1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food. 5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.'” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

1 Kings 21:1-7 (ESV)

Covetousness is a fountain and source for all other sins. It often seems innocuous, a harmless dwelling on the finer things of life. In truth, it is a cancer that eats into the soul, destroying the one who covets, and even those around him.

Ahab’s desire for Naboth’s vineyard at first seems trivial. He appears honest, even generous in offering a fair price or a better vineyard in exchange for the opportunity to cultivate a vegetable garden by his home. His offer is the very soul of reason. However, Naboth’s response reveals that already the king’s desire for the vineyard has led him to disregard God’s Law (v. 3). The sale of land for freehold was forbidden in the Law (Lev. 25:23). It was not to be sold in perpetuity precisely because it belonged to God, who had portioned it out to each Israelite for an inheritance (Josh. 13:1ff.). Thus, in seeking to buy the land for himself, Ahab was setting himself in place of God, claiming the right to own something that already belonged to Yahweh. Transgressing the Tenth Commandment had led him to break the First; a vegetable plot had become his god.

The story does not stop there. Naboth’s refusal of the vineyard leads to Jezebel’s intervention, and as a result of sharing in her husband’s evil desires, she goes on to further transgress God’s Law. She incites people to bear false witness against Naboth and then to murder him (vv. 8-13). And after this is done, together Jezebel and Ahab steal the vineyard for which they have lied and murdered (v. 15ff.). They revel in their power, unbridled by man or conscience (v. 7).

Individual sins do not exist in a vacuum. Ahab’s disregard for the Tenth Commandment led him and his wife to break the First, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth as well. This is unsurprising: God’s law is a unity, because the Law-giver is One. Nevertheless, it does highlight the horror of harboring even what seems the most minor sin in the heart.

Contemporary social mores have raised covetousness to a virtue; it is endemic in society. Advertisers feed on, and stoke, insatiable desires. Freely available credit allows those desires to be pursued in a way unimaginable even a generation ago. And yet a society that fuels greed is playing with fire. Legitimizing covetousness will, over time, unleash a frenzy of vice; the wind sown will likely reap a whirlwind. Many sins which still are frowned on, will over time become acceptable, as the inner logic of nourishing greed and massaging desire inexorably works itself out in a flood of evil.
 
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(1 Kings 21:1-7) — “The Root of All Evil”
(Proverbs 1:10-19) — “Suicide by Greed” unread
(Isaiah 1:21, 23) — “Forgetting the Needy” unread
(Jeremiah 17:11) — “Whose Brood Is in Your Nest?”
(Micah 2:1-2) — “Predators” unread
(Revelation 2:22-23) — “Crossing the Picket Line” unread
 

First Baptist Church is located in Perryville, one and a half miles east of Rt. 222.