The Holt County sentinel., 1915-10-01


lind you out Mum 31.23.
Ahab disobeyed God and failed TO
tch. 90: 3l.3p. Thereupon one OF the
prophets resorted TO plan whereby
Ahab was rebukcd and also received
a message that sent him TO his house
heavy and displeased" ". Az. 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.
!. The Schemes Of Men, w. tt.t6.
Ahab had been king for twenty years
,B. G. s067). Jezreel was his summer
csni'al. about twenty miles northwest
Of SaInaria. The chief actors In this
tragedy were Naboth. q well.to-do citi.
zen: Ahab. q 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 bis vineyard ,see
Numbers 36:7: Lev. 25: 20: also Ezek.
<s:i6) 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 . petted
child ". u and thus again runs coun.
ter TO Gods Word lsee tenth com.
mandmenU. Al this juncture Jeiebel.
his wife. appeals to his pride and
power 90 the king ". ~. and o6ers
to procure the coveted possession. The
methods Of mankind whereby vast pos.
sessions are accumulated DO not 81.
ways bear investigation: murder and
rapina 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 1878;
Eph. $50. The nrst sinner was covet.
Gus tGen. 3:6). 30 also were the
chosen people OF God Josh. 7:2D. and
II was this that caused the hrst dis.
sension among Christian believers
tActs 5:i.3). Jeiebel 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 ts.i3).
u. The Sentence OF God, w. 17.2o.
The dead Naboth was happier than his
neishbors OF Jezreel. the king and
queen or any OF the other evil par.
Elephants. Ahab began by breaking
the first commandment Il Kings 1881;
Deut. $50 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
prohted thereby. but now he was to
hear the Word OF God and II was not
TO be 80 welcome. Recently We saw
Elijah set aside. following his night
from Jezebel. but ne 10 not entirely
beyond use ind God now gave him o
new commission, one more task In
connection with his old opponent.
There Is nothing indicating cowardice
In Elijah's bold challenge Of Ahab and
there Ii also a suggestion Of q guilty
conscience In Ahab's exclamation,
Hast thou found me, o mine enemy"
" 20)? Ahab had gone down to the
vineyard Of Naboth" ". l6) to enjoy
the pleasure OF possessing his ill-got.
ten treasure only to hear again his
word Of doom (ch. 20;%2; 2i.i0. II
was q poor exchange Ahab made
MARK $3.50. q 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 10 usually the case. the guilty sin.
ner called the righteous servant Of
God his enemy" yet had Ahab
obeyed the Word Of Jehovah a. 30
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.
Mum. 32:23).
~. The Summary. Covetousness 10
not the mere desire for things we do
not possess. but deep longing which
10 willing to do wrong, to inture 9th.
ers. to profit by the evil deeds Of 9th.
ers In order to come into possession.
| Covetousness seeks to gain at the ex.
penss Of higher and better things: It
10 the extreme opposite OF the spirit
OF him who gave all"
The greatest danger OF our land and
the chief source Of sin 10 covetousness.
The source and fountain OF covet-
business 10 selhshness. Hence the one
and only cure 10 In changed heart.
one consecrated to God and devoted
to the service Of others.
Love God. obey his Word. strive
with oil our ransomed powers to build
up and advance his kingdom and
| covetousuess will vanish a. mist be.