Title Naboth's Vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-10)
Contents Today's sermon is about 'Naboth's Vineyard'. A man named Naboth had a vineyard near the palace where King Ahab was staying. The vineyard was a precious inheritance that Naboth inherited from his forefathers. But King Ahab wants to own the vineyard. Of course, at a fair price. However, Naboth refuses, saying that he cannot give the land he inherited from his ancestors. When his wife Jezebel saw this, he laughed at the king (verse 7) and said that he would give him the land. And she devised a crafty scheme to kill Naboth. After killing Naboth, he tried to take possession of the land. Today, I would like to take a look at the three characters who appear through this verse.
First, King Ahab. This man is a very timid person with no momentum and no determination as a king. Through today's text, we can discover the fault of this man, which is the motive of his heart to own Naboth's vineyard. Ahab wanted to take Naboth's vineyard and make it his own vegetable garden. “Give me a vegetable garden, for your vineyard is near my palace.” (verse 2) How can a king plant vegetables in a vegetable garden and take care of them? Are you the kind of person who does such a leisurely job? King Ahab has lost his place and his work. He gave up the position to his wife Jezebel and was just looking for something to do. A Christian should always know clearly where he should be and what he should do. Because when you lose it, you waste time and material on meaningless pastimes. We shouldn't be that person.
Second, it is Naboth. This person is a person who knows well what precious values are and what they should keep and protect them. Turning down the king's request is never easy. It is not easy to turn down requests for better land and higher prices. However, he was a man who knew how to protect the precious land he had inherited from his ancestors. What are the precious things that you and I need to protect? Hope you don't swap it for anything else. No matter how good the conditions are, I hope that I will become a person who knows how to keep things.
The last person to look at is Jezebel. This woman was the owner of the ugly power, who used her power and power to take other people's things at will. She was a woman who knew her husband's authority with humor. For his own purposes and interests, he felt no remorse and had no consideration for others. Christians shouldn't be like this. You must not use your strength and power for anything, and you must not use it solely for your own gain. Christians should be people who put the interests of others before their own. You shouldn't be a person who steals other people's things. If you value your own things, you need to know that other people's things are also important.
What kind of person are you? How should we live today?
Let's become a person who can discern where we should be and what we should do.
Let's figure out what we cherish and become a person who knows how to protect it.
Never do anything that uses your own strength and abilities to harm others. Let's become the kind of person who knows how to put other people first before one's own interests.
I hope you have a good day meditating on the Word and living like that.