Today’s Scripture Reading (May 31,
2013): 1 Kings 21
In the movie
“The Good Shepherd” a priest is left with an uncomfortable dilemma. Accused of committing
an act of murder, his only defense is found in the betrayal of the
confessional. If he is silent, then there is a good chance that he will spend
the rest of his days in prison; but if he betrays the confidence of the
confessional, then it is his very soul that is in danger of hell. In the movie,
even his direct superiors are unable to convince the priest that it may be
better to betray the confessional than to spend the rest of his days in jail. But
the priest is maybe the rarest of characters. He is a true believer – apparently
the only one in the movie that is – and he refuses to betray his soul in order
to save his body.
In this
unfortunate story of Ahab, Ahab desires a vineyard that happens to be close to
his palace. So he tries to enter into a financial agreement with the owner of
the vineyard – a man named Naboth. Ahab is willing to give Naboth a better
property in a different location, if he can have the one that is close to the
palace. But Naboth is also a true believer. And the law of God makes it clear
that there is a spiritual connection between the land and the person. Naboth
had received the land from his father, and unless extreme poverty had
intervened, the law specified that that same land must be given to his son. Naboth
was not in poverty, so the only reason for selling the land is not available to
him. And Naboth fears God more than he fears the king - and for a king that was
obsessed with denying God, Naboth decision cuts him to his soul.
It is
possible that Naboth’s decision reminded Ahab of the danger that his own soul
was in. In denying God he was able to live his life as he pleased, but as Ahab’s
life grew closer to its close, he began to realize that there was a portion of
his existence that was beyond his control. Naboth became a reminder of that
denied reality of Ahab’s life.
Jesus echo’s
the same thought as he instructs his disciples during his ministry on earth.
Matthew records Jesus saying these words “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in
hell (Matthew 10:28.) And
that truth was exactly what Naboth believed, and Ahab feared.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings
22
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