1 Kings 21:1-14
Ahab had come very close to being stripped of all he possessed by the king of Syria. Ungrateful to the LORD who had safeguarded all he had, he now, out of covetousness, tries in turn to strip his neighbour. Naboth, as a faithful Israelite, could not give up his inheritance, according to Leviticus 25:23. Do we show the same faithfulness, the same steadfastness, when faced with maintaining our spiritual inheritance, left to us perhaps by our parents? Yes, let us take care not to devalue the incomparable truths of the Bible entrusted to us (1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:14).
A coward, the wretched king allows his wife to take action, and, under the pretext of royal authority, the most appalling injustice is effected.
But Naboth is privileged to represent One greater than himself. In the parable in which the Lord Jesus presents Himself as heir to the vineyard, we hear the terrible words, "Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance" (Matthew 21:38). The end of the same Gospel teaches us that two false witnesses also appeared before the Sanhedrin. There Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the rulers of the people (Matthew 26:60; Matthew 26:65-66), before being put to death "out of the city" (v. 13; Hebrews 13:12).