Chic jeans. All I wanted when I was in elementary school was a pair of Chic jeans. I remember how badly I wanted a pair of those jeans. I knew Mama couldn’t afford them, so I had to wait for a special occasion. I waited and waited and waited.
Finally, Christmas Day arrived. My brother Wayne had brought a package just for me. And it was sitting proudly under the tree. I could hardly wait to open the box. Could it be?
Imagine my excitement when I found the long-awaited pair of BRAND NEW Chic jeans in the box! My heart sang with joy when I laid eyes on those beautiful jeans. Those beautiful jeans that I had waited for. A long time. Months and months. To a kid, that is like forever!
But, you know what? Waiting on those jeans made getting them even more special to me.
To this day, I’m still grateful to Wayne for those jeans. That memory is one that I pray I never forget. It has lived with me almost forty years!
Patience, Today
This morning I pray for the childlike patience and longing that I had back then. Not only for me. For the world.
Today, so many of us are impatient. We want something, and we don’t feel we need to wait.
As I sit and think on this topic, a man named Ahab comes straight to my mind. Ahab and his evil wife, Jezebel.
The Entitled King
Naboth had a vineyard that was close to Ahab’s palace. Ahab wanted the vineyard, so he tried to get Naboth to trade for another vineyard or to sell the vineyard.
Naboth refused because the vineyard was an inheritance. God had commanded the children of Israel to keep their inheritance back in Numbers 36:7.
See, Ahab was a King, and he felt entitled. So much so that 1 Kings 21:4 shows us a side of King Ahab that is just beyond words. He actually pouted. Read with me:
“And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.”
Ummm, ok. Wow.
The Evil Queen
Here comes Jezebel wanting to know why he was sad. I mean, I get it. She was his wife.
But what she did takes showing concern to a whole new level. Let’s read what happened next in 1 Kings 21:8-10.
“So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.”
Ummm. Double ok. Double wow.
Ahab coveted the vineyard. Ahab threw a fit and pouted when he couldn’t get the vineyard. His actions caused his wife to devise an evil plan. She lied, and she lied, and she lied some more. Then she committed murder. Yes, I said SHE committed murder. Jezebel may not have thrown the stones by her own hands, but she is the one who stoned Naboth to death.
Jezebel told Ahab that Naboth was dead, and he rose up and went on down to Naboth’s vineyard to take possession of it. Did he ask what happened to Naboth? Nope. He was only interested in the vineyard.
Ummm. Triple ok. Triple wow.
The Price To Be Paid
If we keep reading 1 Kings 21:17-24, the Lord will condemn Ahab because of his actions. And Jezebel for her actions.
God sends the prophet Elijah to Ahab to say this:
1 Kings 21:19: “And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.”
Naboth lost his life. All because Ahab wanted something that did not belong to him. In this, Ahab provoked God to anger. That is a scary thought.
Look at what God had to say about Jezebel in 1 Kings 21:23:
“And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”
What About People Today?
Do we get upset when we don’t get what we want? Are we so self-absorbed that we look at our own wants and desires above all others? Everyone is all about we want it, and we want it now?
Have you seen that commercial – ‘It’s my money, and I want it NOW’? Does that commercial represent your thought pattern?
If so, that is a sad situation. A tragic life to live.
Like Naboth, many people in this generation have lost their lives because of greed. Because someone took a liking to their shoes. To their car. Because someone wanted what they have. Their purse. Their spouse. Their whatever it may be.
How Things Ended for Ahab and Jezebel
Ahab goes to battle and is wounded. He is put in his chariot, and we see in 1 Kings 22:35 that Ahab’s blood ran out of his wound into the midst of the chariot. He dies there in the chariot.
Then – guess what? Dogs lick up his blood. Just like God said.
Read with me:
1 Kings 22:38: “And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.”
That was Ahab’s end. Now, let’s see what happened to Jezebel after Ahab died.
Some time had passed and the Lord had annointed Jehu the King of Israel. Jehu is then told that he is to cut off the whole house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:4-10).
Guess what? Jehu didn’t argue or ask why. He got on up and did what the Lord had told him to. Jehu slays Ahab’s son and throws him in Naboth’s vineyard. Well then.
Jehu then has Jezebel thrown out of her own window. She hits the ground, and Jehu tromps on her with his horses. Ouch.
You already know what happened next. Yep. Dogs ate Jezebel. They only found parts of her carcass. She got exactly what God said.
Now – keep in mind that Jezebel killed way more people than Naboth. She was one of the vilest women in the Old Testament.
Read the account with me in 2 Kings 9:30-37:
30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter.
35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
How Things Will End For Those Like Ahab and Jezebel Today
We could turn to many passages, but today we will review verses in Galatians and 1 Corinthians. These verses make my heart lurch in my chest. Just thinking about spending eternity away from God. Nope.
Please read with me.
Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
There Is Hope!
1 Corinthians 6:11: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Were. This is past tense! Such WERE some of you. That means people can change! But, you have to WANT to change. And you have to be ALIVE to change.
If you ponder where you will end but aren’t quite sure, you have an opportunity. To make things right with God. To have your name written in the Book of Life! (Rev. 3:5)
Not sure where to start? How about right here?
Like my husband says, when he is preaching, it’s a cookie-cutter process. What made them Christians in the 1st century will make us Christians today. What is that process?
Hear the Gospel. (Romans 10:17, John 8:32)
Believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6, John 20:31)
Repent of past sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30)
Confess faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32)
Be Baptized (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
Be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10)
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Please.
Reach out to me if you have questions or want to study. I am ready and willing. I will be there for you.
In Christian Love,
Leah Brewer
