Not For Sale

Not for Sale!

1 Kings 21:1 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken 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 sullen that you eat no food?”

6 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 pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth.

9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people;

10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.

11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.

12 They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people.

13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.

14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”

16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Point 1 – He probably was going to lose it anyway. But he made a choice!

Point 2 – The most evil person is not always the most obvious.

Point 3 – To die with dignity is better than to die a failure.

Point 4 – God will give Honor where honor is due.

2 Kings 9:21Then Joram said, “Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

You are offered a job opportunity making more money than you are making at the present. But the job requires you to compromise your integrity–not in any flagrant violation of the law, but in subtle ways that would not meet with God’s approval. Do you sign on the dotted line or do you say: “NOT FOR SALE?”

You are being considered for a promotion within your company. Yes, it will mean an additional $10,000 a year to the family budget. But the price you

pay will be time away from your family--at least two weeks every month. Do you leave your name in the hat or do you politely decline because the time you spend with your family is NOT FOR SALE?

When election time comes around and candidates of every political stripe tempt us with promises that offer temporary relief, do we buy into their attempts to buy our votes, or do we say: “NOT FOR SALE?”

When we are tempted to compromise the uniqueness of our faith for the sake of appeasing those of differing faiths, in the name of such hazy concepts as “harmony” and “tolerance”, do we just give in or do we stand up and boldly declare that our belief system is NOT FOR SALE?