Today’s passage: 1 Kings 21:1-29
Helpful thoughts:
- Ahab couldn’t handle not being able to have a new vineyard next to his second home, so he throws a fit.
- Naboth was right to turn Ahab down. Whether he had wanted to sell or not, that land could belong to no one else permanently but his family according to God’s law (Leviticus 25:23-28).
- Jezebel manipulated God’s law to violate it. Ahab and Jezebel were the law breakers, Naboth died for blasphemy.
- Jezebel rebuked her husband for not acting like a king. The kind of king she thought he should be, that is.
Questions to consider:
- Based on Ahab’s initial reaction and Jezebel’s response, how do you think their relationship worked? What kind of a leader was Ahab? How did Jezebel use her position and Ahab’s disposition to her advantage?
- How does God’s mercy toward Ahab show the difference between his view of leadership and Jezebel’s? What kind of attitude would have please Jezebel (Or, the world) and what kind of attitude pleases the Lord?
- How was Elijah to respond to God’s revelation of his mercy toward Ahab? Ahab had done terrible things, was Elijah supposed to be OK with God’s decision? What is our posture to be towards others whom God chooses to show mercy? If we call Him unfair or unjust, what must we also accept about ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9)?