They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
The verse belongs to the time when Elijah was still a prophet in Israel, when Ahab set his heart on possessing the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite near the palace for a garden of herbs and proposed to buy it or exchange it for a better vineyard or for money. The incident shows Ahab's dominant covetous selfishness, an evil that harmed the kingdom under his successors. It grew out of a covetous disposition given fully to selfishness, and strengthened and sustained in wrongdoing by Jezebel, Ahab followed his evil heart until he was fully controlled by selfishness, could brook no refusal of his wishes, and felt that what he desired should by right be his. It belongs to the later years of Ahab's life, when Jezebel's evil influence over him from the first continued and bore fruit in deeds of shame and violence seldom equaled in sacred history, as he sold himself to work wickedness with his wife stirring him up.
The verse records that a fast was proclaimed and Naboth was set on high and prominently among the people, setting the scene for the false charge against him. The proclaimed fast and public elevation were part of Jezebel's scheme, carried out through the elders and nobles, using a public religious gathering to make a false accusation appear legitimate. False witnesses accused Naboth of blaspheming God and the king, leading to his execution by stoning.
The verse belongs to the account of Ahab coveting Naboth's vineyard, having him killed, and taking the land, as an example of selfish desire for another person's property leading to murder and unjust seizure so Ahab could take the vineyard he coveted. The seizure of Naboth's vineyard was a flagrant evil that Elijah met with stern rebuke during the years Elijah and Elisha labored together, prophesying the doom of Ahab and the doom of all his house because of it. Naboth's unjust death and murder for another man's selfish purpose calls those who make and enforce laws to anguish and honor and to zealous efforts to establish the facts and administer impartial justice.
The verse belongs to the time when Elijah was still a prophet in Israel, when Ahab set his heart on possessing the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite near the palace for a garden of herbs and proposed to buy it or exchange it for a better vineyard or for money. The incident shows Ahab's dominant covetous selfishness, an evil that harmed the kingdom under his successors. It grew out of a covetous disposition given fully to selfishness, and strengthened and sustained in wrongdoing by Jezebel, Ahab followed his evil heart until he was fully controlled by selfishness, could brook no refusal of his wishes, and felt that what he desired should by right be his. It belongs to the later years of Ahab's life, when Jezebel's evil influence over him from the first continued and bore fruit in deeds of shame and violence seldom equaled in sacred history, as he sold himself to work wickedness with his wife stirring him up.
The verse records that a fast was proclaimed and Naboth was set on high and prominently among the people, setting the scene for the false charge against him. The proclaimed fast and public elevation were part of Jezebel's scheme, carried out through the elders and nobles, using a public religious gathering to make a false accusation appear legitimate. False witnesses accused Naboth of blaspheming God and the king, leading to his execution by stoning.
The verse belongs to the account of Ahab coveting Naboth's vineyard, having him killed, and taking the land, as an example of selfish desire for another person's property leading to murder and unjust seizure so Ahab could take the vineyard he coveted. The seizure of Naboth's vineyard was a flagrant evil that Elijah met with stern rebuke during the years Elijah and Elisha labored together, prophesying the doom of Ahab and the doom of all his house because of it. Naboth's unjust death and murder for another man's selfish purpose calls those who make and enforce laws to anguish and honor and to zealous efforts to establish the facts and administer impartial justice.