13 June 2022
Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. And Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.’ But Naboth said to Ahab, ‘The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.’ Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him…
From 1 Kings 21:1-16, NRSV
The resentment and envy that King Ahab felt towards Naboth resulted in murder. In denying the sale or transfer of his vineyard to King Ahab, Naboth was following the Jewish Law which forbade the sale of ancestral land. This law was designed to ensure protection for the individual. Although Ahab was unhappy with Naboth’s answer, he seemed to understand the reason for it. This was not the case with Ahab’s wife Jezebel. She did not respect the religious basis for Naboth’s decision and was determined that the land Ahab wanted would be his. To make matters worse, Jezebel was prepared to use religion as the means by which to achieve her purpose. She called a fast which was an indication that there was some guilty action for which penance was required. She wrote letters in the king’s name falsely accusing Naboth of blasphemy and had secured the false witness of some “scoundrels” to testify to this. The result was that Naboth was stoned to death and King Ahab took possession of his vineyard.
- Why do you suppose that Jezebel was prepared to go to the lengths that she did?
- Why is religion sometimes used in justification of wrongdoing?
Pray for the healing of all tension and division caused in the name of religion.
