The Breaking Point (1 Kings 21)
1 Kings 21 (17-26)
We have been studying the revival
Which God is brining to the nation of Israel.
We have learned that this would not be in the form of a “fire fall” But in the form of a “gentle blowing”,
In which God would thoroughly remove Baal from the land.
To illustrate this point, The writer has used the most wicked King Israel has ever known, and that man is King Ahab.
You will remember that God had used:
DROUGHT (3 ½ years)
DEFEAT (On Mt. Carmel)
DELIVERANCE (God defeated Ben-hadad just out of mercy)
DILEMMA (God promised Ben-hadad would return)
DEMONSTRATION (God powerfully annihilated Ben-hadad completely)
DISCIPLINE (God promised that Ahab’s life would be forfeit)
My dad always had a saying about wayward horses.
“Looks like he needs his attention got”
That is what God has been trying to do with Ahab.
But unfortunately, even the promise of death, failed to break Ahab.
1 Kings 20:42-43 “He said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'” So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.”
Ahab didn’t repent, Ahab just pouted.
Ahab has proven to be a tough nut to crack.
THIS MORNING WE FAST-FORWARD TO HIS “BREAKING POINT”
And by the way, every person has a breaking point.
Remember King Nebuchadnezzar? (he ate grass like a cow for 7 years)
Daniel 4:34-37 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘ What have You done?’ “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
Every man has a breaking point,
THE QUESTION IS: Just how much judgment it will require
Before a person finally breaks.
For some it requires nothing short of an eternal sentence in hell.
Remember what Jesus told the Pharisees:
John 7:33-34 “Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
Jesus told the Pharisees there would be a day when they would
Call on His name and beg for salvation, but it would be too late.
In hell, every man will be broken.
Every knee will have bowed,
Every tongue will have confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And every person there would be just like the rich man in hades
Crying out for the mercy of one to simply dip their finger in water
And touch it to their burning tongue.
Every man has a breaking point.
This morning we see Ahab’s.
God has already promised him death, and he refused to repent,
This morning we see God at work again.
There are three divisions we will assign to this text.
#1 THE INCIDENT
1 Kings 21:1-16
(Mosaic Law forbid Naboth to give it)
Numbers 36:7 “Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.”
(The Prophets forbid a King to ask for it)
Ezekiel 46:18 “The prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance, thrusting them out of their possession; he shall give his sons inheritance from his own possession so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”‘”
So there you have the incident.
Ahab wanted a vineyard that by law he could not have,
So he acted wickedly and took it by force.
Let’s examine him closer (4 sins)
1) SELFISHNESS (1-4)
Ahab was King of all Israel. He pretty much had anything he wanted, EXCEPT THAT VINEYARD.
Without a doubt, we see a breaking of the 10th commandment.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
And then when Naboth stands upon his conviction to the Mosaic Law, Ahab goes home and throws another pity-party.
(4) “So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.”
I’ve got a 3 year old daughter that does the exact same thing.
Certainly Ahab displays covetousness, but even more,
Ahab displays the root of covetousness, and that is selfishness.
It is selfishness that causes us to be discontent with what we have…
It is selfishness that causes us to covet what others have…
It is selfishness that causes us to pout when we do not get our way…
(Trace out the root of a pity-party or a bout of depression
And see if you do not recognize “selfishness” at its source)
Ahab is selfish.
AND SELFISHNESS IS A SIN
I know in our day we have come to promote love of self:
Self-esteem
Self-respect
Self-advancement
Self-promotion
Unfortunately those are all in direct conflict with Scripture.
For Scripture calls only for SELF-DENIAL.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
In fact, for salvation to occur, self-denial is a pre-requisite.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
SELFISHNESS IS A SIN!
You and I must learn to deny self.
John MacArthur explained what that looks like.
“I suppose death to self, is the real issue. Somewhere along your pilgrimage as a Christian, you need to learn to die to yourself regularly. It saves you from being defensive, revengeful, retaliatory, hostile, [and from] accumulating the list of things against you.
When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set aside and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy and you count it a privilege to suffer for Christ; that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when [others] misunderstand you, when your desires are not interesting to [others] when your advice is disregarded and your opinions are ridiculed, and when you are abused, when you are mistreated, or misunderstood, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself; that is dying to self.
When you lovingly, patiently bear any disruption; any irregularity; any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with folly and waste and extravagance and insensitivity and endure it as Jesus endured it; that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any clothes, any climate, any society, any interruption, or any solitude; that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in a conversation or to record and recite your own good works, or to pursue commendation; when you can truly love to be unrecognized for something good; that is dying to self.
When you see someone else prosper, someone else reach goals that you desire, and you can honestly rejoice with that other person in spirit; feel no envy and not question God while your needs are far greater and [you are] in desperate circumstances; that is dying to self.”
-John MacArthur, from sermon “God’s Pattern for Husbands – Part 1” quoted at: 34:00 minutes.
Ahab had most certainly never denied self.
Selfishness
2) ARROGANCE (5-7)
All we find Ahab doing here is pouting.
Pouting is a form of communication
In which you try to shame others into getting what you want
When Jezebel sees him pouting,
She responds just as he desired she would.
She justified him in taking what he wanted.
And notice what she appeals to, when she justifies him.
(7) “Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Jezebel appealed to his arrogance.
“Do you now reign over Israel?”
“You are King, you have the right to do whatever you want.”
And Ahab obviously agreed.
Ahab was arrogant.
ARROGANCE IS A SIN
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
Proverbs 16:18-19 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
God even goes to great lengths
To keep His children from becoming arrogant.
Consider Paul…
2 Corinthians 12:7 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself!”
God is opposed to arrogant,
Arrogance must be removed if salvation is to be attained.
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
God despises the arrogant and searches for the humble:
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”
There are two major strikes against Ahab.
He is selfish & He is arrogant
3) DECEPTION (8-14)
And what you notice from that event
Is that everything is done on the basis of deception.
False author – (Jezebel wrote in Ahab’s name)
False authority – (Jezebel used Ahab’s seal)
False charges
False witnesses
Apparently Ahab was one who had no qualms about deceiving or lying.
DECEPTION IS A SIN
Adrian Rogers, “You are never more like the devil than when you tell a lie.”
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
It is no wonder then that God hates deception.
Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Perhaps you even remember what God did to Ananias and Saphira
For lying to the Holy Spirit about the sum of money they gave.
God struck them dead in the middle of church.
In fact hell is filled with liars:
Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Ahab is a selfish, arrogant liar
4) SHAMELESSNESS (15-16)
In other words, Ahab showed no remorse whatsoever.
He never flinched.
He simply arose and took the vineyard.
He was absolutely shameless.
SHAMELESSNESS IS A SIN!
It angers God to see a hard-headed, hard-hearted, sinner
Who refuses to feel ashamed of their iniquity.
Jeremiah 6:15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 3:9 “The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.”
God is opposed to those who have no qualms about hiding their sin,
And never show any remorse about it.
Remember this parable?
Matthew 21:28-32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘ Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
It is one thing to sin before God,
But to be unremorseful and proud of it is entirely another.
That is why the writer of Hebrews gives such a strong warning
To those who are unremorseful in sin.
Hebrews 3:7-12 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'” Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”
Ahab was a Selfish, Arrogant, Shameless, Liar
#2 THE INDICTMENT
1 Kings 21:17-26
This was the passage we read to begin our study,
And now perhaps you see why God was so angry.
After such a bold display of so many sins,
It is no wonder to find that God is literally irate with Ahab.
Here Elijah arrives once again on the scene, and his message is harsh.
(19) “You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”‘ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.”‘”
It is safe to say that God is livid.
But that is not all.
(21-22) “Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel; 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, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin.”
And I think you remember what God had to say about Jeroboam’s lineage.
1 Kings 14:10 “therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.”
God compared Jeroboam to poop in his house,
And God was about to sweep him out the door.
Here God has the same message for Ahab.
It is more than just death, it is complete and total loss of lineage.
And then God reveals the exact fate of all of Ahab’s offspring.
(23-24) “Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, ‘ The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’ “The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.”
Not only will your entire lineage die, but none will be buried.
I will appoint animals to eat every single one of your offspring.
God has said:
• “I’ll bring evil on you”
• “I’ll sweep away your legacy and lineage”
• “I’ll feed you and your family to the dogs”
COULD GOD BE ANY ANGRIER?
Let me remind you that this is where God will eventually take
Each person who stubbornly refuses His “gentle blowing”.
DO NOT FORCE GOD TO TAKE IT THIS FAR!
On Wednesday night we have seen Isaiah give a similar warning.
Isaiah 1:5-6 “Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.”
Don’t force God to beat you into a fine powder
Before you turn to Him.
That is exactly what Ahab had done.
Then we see God’s final appraisal of Ahab.
(25-26) “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him. He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.”
Scripture records Ahab as the Old Testament’s “Chief of Sinners”
Ahab is as wicked as they come.
• He has continually pushed his thumb in God’s eye…
• He has continually thrown God’s law behind his back…
• He has continually turned a deaf ear to God’s reproof…
• And he has forced God to fling upon him a truly horrific judgment…
This was one sinful and stubborn man,
Of whom the Old Testament saw no equal.
The Incident, The Indictment
#3 THE ILLUMINATION
1 Kings 21:27-29
What I mean by illumination is that for Ahab the light finally came on.
Like Nebuchadnezzar, apparently Ahab
Had finally reached his “breaking point”.
He had Selfishness, Arrogance, Deception, & Shamelessness
THEY ARE ALL GONE
(27) “It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes (removed arrogance) and put on sackcloth (showed remorse) and fasted (denied self), and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently (got honest).”
It took quite a bit of pressure for God to break him,
But Ahab was finally broken.
And with that let me give you some encouragement.
Nebuchadnezzar said:
Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
REVIVAL IS POSSIBLE.
There is no heart too hard to prevent it…
There is no sin too great to stop it…
When God desires revival, revival will come.
And look at how God responds to Ahab.
(28-29) “Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.”
Because of his humble repentance,
God was merciful to even the chief of sinners.
It seems as though we have heard something like that before.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
This morning may you take courage to know
That regardless of where you have been, or what you have done,
If you will humble yourself before God He will be merciful.
Only, let me encourage you NOT TO DELAY,
For both cost themselves immensely in their lives of sin.
Ahab had already sealed the fate of his lineage before he repented,
And Paul lived with an enormous amount of regret.
When you hold off from repentance,
You may not completely lose the opportunity,
But you most certainly pierce yourself with many griefs
And force upon yourself God’s hand of judgment.
That is why Paul wrote to never disregard repentance.
Romans 2:4-6 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”
Today, respond to God’s call, Humble yourself before Him
HE WILL BE MERCIFUL
Lamentations 3:22-25 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.”
HAS GOD BEEN GENTLY BLOWING IN YOUR LIFE?
HAS GOD BEEN TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION?
Don’t force Him to completely crush you, turn to Him and receive mercy.
