I
have been working at a church for about a month now. It is a church where the
marginalized are the center. This past Sunday was my first real Sunday sermon
in a Church that is affiliated with a denomination. Since I wrote it out, I
thought I might as well share it for the hand full of people that might take
the time to read it.
Here
it is:
Today
we are going to sit in scripture for
a while. Our text today comes from the Old Testament, it is a narrative. The genre narrative is
something we are very familiar with, it is usually our first type of
literature. We do not tell children linear rational math problems before they
go to sleep, rather we tell them stories.
But,
sometimes we have trouble understanding
stories. Especially from the Bible, in which there are all kinds of weird
stories. If the Bible was a movie it
would need an R or 18A movie rating because there are graphic, violent,
exploitive, and sexual stories within Scripture. Today we are going to deal
with a somewhat violent story.
Last
night on Facebook one of my friends who runs a children’s ministry in Ontario
was bemoaning this week’s lectionary reading because she was unsure how to
introduce a story that involves a violent murder to children.
In
some ways this is not only her problem, it is also our challenge: To find a way
into these problematic stories.
I
want to suggest that a way of wading through this challenge of problematic
stories is to interact with the story. To let
the story live, to let it breath, to let the story remain as a story,
without reducing it too quickly into some principle that we derive and apply. I
contend that if God wanted to tell us not to kill. God would say, "Do not
Kill." In fact, that is exactly what God did in other texts in the Bible.
Therefore,
the purpose of this text must be
something else. It must be a story for a reason. As such, we are going to
attempt to interact with it as a story. We are going to go through the text multiple times today. Each time we go
through it, we will focus on a different way of seeing the story. We are going
to attempt to get into the story.
I
want us to inhabit the story.
So
to begin, I am going to tell you the story in brief. This is a fun little
telling of the story, in order to get the plot, to hear it, to begin entering
into the story.
There
once was a king named Ahab,
he
was a bit of a crab,
he
coveted some land,
he
did not get his hand,
there
once was a king named Ahab.
There
once was a man named Naboth,
he
refused to be bought off,
he
stuck to his guns,
he
would not run,
so
lived the man named Naboth.
There
once was a Queen named Jezebel,
she
thought her cunning was hella swell,
she
schemed and planned,
her
evil was at hand,
thus
was the queen named Jezebel.
One
day Ahab cried,
Jezebel
planned a lie,
and
Naboth died.
There
came God's man named Elijah,
even
the king's power would not hide ya,
he
brought the truth,
he
would not remain aloof,
he
thereby judged the king called Ahab
So
concludes the tale of Naboth,
Jezebel's
evil was very wroth,
Ahab
repented,
God
relented,
forever
will be remembered the tale of Naboth.
Time
for initial reflections
Have
the Biblical Text read out-loud
READER 1: 1 Kings 21:1-16
Some time later there was an incident
involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in
Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab
said to Naboth, ‘Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since
it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if
you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.’
3 But Naboth replied, ‘The Lord forbid that I should give
you the inheritance of my ancestors.’
4 So Ahab went home, sullen
and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, ‘I will not give you the
inheritance of my ancestors.’ He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in
and asked him, ‘Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?’
6 He answered her, ‘Because
I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, “Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I
will give you another vineyard in its place.” But he said, “I will not give you
my vineyard.”’
7 Jezebel his wife said, ‘Is
this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you
the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.’
8 So she wrote letters in
Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who
lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
‘Proclaim a day of fasting and give Naboth
a prominent seat among the people. 10 But put two scoundrels
opposite him and get them to bring charges that he has cursed both God and the
king. Then take him out and stone him to death.’
11 So the elders and nobles
who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had
written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in
a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came
and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people,
saying, ‘Naboth has cursed both God and the king.’ So they took him outside the
city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to
Jezebel: ‘Naboth has been stoned to death.’
15 As soon as Jezebel heard
that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, ‘Get up and take
possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell
you. He is no longer alive, but dead.’ 16 When Ahab heard that
Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s
vineyard.
READER 2: 1 Kings 21:17-29
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the
Tishbite: 18 ‘Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in
Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession
of it. 19 Say to him, “This is what the Lord says: have you not
murdered a man and seized his property?” Then say to him, “This is what the Lord says: in the place where
dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood – yes, yours!”’
20 Ahab said to Elijah, ‘So
you have found me, my enemy!’
‘I have found you,’ he answered, ‘because
you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He
says, “I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants
and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel – slave or free.[a] 22 I will make your house
like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because
you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.”
23 ‘And also concerning
Jezebel the Lord says: “Dogs will devour
Jezebel by the wall of[b] Jezreel.”
24 ‘Dogs will eat those
belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die
in the country.’
25 (There was never anyone
like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his
wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols,
like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these
words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth
and went around meekly.
28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the
Tishbite: 29 ‘Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself
before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in
his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.’
Upon hearing the story now for a
second time,
What
emotions do you feel as you hear the story?
To
whom do you relate to in the story?
Now,
I am going to tell the story for a third time. In which I am going to attempt
to place it in a larger context,
bringing to the surface some of the allusions and reference that are within the
text. We will do this through multiple people reading verses throughout the
story, as well as a music video placed in the midst of the story.
We
find this text in 1 Kings. It is a part of what is sometimes referred to as the
Deuteronomic history; that is the
history that we find continuing from Deuteronomy, through Joshua and Judges,
and continues through 1&2 Samuel, and concludes at the end of second Kings.
1&2
Kings alone covers 400 years of history. A story that begins with the death of
David, and the rise of Solomon. As a whole, it is a story that deals with the
failure of Israel to remain faithful to their God YHWH, as they as a people
continue to choose the way of the world around them rather than the life
envisioned for them by God. The text also shows how God gets into the midst of
history to work for the good of humanity, always trying to draw the people back
to faithful living with each other and with God.
Where
we pick up the story is with Ahab. He is King of Israel, and as we heard in the
text, he rules from Samaria, which is north of Jerusalem.
Ahab
is kind of a big deal! You may not have heard of him, but if you go back and
read 1&2 Kings you will find him referenced throughout, and specifically
the story we just read. What makes Ahab important is that he is a pivotal
character in the story. He is SO important to the story that the
Narrator/Author of the book SLOWS DOWN THE ENTIRE NARRATIVE. What I mean by “slows
down” is that in chapters 14-16, so 3 chapters, the stories of 9 kings are told.
But then we meet King Ahab in Chapter 16 and he does not die until the end of
Chapter 22, that is just over 6 chapters of Ahab reigning as King. We know that
the scribes wrote these stories by hand on scrolls, so it must have been worthwhile
to record the stories about Ahab. Not to mention, during Ahab’s reign God sends
Elijah, who is followed by Elisha. The frequent reference and allusions to
these characters in the Gospels illustrate that this period was important for
the Israelite identity.
So
join with me as we slow down the story:
For
the third time, we begin our story
in the Jezreelite Valley.
PICTURE
We
arrive on location, Jezreel, it is a flat, broad valley, with a winding stream
weaving through its bottom. When too much rain falls, the land becomes a little
squishy. But for the most part the weather is temperate and pleasant. The flat
bottom of the valley is planted with grains and on the hillsides surrounding
its vast openness are vineyards. Lush thick vineyards. Across the valley
perched near the top of a hill that rises into the Galilean highlands is a
little town called Nazareth. But down here near the bottom of the valley the
air is warm. The winters are mild, much milder than up in the hill country of
Samaria, or Jerusalem for that matter. Sometimes in the winter, it even has the
audacity to snow up in the hills! Inconceivable! But here, there is warmth. And
for that warmth, Ahab has moved into the neighborhood. He has built a winter
palace near the edge of the hills, so he can come down from his hilly summer
hangout in Samaria to spend the winters where it is a little warmer, and where
his wife can be a little bit closer to her people, who live over on the coast. (“And
the sky train goes right through it!” – Matt. Thanks for the shout out
mid-sermon Matt, you totally captured the essence!)
However,
it is not all roses and unicorns living in Jezreel. It is a valley, flat and
fertile. As such, it is prized territory and there have been frequent conflicts
and conquests. Whenever a King gets it in his head to go conquer some new
territory, he is likely to march down the highway that runs through the Jezreel
Valley. And cross right over our driveways, sometimes burning the crops and
stealing our sheep. But despite this Naboth's family has kept the land allotted
to them by God. They have kept it, tilled it, and passed it from generation to
generation. It is not a glamorous life, but it is a good life. Here in Jezreel
one is surrounded by family, friends, and fertile land. Just look at how Naboth's
vineyard has flourished.
But
now there is a new guy in town. He happens to be both rich and powerful. What
is more, he is King! Ahab, the new guy, comes tromping into town, and seems to
be disregarding God's laws. He had acquired some property, in addition to the
land he already has back in Samaria.
READER 3: ISAIAH 5:8
"Woe to you who add house to
house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the
land."
But
Ahab seems to get away with it because he has a lot of power and no one is able
to question him.
READER 3: Micah 2:1-2
"Woe to those who plan
iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry
it out because it is in their power to do it."
Now
Ahab and Naboth have become neighbours and Ahab has noticed Naboth's nice
vineyard. Naboth’s vineyard is near to Ahab’s own palace and it looks like it
is good land. So one day Ahab walks over to see his neighbour Naboth, and he
makes him an offer:
READER 3: 1 Kings 21:2
"Let me have your vineyard
to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I
will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it
is worth."
It
is not a bad offer, money or land. Better land at that! It seems like a
reasonable proposal, and Ahab awaits a response from Naboth.
As
Naboth considers this offer, he cannot help but realize that up front it
appears to be a reasonable and fair proposition. But as he ponders his option Ahab's
words reverberate around in his head. Vegetable garden, vegetable garden,
Vegetable GARDEN! Wait he has heard that before:
READER 3: Deuteronomy 11:10-12
"The land you are entering
to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you
planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in vegetable garden. But the land
you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and
valleys that drinks rain from heaven."
EGYPT!
No,
he is an Israelite. Egypt was the place of power from which his ancestors
escaped! God had been faithful and given them the land. He was not about to
give it up!
READER 3: Numbers 36:7
"No inheritance in Israel is
to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land
inherited from his forefathers.
Now
Ahab was not happy about receiving this response from Naboth. So he went home
to sulk. And that is where his wife found him.
Jezebel,
Ahab's Phoenician wife, had a way of dealing with problems. She was used to
power and authority. It was how things were done back home. So she mocked Ahab
for not taking what he wanted. He was the King, for goodness sakes! He should
take what he wants. And with that she slaps Ahab's nationality in the face. For
God had told his people to be weary of
power.
READER 4: Deuteronomy 17:14-20
14 When you enter the land
the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in
it, and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’
15 be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must
be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one
who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great
numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of
them, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’
17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must
not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write
for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical
priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his
life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all
the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better
than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left.
Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
Such
a Critique! It is almost as if God is saying, No One Man should have all that
power
Kanye
Video
But
Jezebel, deciding her husband was a pathetic attempt at a King, began to take
the situation into her own hands. With the King's power behind her, she schemes
and plans; she writes letters and creates a plan to trap Naboth.
A
fast was called. A time of religious significance, whereby the community comes
together to deal with a communal threat. It is in this time, that the
scoundrels arise and bear false witness against Naboth, saying that he has
cursed God and the King, thus he is the communities problem. The scoundrels are
believed and Naboth is stoned.
Yet
this is not the end of evil. One evil builds on the next, first is murder, then
the looting. Jezebel encourages Ahab to take what is not rightfully his. It is
a tale as old as time. Violence to
acquire something that is not rightfully one’s own. King David had done it,
he had Uriah killed to get his wife Bathsheba. Cain killed Abel, the agriculturalist
killed the pastoralist - the farmer killing the shepherd. These are tales of
the wealthy killing the more vulnerable.
Because
of this, God cannot remain aloof and his word comes to the prophet Elijah. And
Elijah proclaims judgement on Ahab. And the worst for of judgement, the most
demeaning. Dogs, dirty, mangy, feral
Mutts will lick the blood of Ahab. Where Ahab had wanted to be civilized
through his vegetable Garden, God brings disorder because Ahab has decided to
abuse the vulnerable.
Ahab,
sees it, he knows it and immediately calling Elijah “My Enemy” - You have found
me! For it is those who oppose our own interests that we so quickly demonize and turn into antagonist, even
when they are in the right.
And
as we finish our story, we see what should occur. Judgement is brought upon Ahab
and for choosing evil, his life will be destroyed because evil actions have
consequences. Jezebel too is judged for her guilty actions. It is those dogs,
those mangy dogs.
READER 5: Deuteronomy 28:15,
25-26
15 However,
if you do not obey the Lord your
God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you
today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
25 The
Lord
will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from
one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of
horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be
food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to
frighten them away.
But,
the story is not quite over, there is a little bit of a twist.
You
see, Ahab repented. He humbled
himself. He brought himself down from his power. He attempted to right the
wrong through repentance. And, in turn, God relented.
God
delayed the affects of the evil until the next generation.
And
here the story draws to its conclusion. A humbled king, some evil actions, a
person is dead. And time continues on. It is maybe a more realistic story then
the one’s told by Hollywood. There are real life consequences to our actions,
Naboth is not brought back to life, and the ramifications will be that Ahab’s
descendants will not occupy the throne.
• What stood out in that Telling?
• Did you still identify with the same Characters?
• How do we deal with the power we have?
• How do we go about sacrificing others to
achieve our ends?
But
what does this story say to us who seemingly do not have Ahab’s power? Beyond our
call to work for justice, how can we hear this story?
I
want to suggest to you, for our final look at the story, that the author
intentionally slows down the pace of the text and focuses on Ahab for so long,
because we are not only to feel outrage at the injustice done to Naboth. BUT we
are to self-identify with Ahab.
We
all have some type of power. We often sacrifice others to get our own way. We
maybe do not want to see it in ourselves but I think it is there.
But
really, I think we live the story of Ahab within ourselves each day!
I
think we are in a wrestling match with ourselves. Part of us, The Ahab part
wants to sacrifice the Naboth. We want the goods, which a faithful Ahab will
not let us take. Here we find that our inner Jezebel sometimes acts without our
full knowledge. We end up with the goods we wanted, maybe that is money, maybe
that is power, maybe that is a position in life, or maybe it is extra
credibility or prestige in a group. Whatever it is, I think we often sacrifice
part of ourselves to achieve it.
This
is the internal rat race I know I experience daily, and I do not think I am
alone in it.
But
where it leads is an empty place. We have gained something, we have got our
desire, only to find we are deader inside.
I
think Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’s song Hurt can help us explore
this self-destructive pattern of using power over ourselves; and in the process,
we end up killing ourselves.
Johnny Cash- Hurt
What are your reflections on Ahab,
Jezebel, and Naboth?
Now
we come to the Table. We meet each other here, we meet Christ here. As you come,
reflect on the Empire of Dirt you leave behind. The Empire of self-destruction.
The Empire that uses power to harm others. The Empire that kills to get its own
way. Then join in the celebration of the Kingdom of peace you enter into. The
Kingdom of relationships. The Kingdom of gentleness. Gentleness to yourself and
to others.
