God that's faith reason at rest in God it's alright to sit here in a church service like tonight and say yeah boy that's wonderful hallelujah amen but now what are you going to do when tomorrow out of the actings of a sensitive Christian conscience you do the thing that you know is right even though it's hard and it's difficult and may bring reproach and then God allows that whole deed to be misinterpreted by evil men and cast back in your teeth what do you do you double up your fist or do you say Father forgive them they know not what they do Lord you know my cause was right I commit it to you in your own way and time you'll bring it to light now Naboth was vindicated when God moved the writer of Kings to write the story but there have been many other Naboths

44:27 who have died beneath a mound of false accusation and whose very name to this day is reproach and their vindication will not come until that day but listen dear ones if we had to live and die and have our name and our cause be the object of scorn and reproach for ten millenniums one look from his face saying well done before the myriads of angels and all the gathered masses of humanity will cause us to forget it all is that true and that's the perspective the child of God must have if you don't have it you'll end up getting bloody knuckles trying to fight back and a bitter spirit saying why did God let this happen to me frankly there's nothing that scares me more when I hear a professing Christian ever say why did God that's the first step to apostasy it's the first step when you begin to question the ways of God and pity yourself God gave us what we deserved we'd be in hell and if we're not if we don't wake up there then we ought to ask why God and I are not there whatever else comes we never got what we deserved well as we face this apparent triumph of evil as children of God we must

God Will Eventually Fulfill His Promises of Judgment

45:55 as our Lord did commit our cause to him who judges righteously we must rest in the infinite love and wisdom of God if I'm talking to young people and adults tonight who are impenitent you're not a child of God you've not bowed to Jesus Christ and you seem to perpetrate your own evil deeds and get away with it what does this say to you well you listen very carefully because the next point has something very special to say to you the third thing that this passage reveals about God is that he will eventually fulfill his promises of judgment upon wicked men and women Ahab and Jezebel are gloating over their triumph and the next thing they hear in verses 19 to 23 is this solemn pronouncement of the word solemn pronouncement in the name of Jehovah the God of heaven and earth that Ahab will be slain his whole household will be cut off and in verses 37 and 38 that Jezebel likewise shall be cut off now did this actually happen well you look at I'm sorry I gave you the wrong references on that I was giving you the references of the actual fulfillment of those prophecies you turn please to chapter 22 and verse 29 and we read how God fulfilled the first promise made by the prophet the king of Israel goes out to battle

47:23 he disguises himself and a certain man it says at a venture that is with no understanding he was aiming at the king with no understanding that God had pronounced judgment against him verse 34 of chapter 22 of first Kings a certain man drew his bow at a venture and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor wherefore he said unto the driver of the chariot turn thy hand and carry me out of the host for I am mortally wounded and we read in verses 37 and 38 so the king died and was brought to Samaria and they buried the king in Samaria and they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood now the harlots washed themselves there according to the word of the Lord which he spake the prophet said Ahab just as surely as the dogs licked the blood of Naboth they're going to lick yours it came to pass letter perfect letter perfect what about all of Ahab's sons God said they'll all be cut off they'll be left no successors to the throne to be found from among the sons of Ahab second Kings chapter 10 and verse 17 Jehu this one whom God had chosen to be his instrument of vengeance verse 17 and when he came to Samaria

48:49 he smote all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria till he had destroyed him according to the word of the Lord which he spake to Elijah every last son of Ahab was tracked down and slain by Jehu and what about Jezebel second Kings chapter 9 verses 30 to 37 and when Jehu was come to Jezreel Jezebel heard of it and she painted her eyes and attired her head and looked out at the window and as Jehu entered in at the gate she said is it peace thou Zimri thy master's murderer he lifted up his face to the window and said who is on my side who and there looked out to him two or three eunuchs and he said throw her down so they threw her down and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses and he trod her under foot and when he was come in he did eat and drink and he said see now to this cursed woman and bury her for she's a king's daughter and they went to bury her and they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hand wherefore they came back and told him and he said this is the word of the Lord which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite saying in the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel you say that's pretty gory stuff yes it is but you know what it tells us listen listen it tells us

50:17 though the wheels of God grind slowly they grind to powder and though the feet of judgment are heavy and move slow the hands of judgment are hands of iron so that when God's feet of judgment overtake a man his hands of iron will crush him there's an old southern preacher who had a famous sermon on this instance of Jezebel's death and he called it payday Sunday little did Jezebel think when she gloated with witch-like glee in Naboth's vineyard that her dastardly deed was carried out without a hitch that before long dogs would be licking their chops because of her flesh that they had just devoured what does this tell us it tells us that God is the kind of a God who will eventually fulfill all his promises of judgment upon wicked men and women and oh I plead this night in the name of my Lord and my Savior to adults and young people who are toying with the judgments of God

God is Longsuffering and Merciful

51:41 you know that scripture says the wages of sin is death he that believeth not shall be damned except he repent he shall perish the hope of the hypocrite shall perish those truths have been preached to you faithfully and tenderly with great entreaty and earnestness and yet you put off the day of judgment you put off the thoughts of these things listen to me tonight this passage says that eventually God will fulfill every single promise of his judgment upon wicked men and women and impenitent fellows and girls who defy the overtures of his grace and mercy but bless God the fourth thing that this chapter reveals about God is that he is also long suffering and merciful never delighting to execute his judgment here is some kind of at least surface repentance on the part of Ahab and because he goes in sackcloth and walks softly for this period of time the word of the Lord comes to Elijah saying because of this I see what Ahab has done at this pronouncement of my terrible judgment see how he humbles himself before me I will not bring thee evil in his days but in his sons days will I bring evil upon his house and so Ahab did not live to see the destruction of all his sons which otherwise he would have

53:09 what is God showing us here he is showing us that God delays his judgment as long as he can and still be consistent with his own character judgment is God's strange work and though he will accomplish it with faithfulness to his word he takes no delight in the death of the sinner he says so in his own words in the holy word I take no pleasure in the death of the sinner but that he turn and live turn ye, turn ye for why will ye die God gave this man more space to seek him for true repentance God gave him a period of extended mercy and so God deals with you and with me in this very hour we read in Romans 2 and verse 5 and knowest thou not that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance what's the explanation that some of you are even sitting here tonight the only explanation is God doesn't delight in judgment you're slated for judgment and judgment will come unless there's a thorough repentance and a fleeing to Christ unless there's a change so radical that the Bible calls a new birth judgment must overtake you well if it eventually must why has it not yet overtaken you because God is long suffering he delights not in the death of the sinner and he shows us that in this example of his dealings with Ahab even on the basis of a little bit of a surface repentance God says I take note of that

54:38 and I'll withhold the full accomplishment of judgment for a period of time dear child of God don't begrudge God's mercy in tolerating the injustices that may be directed your way as God is withholding judgment upon others you see there have to be some neighbors to be stoned if there's to be some Ahabs upon which God displays this manifold mercy and long suffering now we're all for God withholding his judgment except where we have got to be the objects of the activity of those unrepentant men and women see you and I must be willing when we see evil and evil directed to us and God does not bring the deserved judgment why? he is long suffering the overtures of his grace and mercy are still going out to men now is the day of salvation the door of mercy stands open Christ is an able and a willing savior and his servants plead and entreat with men to repent and believe the gospel and I say to any of you here young people or adults who are strangers to God's grace God is the same God that he was to Ahab showing his mercy and his long suffering

56:08 to a wretched wretched man such as Ahab he sets before you this night his dear son crucified buried and risen and he says believe repent kiss the son submit to him cast yourself upon him you've had him set before you some of you years and years and you've dared in your mind as it were to trample underfoot the son of God and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing and say I have no time for that I can't get concerned with that why didn't God just snuff you out treating his beloved son that way why didn't he snuff me out walking past the cross that was planted before me week after week in the days of my unregenerate state why didn't God just say that little wretch how dare he treat my son that way blot him out the universe isn't a fit place for him banish him to some nethermost part of hell only one explanation the Lord is longsuffering he delights not in judgment but in mercy and that's the only explanation why some of you are sitting here tonight the only explanation why this roof is not rent with some thunderbolt of God that strikes you down in your seat he's merciful he's longsuffering and dear child of God as you think back of the years when you lived in ignorance willful ignorance

57:36 in rebellion tight clenched fist rebellion to the God of heaven don't you marvel that God bore so long with you it's because he's the God revealed in this chapter a God of infinite love and compassion and longsuffering such is the God of the Bible who is the same yesterday today and forever and this chapter sets before us at least those four things about him number one he sees all the wicked deeds of all wicked men even yours secondly he's the God who many times in this world allows the temporal triumph of evil over good are you willing to trust him and still believe he's the God he says he is when he does that's the kind of God he is and he's the kind of God we've seen set before us in this passage who will ultimately bring his judgments as he's promised only a fool will pin his hopes utterly unfounded that maybe he'll change this book has stamped on every page that the judgments of God come don't be a fool

59:03 and just wishfully hope that things will be different they won't be and in the last place he's the God of great compassion and longsuffering who delights not in judgment but in mercy do you know that God through his dear son do you love him he's the God worthy the uninhibited abandonment of our entire beings to himself and to his will let us pray