1 Kings 21:1-29 – Collecting Sin’s Bounty – Bible study

1Kings 21:1-29 Collecting Sins Bounty Ahab was a wicked king over Israel. In fact, he was quite probably the most wicked king to ever rule in Israel. His name became the standard by which to measure a persons wickedness. Whenever God wanted to emphasis how wicked a person was, they compared him to King Ahab. For example, when Ahabs son, Ahaziah, ruled after Ahab had died, God said of him. 2Chronicles 22:3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. And when Jehoram, a king of Judah, ruled after Ahab had died, God said of him: 2Kings 8:18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. Not only was King Ahab wicked but, he married a princess from Sidon, a heathen city north-west of Israel named Jezebel. Perhaps you have heard some unsavory woman called "a Jezebel" before. That came from the Bible and is a reference to Ahabs wicked wife. She worshipped the false god, Baal, and was more wicked than even Ahab. Together, these two performed some of the most wicked deeds recorded in the Bible. We have here a single story which illustrates the depths of this couples depravity. (RETELL THE STORY.) What lessons can we learn? I. A lesson about life – LIFE IS NOT FAIR. A. This is a hard truth but it is a truth every one must learn and should teach to those you love. 1. One day, your child will stomp into the house and flop on the sofa with a lip unfurled like a long shade being pulled at dusk. 2. When you ask whats wrong their response will consist of the three words. "ITS NOT FAIR!" 3. In that instant, you might console your child with the lie, "Everything will be all right" or you might teach the child the truth. B. In this life, sometimes things arent all right and sometimes they will never be! 1. Naboth grew a beautiful vineyard and Ahab stole it. That wasnt all right. 2. Naboth never did anything wrong but had his name drug threw the mud anyway. That wasnt all right. 3. Naboth was a man of integrity but two sons of Belial were believed over him. That wasnt all right. 4. Naboth was a righteous man who feared God and was ruled over by a wicked tyrant. That wasnt all right. 5. Naboths only desire was to be obedient to God, to keep the land God had given to his family in his family, instead his life was taken by the most disobedient man on the face of the earth. That wasnt all right. 6. Naboth was set up and sold out by his own city leaders, those he trusted and who were there to protect him. That wasnt all right. 7. In the end, Naboth was murdered on the same day he was being honored. That wasnt all rightand in this life, it was never going to be all right. 8. None of the people involved in this plot were ever arrested, tried, or convictedas far as we know, they were never even accusedby any earthly court. That was not all right. 9. For Naboth, things were not right andin this life they were never going to be. 10. That is hard truth. It is a fact of life. C. But we arent just talking about the life of Naboth. Life in Green Pond, Alabama, isnt fair either! 1. The wicked get promoted while the righteous labor. 2. You get a raise and taxes take not only the raise but deeper your earnings before you got the raise. 3. Good people get sickeven diewhile wicked people live to an old age. 4. Tornadoes skip over the wicked mans business to destroy the good mans house. 5. I think of the day that we are praying will stop, the day of abortion. (a) One site listed the following statistics as of this morning 5:25 AM. (1) Babies aborted in the US since 1973, 60,121,291. (2) Babies aborted in this US this year, 51,321. (3) Babies aborted worldwide since 1980, 1,482,216,483. http://www.numberofabortions.com/ (b) That is not all right and even if abortion was stopped today, it could never make what has been done all right. D. None of this means that God doesnt care, that God has abandoned His Word, or that God is finished! 1. It just means life is not fair and in this world, it never will be! 2. That is a truth about life we must face. E. Thankfully, we do have a God in heaven who has not written the last chapter yet. II. Lesson about sin – SIN CAN NOT BE HID. A. Can you imagine the shock on Ahabs face when he went to claim his bounty and standing in the field was the prophet of God?! B. Who told Elijah? 1. Naboth was dead and died before he had an opportunity to tell anyone what was being done to him. 2. The two false witness of Belial? Not likely. 3. The rulers in Jezreel? Again, not likely. 4. Jezebel? No. 5. God told Elijah! C. God keeps a record of EVERY work done. Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Mark 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 1. It is amazing how we get confused about what is long range and what is short range. a. We tend to think short range things are important: (1) Impressing our friends (2) Amassing earthly wealth (3) Making a name for ourselves (4) Friends, those things wont matter a split second after death. b. And the things we think are unimportant affect us for years to come. (1) I saw an article this morning which stated that the eggs of our mothers were formed while they were in the wombs of their mothers. (2) That means those things that a mother does when she is pregnant not only impact her child but her grandchildren. 2. Do we think that eliminating 1 trillion people off this planet has not effected the world in which we live? 3. These verses say that God not only knows, but that He exposes secret sins. a. The verses do not say to whom God will expose the deeds or when He will expose them. b. It may be in part in this lifetime but, it will definitely happened at the judgment. Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 4. To those who think their sin is a joke, I believe you will change your mind when you stand before God and He opens those books. D. But wait! Ahab didnt commit the crime. Jezebel did. 1. God wasnt going to let Ahab claim ignorance when he turned a wicked woman like Jezebel loose. 2. By the way, Im afraid we are going to bear some of the responsibility for sins we knew were going on and allowed to continue as well. E. Face another truth – Gods not going to forget about our sin either! III. Lesson about forgiveness – MERCY IS NOT THE SAME AS FORGIVENESS. A. \#27-29\ Give a picture of a very repentant Ahab! 1. After Naboth was killed, after Ahab was confronted, after Naboth knew God had seen and was going to deal with him, Naboth humbled himself and even temporary changed his ways. 2. God took note and showed Ahab mercy; however, God did not forgive Ahab because Ahab did not seek forgiveness. B. That might seem strange to some, but there is a difference in mercy and forgiveness. 1. What is mercy? Mercy is when God withholds any portion of sins punishment for any length of time. 2. What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is when God completely removesnot the punishment, but the sin. 3. Mercy produces forgiveness, but forgiveness is much more powerful than mercy. C. Mercy and forgiveness different in what they do and how you obtain them. 1. Notice the short comings of mercy in Ahabs life. a. God was showing Ahab partial mercy. He was delaying some of Ahabs judgment for THIS sin. He still had many other sins for which God would hold him accountable. b. Here God was showing Ahab temporary mercy. Some of the Ahabs judgment would not fall upon him but would fall upon his son. (1) That was no mercy for his son. (2) I dont think Ahabs son, Ahaziah, lived a year after becoming king. c. However, nothing really changed. The judgment was still coming and some of it started almost instantly. 2. But forgiveness when it is given is total and complete. a. The wrong is erased. Thats much better than the punishment either being shifted or delayed. b. Thinking about this has reminded me that forgiveness is always either total and not at all. c. Even though Ahab had received mercy, he had to stand before God guilty of every sin he had ever committed. d. Every lost person does! 3. There is also a difference in the way mercy and forgiveness are obtained. a. God gives mercy for whatever reason He desires. (1) Ahab did not do much to get it considering the evil he had done to deserve it. (2) God just gave mercy to Ahab. b. But forgiveness (1) must be requested. (2) must be requested on the basis of Jesus death. (3) must be accompanied by repentance, a permanent change in our behavior concerning sin. D. Why is forgiveness so much better than mercy? 1.Because it deals with the sin not the punishment. 2. Mercy alone only deals with the punishment. a. When God forgives, He does not blot out our punishment. b. He goes to the book of works and blots out our sin. c. With the removal of the sin, every judgment related to the sin is also removed. Ps 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. E. All of mankind has experienced Gods mercyincluding wicked King Ahab. Few have experienced Gods forgiveness. 1. God gives mercy as it suits Him. Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORDS mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 2. Forgiveness: 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. F. If you will seek forgiveness, God will give you complete, permanent, and total forgiveness. 1. Your sins will be removed from the book of works. 2. You will have a new life in Jesus Christ. Ahab was on the way to collect sins bounty when God busted into his world. I doubt he ever enjoyed a single grape from the vineyard. Ahab found out thenand is still learning todaythat sins cost is high. What about you? Would you like to have some of Gods forgiveness today?