“WHAT’S A MAN TO DO?”
I Kings 21:1-19
The Rev. Ms. Laurie A. McNeill
Montclair, New Jersey
June 19, 2005
Ahab was king. We might expect kings to be able to do anything they want. After all, they are
ruler of the land. Is not everyone subject to the king? Must not everyone do as he decrees? We may
assume that Ahab could have his way in any given situation. If we make such an assumption, however,
we would be wrong – terribly wrong.
In the days of ancient Israel, even King Ahab knew his limits and was frustrated by them.
Our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures informs us that Ahab wanted to plant a vegetable
garden. His was a simple desire for fresh vegetables. Imagine: tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, beans. We
can appreciate his wish to have a vegetable garden.
The idea of a vegetable garden was not just a dream of Ahab’s; he had gone so far as to find
the perfect spot. Next to his palace stood a vineyard that could be transformed into a garden. Ahab
was drooling at the thought of having his garden right outside his palace door.
The only hitch to his dream was that Ahab did not own the vineyard; it belonged to a peasant
named Naboth.
The king approached Naboth and presented him with a deal. Ahab said, “Give me your
vineyard, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard; or, I will give you its value in
money.”
While we may think Ahab’s offer was fair, and perhaps even generous, Naboth could not even
entertain the thought of handing over his vineyard. Naboth explained to Ahab that the vineyard had
belonged to his family for generations. Bound by religious laws, Naboth could not sell the vineyard even
if that was his desire. This was the land of Naboth’s ancestors; it had to be retained by him.
Ahab responded to Naboth’s rejection by going home and sulking. “He lay down on his bed,
and turned away his face, and would eat no food.” (I Kings 21:4)
When Jezebel learned why Ahab was upset she was disgusted with her husband. “Are you not
the king?” she asked. “Do you now govern Israel?” (I Kings 21:7)
Jezebel was a Phoenician. Unlike the Hebrews, she believed kings could do what they pleased.
Jezebel thought Ahab could disregard the religious law cited by Naboth, because she did not worship
Yahweh, the God of Naboth and Ahab; she worshiped Baal.
So Jezebel took the situation into her own hands. She had two false witnesses testify that
Naboth had cursed God and the king – offenses punishable by death. After Naboth had been stoned to
death, Jezebel told King Ahab to seize the vineyard, which he did.
The evil wrought by Jezebel and Ahab did not go unnoticed. God sent Elijah to Ahab to tell him
he would be accountable for the crime. Elijah told Ahab, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs
licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.” (I Kings 21:19)
A gruesome justice for a gruesome injustice.
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