Murder for Hire

~~~ 1 Kings 21:1-16 ~~~ Psalm 5 ~~~ Matthew 5:38-42 ~~~

Let's make a deal...lies...deceit...corruption...

Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard

 to be my vegetable garden,

since it is close by, next to my house.

How far is too far in supporting your husband? Jezebel

 ventured way beyond her realm of power.

She forged her husband's signature, after writing 

pages of lies about Naboth.

Jezebel manipulates the laws to favor the king, her husband's, wishes.

King Ahab wanted the nearby plot of land belonging to Naboth for his own.

Naboth refused because it was part of his family heritage.

Naboth answered him, “The LORD forbid

that I should give you my ancestral heritage.”

The king was extremely angry over not getting his way.

Jezebel had a choice... 

Keep her husband happy or arrange for murder.

She used one to accomplish the other.

She arranged for a murder to keep the king happy.

The king's anger seeped into the heart of Jezebel.

It is true that a wife should support her husband, but she crossed the line.

After the plot for murder was carried out as the queen outlined

the king took possession of the garden plot.

You hate all evildoers.

You destroy all who speak falsehood;

The bloodthirsty and the deceitful

the LORD abhors.

Jezebel deserves to be labeled 'bloodthirsty and deceitful'.

She and the king Ahab entered into the darkness of death as accomplices.

They allowed their soul to be shattered for a small piece of land.

What were they thinking?

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations

 where our better judgment is clouded by our own selfishness.

The law of the land then did not allow the punishment

 for a crime to be greater than the crime.

What punishment did Jezebel and Ahab deserve?

Since they were the rulers, who would 

decide if there would even be a punishment?

Together they may have outsmarted the local officials

 and achieved their goal;

but they lost their souls in the process.

God does not play games.

He does not engage in 'Let's Make a Deal'.

He does not condone 'murder for hire' scenarios.

...no evil man remains with you;

the arrogant may not stand in your sight. 

This verse from the psalm puts it bluntly...

evil cannot be in the presence of our just God.

Lord, protect me from my own arrogance.

Help me to always see the reason to reject evil is to be with you.

That is all that really counts in the long run;

being with you.

Blessings in every situation, keep us faithful.

~~~Peace~~~