14 June 2022
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?’ You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.’
From 1 Kings 21:17-29, NRSV
In yesterday’s reading we heard about how Jezebel had brought about the murder of Naboth so that her husband King Ahab could take his land. Today we hear of the consequences that were to be paid for their actions. The prophet Elijah was sent to deliver God’s pronouncement on both Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab was to lose all the male members of his family thus ensuring that his family would die out. He would die and suffer the indignity of having his blood licked up by dogs. Jezebel’s fate was to be eaten by dogs. Ahab’s response was to repent, and when God saw this, was prepared to defer the threatened disaster until the days of his son. This seems unfair to our sense of justice, but at the time, future generations were considered to be bound up by the actions of their ancestors. Perhaps this was intended to make people consider carefully the consequences of their actions even though the idea of personal responsibility as such was not established until a later time. In the event, both Ahab and Jezebel did die soon after and in the ways that had been pronounced.
- Did Ahab and Jezebel deserve to die?
- How can we show true repentance for our wrongdoings?
Pray for those caught up in the consequences of doing wrong that they will find the way to repentance and forgiveness.
