Naboth's Vineyard

Naboth's Vineyard
1 Kings 21

At the time when Ahab was king, he had a wife named Jezebel, who was a very wicked woman. And near the palace of the king, there lived a man named Naboth who had a vineyard, (that is place where grapes are grown) and Ahab wanted it for his own.

One day Ahab spoke to Naboth and said "give me your vineyard so I can have it for an herb garden, because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard than this one, or I will give you money for what it is worth." But Naboth said to Ahab "The LORD forbids it because I can not give the inheritance of my fathers to you."

So Ahab went sadly into his house and would not eat, and lay on his bed. But Jezebel said to him "Why are you so sad?" And so Ahab told her that Naboth would not give him the vineyard. And Jezebel told Ahab that she would give him the vineyard..

She wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to all the elders in the city where Naboth lived, and she told them to make a feast, and set two wicked men on either side of Naboth to tell lies against Naboth saying he said bad things about God and about the king. And then they were to take Naboth out and stone him to death.

And so the men did as Jezebel told them to do, and Naboth was stoned to death. When Jezebel heard about it, she told Ahab to get up and take possession of Naboth's vineyard and so Ahab did that.

But the word of the LORD came to Elijah, and Elijah told Ahab that where Naboth died, so Ahab would die also, because he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He also told Ahab that Jezebel would die by the wall of Jezreel, and that the LORD would bring evil to Ahab's house.

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and fasted and went softly. So the word of the LORD came to Elijah and said that because Ahab humbled himself before the LORD, he would not bring evil while Ahab was alive, but in the days of his sons, he would bring evil to his house.
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Memory Verse: 1 Kings 21:29 ".........because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring evil in his days...."

Questions:
1   Why did king Ahab want the vineyard?
2   Why did Naboth refuse to give it to him?
3   Who told lies about Naboth?
4   Who's fault was it really that Naboth was killed?
5   Why did the LORD change his mind about bringing evil to Ahab?

Answers:
1    Because it was near to his house and he wanted it for a herb garden
2   Because the LORD forbid that he should give away the inheritance of his fathers.
3   Two wicked men were placed at either side of Naboth at a feast.
4   Jezebel
5   Because Ahab humbled himself when he was told what the LORD was going to do.

Vicki C. Gross/Oct.'03

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