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First Kings Chapter 21, I 
believe that it will be helpful 

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to remind ourselves of how First
Kings chapter 20 ended in order 

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for us to capture the essence of
this new chapter that we are 

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going to delve into together. 
And so though you are going to 

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1st Kings 21, I want to read the
last two verses of our previous 

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study, and then we will open up 
chapter 21 together. 

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So look at verse 42 of First 
Kings chapter 20. 

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And he said to him being the 
prophet, speaking to Ahab. 

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And he said to him, thus says 
the Lord, because you have let 

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go out of your hand the man whom
I had devoted to destruction. 

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Therefore your life shall be for
his life and your people, for 

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his people. 
And the king of Israel went to 

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his house, vexed and sullen, and
came to Samaria. 

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Remember, Ahab was called by God
to completely destroy Ben Haddad

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and the Syrian Army. 
He disobeyed by making a 

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covenant with Ben Haddad. 
A prophet comes on the scene and

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says you disobeyed God. 
So it's going to be your life. 

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Your life is going to be the 
price for this disobedience. 

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Your people are going to feel 
the pain of your rebellion. 

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And the response to that was 
Ahab being frustrated, annoyed, 

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gloomy. 
He makes his way, dragging his 

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feet back into his home, and you
would think that such a 

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declaration of certain judgement
would drive him into his knees. 

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That though perhaps at first you
were ruffled a little bit. 

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Because that's not the most 
pleasant news to get for your 

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future. 
You would at least sober up by 

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the time you got into your 
living room and got right with 

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God, or at least sought God for 
clarity, for mercy. 

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That's what you would think 
would follow this. 

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That's what you would think the 
sequence would be to this 

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profound judgement looming over 
a man who deserved it far before

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this time. 
And instead, when you honor the 

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flow of thought, this is what 
you discover about Ahab. 

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Keeping this in mind as the 
backdrop in verse one of chapter

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21, look at this with me now, 
Nabeth the Jezreelite had a 

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vineyard in Jezreel beside the 
palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.

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And after this, Ahab said to 
Nabeth, give me your vineyard 

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that I may have it for a 
vegetable garden because it is 

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near my house. 
And I will give you a better 

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vineyard for it. 
Or if it seems good to you, I 

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will give you its value in 
money. 

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Now, if you looked at this as as
an isolated scenario, you may 

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make different judgements. 
You may think that some time has

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lapsed and now Ahab is thinking 
about other things. 

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But it's placement is confirming
something very concerning about 

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this man's character. 
Again, what's the backdrop? 

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He received news that death is 
imminent, that he he's going to 

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pay a high price for turning his
back on a clear command from 

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God. 
And what you read here is that 

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though judgement was pronounced 
against him, the very next thing

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you discover is that he's 
preoccupied about a garden. 

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What's this man thinking about 
real estate. 

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What's this man thinking about? 
How to enlarge his estate, how 

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to advance in his personal 
projects. 

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I know you're tempted to do 
something, because I was tempted

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to do the same. 
And let's jeer at this man. 

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What a fool. 
What an imbecile, what a 

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careless man. 
Your soul is hanging by a 

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thread. 
It's a damnation. 

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And what are you caught up by? 
How to make your little land a 

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little prettier? 
How to make your possessions a 

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little bit more glamorous? 
How to add glory to your house. 

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And again, you might be tempted 
to mock such a thing, but you 

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must be aware, as I am, that 
this demonstration of misplaced 

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priorities is not uncommon. 
How many millions today are 

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doing the same this very hour? 
Hopefully not you that they're 

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so concerned about these 
earthbound pursuits. 

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And even after being confronted 
by gospel truth, maybe even week

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after week. 
Oh sure, they might get stirred 

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emotionally. 
They might have a an afternoon 

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of sobriety, of clarity. 
But it doesn't take much time 

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before they go back to their 
default. 

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And that is to make their little
brief existence about little 

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trivial things while completely 
ignoring the confrontation of 

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truth that demands a decision. 
So Ahab here is not an anomaly. 

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Ahab here is a reflection of a 
universal human symptom that we 

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are easily distracted, that our 
concern for matters that are 

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eternal lasting a very short, 
very brief. 

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And Ahab here is proving 
something that is happening 

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across the world and throughout 
generations. 

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But now he's thinking about this
and we read the offer that he 

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makes to this introductory man, 
Nabith, right? 

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We'd never heard of him before. 
You're not going to hear much 

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about him. 
I mean, he appears and he's 

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going to disappear in the same 
chapter, less than a chapter. 

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But he makes this offer. 
He extends this this invitation 

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for an exchange. 
And it's a pretty good one. 

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So here's this vineyard on the 
same St. as the palace, and he 

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just says, hey, look, I'll take 
your vineyard and I'm going to 

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even give you a better one. 
And if you don't want another 

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vineyard, name the price and 
I'll give it to you. 

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There's nothing dishonest about 
this offer. 

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There's nothing aggressive about
it. 

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This is essentially profitable 
for Nabeth. 

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At least this is something 
that's sensible. 

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This is a good thing. 
Even his tone, it's admirable. 

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It's it's just somebody who 
wants to make a deal and you, 

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you and I might see it that way,
but Nabith quickly is going to 

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show us that he does not see it 
that way. 

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In fact, he doesn't even 
entertain it. 

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He doesn't counteroffer. 
He doesn't do anything. 

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He just shuts it down right 
away. 

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So we read here in verse three, 
look at it with me. 

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But Nabith said to Ahab, the 
Lord forbid that I should give 

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you the inheritance of my 
father's full stop. 

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I'm not looking to have a 
conversation about this. 

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I'm not looking to discuss this.
I'm not looking to hear, you 

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know, you would think that if he
was, if he was unimpressed, that

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he would again kind of go back 
and forth and bargain. 

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He doesn't do any of that. 
He squashes it right there and 

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then. 
And the question that we have to

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ask is why there's nothing 
inherently sinful about this. 

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Or is there? 
This is why you and I need to 

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know the Old Testament. 
And we get a clue from Nabith's 

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answer. 
What does he say in verse three,

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the Lord forbid? 
Is he just invoking the name of 

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the Lord carelessly? 
No. 

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He is aware of what God's law 
has to say about this very 

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matter. 
So if you want to know what 

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God's law has to say about this,
here's one verse among many. 

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Numbers 36, verse seven. 
And this reveals something about

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this precious man named Nabith. 
Numbers 36, verse 7, This is 

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what the Lord says. 
This is what He established for 

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the people of Israel even before
they entered into the Promised 

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land. 
It says here. 

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Numbers 36, seven, The 
inheritance of the people of 

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Israel shall not be transferred 
from one tribe to another, for 

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every one of the people of 
Israel shall hold on to the 

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inheritance of the tribe of his 
Father's. 

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They can't get any more clear 
than that God had designated 

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that whatever land belonged to 
tribes were supposed to remain 

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among those tribes. 
You're not supposed to transfer,

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make sales. 
It's supposed to remain among 

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your specific clan. 
And this prohibition applies to 

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Ahab and Nabith. 
Nabith understood that what this

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suggests is illegal, and he's 
not going to entertain it. 

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He's going to immediately shut 
this thing down. 

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And instead of expanding more 
about this law and the wisdom 

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behind it and how we can apply 
it, we, we did a whole study in 

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Joshua. 
There's a lot of conversation 

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about real estate and how that 
applies spiritually, at least in

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the new covenant. 
I want to take the time to 

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explore what this reveals about 
Nabeth. 

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Again, you don't get his 
lineage. 

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All you get is his name, the 
area of his residence, the first

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words recorded words at least in
Scripture, and his strong stance

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against illegitimate allurement 
to disobey God. 

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Do you remember what the Lord 
told Elijah when Elijah felt 

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like he was the only prophet 
standing for the truth? 

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He already learned that there 
were other prophets being hidden

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by Obadiah, but then the Lord 
decided to highlight even a 

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greater truth, that there is a 
remnant of how many who have not

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bowed their knee to bail, nor 
have given their mouths to kiss 

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him. 
Here's one of the 7000. 

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And what's so impressive about 
this man's faithfulness is when 

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you consider the wider context 
that Israel was an apostate 

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nation. 
Yes, they got a little taste of 

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revival through Elijah's 
ministry there in First Kings 

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18, but what makes it even more 
impressive is where this 

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faithful man demonstrated his 
loyalty to the true and living 

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God. 
He's in Jezreel. 

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We learned that that's where the
palace of the apostate king and 

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queen was placed. 
And not only that, I mean, it's 

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one thing to live in Jezreel, 
but you're living on the same 

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St. as the guy, the same St. of 
the guy who made it very clear 

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and known on a national level 
that he does not. 

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He does not like people who are 
exclusive to worship the true 

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and living God. 
In fact, they've demonstrated 

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that by killing prophets. 
And yet this man, without 

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blinking, without hesitation, 
has the audacity to invoke the 

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name of the Lord before this 
king. 

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But this man's faithfulness 
stands out not just in his 

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willingness to be faithful in 
times of persecution, but to 

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remain steadfast in a time of 
potential prosperity and 

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opportunity. 
Yeah, because Ahab doesn't show 

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up to his front door threatening
to take off his head if he 

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doesn't surrender his vineyard. 
He offers him a better one. 

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I mean, think about it. 
Can you imagine? 

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I mean, these days, people don't
make much of national leaders. 

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I get it. 
But but pretend even with even 

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with leaders. 
OK, let's just talk about a 

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renowned person, like a 
internationally known figure 

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showing up at your door, showing
up personally at your door with 

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a little entourage and you 
possessing something that they 

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are interested in and them 
making a deal with you is on the

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table for something. 
They might feel the pressure of 

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that they they might feel just 
the natural pressure to budget 

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in because of this affluent 
individual or this prestigious 

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man. 
But more than that, it's the the

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the offer. 
I mean, again, he doesn't 

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threaten him. 
He says, I'm willing to give you

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something even better than what 
you have. 

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You can enhance your life. 
Whatever you're enjoying now, 

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you can enjoy it even more. 
I can make it happen. 

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I just want this one because 
it's near to my backyard. 

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So you have a lot here on the 
table. 

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But you know what I see about 
Nabin? 

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He refused. 
Still, you know why? 

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Because he understood that to be
materially wealthy at the cost 

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of spiritual blessing is 
absolutely foolish. 

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I wish most people would think 
that way, that to be materially 

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wealthy at the price of 
spiritual loss is not even in 

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the conversation. 
It's absolutely foolish to this 

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man. 
And guess what? 

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It's not just foolish to Nebith.
It's foolish to somebody else 

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who's much more important than 
this man. 

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You remember when Jesus gave a 
sermon and somebody responded to

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it? 
And this gives me great comfort 

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because it shows me that even 
when Jesus preached, people were

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not listening sometimes. 
Let me prove that to you in Luke

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chapter 12. 
Go to Luke 12, and I want you to

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see this with your own eyes. 
Luke 12. 

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I was going to originally read 
just a couple of verses from 

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this text, but it's Friday 
night. 

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Where do we have to go? 
Matthew, Mark, Luke 12, Luke 12 

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and look here at verse 13. 
Now Jesus talks about hell 

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before this. 
He talks about not fearing for 

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your life. 
He talks about God taking care 

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of you. 
He talks about persecution and 

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trusting yourself to the Holy 
Spirit who will teach you in the

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very hour what you have to say. 
Brilliant eternal truths are 

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being offered here and here's 
what you read in verse 13. 

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Someone in the crowd said to 
him, teacher, tell my brother to

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divide the inheritance with me. 
Jesus isn't teaching about 

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inheritances and the Lord of 
glory discerns exactly where 

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this question is coming from. 
So look how the Lord responds in

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verse 14. 
But he said to man who made me a

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judge or arbitrary over you, and
he said to them, So now he's 

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using this moment now as a 
lesson for the whole crowd. 

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Take care and be on your guard 
against all covetousness. 

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For one's life does not consist 
in the abundance of his 

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possessions. 
How many people make their lives

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just about that? 
Not just about possessions, but 

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abundance of possessions, 
expansion of possessions, 

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updated possessions. 
Jesus is saying clearly to you 

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and I hey, be on guard for that 
kind of ambition being your 

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reason for life. 
Then he gives a lesson, verse 16

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And he told them a parable 
saying the land of a rich man 

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produced plentifully. 
And he thought to himself, what 

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shall I do? 
For I have nowhere to store my 

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crops. 
And he said, I will do this. 

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I will tear down my barns and 
build larger ones and there I 

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will store all my grain and my 
goods. 

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Sounds like Ahab a little bit 
right wanted to expand his his 

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crops and his garden. 
Verse 19 and I will say to my 

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soul, so you have ample goods 
laid up for many years. 

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Relax, eat, drink and be merry. 
Look what God says about that 

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kind of an attitude. 
But God said to him, fool this 

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night your soul is required of 
you and the things you have 

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00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,320
prepared whose will they be now 
pause. 

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Is there anything inherently 
wrong with projects like this 

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and advancing in business and 
promotions? 

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Not necessarily, but revisit the
way this man spoke and realize 

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that God is excluded from his 
thinking. 

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Go back again to verse 18 and he
said, I will do this. 

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I will tear down my barns and 
build large ones, and there I 

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00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,360
will store all my grain in my 
goods. 

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00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:51,520
And I will say to my soul, I, I,
I, I, I just me, myself, and I, 

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that's what my life is all 
about. 

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00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:57,880
And the Lord interjects and he 
says, you're a fool. 

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Oh yeah. 
In people's eyes, you might be 

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successful, you might be clever,
you might be well off, but 

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you're a fool because this very 
night your soul is required of 

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you. 
But look what he says here in 

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verse 21. 
It's not just this man in this 

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parable. 
So is the one. 

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00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,840
So anybody. 
So is the one who lays up 

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treasure for himself and is not 
rich toward God profound? 

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00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:26,800
I know people. 
I know a lot of people who 

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00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:31,160
believe in God. 
I know a lot of people who serve

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00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:36,280
God. 
Who do you know that is rich 

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00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,320
toward God? 
I think that's a category in 

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00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,040
itself. 
Rich toward God. 

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00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,400
Implying what? 
That you can be poor in your 

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00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:51,360
relationship with God. 
You can be just giving the 

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00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,320
bottom of the barrel toward God.
You know, if my heart is moved 

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00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:01,440
to any kind of action, if 
anything grabs my attention, it 

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00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,240
should for you as well is a 
person who's not rich in this 

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00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,800
life but rich spiritually. 
You know what I mean? 

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00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,280
What does it mean for someone to
be rich toward God? 

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I think it means a lot of 
things. 

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00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,079
I think it includes people who 
are rich with testimonies 

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00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,680
because they've invested in 
prayer. 

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00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,400
I believe it's in part 
Colossians 316 where we're told 

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00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,119
there, let the word of Christ 
dwell in you. 

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00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:27,680
How richly, richly. 
There's some people that I 

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00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,400
talked to when they talk about 
the Scriptures, it's, it's like 

288
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,200
John Bunyan. 
They said to John Bunyan, if you

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00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:33,600
cut him, he would believe the 
Bible. 

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00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,520
He'd believe the Bible. 
And so I look at this and I 

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00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,880
think there are so many people 
in this, in this life who are 

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00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,000
stimulated and inspired by 
those. 

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00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,720
You know, you see it on YouTube,
these guys who are motivational 

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00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,440
speakers and knock you over the 
head to get disciplined so you 

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00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,600
can get rich or die trying. 
That doesn't move me an inch. 

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00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,960
In fact, most of it is cringe 
actually. 

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00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:57,240
You know what does move me 
though? 

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00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,840
When a man in humility, when a 
man without advertising himself 

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00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,800
is so rich toward God, he just 
oozes. 

300
00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,560
He oozes the fragrance of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

301
00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,160
I want that. 
I want my life to be about that.

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00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,560
I want to be as close to him as 
possible. 

303
00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:17,440
And here you have Nabith, who 
has an opportunity to get 

304
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,600
richer, but at the expense of 
disobeying God. 

305
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,280
And he says I'd rather keep my 
smaller vineyard if it means 

306
00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:27,280
that I'm going to bless my Lord.
And unfortunately, Ahab thought 

307
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,120
the exact opposite. 
So let's come back to our main 

308
00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:34,960
text in first Kings 21. 
And what do we read here? 

309
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,960
The reaction of Ahab. 
You and I are inspired by 

310
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,040
Nabith, but not this king we 
read in verse four. 

311
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,000
And Ahab went into his house, 
vexed and sullen because of what

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00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,800
Nabeth the Jezreelite had said 
to him. 

313
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,280
For he had said, I will not give
you the inheritance of my 

314
00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,920
father's. 
And he laid down on his bed and 

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00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,800
turned away his face and would 
eat no food. 

316
00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:04,680
Is this a king? 
Sounds like a child, right? 

317
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:10,560
This is a temper tantrum here. 
So this man again drags his feet

318
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,120
back into his palace. 
He curls up in a little ball in 

319
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,160
his royal bedroom. 
And when his servants called for

320
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,360
dinner, he says, no, I'm not 
eating dinner. 

321
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,120
And this is the ruler of a 
nation. 

322
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:32,640
And when we consider it, 
meditate on it, as funny as it 

323
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,240
may be, it's actually revealing 
about something deeper. 

324
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:41,360
Don't you find it strange that 
somebody who has so much feels 

325
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,400
so strongly about not receiving 
something so little? 

326
00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:54,680
This man is way advanced in 
comparison to Nabeth in terms of

327
00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:00,920
possessions, prestige, power, 
and yet he's not content. 

328
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,840
You know what you learn from 
this verse 4? 

329
00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,280
Contentment ultimately is not 
found in sustaining stuff. 

330
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:13,720
Is it because you can have. 
You can be a king and still not 

331
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,280
be satisfied. 
You can be royalty and still 

332
00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,960
pout. 
You can still feel that vacuum 

333
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,680
in your heart sucking any 
pleasure you think it's lasting 

334
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,240
and the next day it's gone. 
Because contentment was not 

335
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,720
designed to be unlocked in the 
physical. 

336
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,520
And then you look at this and 
you compare it to what Nabeth 

337
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,760
and what he is totally content 
to remain as he is, to keep what

338
00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:44,760
he has. 
Why? 

339
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,840
Because he has something Ahab 
doesn't have, a relationship 

340
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,240
with the Lord and enjoyment of 
the truth. 

341
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,680
He has his roots established in 
something that Ahab had a 

342
00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,640
opportunity to but refused. 
And So what we have here is 

343
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:05,440
again, a man who teaches us that
if you pursue things apart from 

344
00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:10,000
God being primary, you're never 
going to be settled. 

345
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:15,360
Never. 
And so we've seen Ahab do this 

346
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,200
before, have we not? 
We read it in the beginning of 

347
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,600
this study. 
Go back to the last verse of 

348
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,440
chapter 20, verse 43. 
And the king of Israel went to 

349
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,840
his house vexed and sullen and 
came to Samaria. 

350
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,560
And are you seeing him doing the
same thing in verse 4, vexed and

351
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:37,960
sullen. 
What's what's the similarities 

352
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,640
between these two responses that
a have had in a short amount of 

353
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:45,560
time? 
Yes, vexed and sullen, but as a 

354
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:51,320
reaction to what the will of the
Lord being known to him. 

355
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,280
So back in the end of chapter 
20, a prophet said thus says the

356
00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:01,040
Lord, and then you have Nabeth 
saying what the Lord forbid it. 

357
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:08,440
So both times Ahab's reflex is 
to God's wishes being known to 

358
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:13,360
him and him being disappointed 
by it because it didn't honor 

359
00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:18,080
his wishes. 
And this is the lesson about 

360
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,480
Ahab at this point. 
He shows us frustration with 

361
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,080
what God revealed. 
And that's a dangerous place for

362
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,800
your heart to remain in. 
Listen very carefully, my 

363
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:34,040
precious brother and sister. 
Offence is a breeding ground for

364
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:35,920
the seed of temptation to 
flourish. 

365
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,280
Offence is the breeding ground 
for the seed of temptation to 

366
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,400
flourish. 
If you're not careful. 

367
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,800
Aggravation, bitterness, 
unforgiveness. 

368
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,720
Towards people, sure, but 
towards the Lord? 

369
00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,000
Mainly when you're unpleased 
with how Providence has LED you 

370
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,920
thus far. 
If you do not challenge that, it

371
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:04,000
can eventually impair so much 
about you, especially your 

372
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,240
judgment, which will leave you 
more attracted to sinful 

373
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:13,280
suggestions to try to solve and 
to heal your disappointment. 

374
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:18,720
Do you know what I mean by that?
When you live long enough 

375
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,760
serving the Lord and something 
happens maybe once, maybe more 

376
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,680
than once, and it doesn't line 
up with your blueprint. 

377
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:30,680
Temptation becomes stronger when
you allow your heart to remain 

378
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,480
in that place of unmet 
expectations or God's will 

379
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,840
seeming to make life more 
difficult for you. 

380
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,880
If you harbor that you're 
creating unknowingly, but I'm 

381
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,840
making it known now a foothold 
for Satan saying what do you 

382
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:48,920
mean? 
Here's what I mean, because in a

383
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,880
moment you're about to read, 
Nabeth is going to have his life

384
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,920
taken from him unjustly by the 
order of royalty. 

385
00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:58,680
But it's not going to come from 
Ahab's thinking. 

386
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:00,240
It's going to come from his 
wife, Jezebel. 

387
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,480
When does Jezebel appear on the 
scene? 

388
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,480
We haven't seen her in a bed. 
She appears on the scene when we

389
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:12,720
find Ahab with his heart 
prepared for her scheme, a 

390
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:17,280
scheme that will apparently 
provide the remedy to medicate 

391
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,160
his disappointment. 
So what do we read in verse 

392
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:22,840
five? 
Look at it with me, please. 

393
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:29,320
But Jezebel, here she is. 
But Jezebel, his wife came to 

394
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:34,800
him and said to him, why is your
spirit so vexed that you eat no 

395
00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:38,400
food? 
And he said to her, because I 

396
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,160
spoke to Nabeth the Jezreelite 
and said to him, give me your 

397
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,840
vineyard for money, or else if 
it please you, I will give you 

398
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,600
another vineyard for it. 
And he answered, I will not give

399
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,720
you my vineyard. 
Let's just pause there for a 

400
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,840
moment. 
What about Ahab's explanation 

401
00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:58,280
stands out to you look at it 
again compare it to the actual 

402
00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,800
conversation that he had with 
the man and you're going to 

403
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,360
notice a difference. 
Yes, very good. 

404
00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:07,080
He omits the Lord from the whole
thing. 

405
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,120
Look at it again. 
Look at verse seven. 

406
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,360
It says here verse six rather 
than he said it because I spoke 

407
00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,560
to name of the Jesuit and said 
to him give me your vineyard for

408
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,280
money or else if it please I'll 
give you another vineyard for 

409
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,440
any answered. 
I will not give you my vineyard.

410
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:25,760
Is that what Nabith said to him?
The Lord forbid, the Lord forbid

411
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,920
that I give you what belongs to 
my father's. 

412
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,400
So what do you have here? 
You have a man who is righteous,

413
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,160
who stands for righteousness, 
who vocalizes his righteous 

414
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,040
conviction. 
And you have a wicked king who 

415
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,440
does what Something you should 
expect as the righteous 

416
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,280
misrepresent him, misrepresents 
him. 

417
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,720
Settle it in your mind today, 
please, that if you're going to 

418
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,720
live for the Lord, if you want 
to live with the conviction of 

419
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,760
truth driving every part of your
life, not everybody is going to 

420
00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,560
agree with it. 
Not everybody's going to praise 

421
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,600
it. 
In fact, people won't see it at 

422
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,240
all and will mischaracterize 
you. 

423
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,040
You're doing the right thing. 
You're saying the right thing, 

424
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:08,360
You're standing for the right 
thing. 

425
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,480
But what we see here is a 
reminder that there are people 

426
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,920
who don't care. 
They don't, they don't care that

427
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:18,920
you serve God. 
They don't care that you're 

428
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,320
living a consecrated life. 
They don't care that you are 

429
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,560
trying to honor the Lord and 
honor holiness. 

430
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,200
They could care less. 
And I'm reminded with what 

431
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,480
happened here to what happened 
with the Lord Jesus. 

432
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,840
Here's what I'm trying to 
prepare you for. 

433
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,480
Serve God long enough and you 
can expect to be misunderstood. 

434
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,440
You can expect to be slandered. 
You can expect to be lied about.

435
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,680
Happened to Nabeth. 
More importantly, happened to 

436
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,680
the Lord Jesus. 
Answer this for me please. 

437
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,440
When Jesus was cornered in 
question about giving taxes to 

438
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:47,600
Caesar, Caesar, what was his 
answer? 

439
00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:51,160
Get to Caesar. 
What belongs to Caesar and who 

440
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,200
God? 
What belongs to God? 

441
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,320
Now many people know by heart, 
virtually every Christian or 

442
00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,480
churchgoer knows that answer. 
Even the world knows that famous

443
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,880
phrase. 
But what many people don't 

444
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,560
remember is what people did when
Jesus said that down the line 

445
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,240
when he was on trial. 
Let me remind you from Luke 23 

446
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,040
verses one and two, we've 
touched on this before in our 

447
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,200
study of Mark when we touched on
that very passage, but maybe 

448
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,960
you've never seen this before. 
But again, just because you're a

449
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,600
part of Club Jesus, I want you 
to be prepared for every 

450
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:25,240
potential attack let down. 
Shocking things may be shocking 

451
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,240
to you, but it shouldn't if 
you're familiar with the truth. 

452
00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:30,680
Look at Luke 23 one and two. 
Jesus said that so clearly. 

453
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,120
And notice what happens when He 
stands before Pilate. 

454
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,680
Then the whole company of them 
arose and brought him before 

455
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,880
Pilate, and they began to accuse
him, saying we found this man 

456
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,200
misleading our nation and 
forbidding us to give tribute to

457
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,840
Caesar. 
Did Jesus forbid them from doing

458
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,040
that? 
Give to Caesar what belongs to 

459
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,080
Caesar. 
How did they misrepresent him? 

460
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:55,720
He's actually telling us and 
he's forbidding us to give 

461
00:27:55,720 --> 00:28:01,680
tribute to Caesar. 
So even the righteous, even the 

462
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,120
Son of God himself have had his 
words taken out of context, 

463
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,160
misrepresented, lied about. 
It's part of the package. 

464
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,040
It's part of the package. 
And if you're not going to 

465
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,200
soothe your heart, your soul, 
and knowing that there's one day

466
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,200
coming where the Lord Jesus is 
going to vindicate everything, 

467
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,120
these kind of things will weigh 
you down in your joy, in your 

468
00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:28,080
service. 
So, so be prepared. 

469
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,560
Be prepared for that and when it
happens, learn how to take that 

470
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,280
and bring it before the Lord, 
saying, Lord, you know me. 

471
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,120
One famous minister said it this
way. 

472
00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:38,840
I left my reputation where I 
left my soul in the hands of 

473
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,560
God. 
Navith was misrepresented. 

474
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,680
Jezebel asked this question 
about her husband who was 

475
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,200
throwing a little temper tantrum
gives us this honest answer, at 

476
00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,840
least an incomplete one. 
How does she respond to that? 

477
00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,120
Look at verse seven. 
You would think that if Jezebel 

478
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,280
was a Good Wife, which she isn't
far from it. 

479
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,080
You would think if she was a 
helpmate, the way God designed 

480
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,760
wives to be, that her response 
would be something like, well, I

481
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,960
just sat back today and thought 
if she was a holy woman, if she 

482
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,640
was an if she was godly, she had
just a, a, a hint of the fear of

483
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,920
the Lord. 
Perhaps her answer would have 

484
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,720
been Ahab. 
You know what the the law of the

485
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,800
Lord says concerning one tribe 
giving their land to another. 

486
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,760
This doesn't apply to you. 
I know you want it, but this is 

487
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,800
prohibited. 
You have to trust God's wisdom 

488
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,240
above your desires. 
He would think that she might 

489
00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:31,920
add to that by saying and 
besides that, Ahab, you already 

490
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,040
have so much. 
Instead of focusing on the 

491
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,320
things that you don't have, look
at all the things that you've 

492
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,480
been lavished with. 
Look at your robe, look at your 

493
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,160
throne. 
Look at this position that God's

494
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,640
elevated you to. 
You would think that she would 

495
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,080
help him in this way. 
Instead, she adds gasoline to 

496
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:50,080
the fire of greed and 
covetousness. 

497
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:56,680
Verse 7 and Jezebel, his wife 
said to him, do you now govern 

498
00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:01,640
Israel? 
Arise and eat bread and let your

499
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,200
heart be cheerful. 
I will give you the vineyard of 

500
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,120
Nabeth, the Jezreelite. 
God says it doesn't belong, but 

501
00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:09,440
you know what she's saying. 
I'm going to give it to you. 

502
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,920
It doesn't matter what God said.
God's not even in that 

503
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,720
conversation, but indirectly she
is saying that, you know, I was 

504
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:21,200
reading this and I thought to 
myself, there are many ways to 

505
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,200
categorize relationships there, 
There are many ways for you to 

506
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:28,080
be able to frame your 
relationships in life. 

507
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,080
One of my favorite filters to 
apply, I brought up over the 

508
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,080
years because I think it's one 
of the most helpful ones, puts 

509
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,600
language to how you know what to
invest in and what to be aware 

510
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,040
of and what to cut off 
completely. 

511
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,960
One of my favorite filters that 
I apply is this. 

512
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:46,520
Does this person help me fight 
my temptation or do they fuel my

513
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,200
temptation? 
I ask that question all the 

514
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,360
time. 
Like when I spend more time with

515
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,400
this person, do I leave that 
meeting? 

516
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,040
Do I leave that time? 
Do I leave that outing with my 

517
00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:00,440
spirit strengthened or with my 
flesh more flared up than when I

518
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:05,480
than when I came? 
Yeah, that's just one filter 

519
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,920
among many. 
Does this person, do they help 

520
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,880
me fight for my sanctification? 
Do they inspire me to be more 

521
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:15,840
godly? 
Do they do they help me? 

522
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,720
Not even directly, just just 
their presence and the way they 

523
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,800
think? 
Do they help me look to and rely

524
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,720
on the Word or do I get more 
carnal? 

525
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:28,360
Do I feel my old man 
resurrecting the more I linger 

526
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,480
and engage with them? 
Have you ever thought about that

527
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,080
with your relationships, your 
friendships, the potential 

528
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,240
spouse that you're talking to? 
Have you ever thought about 

529
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:40,440
that? 
If you don't apply such filters 

530
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:44,400
in life that are derived from 
the Word of God, then I promise 

531
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,200
you problems down the road. 
Problems that you could have 

532
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,200
avoided because such a question 
will help you again. 

533
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,360
Know what to cut off know. 
Know what to limit. 

534
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,320
Know what to embrace and invest 
in in terms of horizontal 

535
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,320
relationships. 
Because you know what's going to

536
00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,360
happen to Ahab. 
Ahab is about to fall off the 

537
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,560
same Cliff that many kings 
before him have and that is 

538
00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:07,040
receiving the wrong counsel. 
This is going to be the turn 

539
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,440
around for Ahab's life right 
here. 

540
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:10,680
We're going to see it in the 
rest of the chapter. 

541
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,000
We're not going to cover that 
today, but Ahab is going to fall

542
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,000
in the same trap that many 
notable kings of Israel have by 

543
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,080
what? 
Receiving wrong advice to make a

544
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:20,800
decision that will be 
detrimental. 

545
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:25,880
So it just keeps appearing over 
and over again, and it's no 

546
00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:30,880
different here. 
And unfortunately, the person he

547
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,520
is hearing this from is his 
wife. 

548
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,200
So she's pretty inescapable, 
right? 

549
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,160
Some people jokingly say that 
back in chapter 20, Jezebel must

550
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,880
have been on vacation because 
for Ahab to obey those two 

551
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,320
instructions from the prophets 
means that she must have been 

552
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:46,800
out of town. 
Because here she is again. 

553
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,200
It doesn't take her very long to
meddle in his affairs and to 

554
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,360
cause more problems for him. 
So his wife. 

555
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,720
Here's a realistic picture. 
Really. 

556
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,240
I know their royalty. 
I know they have to make 

557
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,160
decisions that you, I might not 
have to make, but you're going 

558
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,680
to make decisions in life. 
Here's a realistic picture of 

559
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,160
what it means to be unequally 
yoked. 

560
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,520
You have a man who knows better,
and he marries a Phoenician 

561
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:12,120
Pagan Princess. 
Remember, she's not a Jew. 

562
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,240
He marries her. 
And she grew up as royalty, 

563
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:22,320
observing the way her father and
her family did things governing 

564
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,560
a nation. 
And when she hears that Ahab 

565
00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:28,120
doesn't enforce his authority, 
it's it's strange to her, like 

566
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:30,040
she has a different way of 
thinking about things. 

567
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,960
So Ahab, though he asked and 
though he doesn't get it, he has

568
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:36,200
enough sense to be like, I don't
have any authority to demand 

569
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:37,960
this. 
So I'm just going to go back and

570
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,120
pout about it for a few days. 
Just about hears this. 

571
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,000
And she goes, don't you govern 
Israel? 

572
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,480
Come on, you're the king here. 
Do something about it. 

573
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:48,720
Where did she get that idea 
from? 

574
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:54,600
Surely her upbringing, where she
came from, Do you now govern 

575
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,040
Israel? 
In other words, why are you 

576
00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,440
letting this happen since you 
are the ruler of this people? 

577
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,320
Remember Jesus spoke about how 
Gentiles rule over their people,

578
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:05,760
right? 
They lorded over them and he 

579
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,040
tells the people who belong to 
his Kingdom. 

580
00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,239
That's not how you lead. 
But here's you have a perfect 

581
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:14,199
example of a Gentile woman who 
can't fathom a king letting 

582
00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,440
somebody determine what he 
desires. 

583
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,440
So that's just another, again, 
one of many examples of what 

584
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,440
happens when you get linked up 
with the wrong lady, brothers, 

585
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,000
when you get linked up with the 
wrong guy, ladies. 

586
00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:32,320
So what happens? 
She says, I'm going to take care

587
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:34,480
of it. 
You know, it's not going to be 

588
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,800
good. 
I mean disastrous. 

589
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:39,880
This woman's wicked. 
You're going about to find out 

590
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:41,480
how wicked she is. 
Look at verse eight of our main 

591
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:46,920
text. 
So she wrote letters in Ahab's 

592
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:50,159
name and sealed them with his 
seal. 

593
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,159
And she sent the letters to the 
elders and the leaders who live 

594
00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:57,680
with Nabeth in his city. 
And she wrote in the letters, 

595
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:02,080
proclaim a fast and set neighbor
at the head of the people and 

596
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:08,160
set two worthless men opposite 
him and let them bring a charge 

597
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:13,160
against him, saying you have 
cursed God and the king, then 

598
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,240
take him out and stone him to 
death. 

599
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:20,560
What's concerning about that? 
There are many, many things. 

600
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:26,160
I mean, this is diabolical. 
This is absolutely horrible, but

601
00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:29,800
the most horrific thing about it
is, if you read carefully, 

602
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:34,520
Jezebel, this hater of God, this
hater of the truth, is 

603
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:40,000
implementing the law of God to 
accomplish her murderous plot. 

604
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,920
How do we know that? 
What clues in here do we do we 

605
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:47,840
see are linked to God's truth, 
at least in the old covenant? 

606
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:53,280
Any ideas? 
OK, when you blasphemy against 

607
00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,720
God, according to Leviticus 
2416, it's punishable by death. 

608
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,320
It's a capital crime in the old 
covenant. 

609
00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:00,720
Yes. 
Anything else? 

610
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,800
Two witnesses, right. 
So she she even goes to the 

611
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,760
extent of honoring the protocol 
of making a legitimate 

612
00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,120
accusation by saying make sure 
there are two of you worthless, 

613
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,880
but at least there's two of you 
one more. 

614
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,360
It's a it's a little bit more 
difficult. 

615
00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,320
Yes, yes. 
So even that, and that's what we

616
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,440
find in Leviticus. 
Absolutely. 

617
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:29,360
So even the way that the capital
crime should be punished is 

618
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,960
biblical. 
The fast, absolutely. 

619
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:35,200
The fast. 
So what you have here is her 

620
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:38,520
calling for a fast in this 
specific region for the purpose 

621
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:42,880
of disclosing or receiving 
divine clarity about supposedly 

622
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,320
a sin issue in the area. 
And so she implements a fast. 

623
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:48,880
She calls for these two 
witnesses and she, she wants to 

624
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,320
do all of that so she can get to
this, this punishable thing 

625
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,200
where she can execute this man 
unjustly. 

626
00:36:56,240 --> 00:37:00,440
It's wicked. 
And here's what you and I have 

627
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,320
to remember. 
Evil people, evil people feel 

628
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:09,920
very comfortable enacting their 
iniquity by weaponizing the word

629
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,040
of God, by implementing the Word
of God, by applying the word of 

630
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:17,080
God, by quoting the word of God.
Evil people are very, very 

631
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,960
comfortable taking God's truth 
and using it in a way to 

632
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,840
manipulate others so that they 
can receive something at your 

633
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:27,640
expense. 
Listen to this. 

634
00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,360
If it was true in ancient times,
do you think that Satan's 

635
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,320
strategy has changed in modern 
times? 

636
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:35,360
No. 
There are too many gullible 

637
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:39,800
Christians even today who are 
disarmed just because somebody 

638
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,240
is quoting the Bible. 
It's it's not enough for 

639
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:45,440
somebody to quote the Bible. 
It's not enough. 

640
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:47,120
For somebody to hold the Bible. 
It's not enough. 

641
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:49,440
What are they saying about the 
Bible? 

642
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,560
How are they interpreting the 
Bible? 

643
00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:54,600
How are they applying the Bible?
How are they honoring the 

644
00:37:54,600 --> 00:38:00,520
context of the Bible? 
And so this is what we see here.

645
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,280
We see a woman, Jezebel, giving 
us a warning that there will 

646
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:08,120
always be those who interpret 
and apply Scripture wrongly to 

647
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,720
harm God's people. 
Nabeth is a servant of God. 

648
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,040
And if you think that this is an
isolated thing, if you think, 

649
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:17,240
brother, you're kind of you're 
kind of drawing too much out of 

650
00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:20,480
this, let me remind you that 
this is not the final place 

651
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:22,600
where Jezebel is mentioned. 
She's not she's not going to 

652
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:24,160
just end here in first and 2nd 
Kings. 

653
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,760
Did you show up somewhere else? 
Tell me where she shows up. 

654
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,840
Revelation. 
So in the final book of of 

655
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:37,400
divine Scripture, Jezebel shows 
up not reincarnated. 

656
00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,040
Let me show you what I mean. 
Revelation chapter 2. 

657
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,400
This is one of the seven 
churches that were addressed by 

658
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:46,080
the Lord Jesus Christ. 
This church, Church of Thyatira,

659
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,800
the Lord Jesus, says something 
quite interesting to this one 

660
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:58,680
particular local assembly, and 
it goes to show that our study 

661
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,480
of Jezebel is much more 
applicable and relevant than we 

662
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:03,400
might have imagined. 
Look at verse. 

663
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:04,840
Let's read from the beginning. 
Why not? 

664
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:07,440
Verse 18 of chapter 2? 
And to the Angel of the church 

665
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:11,680
in Thyatira, write the words of 
the Son of God, who has eyes 

666
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:17,520
like a flame of fire, and who 
has feet, and whose feet are 

667
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,480
like burnished bronze. 
Verse 19. 

668
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:24,440
I know your works, your love and
your faith and service and 

669
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:28,440
patient endurance and that your 
latter works exceed the first 

670
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:29,840
positive. 
That's, that's quite a 

671
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,160
commendation. 
Like I recognize that you're a 

672
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,960
loving church. 
I recognize that you're faithful

673
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,080
in some ways. 
I recognize that you're, you're 

674
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,200
busy, like there's ministry 
happening and, and not that your

675
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:43,880
works are actually exceeding, 
You're actually growing in your 

676
00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:45,160
efforts. 
You're actually growing in your 

677
00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:46,480
ministry. 
You're actually growing in your 

678
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:49,520
impact. 
That's a good church. 

679
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:54,000
Many people would love to pass 
their church like that, but 

680
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,120
notice verse 20. 
But I have this against you. 

681
00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:00,600
Scary words, but I have this 
against you that you tolerate 

682
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:06,520
that woman Jezebel, who calls 
herself a prophetess and is 

683
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:09,960
teaching and seducing my service
servants to practice sexual 

684
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,800
morality and to eat food, 
sacrifice to idol. 

685
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,200
It's very unlikely that 
somebody, even at this time, 

686
00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,440
decided to call their daughter 
Jezebel. 

687
00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:22,960
It's very, very unlikely that 
this is her literal name. 

688
00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,240
It's more likely that this is 
symbolic, that Jezebel had 

689
00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:30,160
developed such a reputation for 
being evil and being an agent 

690
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,160
for the Kingdom of darkness and 
affecting the Kingdom of God, 

691
00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:38,600
that whoever this woman was, a 
real woman in the church 

692
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:43,680
resembles Jezebel in her 
tactics, in her attitude, and in

693
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:48,680
her influence. 
So she's one like Jezebel and 

694
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:54,240
Jezebel, this woman here, notice
she calls herself a prophetess. 

695
00:40:55,440 --> 00:41:00,160
She's not a true prophetess. 
Self appointed, self-proclaimed,

696
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:04,600
self-made prophetess. 
And what is she doing? 

697
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:08,440
Manipulating the people of God 
through teaching. 

698
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,320
She's in a teaching position, 
which is a problem on its own, 

699
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:16,840
right, isn't it? 
It is because God has called for

700
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:20,200
the teaching role in the church 
to be for men. 

701
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:24,720
And so you have a woman who's 
being tolerated as a teacher in 

702
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:30,840
a local church already a flag 
and more of a flag is that she 

703
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,840
is teaching the people through 
her teaching, whatever her 

704
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:38,240
doctrine is, it's encouraging 
people to practice sexual 

705
00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:40,280
immorality and to eat food, 
sacrifice idols. 

706
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,120
It's very likely that her 
doctrine was this form of free 

707
00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:45,040
grace. 
Just do what you want. 

708
00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:46,800
God will forgive it. 
It's very, very likely that's 

709
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,640
something along those lines. 
But notice what her teaching is 

710
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:52,640
doing. 
It's not impacting the world. 

711
00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:57,080
It's not giving people false 
assurance of salvation. 

712
00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:00,440
Notice again, and it's teaching 
and seducing who? 

713
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:07,280
My servants, The Lord is very 
intentional in the way He 

714
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:11,760
speaks. 
My servants, my people are being

715
00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:17,360
duped by this woman. 
So that same spirit that, that 

716
00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:23,800
that persuasive, intimidating, 
authoritative spirit that you 

717
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:28,320
find in First Kings chapter 21 
and throughout many chapters is 

718
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:29,920
found here in Revelation chapter
2. 

719
00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:36,680
And so this is what you and I 
have to be mindful of, that 

720
00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,440
there will be people who will 
take God's word. 

721
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,280
And if you're not discerning, if
you, if you don't use this as a 

722
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,240
filter, if you don't, if you do 
not like the brains who even 

723
00:42:45,240 --> 00:42:52,680
tested Paul after his sermon, 
then even God's servants can be 

724
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,560
tricked. 
That's a dangerous reality. 

725
00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:57,840
But let's come back to First 
Kings. 

726
00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,720
We're not going to cover this 
whole chapter, in case you were 

727
00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:03,440
wondering, but we come back to 
First Kings. 

728
00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:09,000
We notice that after the scheme 
was conjured up, it is executed 

729
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:11,920
and there's something quite 
insightful about the way the 

730
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:15,480
Holy Spirit words it. 
First Kings 21 let's go to verse

731
00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:20,360
11. 
And the men of his city, the 

732
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:25,960
elders and the leaders who lived
in his city did as Jezebel sent 

733
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:29,360
word to them as it was written 
in the letters that she had sent

734
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:32,280
to them. 
They proclaimed the fast and sat

735
00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:36,040
neighbor that the as the head of
the people and two worthless men

736
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,600
came in and sat opposite him and
the worthless men brought his 

737
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,680
charge against Nabeth and the 
presence of the people saying 

738
00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:47,080
Nabeth curse God and the king. 
So they took him outside the 

739
00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:49,320
city and stoned him to death 
with stones. 

740
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,720
Then they sent to Jezebel saying
Nabeth has been stoned he is 

741
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:57,360
dead. 
I'm not sure if you see it, but 

742
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:01,520
when I read these set of verses 
over and over again, a certain 

743
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:05,120
word surfaced for me at least. 
I don't know if you see it as 

744
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:09,720
well, other actors in this 
story, Nameless, but very 

745
00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:14,920
important still. 
Who are they worthless? 

746
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:18,320
And it's a second word. 
Who worthless? 

747
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:24,040
Who men, Men. 
And not just the two worthless 

748
00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:26,800
men that we find here in verse 
13, but the men of verse 11. 

749
00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:28,120
Look at the beginning of verse 
11 again. 

750
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:32,520
And the men of his city, the men
of his city, the elders and the 

751
00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:34,760
leaders, assuming they're all 
men. 

752
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:37,960
We've been talking a lot about 
the wickedness of Jezebel, and 

753
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,520
rightfully so. 
But Jezebel's wickedness is not 

754
00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:43,760
the only problem in this whole 
predicament. 

755
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:48,960
I argue that you have to 
consider the combination. 

756
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:52,920
Jezebel's wickedness is one 
thing, but you also have the 

757
00:44:52,920 --> 00:45:01,480
weakness of men, the weakness of
men, these men here, and the 

758
00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:05,200
main guy, Ahab, who is equally 
weak. 

759
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:09,040
So you have a weak husband, a 
weak king, a weak leadership in 

760
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:13,760
this particular city, weak men 
in that city, weak men. 

761
00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:16,440
Can I tell you something about a
wicked society? 

762
00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:21,240
If society is prevailing in 
wickedness, in great part it's 

763
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:23,440
the outcome of weak men in that 
society. 

764
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:32,360
If if wickedness is prevailing 
in a culture, I can tell you 

765
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:35,240
that that's a symptom of 
something more significant in 

766
00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:37,040
that culture. 
You have weak men. 

767
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,880
Weak men, He's saying, what's 
the connection? 

768
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:43,960
Because when a man does not 
honor their God-given role as a 

769
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:50,520
gatekeeper and the spheres that 
he's been called to lead, namely

770
00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,720
the local church in the house, 
you should expect nothing less 

771
00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:57,080
than problems to ensue. 
And overtime, the issues that 

772
00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:02,440
arise in those areas will bleed 
into the wider culture. 

773
00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:06,240
So I want to think about it. 
This whole thing, this whole 

774
00:46:06,240 --> 00:46:12,560
idea of chaos, chaos as a result
of roles that got designated for

775
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,320
men and women not being honored,
goes back to the beginning. 

776
00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:18,440
How did this whole thing even 
start? 

777
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,880
What am I speaking about? 
The mess that we're in, this 

778
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:24,680
universe being impacted by sin. 
How did this all start? 

779
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:28,280
You had a woman who was being 
spiritually seduced by Satan, 

780
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:31,840
and not just her being seduced 
by Satan, but you had her 

781
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:34,360
husband standing idly by and 
letting it happen. 

782
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:37,280
People forget that part of the 
whole story. 

783
00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:42,480
Is that any wonder why over and 
over in the New Testament, we're

784
00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:47,440
told about Adam being held 
responsible, Adam being the 

785
00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:50,960
federal head. 
So as as Satan is having a 

786
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:56,280
conversation with Eve, we read 
that Adam is there passively. 

787
00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:00,600
And this is something for you 
and I to consider. 

788
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,680
Because the chaos that entered 
into the garden and overall our 

789
00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:09,840
world is in great part the fruit
of a man and a woman who did not

790
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:15,200
recognize and honor what God had
called them to do separately and

791
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:20,000
together as men and women. 
That's why feminism is so 

792
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:25,800
destructive, because the message
of feminism, supposedly it's 

793
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:27,520
uplifting woman, right? 
It's not uplifting women. 

794
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:34,000
It's demeaning woman one and 
two, it's demonizing men because

795
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,600
in the pursuit of trying to 
exalt and champion women, what, 

796
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:41,640
what are they doing? 
They're trying to erase the 

797
00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:45,920
gender roles. 
And now what you have is not men

798
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:48,880
being encouraged to lead and to 
protect and provide, but to step

799
00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:54,840
aside and that woman take what 
God called to be for men to 

800
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,960
honor and observe. 
So whether you delete the idea 

801
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:03,120
of a role or you replace it and 
you switch the the actors, both 

802
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:04,280
are going to result in the same 
thing. 

803
00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:07,160
And no matter how much the 
culture might push it and 

804
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:11,920
advertise it and make psycho 
analytical arguments for it, God

805
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:14,320
has. 
God has put in the fabric of the

806
00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:17,280
world a law. 
So no matter what we do, what 

807
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:20,160
switcheroos we make, what clever
ideas, no matter how progressive

808
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:22,280
we want to be, if we don't honor
what God says, we're never going

809
00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:25,640
to know the blessings and you're
only going to have issues. 

810
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:29,920
So what are men called to do? 
They're called to be exemplary 

811
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:34,120
leaders, models. 
They're called to be sacrificial

812
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:36,080
providers. 
They're called to be ready for 

813
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:41,120
this word, strong protectors. 
Yes, men are supposed to have 

814
00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:44,200
backbones. 
Men are supposed to, at the 

815
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:48,520
right time, wisely protest evil 
when it knocks on the door of 

816
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:51,160
your house, when it tries to 
creep into the church, and we're

817
00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:55,040
supposed to give our voices when
we see it happening in society. 

818
00:48:56,520 --> 00:48:58,520
But you don't have these men 
protesting Jezebel. 

819
00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:02,480
They roll over. 
Jezebel says that we'll do it. 

820
00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,720
Sure. 
What would have happened if they

821
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:08,640
sided with Nabeth? 
Because, you see, it doesn't 

822
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:12,280
take all men. 
All it takes is for a majority 

823
00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:17,640
of men, and this is something 
for you and I to consider 

824
00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:20,200
because this is what we're 
seeing under attack in our day. 

825
00:49:21,360 --> 00:49:23,680
More and more are we seeing it 
attack and we're seeing it in 

826
00:49:23,680 --> 00:49:26,600
the church, this blurring of 
distinctives. 

827
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:29,040
All in the name of what 
equality? 

828
00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:31,560
All in the name of what justice?
All in the name of what love. 

829
00:49:32,240 --> 00:49:34,320
Call it what you want. 
If it doesn't line up with God's

830
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:38,240
Word, I'm not interested in it. 
I'm going to trust God's wisdom,

831
00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:42,640
and that's what Nabeth did. 
He trusted God's wisdom, not 

832
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:44,400
knowing that this was planned 
against him. 

833
00:49:45,720 --> 00:49:47,800
So what do we read? 
These men come, these weak, 

834
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:51,560
worthless men. 
Verse 15, As soon as Jezebel 

835
00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:54,760
heard that Nabeth had been 
stoned and was dead, Jezebel 

836
00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:57,880
said to Ahab, Arise, take 
possession of the vineyard of 

837
00:49:57,880 --> 00:50:01,040
Nabeth, the Jezreelite, which he
refused to give you for money. 

838
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:03,200
For Nabeth is not alive, but 
dead. 

839
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:06,720
You know, I couldn't help but 
think to myself, if Nabeth had 

840
00:50:06,720 --> 00:50:12,960
just complied, if if he had just
said, you know, I know what 

841
00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:17,760
God's word says about this, but 
you're the king. 

842
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:21,240
Yeah, I know you're supposed to 
have a copy of God's law and 

843
00:50:21,240 --> 00:50:25,000
read it every day, but I do love
my vineyard. 

844
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:28,680
OK, let's do it. 
He could have just, you know 

845
00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:31,280
what could have happened? 
He probably could have saved his

846
00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:33,040
life. 
Not just saved his life. 

847
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:37,760
He could have known a better 
life, bigger vineyard, maybe 

848
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:39,880
open up a business and sell some
of those grapes. 

849
00:50:41,440 --> 00:50:44,120
He could have done something for
himself, but he doesn't. 

850
00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:48,200
And what makes this so 
heartbreaking is when you 

851
00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:51,000
actually continue to read in 
your Bibles, which you're 

852
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:54,760
supposed to do unless you miss 
out on greater revelations and 

853
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:58,680
you discover that it wasn't just
Nabith who who faced capital 

854
00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:00,840
punishment. 
Go to 2nd Kings. 

855
00:51:01,680 --> 00:51:03,960
And I want you to see this with 
your own eyes in Chapter 9, 

856
00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:19,150
verse 26 of Second Kings, Second
Kings 926 as surely as I saw 

857
00:51:19,150 --> 00:51:23,230
yesterday, the blood of Nabeth 
and the blood of his sons 

858
00:51:25,790 --> 00:51:29,750
declares the Lord, I will repay 
you on this plot of ground. 

859
00:51:29,950 --> 00:51:32,470
Now therefore, take him up and 
throw him on the plot of ground 

860
00:51:32,470 --> 00:51:33,670
in accordance with the word of 
Lord. 

861
00:51:33,670 --> 00:51:39,310
You see that in verse 26 in the 
beginning, Who else blood was 

862
00:51:39,310 --> 00:51:42,240
spilled? 
Not just Nabeth, the blood of 

863
00:51:42,240 --> 00:51:45,440
his sons. 
So it makes you wonder what 

864
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:46,720
happened. 
It makes you wonder that in this

865
00:51:46,720 --> 00:51:49,800
trial, Nabeth was falsely 
accused and his sons were in 

866
00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:54,760
attendance, said that that's not
true and decided to shut him up.

867
00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:57,160
And even if they didn't protest,
even if they were at home while 

868
00:51:57,160 --> 00:52:00,880
Nabeth was was there being 
accused, I'm fully convinced 

869
00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:04,200
that Jezebel called for those 
sons to be to be murdered as 

870
00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:04,760
well. 
Why? 

871
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:10,160
Why do you think? 
Yeah, because they would be the 

872
00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:15,440
the heirs to the land. 
So being pre emptive and wanting

873
00:52:15,440 --> 00:52:18,120
to avoid potential challenge and
protest, check. 

874
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:20,320
Let's get rid of the competition
and let's just get straight to 

875
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:21,960
it. 
Kill the sons, kill the heirs. 

876
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:28,200
So Neva didn't just pay a price 
for his righteous stance for the

877
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:29,360
truth. 
His sons did. 

878
00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:36,120
His family did tragedy right? 
Actually, I can think of a worse

879
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:38,760
tragedy. 
Tell me what's worse than this. 

880
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:42,720
You might disagree with me, but 
I believe that if Nabith had 

881
00:52:42,720 --> 00:52:45,080
compromised, what kind of 
precedent that would have set 

882
00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:50,160
for his sons, huh? 
Assuming that these sons even 

883
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:53,560
died as righteous men, what what
kind of temptation would you 

884
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:57,120
have opened them up to Nabith if
you had just given yourself over

885
00:52:57,120 --> 00:52:59,560
to disobeying the Lord for just 
temporary gain? 

886
00:52:59,720 --> 00:53:01,960
And your kids witness when they 
go to the vineyard and they 

887
00:53:01,960 --> 00:53:04,600
realize that there's a for sale 
sign and there's a sold sign on 

888
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:05,920
it. 
Dad, where did the vineyard go? 

889
00:53:05,960 --> 00:53:07,800
The king asked for. 
But Dad, this is for our tribe 

890
00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:08,680
alone. 
I know. 

891
00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:11,120
But guys, come on, It's we're 
going to get a better vineyard. 

892
00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:15,280
What kind of example, what kind 
of spiritual corruption would 

893
00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:17,600
have Navis compromise caused his
children? 

894
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:20,120
That to me is greater tragedy 
than them dying early. 

895
00:53:24,920 --> 00:53:30,480
And so I see a man who made a 
stance and listen, if I was one 

896
00:53:30,480 --> 00:53:35,440
of the sons of Navis, as 
heartbreaking as it would have 

897
00:53:35,440 --> 00:53:38,360
been to see my father, OK, if my
life would have been taken, 

898
00:53:38,360 --> 00:53:40,120
that's another thing. 
But the witness, my father died.

899
00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:43,000
But to know that he died because
he stood for the truth, I'll 

900
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,040
take that over him getting a 
better vineyard, a better car, 

901
00:53:46,120 --> 00:53:48,840
better house and the pursuit 
that he compromised the God that

902
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:53,400
he claimed to laugh. 
I know you don't hear that much 

903
00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:55,720
these days like that. 
That's true consecration when 

904
00:53:55,720 --> 00:54:01,520
there's a price attached to it. 
So Jezebel gets the news. 

905
00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:07,400
She goes to her husband and 
says, honey, Nabeth's dead. 

906
00:54:09,720 --> 00:54:14,000
How does how does Ahab respond 
to this verse 16 in our final 

907
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:19,600
verse of our study. 
And as soon as Ahab heard that 

908
00:54:19,600 --> 00:54:25,200
Nabeth was dead, Ahab arose to 
go down to the vineyard of 

909
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:27,280
Nabeth the Jezreelite to take 
possession of it. 

910
00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:35,680
What a pathetic man. 
Like if you had any hint of 

911
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:42,240
dignity, any pulse of love left,
you would at least maybe ask how

912
00:54:42,240 --> 00:54:47,760
did he die? 
Or this is revealing that he Co 

913
00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:50,840
signed on the whole thing to 
begin with and he wasn't taken 

914
00:54:50,840 --> 00:54:52,880
by surprise. 
He knew exactly what his wife 

915
00:54:52,880 --> 00:54:56,080
was going to do. 
Either way, pathetic. 

916
00:54:57,880 --> 00:54:59,560
And somebody made this 
observation, and it's a really 

917
00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:05,080
good one. 
When it came to Ahab killing a 

918
00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:09,600
man he was supposed to kill Ben 
Haddad, was he not? 

919
00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:11,920
And what does he do? 
He preserves his life. 

920
00:55:13,160 --> 00:55:15,120
And the one man he was not 
supposed to kill, but to 

921
00:55:15,120 --> 00:55:21,400
preserve and protect, he kills. 
Woe to those who call good evil 

922
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:26,760
and evil good. 
Ahab is yet another example to 

923
00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:31,760
us in a in a long series of 
studies, another illustration 

924
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:35,320
within the man himself, just 
him, of how corrupt we can be, 

925
00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:37,680
of how corrupt government can 
be, of how corrupt leadership 

926
00:55:37,680 --> 00:55:41,720
can be. 
But you know what I'm wondering?

927
00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:44,720
Here's the cliffhanger. 
Where is God and all of this? 

928
00:55:46,520 --> 00:55:50,400
Where's God's intervention? 
Why didn't God step in? 

929
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:53,960
He's going to step in, but you 
have to come to church to find 

930
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:56,440
out when and how. 
Let's pray, shall we? 

931
00:56:01,740 --> 00:56:06,600
You have a new historical 
character to add to your list of

932
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:09,640
inspirational men and women of 
God. 

933
00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:15,520
Nabeth the Jezreelite. 
Yeah, I love the way he answered

934
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:18,720
Ahab. 
I just wonder what it looked 

935
00:56:18,720 --> 00:56:21,320
like. 
Here's this royal knock on the 

936
00:56:21,320 --> 00:56:23,920
door and Nabeth answers as yes. 
How can I help you, knowing what

937
00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:27,280
this man has caused concerning 
compromise in the nation? 

938
00:56:28,400 --> 00:56:31,880
Nabeth, I'm willing to buy your 
land, give you a better one and 

939
00:56:32,080 --> 00:56:34,040
whatever price. 
And you can just imagine the 

940
00:56:34,040 --> 00:56:38,600
entourage and the whole spiel 
and the impressive presentation.

941
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:42,280
And he was like, the Lord forbid
that I do any business with you.

942
00:56:43,240 --> 00:56:46,040
More importantly, because this 
belongs to my father's and this 

943
00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:48,040
is according to his law. 
It just slams that door. 

944
00:56:48,040 --> 00:56:49,840
I love it. 
I love it. 

945
00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:55,080
I wish he lived a little longer,
but the Holy Spirit honor this 

946
00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:57,280
man by placing him in the word. 
Though he had a brief 

947
00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:01,120
appearance, it's enough for us 
to be stirred to realize that 

948
00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:04,480
God is worthy to be honored even
in what we might consider 

949
00:57:04,480 --> 00:57:10,560
obscure commands. 
So, Lord, we ask you tonight 

950
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:15,040
that you would give us such 
hearts that whether we are aware

951
00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:17,480
of the price of our obedience or
not, that we would give it to 

952
00:57:17,480 --> 00:57:21,400
you anyway. 
And we do ask, Lord, that you 

953
00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:29,040
would in this house, raise up 
strong holy men that will bless 

954
00:57:29,040 --> 00:57:31,680
their homes, bless their 
churches, bless their 

955
00:57:31,680 --> 00:57:36,520
businesses, bless any context 
that they come into contact 

956
00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:38,600
with. 
Strengthen our fathers, 

957
00:57:38,600 --> 00:57:40,840
strengthen the new fathers 
husbands. 

958
00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:46,920
And Lord, we do ask that this 
church would also know strong 

959
00:57:46,920 --> 00:57:49,520
helpmates to help their 
husbands. 

960
00:57:50,680 --> 00:57:56,240
We don't want Jezebel's that 
only fuel the flesh, Lord. 

961
00:57:56,240 --> 00:57:58,240
Not just in the context of 
marriage, but in all our 

962
00:57:58,240 --> 00:58:02,400
relationships. 
We've seen enough kings throw 

963
00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:05,080
themselves headlong because of 
the wrong counsel. 

964
00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:10,520
Give us discerning ears. 
Oh God, make us careful, Lord. 

965
00:58:10,520 --> 00:58:14,000
May we take the commands of our 
fathers and bind them on our 

966
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:16,720
hearts and the commands of our 
mothers and tie them around our 

967
00:58:16,720 --> 00:58:20,480
necks. 
May we be men and women who know

968
00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:24,360
your words so that even if 
somebody tries to manipulate us 

969
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:26,960
with the Scriptures, we can 
smell it from a mile away. 

970
00:58:28,120 --> 00:58:30,840
So protect Maranatha Bible 
Church, protect every church 

971
00:58:30,840 --> 00:58:34,720
represented here. 
May we not tolerate that which 

972
00:58:34,720 --> 00:58:37,920
you hate. 
So Lord, we want to give you 

973
00:58:37,920 --> 00:58:40,760
worship because you've spoken to
us even from a scene in the 

974
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:46,280
Bible that deals with a 
vineyard, a king, and a faithful

975
00:58:46,280 --> 00:58:48,600
man. 
Lord, we love you. 

976
00:58:48,600 --> 00:58:52,280
Your word is your voice, and now
we give you our voices and song 

977
00:58:52,840 --> 00:58:55,920
as we rejoice in your truth in 
Jesus name, Amen. 

978
00:58:56,680 --> 00:58:58,080
Is he worthy? 
He's worthy. 

979
00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:01,280
Let's stand and worship him. 
So, so good to see you on a 

980
00:59:01,280 --> 00:59:04,600
Friday night to gather around 
the truth of God's Word. 

981
00:59:12,910 --> 00:59:16,510
Let's praise Him for a faithful 
house and praise Him for all the

982
00:59:16,510 --> 00:59:18,270
things that He's going to do 
through our lives.