Naboth: Faithful unto Death

  1 Kings 21:1-3 "And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." 

1 Kings 21:13-16  "And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it." 

    Wow. What is dear enough to you that you would get stoned for it? 

    So, here's Naboth, and he knows that the law of God commands that he not sell the inheritance of his fathers (see Numbers 36:7, Leviticus 25:23)- in this case, a vineyard. But the king has just come to him offering him something better. Or at least, it seems better. 

    God's best might not always be shiny, sparkly, or flashy, but it is best. The devil always holds out the most impressive looking thing until we settle for the flashy second best. 

    Naboth wouldn't settle for second best. Instead of giving up God's will for him, he refused both money and a better vineyard, and then he told the king 'No', and obeyed God. That had to take character.  Oh, and by the way, Naboth probably knew that there was a risk in refusing Ahab. Ahab and Jezebel were wicked people, and everyone knew it. Therefore, Naboth probably knew that they wouldn't hesitate to kill him to get what he wanted. 

    So, what does it take to get you to settle for second best? Are you settling for second best in your relationship with God, your parents, or your siblings? Do you act in a way that will get you God's best blessing, or just second best? 

    Will you stay true to what God wants for your life, or will you accept the world's cheap substitute? Don't compromise. Don't settle. Be like Naboth: Faithful unto Death.