14 Days in the Company of ElijahSample

Day 10: Ahab, Jezebel, and Naboth (1 Kings 20:43; 21:1–16; 2 Samuel 11; Leviticus 25:13–28)

After Elisha’s call, we don’t hear about him again for a while. 1 Kings 20 focuses on King Ahab, underlining his ongoing foolishness and hardness of heart. The last line of chapter 20 summarizes Ahab’s condition: “The king of Israel set out toward home, resentful and sullen, and came to Samaria” (1 Ki. 20:43, NRSV). The first half of chapter 21 provides a culminating illustration of the resentful, sullen king's behavior, setting up the final, definitive encounter between Ahab and Elijah.

While Ahab is sulking in Samaria, something next to the palace catches his eye: a choice vineyard that belongs to someone else. (Perhaps we are meant to hear echoes of another king here, lounging in his palace, casting his eyes on something precious that isn’t his; see 2 Samuel 11). Ahab demands that Naboth, the owner, give him the vineyard in exchange for cash or a different vineyard. Ahab’s rationale is absurd—he wants to rip out the vines, which have taken years to cultivate and develop, so that he can plant a vegetable garden! Ahab’s mind has surely strayed far from royal duties if he’s thinking of planting vegetables. Naboth rebuffs the offer because the vineyard is his ancestral inheritance, and its sale is forbidden. Naboth has the law of Moses on his side; Ahab is asking something he has no right to request (Lev. 25).

Ahab’s reaction to being denied is consistent with his usual response to correction or rebuff: “Ahab went home resentful and sullen” (1 Ki. 21:4). His self-centeredness is so extreme that he goes on a hunger strike (1 Ki. 21:4) and is diagnosed as depressed by his wife (1 Ki. 21:5). Jezebel takes matters into her own hands, scheming with city leaders to bring false charges of blasphemy against Naboth, resulting in his death by stoning (1 Ki. 21:7–14). She announces his death to her willfully ignorant husband, and Ahab strides out of the palace to take possession of the vineyard.

There is a moment of narrative suspense here. Ahab is about to encounter once again the man of God with the word of God that confronts a sinful king. Given the similarities with the story of David in 2 Samuel 11, we wonder whether Ahab will also repent when the prophet reveals his sin. But we also wonder about the fundamental differences between the two kings—the former was called a man after God’s own heart, while this one has consistently shown no interest in God's ways and will.