The Dermott news., 1915-09-30


follow up his victory over Ben-Hadad
tch. 20: 3134. Thereupon one of the
prophets resorted to a plan whereby
Ahab was rebuked and also received
a message that sent him Ito his house
heavy and displeased" ". 49,. All OF
this needs to be borne in mind when
we study Ahab's course of action re-
lated in this lesson. Learn by heart
the tenth commandment: also Luke
1915.
|. Tho Schemes OF Men. w. 1t-16.
Ahab had been king for twenty years
(B. c. 906?). Jezreel was his summer
capital. about twenty miles northwest
of Samaria. The chief actors in this
tragedy were Naboth, well-to-do citi'
Zen: Ahab, petulant monarch to
whom Naboth refuses to sell his vine
yard; Jezebel. the Lady Macbeth OF
Ahab's court; elders and mobiles of
Jezreel. willing tools in the transac-
ton; false witnesses executioner, and
Elijah. the servant of God. who con-
fronted the monarch in his newly
gained possession. Ahab was con-
stantly in conflict with the purposes
OF God and with his Word. Naboth
had no right to sell his vineyard (see
Numbers 36:7: Lev %: %; also Eek.
1910 and sturdily stood out for his
God given rights. These land laws
were rigid, but at the same time wise
and beneficial. Instead of yielding to
Gods law Ahab sulks like a petted
child ". ~ and thus again runs coun-
ter to Gods Word tsee tenth com
i mandmenO. At this juncture JeZebel.
/ his wife. appeals to his pride and
power as the king ". y. and offers
to procure the coveted possession. The
methods OF mankind whereby vast pos
sessions are accumulated do not al
ways bear investigation. murder and
/ rapine. broken hearts and shortened
+ lives, weakened bodies and stunted
! children can largely be traced to the
sin or covetousness. against which We
/ all need TO be on guard luke l2:15;
! Eph. $50. The first sinner was covet-
/ GUS (Gen. so, so also were the
chosen people OF God Josh. :2D. and
i II was this that caused the first dis
Bension among Christian believers
t tActs SID Jezebel most graCiously
gave Ahab that which belonged to
others; how free We all can be with
the property of others, She also
cloaked her designs with tho mantle
/ of religion (S-13).
II. The Sentence Of God, w. 1920.
+ The dead Naboth was happier than his
neighbors OF Jezreel. the king and
/ queen or any OF the other evil par
Elephants. Ahab began by breaking
The first commandment II Kings 10: 81,
+ Deut. Sd and thus laid the ground
work OF the whole train OF evil for
which he and his household and his
reign are famous. The elders readily
/ obeyed the word OF Jezebel and Ahab
prOfited thereby. but now he was to
7 hear the Word OF God and IL was not
To be so welcome. Recently We saw
Elijah set aside, following his flight
+ from Jezebel. but he IS not entirely
/ beyond use and God now gave him a
new commission, one more task in
connection with his old opponent
There is nothing indicating cowardice
/ In Elijah's bold challenge of Ahab and
3
conscience in Ahab's exclamation.
Hast thou found me. O mine enemy
" 20)? Ahab had gone down to the
vineyard OF Naboth" ". 16) to enjoy
the pleasure of possessing his illgot-
ten treasure only to hear again his
word OF doom (ch. 20:42: 2l-19). Ii
was poor exchange Ahab made
+ MARK $50. throne and his life in
exchange for the carrying out of his
! own will and the possession OF vine
yard. In that exact spot where Ma
both had been foully stoned the dogs
would lick up the blood OF the king
AS is usually the case. the guilty sim
/ ner called the righteous servant OF
/ God his enemy" yet had Ahab
obeyed the Word OF Jehovah as so
frequently spoken by Elijah he would
have discovered him TO be his true
and best friend. not his enemy. Ahabs
sin had found him out Golden Text.
Mum. 80 23).
~. The Summary. Covetousness Is
not the mere desire for things We do
not possess. but a deep longing which
Is willing to do wrong. TO injure 9TH
ers, to profit by the evil deeds OF 9TH
ers in order to come into possession.
( Covetousness seeks 10 gain at the ex'
pense OF higher and better things; II
Is the extreme opposite OF the spirit
OF him who gave all"
The greatest danger OF our land and
the chief source OF sin is covetousness.
The source and fountain OF covet-
BUSINESS is selfishness. Hence the one
and only cure is In changed heart,
one consecrated TO God and devoted
To the service of others.
Love God. obey his Word. strive
with all our rsnsomed powers to build
up and advance his kingdom and
covetousness will vanish as mist be-
Tar No