The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-10-01

lES9UM
= 9: sEItEsss Ass,ns 3sssescs e
BIZ Institute. Chicagol
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 8
GLiJAH ~ MAsovH's VINEYARD
LESSON TExr-I Kings n:ll-x.
GOLDEN .TExT-es sure your SIN win
& Ahab disoOeysd God ana failed to
follow up his victory over Ben-Hadad
(ch- 90:S1~3l). Thereupoa one OF the
propheta reeorted to q plan whereby
Ahab was rehuked and also received
. messagesfhat rent him ito his house
heavy and displeased" (v. 43). 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.
1.-The Schemes 81 Men, w. Title.
Ahab had been king for twenty years
(B. c. S06?). Jexreel was his summer
capital. about twenty miles northwest
OF Samaria. The chief actors In this
tragedy were Naboth. . well.e0-do citi-
zen; Ahab. . petulant monaseh to
whom Naboth refuses to sell his Vine
yard: Jesebel. the Lady Macbeth OF
AhAb's court; elders and mobiles o.
Jezreel. willing tools In the transac.
don: false Witnesses. executioner. and
Bltjah. 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 10 sell his vineyard (see
Numbers 1851: Lev. 26:23: also Ezek-
1910 and sturdily stood out for his
0od-given rights. These land laws
were rigid, bat at the same time wise
and beneficial. Instead of yielding to
Gods law Ahab sulks like q petted
child ". u and thus again runs oun
ter to Gods Word (see tenth COM
mandment). At this juncture Jezebel.
his wife. appeals to his pride and
power - the king ". y. and offers
to procure the coveted possession. The
methods Of mankind whereby vast pos
sessions are accumulated do not NJ
ways bear investigations; murder and
rapine. broken hearts and shortened
children can largely be traced to the
sin or covetousness. against which We
all need to be on guard (Luke 1915:
Eph. 6:5). The first sinner was covet-
GUS (Gen. $3.50, 30 also were the
chosen people Of God Gosh. 7:21), and
1t was this that caused the first dis
sension among Christian believers
(Acts 5:1-3). 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 the mantle
Of religion (8-13). Notice she did not
go to Jezreel herself. but wrote let
tiers" and intrusted the work to others
who did her bidding quickly. lest they
be prevented. Their readiness In
proof Of the corruptiop-~nlch Jezebel
had wrought israel. The worlds
most hell.sn atrocities have frequently
besn enacted In the name OF and by
protested disciples of God and Of his
Son. ~Unconsciously Jezebel was
sharpening the iron which pierced her
own soul I'll Kings. 10:1-T. "Whatso-
ever . man soweth that shall he also
reap" Jezehel was q conscienceless
heather. but Ahab had been in touch
with Jehovah. hence his was the
greater guilt when he pronted by her
acts.
a.. The Sentences OF God, w. 1870.
The dead Naboth was happier than his
neichbors Of Jezreel. the king and
queen or any Of the other evil par
Elephants. AhaL began by breaking
the first commandment Il Kings 1881;
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
pronted thereby. but now he was to
hear the Word of God and 1t was not
to be 90 welcome. Recently We saw
Elijah set aside. following his flight
from Jexebel. but he IL not entirely
beyond . and God now gave him .
new commission, n more ~ In
connection with his old opponent.
There IL nothing indicating co~wardice
in Elijah's bold challenge OF Ahab and
there Is also q suggestion Of q guilty
conscience In Ahab's exclamation.
Hast thou found me. o mine enemy"
". 2o)? Ahab had gone down to the
| vineyard Of Naboth" ". 16) to enjoy
the pleasure Of possessing his Nl-got-
ten treasure only to hear again his
word Of doom (ch. 20:42: 21-19). Il
was = poor exchange Ahab made
(Mark S:37). . throne and his life in
exchange for the carrying out Of his
own will and the possession Of q vine
yard. In that exact spot where Ma
both had been foully stoned the dogs
would lick up the blood Of the king.
AZ II usually the case. the guilty sim
ner called the righteous servant Of
God his enemy" yet had Ahab
obeyed the Word OF Jehovah ~ 20
frequently spoken by Elijah he would
have discovered him to be his true
and best friend, not his enemy. Ahab's
sin had found him out Golden Text.
1 Nu~ Sl.Z31 uav1n~ haA HE ain