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Witchy Woman

Vicar Kirk Hulvey
August 21, 2011

In our story that we never hear from 1 Kings 21, Ahab, King of Israel, desires Naboth's vineyard. That must have been some great piece of land, because the king wanted it for himself. But Naboth, being the upstanding man that he was, wouldn't let Ahab have it. He couldn't let him actually. It was against the Israelite law for Naboth to sell the vineyard since the land was the inheritance of his fathers. So Ahab did not get what he wanted. And this king, who was supposed to be a strong leader, sulked on his bed-yes, he pouted, cried into his pillow-and hid his face from everyone.

Ahab's wife, Jezebel, however... just the opposite! She was a strong-willed woman, a witchy woman in fact. She was the backbone to the throne, and she had a plan for getting that vineyard for Ahab. Not just a plan: it was a scheme, a licentious plot, a witchy way of getting around God's law (or so she thought...).

Listen to what Jezebel did: she proceeded to write letters in Ahab's name-an act of forgery-which gave the letters the full authority of the king. In the letters she told the leaders of Naboth's home town to declare a fast and to set Naboth before the people, to put him on trial. She also told them to appoint two worthless men to bring a charge against him. (Two men were needed so that the charge would stick.) They charged him with the two worst crimes possible: insurrection against the king and blasphemy against God. So the people convicted Naboth, took him outside the city, and stoned him to death, just as Jezebel had hoped they would.

But Jezebel was not done! (As if bearing false witness and murder weren't enough already....) Listen to what she did next. She said to Ahab, “Stop pouting! Get up! Go get Naboth's vineyard. It's yours! He's out of the picture!” She basically said, “You're the king! The rules don't apply to you!” That witchy woman incited her husband Ahab to sin. So that weak-willed king went to Jezreel and took Naboth's vineyard for himself.

These actions of Ahab and Jezebel were not new in the history of God's people. In fact, they've been going on since the creation of the world.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve did almost the same exact thing. God had given them one command-one simple command-“Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2) But one fateful day, covetousness got the best of Eve, who in turn incited her husband Adam to sin. Together they ate the fruit of that tree. They were convinced that they would not surely die. Together they broke the commandment of God, ignoring everything that God had told them. Together, along with their offspring, they were cast out of the garden. (Genesis 3) And as the book of Romans declares, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to [them]. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived [them] and through it killed [them].” (Romans 7:10-11)

Yes, Adam and Eve were judged for their sin, and received the punishment of death. It took awhile, but eventually they died. Before Adam and Eve sinned, death had not yet entered the world. After they sinned, death became the just penalty for disobeying God, and that penalty was not only for them but also for all the generations that would follow, even all of creation.

After Ahab took possession of Naboth's vineyard, Elijah the prophet came to him. Elijah had recently raised the widow's son at Zarephath; he had also defeated the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah at Mt. Carmel; and the LORD had come to him... not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in a whisper-three stories that we love to hear! (1 Kings 17-19) And now this same Elijah had come to tell Ahab and Jezebel something they would not like to hear: They would have their blood licked up by the dogs. They would receive the judgment that was due them for their sin. They would die, just as all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve would.

After hearing Elijah's words, Ahab repents. Later in chapter 21 it tells us that he put on sackcloth, and he humbled himself before God. And because of this, God did not immediately bring disaster upon him. God was so merciful to this terrible king that He allowed Ahab to reign on the throne of Israel for twenty-one years. Even though he was the worst king that Israel had ever had, God had mercy on him. God wanted to see if Ahab's repentance was true... to see if Ahab would place his faith in Him.

Remember Adam and Eve? They didn't die right away either. After the fall, God cast them out of the garden, but He didn't kill them immediately. He was merciful to them. God was so merciful to them that He even gave them a promise... a promise which Adam and Eve held on to for the rest of their lives. Adam and Eve trusted in what God said to the serpent in the garden. God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The promise was that one of Eve's offspring would defeat the serpent-Satan himself-and be the Savior of the world.

Ahab and Jezebel, however, unlike Adam and Eve, did not cling to that promise. Not once do we receive any indication in Scripture that Jezebel tried to repent. She eventually died. And near the end of 1 Kings, Ahab ignored the word of the LORD that came through another prophet named Micaiah. Ahab went into battle against Syria, even though the LORD warned him not to, and he was killed in that battle. Ahab and Jezebel received the judgment that Elijah had prophesied.

God is merciful to even the worst of sinners when they repent, but His judgment always comes to pass as well. God may have mercy for a time, but He must issue punishment for sin. He is just in both His mercy and His judgment.

God's judgment and the punishment of death are ours as well. We are deserving of the same fate as Ahab and Jezebel-eternal death and separation from God. You and I have done and continue to do the very same things. We disobey the commands of God. Maybe we covet after other people's property. We may not desire their vineyard like Ahab, but we often want their car, their money, or even their spouse. Like Jezebel and Eve, we also incite one another to sin. We say, “Oh, it's ok. You can disobey God this one time. God won't really care, will He? Who will know? Is it really that wrong?” And sometimes we even incite ourselves to sin, and we are usually more than convincing. We may not physically murder and steal as Ahab and Jezebel did, but with our spiteful thoughts and words, we sometimes kill the people around us and take from them what is not ours to have. (Matthew 5) And even if we do not do any of these things, the curse for sin and the judgment of death is still ours as son and daughters of Adam and Eve. Their guilt has been given to us, and we have no standing before God on our own. Because of sin, we are all Ahabs and Jezebels in God's sight, all of us weak-willed kings and witchy women.

But, through Jesus Christ, we receive God's everlasting mercy. God sent that promised Savior, the One whom He promised to Adam and Eve, who by His death and resurrection crushed sin, death, and the devil under His mighty heel.

Unlike you and me, Jesus was without sin. He did not need to repent. He did not deserve to be punished. But God poured out the judgment that we deserve on Jesus on the cross. He died the death that was meant for us.

Unlike Adam and Eve, who were only cast out from the garden, Jesus was forsaken completely by God for you. Unlike Ahab and Jezebel whose blood was licked up by the dogs and was utterly meaningless, Jesus poured out his blood from his hands and feet, his head and side, his back, for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. He received the judgment of God for you. He suffered the curse of Adam and Eve for you! He bled and died for you. Yes... out of mercy for you!

But unlike Ahab and Jezebel, Jesus did not stay dead. He rose again on the third day also for you! He emerged from the tomb and appeared to His disciples for you! He ascended into heaven and now lives and reigns with His Father the Holy Spirit for you! Yes... out of grace for you!

God's mercy for you was that He poured out His judgment on His Son who did not deserve it. Because of Jesus' death, you did not receive what you deserve. God's grace for you was that He raised His Son from the dead, so that you may have life in Him! Because of Jesus' resurrection, you have received what you did not deserve.

Because Jesus died, you also have died. Because Jesus lives you also now live. And even though you are an awful sinner-terrible like Ahab and Jezebel and bound to the curse of Adam and Eve-God has had mercy on you and given you grace through Jesus Christ!

And now, like Adam and Eve, we trust in a future promise. We trust that, even though we may die, we will not die eternally. Because of our faith in the fact that Jesus died and rose again for us, we can be confident that God will also raise us to eternal life on the Last Day. We live now in the hope of that promise, clinging to Jesus Christ, who has already been raised from the dead!

In view of this great mercy and in response to this wonderful grace that God has given to us, we give honor and glory to Him. Our lives of feeble repentance now become ones of continuous worship and thanksgiving. Our lives become testimonies of what God has done for us through His Son. We sing songs and hymns of joyful adoration to our God who is not only merciful but also gracious to us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God! Amen.