1.
Please pray with me.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing
in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this First Sunday in Lent comes from 1 Kings 21:1-16
and will focus on the 9th and 10th Commandments. Why are we studying the 10 Commandments
during Lent? You may ask. Because the Gospel of our Lord’s passion,
death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead all for you for the
forgiveness of your sins isn’t good news until we first know the bad news of
our sin and just how fallen we really are.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
King Ahab craves what he can’t have. He flat
out covets. His coveting consumes him. He breaks the Ninth and Tenth
Commandments. What does his heart desire? Ahab desperately covets Naboth’s
vineyard. Along the way, Ahab will break even more commandments as a result of
his coveting. You’ll see that in a few minutes as we review the story. King Ahab wants to plow under the grapery and
convert it into a huge organic vegetable garden. Brilliant! Everyone in the
kingdom, especially the school children, needs to eat more vegetables. Cut out
the fatty foods and sugary snacks and drinks. Help end the elementary and
adolescent obesity crisis. Yes, that’s the ticket! More vegetables. And it’s
all organic! What a king!
3.
Surely his neighbor Naboth will agree. As long as
it’s “for the children!” His Highness
did ask nicely too. He offers Naboth a bargain he can’t refuse. His Majesty
will clinch the deal. Naboth can name his price; the sky’s the limit!
Additionally, in exchange for his family’s vineyard, King Ahab will give Naboth
one of the kingdom’s finest vineyards!
4.
Naboth . . . declines. Right to the king’s face! “The Lord forbid that I should give you the
inheritance of my fathers” (v 3). Right. The Lord had given the land to
Naboth’s family. It was theirs to take care of as the Lord’s servants. Ahab
knew that. Naboth was right. The king, even with all his royal power, couldn’t
have what didn’t belong to him. And it was sinful to want it and try to get it
even in a way that appeared right.
5.
Ahab goes home. To his bedroom. To pray? To repent?
Not hardly. Like a spoiled brat, he pouts on his bed. Frustrated and angry. A
royal temper tantrum! Punches the pillows. Tears up the sheets. Refuses to eat
supper—not even his favorite, prime rib and Mediterranean lobster. Her
Highness, Jezebel the queen, gets wind of what’s happened, and she gets the word
from Ahab himself.
6.
Jezebel is taken aback. But she thinks quickly on
her feet. “Honey, you’re the king. You
should have anything you want. Cheer up, love! I’ll take care of it. I’ll get
the vineyard for you. Wait and see! Soon you’ll be producing the best organic
vegetables for the kids that the kingdom can raise! You’ll be able to write a
best-selling veggie recipe book and get all the prime-time morning interviews. They’ll just gush! Everyone will praise you,
O King! Behold the king’s organic vegetable garden! This is the king who loves
the children! What a reward you’ll get!”
7.
So Queen Jezebel schemes. Hatches a plan. Jezebel will set up Naboth. Frame him. Trump
up false charges. She’ll get Naboth’s inheritance in a way that appears so
right! So just! So within the law! So God-pleasing! And Ahab goes along with
the plan. He still covets the vineyard. He’ll take it any way he can get it
now. She writes letters in Ahab’s name. Puts
the king’s seal on them. And the letters are sent to all the big shots of
Naboth’s hometown, Jezreel. The letters from the king say: “Proclaim a day of fasting [fasting—something
must be dreadfully wrong in the kingdom] and seat Naboth in a prominent place
among the people. Seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that
he [Naboth] has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him
to death.”
8.
You’d think that the elders and nobles of Jezreel
would know better. Naboth would never do that! So, there must have been immense
corruption, payoffs, and bribes going on in that city. The elders and nobles
eagerly take part in this wicked plot. Royal
henchmen. Lackeys! Goons! They actually carry out the order! The liars-for-hire passionately under
oath maintain Naboth has committed unforgiveable crimes. Capital crimes.
Punishable by death! “Naboth has cursed
God and King Ahab!” they repeat over and over again under examination at
the outdoor court.
9.
Everyone in town is outraged. Anyone who curses both
God and the king must suffer the consequences! No matter how well respected.
Cursing God and the king falls under the zero-tolerance policy! Naboth must
die! So, the Jezreelites surround Naboth. There’s no escape. They hurl, chuck,
and launch rocks the size of baseballs, softballs, and volleyballs at him until
he’s graveyard dead. As the Law demands. It all played out according to plan!
Appeared so God-pleasing and so religious! Just as Jezebel planned! Can you
imagine her devilish grin?
10.
The huge pool of blood from Naboth’s assaulted dead
body had barely cooled when Ahab took possession of the coveted vineyard. And
rightly so—it appeared. After all, Naboth had cursed God and the king! So Ahab
had the legal right to take the vineyard now! Right? No! Absolutely not! You know the Ninth and
Tenth Commandments and how Luther explains them: “You shall not covet your
neighbor’s . . . (please turn with me to page 322 in your hymnal as we
recite together the 9th and 10th commandments).”
11.
Ahab coveted big time! Like all sin, it’s
spiritually deadly. It’s a spiritual cancer that spreads mercilessly. His
coveting gave birth to more cancerous and deadly sin. Devious and
well-thought-out lies (Second Commandment). Outrageous slander and false testimony
(Eighth Commandment). Theft (Seventh Commandment). Cold-blooded murder (Fifth
Commandment).
12.
He did all this because he did not fear, love, and
trust in God above all things (First Commandment)! Let’s not forget that Ahab
was into idolatry big time! He was a hardcore false worshiper! He worshiped
many false gods and encouraged his people to do the same. No wonder he broke so
many of the Commandments and didn’t give a rip. It’s no surprise that he lost
no sleep over the outrageous setup and brutal murder of Naboth.
13.
What about you? Do you think you’re any better than
Ahab? You’re not. Really, you’re not! You’re a sinner too. You covet just like
he did. You scheme and plot too in order to get what you want. And you’d do
anything to get what you want. Cheat, lie, steal. Even murder? Yes. Even murder.
You may not do it with a gun or a knife but you do it with hate-filled words
and an enraged and jealous heart. And just like Ahab, you’d be sure to make it
all look so right. So legit! So religious and pious!
14.
Ahab’s story is your story. The Holy Spirit put this
account in the Bible in order to preach to you! This Old Testament story of
Ahab’s coveting is the Holy Spirit’s attack on you, the sinner, through this
divine Word! With Ahab’s coveting and all the other horrific sin that flowed
from it, the Holy Spirit leads you to recognize your own sin in your own life. God forbids coveting! No ifs, ands, or buts!
But you do it anyway. You covet like there’s no tomorrow: 24-7-365. Like King
Ahab. As if God doesn’t exist. Or as if God simply cannot be trusted to take
care of you. So today is the night to repent. A Lenten repentance. Living in
and from your Baptism into Christ. And
that means, unlike Ahab who wouldn’t do it, it’s time to confess that you truly
are a sinner and admit that you covet because you do not trust God. Own up to
it. Tell the truth.
15.
So that this Lenten Season, as well as all your
life, you have good use of . . . Jesus, the Savior of coveters. I’m here
to tell you that Jesus died for you masters of coveting. Here is the truth: all
your coveting and all the other sin that flows from your coveting belong to
Jesus. He wrapped himself up in all of it so that he was counted as the
coveter, slanderer, thief, murderer, and idolater par excellence, and
then he took all of its damnation. That’s Good Friday. God for you! You
are forgiven! That’s his divine promise. And with that, You Now Desire a Gift
or a Treasure That Jesus Says Is Yours.
16.
That he wants you to have. Today. Every Sunday. The rest of your life.
What’s that? His body and blood. Fruit from the vineyard and fruit from the
cross! “Given and shed for you for the
forgiveness of your sin.” Your heart is content with such a promise! So
that you also now want to help and be of service to your neighbor in keeping
what belongs to him. Acting as a little Christ. Serving your neighbor in love. Amen.
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