Hello Friends,
“Can You Kill and Claim the Land”?
One of the bible’s most powerful and famous prophetic slogans echoes as loudly today as it did when it was first proclaimed in the hills of Samaria.
This quote comes the scene in which the Prophet Elijah shames King Ahab and Queen Jezbel of Israel for coveting their neighbor Nabot’s vineyard, having him killed under false pretenses, and then inheriting his ancestral vineyard.
But the crime of greed and power does not go unseen.
Elijah is sent by God to talk truth to power - with a script in hand:
“Say to Ahab, ‘Thus said GOD: Would you murder and take possession? Thus said GOD: In the very place where the dogs lapped up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will lap up your blood too.’” (I Kings 21)
It’s too late for Nabot. But the story remains a moral for the ages.
Jeremy Bernstein writes:
“In 16 verses, the Biblical author has given us a memorable “anti-vision” of the ideal society: how indulging the very personal act of coveting can cause civilization to unravel. This story, then, is not about Ahab and Jezebel and poor Nabot - but about ourselves and how we build a just, compassionate society, or not.”
So much injustice still infuriates us today, as too few prophets manage to pierce the arrogant hearts of the ones who steal the land of others and then steal their lives.
The terrible terror that rises in Judah and Samaria today is what happens when lawlessness is enabled by law makers and encouraged by those who claim to represent the prophetic legacy of Israel. Pending on which media you follow or who you ask - you may get very different perspectives about the situation and how to solve the conflict.
The same applies to the biblical saga of Elijah, Jezebel and Ahab. It’s all about agendas:
* Was Jezebel the guilty evil queen who spilled innocent blood?
* Was it Elijah the fanatic zealot who murdered his opponents?
* What are these stories really about and what was the agenda of their authors?
* What can we learn from them as we delve deeper into the schism between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and its relevance to our contemporary challenges?
Join me on August 23rd at 2pmET to ask big questions of this big story. This session is free for all. Scroll down for details.
Read ahead -with this post from the Below theBible Belt Archive:
Elijah’s Rage: Kill the Man and Steal his Land?
Kill the Man then Steal his Land??
·
When it comes to villains in the Bible, Queen Jezebel attained a perpetual place of dishonor.