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Jul 03, 2022

Mercy Where None Should be Found

Mercy Where None Should be Found

Passage: 1 Kings 21:1-29

Speaker: Andrew Kerhoulas

Series: Easter Egg, the hidden figure of Elijah in the life of Jesus

Keywords: mercy, justice, repentance, injustice, greed, covenant promises

In our cultural moment, we tend to divorce justice and mercy—never the twain shall meet. But then we end up missing the fullness of both. In Naboth’s vineyard we discover a God who demonstrates sure justice and shocking mercy, an echo of Jesus and the impetus for how they can stay together in our lives.

Readings & Scripture

PREPARATION: Psalm 9:1-2, 9
LEADER: I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
ALL: The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

CORPORATE PRAYER: A prayer based on the Belgic Confession
ALL: Sacrificial God, how can we comprehend a deliverer who gives his life for powerless rebels,
for us though we were your enemies? Your love in Christ’s death is the matchless wonder of the world—your greatest glory, the world’s deepest hope, and our sweetest joy. Amen.

CENTRAL TEXT: 1 Kings 21:1-29
​​Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said 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 vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And 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 please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, 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 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.

25 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

BENEDICTION:
LEADER: May our Lord Jesus Christ,
the One who came with grace and truth,
also fill your hearts with grace and truth,
as you serve him in the days ahead.
And may the joy of the Lord—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— be your strength.

ALL: Amen.

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

  • Leviticus 25:23-28 
  • Numbers 36:7-9
  • Isaiah 53:5
  • Micah 7:18
  • Mark 13:9-11
  • Luke 19:1-10
  • Romans 3:25-26
  • Revelation 3:6

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Read 1 Kings 21 and then describe the basic movements in this story. Do other stories, ancient or modern, remind you of 1 Kings 21? 
  2. What does Ahab’s spin of Naboth’s rejection of his offer for the vineyard reveal about his spiritual condition (v.6)? How does Jezebel’s reaction to Naboth’s rejection of Ahab’s offer betray hers (v.7)? 
  3. Describe God's initial response to Ahab’s sin and what that says about God’s character? What does God’s response to Ahab’s repentance demonstrate about God’s heart for sinners, even the worst ones? 
  4. What is your knee jerk reaction to the mercy of God in this story? Where do we hear echoes of Jesus and the gospel in this story? 
  5. How did Rachael DenHollander imitate Jesus in her testimony against Larry Nassar?


 ILLUSTRATIONS:

QUOTES: 

  • Christianity followed Enlightenment culture and slowly became focused on correct thinking. The importance of teaching people to love by creating loving communities was neglected. In this new world, it became more important to be right than to be loving. The proliferation of denominational splits and the ongoing failure of Christian leaders points to an overreliance of espousing right beliefs and neglecting maturity. If you haven't experienced people in the church being right at the expense of being loving, you haven't been paying attention....Christians thought of themselves as people with the right answers. Truth and choice became the recipe to get into heaven. Pastors primarily prepared for preaching positions through education, not character formation. Like their pastors, Christians possessed truth, but weren't trained how to love well. - Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church
  • My argument against God was that the universe seems so cruel and unjust. But how did I get this idea of just, unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he first has some idea of straight. What was I comparing the universe to when I called it unjust? C.S. Lewis 
  • In our early hearings, you [Larry Nassar] brought your Bible into the courtroom and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness. And so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way. You spoke of praying for forgiveness. But Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done. It comes from repentance which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen this courtroom today. If the Bible you carry says it is better for a stone to be thrown around your neck and you throw into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds. The Bible you speak carries a final judgment where all of God's wrath and eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you. I pray you experience the soul crushing weight of guilt so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me -- though I extend that to you as well. - Rachael Denhollander
  • God responds decisively to abuse, “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Ps. 9:9). He provides protection for victims and prioritizes their safety. In surveying the totality of God’s response to oppression, an important pattern emerges. In the Bible, God is always on the side of the oppressed. He defends the weak against the strong. God hears the cries of the oppressed and acknowledges the terrible evil. - Taken from PCA report on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault (link below)
  • Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there never has been another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature. - Dorothy Sayers 

BOOKS / DOCS