CharlotteC

Naboth was possessing land that God had given to his forefathers. He valued his inheritance more than the things Ahab could offer because he was living by the laws of God. Lev 25:23-28; Num 36:7; Ez 46:18 Ahab’s request looks innocent enough to us in our lifestyle of buy and sell real estate whenever we want. Ahab was really asking Naboth to compromise his faith for money or something that looked better. Ahab wanted to take what God had given and change it to something that looked similar but yielded different fruit. The lesson I am taking away from this is to not sell what God has given to me spiritually. Naboth’s forefathers had to conquer their enemy and continue to cultivate the land. My parents and grandparents have fought spiritual battles so I can have an inheritance. More importantly, Jesus fought spiritual battles for me to become an heir in the kingdom of God. Satan likes to come along and make “innocent looking offers” to see if I will sell off a little bit of my inheritance. Yesterday, I was feeling grumpy for no apparent reason so I asked God why. The inner impression I got was because I was willing to sell my joy. I immediately declared, “My joy that Jesus gave to me is not for sale.” The grumpiness left.

What kind of courage? Courage is required when you are in a situation that you fear something. Elijah testified that is was the Lord God of Israel that he stood before. It seems to be more about obedience than courage. I realize he was entering into a confrontation with spiritual and national leaders, but he knew who it was that he was really standing before was God Almighty. When your eyes are fixed on God, the fear of man has no power over you. Easier said than done many times, but I think Elijah at this moment had that figured out before he went in to the room before Ahab. Elijah knew it was only at his word that rain and dew would come to the land once again. Therefore, he knew he would be around for a few more years to release that word. He could be confident as he entered and just as confident when he turned and left. “Speaking truth to power” would be difficult when you are more afraid of the person you are confronting than the God who is sending you. We need more of the fear of the Lord on God’s people today.