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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Kings 21:15 - 21:29
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The Prophecy of Ahab's Doom
v. 15. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, his sons having been forced to share his fate, 2Ki_9:26, that Jezebel said to Ahab, who had persisted in his stubborn, childish behavior, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to give thee for money; for Na-both is not alive, but dead.
v. 16. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Although he had not personally conducted the case against Naboth, and probably did not know what means Jezebel actually employed to get possession of his vineyard, yet he was fully as guilty as she, for he had known that she had contrived to get Naboth out of the way, by fair means or foul.
v. 17. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, who now appears on the scene once more, saying,
v. 18. Arise, go down, namely, from the mountain district in which he was then staying, to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.
v. 19. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed and also taken possession? The question was not put to cause a confession of guilt, but to accuse the king outright of murder and of robbery. He had probably tried to quiet his conscience with the excuse that the property of a blasphemer who had suffered the penalty of death was taken over by the crown. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. His was to be a similar disgraceful death, that of a criminal.
v. 20. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? The implication was that Elijah was always endeavoring to oppose the king and to thwart his purposes. And he, with all the frank fearlessness of God's messenger, answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Ahab had so abandoned himself to wickedness that he had become its slave.
v. 21. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, the sentence of doom upon the families of apostate kings, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, all the male descendants of the king; even the minors were included in the curse. Cf 1Ki_14:10.
v. 22. And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, whose families were eradicated by divine decree, 1Ki_15:29; 1Ki_16:3-11, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.
v. 23. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Cf 2Ki_9:10-36.
v. 24. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat; they would, by the Lord's curse, he denied even an honorable burial.
v. 25. But there was none like unto Ahab, a note inserted by the historian, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up, their union being an unusually striking example of warning against the evil of mixed marriages.
v. 26. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel, the reference being to all the Canaanitish nations.
v. 27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay In sackcloth, and went softly, all signs of deep mourning and penitence. For a while at least his sorrow was sincere.
v. 28. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
v. 29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? 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. Thus the punishment was deferred, and the misdeeds of the father were borne by the children, who followed him in his evil ways. It is a terrible thing to despise and reject the goodness and the severity of God, for the end is bound to be death, everlasting destruction.