I. INTRODUCTION.
A. If you’re a game show buff, you’ll remember
when hosts like Bob Barker, Wink Martindale and Monty Hall doled out cash and
prizes to overexcited retirees, housewives and military men on leave.
1. Winners pocketed a few hundred bucks or, if they were really
lucky, won the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right (complete with a new car
and a lifetime of Rice-a-Roni) or reached the top of Dick Clark’s $10,000
Pyramid.
2. Losers at least went home with a “parting
gift” of some household gadget.
B. But as everything in our culture has become
bigger, faster and overhyped, so has the game show.
1. People flipping out over the possibility of
winning a fast million have become a fixture on prime-time television.
2. With the help of technology that enables
people from around the country to apply as contestants, shows like “Who Wants
to Be a Millionaire” hit the airwaves early in the 21st century with the
promise of bigger payouts and national exposure.
C. While Regis Philbin and that particular show
became overexposed and drifted back to a daytime slot, Millionaire did spawn a rabbit
like multiplication of other big money shows like NBC’s widely popular “Deal or
No Deal.”
1. While the name evokes memories of Monty Hall’s
“Let’s Make a Deal,” where contestants dressed up like Halloween rejects and
agonized over whether to choose Door No. 1, or 2, or 3, “Deal or No Deal” is
more serious business, at least in terms of how much cash is at stake.
2. Contestants can pocket a million bucks just by
randomly choosing the right briefcase—no knowledge of trivia required.
a. Premiering in the UK, “Deal or No Deal” has
been adapted by countries on every continent, making it a worldwide sensation.
b. All you need to do is pick the right
briefcase, have faith that your case has the million dollars, and stand to the
very end and you’re an instant millionaire.
D. Greed is really what “Deal or No Deal” is all
about, and that alone accounts for the audience appeal.
1. Sometimes you can’t believe the greedy choices
a contestant will make, giving up tens of thousands of dollars hoping to score
more. And that’s the game: No matter how
much you have, the game is driven by the potential of having more.
2. And in life, the constant drive for more can
cause us to lose perspective and can drive us into manic mode—at best
screaming, crying, and stressing like a game show contestant or, at worst,
going to the dark side where we’ll do absolutely anything to have what we want.
a. Covetousness and greed are all about the
pursuit of what’s in it for me.
b. Well did Paul write, “The love of money is a
root of all kinds of evils. It is
through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many pangs” (1 Tm 6:10).
E. That brings us to the episode of Ahab and
Naboth in 1 Kings 21.
1. Ahab, King of Samaria, comes off looking like
a jilted game show contestant here, but the stakes are much higher.
2. This episode is a primetime reminder that when
we open our lives to greed we not only deal away the rights and property of
others; we also deny the reality that everything belongs to God in the first
place.
3. Tonight, let’s think about the Deal or No
Deal.
II. NO
DEAL, vv 1-4.
A. Naboth
the Jezreelite had a vineyard beside the palace of King Ahab.
1. Ahab
had two palaces—the one in Jezreel and one in Samaria.
a. We know the king had a palace in Samaria, for
that was the place from whence he reigned: “Ahab the son of Omri reigned over
Israel in Samaria twenty-two years” (1 Ki 16:29).
b. Because Ahab is called the King of Samaria,
there are some who believe that the palace at Jezreel was the summer palace of
Ahab—hence his desire for a vegetable garden.
2. Ahab makes Naboth a deal, quite like the
banker calling Howie Mandel on “Deal or No Deal”: “Let me have your vineyard
for a vegetable garden, and I will give you either a better vineyard or money
for it.”
a. The term “vegetable garden” appears only one
other time in the OT:
- Moses tells the Israelites: “The land that
you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from
which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden
of vegetables. But the land that you are
going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the
rain from heaven” (Deut 11:10-11).
- The phrase “irrigated it” is literally in
Heb “watered it with your feet” & likely refers to foot pumps the
Israelites had to use to help the Egyptians water the land. Moses contrasts that hard work of irrigation
with the divine blessing in the Promised Land.
b. Whereas “vegetable garden” occurs only once in
reference to Egyptian bondage, vineyards were a sign of divine blessing.
- “There I will give her her vineyards and
make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time
when she came out of the land of Egypt” (Hos 2:15).
- I believe it’s simply a coincidence that
Ahab wants a vineyard for a vegetable garden, but I don’t believe it’s a
coincidence that the author of Kings made sure he uses these two different
words—Ahab wants to take a divine blessing and turn it in to a symbol of
captivity.
3. However,
Naboth, in the name of the LORD, refuses to give the king the inheritance of
his fathers.
a. At first glance, we might be outraged—how dare
a subject not do what the king asks?
After all, we’re to honor those in authority.
b. However, Naboth had no right to sell his
vineyard to Ahab for the king’s purposes.
- Property could be sold if one became in
need, but in the year of Jubilee, whoever owned the land was to return it to
its original owner (Lev 25:23-28). It
seems that Naboth understood that this was not to be a temporary deal but that
Ahab wanted a permanent arrangement.
- Furthermore, inheritances were not to be
transferred from one tribe to another (Num 36: 7-9).
4. Ahab
went home and pouted.
B. What do we need to learn Naboth?
1. Obedience is more important than money.
a. We do not know how much money Ahab was willing
to pay for this vineyard.
- The Heb here is literally “silver,” and it
is certainly possible that coins were not yet used in Israel.
- Nonetheless, silver was an accepted
currency, and Naboth could likely have made out like a bandit.
b. But, Naboth knows that his obligation to God
outweighs any desire for wealth.
- Do we know that our
obligation to God outweighs any desire for wealth?
·
Do
we dishonor what God says about teaching right and wrong because we work long hours
to make an extra buck?
·
Do
we neglect to visit the hospital or nursing home because our good job—the one
that provides nice vacations, a nice house, and a nice car—keeps us too busy?
- Jesus would have us know that our obligation
to God outweighs any desire for wealth.
·
“Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in
and steal. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:19-21).
·
“Do
not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal
life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (Jn 6:27).
c. Let us always remember that obedience is more
important than money!
2. Government
does not have all power.
a. The king of God’s people comes to Naboth to ask for his vineyard,
but Naboth says, “No deal!”
b. Naboth understood that even though King Ahab
had asked him to do something, the King of kings had spoken on the subject.
c. We must always remember that our allegiance to
God outweighs by far our allegiance to our government.
- Fortunately, I live in a nation where I can safely
say that—but whether those words can be spoken safely or not, they are the
truth of God.
·
“Let
every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God,
and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rm 13:1). The obvious implication is: Since God gives
government authority, if government institutes laws which violate Scripture,
government is in error and we don’t obey.
·
That
is spelled out clearly in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.”
- While none of us has ever faced that
challenging dilemma of Christ or Caesar, may we always be those who pledge
allegiance to Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences!
III. DEAL, vv 5-16.
A. Ahab
and Jezebel make a deal.
1. No,
it wasn’t with Naboth, for he refused to deal with the evil king and his vile
wife.
2. They make a deal with one another, with the
elders of the city, and in reality, they make a deal with the devil.
B. When
Jezebel saw that Ahab was pouting and not eating, she came and asked what the
problem was.
1. Ahab responded that he had spoken to Naboth
about the vineyard but that the Jezreelite had refused to sell it to him.
2. Jezebel said, “Look you’re the king. Get up, eat, and I’ll get you Naboth’s
vineyard.”
a. It’s almost as if Jezebel is one of the
friends a contestant on “Deal or No Deal” is allowed to bring with him, Ahab
has just wiped out the million, the banker has lowered his offer, but Jezebel
says, “There’s still big money on the board.
Let’s go for it!”
b. And, go for it they do!
C. Jezebel writes letters in Ahab’s name to the elders
of Jezreel instructing them to proclaim a fast, place Naboth had the head of
the table, set worthless man on either side of Naboth and accuse him of cursing
God and the king and then stone him to death.
1. The elders do as they’ve been instructed.
2. When Jezebel hears that Naboth is dead, she
informs Ahab who goes and takes possession of the vineyard.
D. What do we need to learn from Ahab and
Jezebel’s deal?
1. Sin leads to sin.
a. Ahab, you understand, had no right to covet
Naboth’s vineyard: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not
covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his
ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex 20:17).
- Because Ahab allows his covetousness to
fester, he asks Naboth for his vineyard, contrary to the will of God, and he
conspires with Jezebel to kill Naboth, contrary to the will of God.
- It’s certain that Ahab was involved in the
plot to kill Naboth, for God told Elijah to say to Ahab, “Have you killed and
also taken possession?” (v 19).
·
As
you read through the text, it becomes clear that it was because of Naboth’s
death that Ahab himself died.
·
Thus,
if Ahab had stopped coveting that which was not his, he would not have killed
Naboth and died when and how he did.
b. In Rm 1, we see that many sins stemmed from
idolatry—e.g., homosexuality, murder, deceit, gossiping, and disobedience to
parents.
c. We know this principle—if we lie, for example,
we know that we must keep lying to cover up the original sin.
d. Let us be ever so careful that we do not fall
deeper and deeper into sin!
2. We
also learn that coveting comes from pride.
a. When Jezebel enters this episode, she strokes
Ahab’s pride. She says at verse 7: “Do
you now govern Israel?”
- Do you catch what she’s saying?
- She’s saying, “What just a minute Ahab:
Naboth is not the King of Israel—you are!
If you want that vineyard, let’s get it.
We’re too important not to have what we want.”
- Jezebel then concocts a devious plan to get the vineyard.
b. We often see covetousness and pride—selfishness—going hand in hand.
- When Achan confessed his sin at Jericho, he
says to Joshua, “When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and
200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted
them and took them” (Josh 7:21).
·
Achan
was too important to devote all the spoil of Jericho to destruction as God had
said—he saw what he wanted, and he was going to take it.
·
Because
of Achan’s sin, “the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased
them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and
became as water” (Josh 7:5). Thirty-six
people died because Achan thought he was more important than God.
- Simon the magician faced similar pride.
·
Prior
to his conversion, Simon was a man who had amazed the Samaritans with his
tricks, and he claimed to be someone great (Acts 8:9).
·
“Now
when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’
hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, so that anyone
on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 8:18-19).
o
Simon
is important! He has wowed the
Samaritans with his great tricks.
o
He
sees true power, and he has to have a part of it!
c. Anytime we covet, does it not come from pride?
- If I see you in your nice, new, big SUV
& I have to have one too, aren’t I saying, that I’m more important than you
and that I deserve a big SUV as much, if not more, than you do?
- If you get a promotion and I covet your new
position, aren’t I in essence saying that I work hard too and I deserve that
promotion?
- Coveting is never about you—it’s always about
me!
3. We also learn that we need to be careful whom
we marry.
a. It was Jezebel who came up with this scheme;
it was Jezebel who sent the letters instructing the elders on how to carry out this
scheme.
b. Ahab made a very poor choice when he married
Jezebel.
- About Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel, we read,
“And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of
the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him” (1 Ki 16:31).
- God had previously commanded his children
not to make such marriages: “You shall not intermarry with them [pagans],
giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,
for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled
against you, and he would destroy you quickly” (Deut 7:3-4).
- Ahab could have avoided much heartache and
rebellion in life if he had simply chosen his wife more carefully.
·
He
likely would not have served Baal, he likely would not have killed Naboth, and
he may have even been a good king.
·
But,
all those possibilities were shot when he married Jezebel.
c. We need to be careful in choosing a mate.
- Jesus says, “No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other” (Mt 7:24).
·
Obviously,
in context, Jesus speaks of the love of money versus the love of God.
·
Yet,
the principle is applicable in the context of marriage—if I’m trying to please
both God and my spouse, my loyalties are often going to be called into
question. Serving God is going to be
that much more difficult.
- Much heartache in life could be avoided if
people chose spouses more carefully!
4. We also learn that judgment comes.
a. Because Ahab participated in his wife’s
scheme, God sent Elijah to say, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Have you killed and also
taken possession?’ And you shall say to
him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of
Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood”’” (v 19).
b. In the next chapter, we read of that judgment:
“They washed the chariot [in which Ahab died] by the pool of Samaria, and the
dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it,
according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken” (22:38).
c. We know that God still judges sin:
- “He will render to each one according to his
works . . . for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rm 2:6, 8).
- “We know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I
will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will
judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:30-31).
- Do you need to come tonight and make a deal
with God that you may avoid God’s wrath?