A Look at the God of Justice

Main characters

I present to you Naboth, a devout Israelite who lived in the town of Jezreel. He was a godly man who abhorred evil and clave to the holy and righteous. He did not engage in activities that would dilute his personal faith loyalty for gain. Naboth, who loved God, his family, and his nation, had inherited a small vineyard from his ancestors that was located close by the summer place of Ahab, the king. This little piece of land was very dear and sacred to his heart.

King Ahab, on the other hand, was a contemptible human being. He was ruler of a nation but could not rule his own lustful appetite. He strutted around in rich clothes, but he had an impoverished, depraved heart beneath them. He ate the finest food served on fine china by servants obedient to his every beckon call, but he had a deprived soul. He lived in beautiful palaces yet he obsessed over one piece of land more. Ahab was a king with a throne, crown, and scepter. Yet, he lived nearly all his life under the ambitious control of evil Jezebel.

Jezebel was the daughter and wife of kings. She was, scheming, adulterous, treacherous, cruel and unconscionable. She was devoted to her worship of Baal and detested anyone and everyone who spoke against or refused to worship her pagan deity. (1 Kings 18:4). Most of that which is malevolent in all men and women found expression in Jezebel. She was pure evil.

The final character to debut on the stage in this scenario is Elijah, the Tishbite. He was a prophet of God at a time when by tens of thousands the people had forsaken God's covenants, desecrated His altars, and killed His prophets. Elijah was one of earth's greatest heroes and must be one of heaven's greatest saints. Surely, it saddened Elijah deeply to learn of all the evil and hedonistic cruelties that existed in Ahab's idolatrous kingdom.

Greed

In all fairness to Ahab, I do not think he initially cherish any thoughts of cheating Naboth out of his vineyard or of killing him to procure it. Certainly, he was within his rights to try to negotiate a mutually satisfying deal. He honestly offered to buy it and honestly offered to give Naboth a far better vineyard. But the king did not anticipate Naboth's refusal to sell. He did not understand that for the Jew, in all property transactions, there was another party involved, God. The belief throughout Judah and Israel was that Jehovah God was the real owner of the land. Every tribe received its territory and every family its inheritance by lot. To sell or swap his vineyard would seem to him a denial of his allegiance to the true religion. Therefore, Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to the king. Believing that he must obey God rather than man, he took his stand.

Disappointed Ahab went home in a petty rage. His behavior really reminds one of a spoiled child. He pouted and refused to eat or talk to anyone. What an obnoxious image of a king. Think about it. A king moaning, groaning, and growling because he was denied the miniscule vineyard that he desperately desired. But there he is, a king, having a child-like temper tantrum. How sad!

And what does his wife do? She laughs at him, degrades him, and ridicules him for being such a weakling. She was unrelenting in her cruel words that must have cut deep into Ahab’s heart. She then proceeds to tell him how a "real" king would handle the situation. Thus, impatient with him, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She would acquire Naboth's vineyard for the king herself and do it her way.

Setup for the Kill

As we read on, we learn that Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal, and sent them to the magistrates who lived in Naboth's city asking: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."

The nobles and elders followed as Jezebel directed, they find Naboth, who was unaware of what was happening, and drag him off to the judgment seat. There he was falsely accused of cursing God and the king and subsequently, killed.

Sidebar

It does not matter how good you may be, people can always concoct a way to destroy. If people want to tear down your good name, they will find a way to achieve it. If jealousy, envy, greedy folks want something that you have, they will do anything and use any willing body to get you out of the way, even if it means using your faith against you.

Jezebel accomplished her nefarious purpose. She had Naboth eliminated, removed the obstacle to procuring a small vineyard. She did not care if God’s laws had been defied, commandments broken, justice outraged just so she could get ownership of a little plot of land. Murdering Naboth meant nothing, gaining a piece of land was far more valuable than a human life to this reprehensible queen.

Where was God? Was He oblivious to what was happening? Naboth was a righteous man and practiced his faith. If God loved him, why did He not intervene? Wait a minute; this is not the end of the story. It is important to notice how God operates. Be sure to note the time span between time crime was committed and time God executed divine justice.

Jezebel went back to the palace and instructed the king to “get up” out of the bed and to go take possession of the land. Naboth was no longer an issue, the roadblock removed, the irritation vanquished. So the king gets up and gets going.

In the meantime, out there in the wilderness somewhere, God had an old eagle eyed prophet, and while Jezebel was telling Ahab to “get up,” God was telling Elijah to “get up.” God told him in essence, Get up Elijah, I have a job for you. I need you to go down to Naboth’s vineyard where you will find Ahab. And I want you to tell him:

This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!' "

'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'

"And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.' "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

What we learn about God

This story gives us clues about the justice of God. He has written into divine providence - a kind of payday equation.

Payday - God’s Justice

We learn in second Kings that payday arrived for Ahab and Jezebel. It came three years later for Ahab and twenty years later for Jezebel, but payday came. An arrow killed King Ahab and the dogs licked up his blood. Her own eunuchs threw Jezebel from a window and her blood splattered everywhere. She was then trampled to pieces by horses in the street, marauding dogs then came and ate her body, leaving only the skull, feet and hands - payday. They both got by for a time, but they did not get away! Our God is a God of justice.

God does not work according to our timetable. Because we cannot fully understand God’s justice does not mean God is blind or that He does not love and care about us, or that divine justice will not prevail. Our limited perspective clouds our perception. The justice of man is flawed and unbalanced. Men draw conclusions without the knowledge of what they cannot see and judge accordingly. God judges on what He can see and know perfectly. God reads our hearts and sees all so He judges with perfect clarity, not the distortion of perception or appearances. No human can read our hearts and know our motives.

Nor is God persuaded by sentimentality. Remember His declaration to His people when they became immersed in idolatry? God firmly declared: “I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 7:3-4). We rejoice and rest in the knowledge that, “his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Even so, to the nation that forgets God, there is a payday coming. To countries that dare to squash the principles of Almighty God, there is a payday coming. To the church, that soft pedals the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is a payday coming. To the shepherds that abuses and misuses their flock, there is a payday coming. To the home that has no time and no room for God, there is a payday coming. To those of us pretending to be Christians at God’s expense, there is a payday coming.

There are eternal laws that even God are bound by. No man can evade God’s laws and God keeps perfect records. Unless there is deep and sincere repentance, there is no place to flee when payday becomes today. The Lord may temper justice with mercy, but He will never supplant it. Mercy can never replace justice. God is merciful, but He is also just.” Eventually we must come face to face with the judgment of God. We may get by, but we will not get away!