I KINGS 21:1-21

21:1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”

3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

4 And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.

5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?”

6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city.

9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.

10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,

12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.

13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”

16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.

19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.

21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.

Most people hate it with a passion. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who likes to be manipulated.  No one likes to be manipulated, but it happens all the time.  Sometimes it’s your mother who says, “After everything I did for you when you were little you mean you can’t do this one thing for me?”  Or it could be a car salesman who says, “If you don’t buy this car today someone else is going to scoop it up.”  Or it could be a friend who says, “You have to help me.  You’re the only person I can trust.”

One woman knew exactly how to manipulate her husband.  While talking to a friend she said, “I have an amazing recipe for meatloaf.  All I have to do is mention it and my husband says, ‘Why don’t we eat out tonight?’”

Some people are master manipulators.  Even ministers have been known to engage in a little manipulation from time to time.  Take for example the minister who was serving a little church way out in the country.  Unfortunately, the church was having trouble with making ends meet.  So, one morning the minister got up into the pulpit and made an announcement.  “My friends,” he said, “before we pass the plate, I would like to request that the person who stole the chickens from Brother Henry’s henhouse refrain from giving any money to the Lord.  The Lord doesn’t want money from a thief!”  That morning everyone gave for the first time in months and the plate was overflowing.”

If you don’t like to be manipulated then you may want to take another look at the story of Naboth and his vineyard.  The story is full of manipulators and people who were manipulated.

It all started when Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to King Ahab.  When that happened Ahab goes into the palace to pout and sulk.  His Jezebel then tells him not to worry.  She tells him that she will take care of everything and that’s exactly what she does.  Jezebel sends letters to the elders of the village where Naboth lives.  She tells them to hold a fast and invite Naboth as the guest of honor.  She then gets two scoundrels to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king.  When the people hear that they rise up and they stone Naboth to death.  So in the end Ahab manipulates Jezebel who manipulates the elders and those two scoundrels who in turn manipulate the people into stoning an innocent man to death.

It sounds a lot like some of the shenanigans that you see going on today doesn’t it?  So, how do you avoid all the manipulation and the game playing that’s out there?  Charlie Brown struggled with that question and it eventually led him to pay a visit to Lucy’s psychiatric help stand. Do you remember Lucy and her psychiatric help stand? When Charlie Brown gets there he says to Lucy, “My trouble is I never know if I’m doing the right thing.  I need to have someone around who can tell me when I’m doing the right thing.”  Lucy nods her head and says, “Okay Charlie Brown.  You’re doing the right thing.  That’ll be five cents please!”  Charlie Brown pays the five cents and then walks away with a smile on his face.  A few minutes later he returns with a frown on his face.  “Back already?” Lucy asks.  Charlie Brown nods his head and says, “I was wrong,  It didn’t help. You need more in life than just having someone around to tell you when you’re doing the right thing.  Lucy nods her head again and says, “Now you’ve really learned something Charlie Brown!  That’ll be another five cents please!”

So, how do you avoid all the manipulation and the game playing that’s out there? The answer is right there in the story of Naboth and his vineyard.  You see in the story there are two people who refused to be manipulated and those two people had one thing in common.

So, who’s the first person who refuses to be manipulated?  You know who it is. It’s Naboth. Naboth says to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

So, Naboth refuses to be manipulated.  Who’s the other person in the story who refuses to be manipulated?   The answer of course is Elijah.   When Elijah goes to see Ahab, Ahab does his best to manipulate and intimidate Elijah.  Ahab says to him, “Have you found me, O my enemy?”  In other words , “You better watch your step Elijah.  Just remember I’m the king and you know what kings can do to their enemies.”  Instead of being manipulated and intimidated though, Elijah says, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”

Naboth and Elijah.  They’re the two bookends to the story who both refuse to be manipulated and what is the one thing they have in common?  You can see it in the words that they speak.   Naboth says, “The Lord forbid…” and Elijah says, you have done “what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”

Naboth and Elijah both had a deep and devoted relationship with the Lord.  Their minds were full of God’s truth and their hearts were full of God’s righteousness.  Because they were full of that truth and righteousness they lived their lives from the inside out which is why they couldn’t be manipulated.

Naboth and Elijah lived their lives from the inside out. Everyone else in the story lived their lives from the outside in.  It’s easy to spot people who live their lives from the outside in.  They’re the people who worry about what other people think.  They’re the people who are convinced that they won’t be happy unless they drive an expensive car, wear the latest fashions and have a shelf full of trophies and awards.  They’re the people who will do whatever it takes to climb the ladder of success and refuse to forgive because they’re afraid it will make them look weak.

When you look at it that way it’s clear. Ahab lived his life from the outside in.  Jezebel lived her life from the outside in.  The elders of the village and those two scoundrels and all the people in the crowd who threw those stones at Naboth lived their lives from the outside it.

Naboth on the other hand said “Lord forbid….” And Elijah said, “you have done what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”  Naboth and Elijah lived their lives from the inside out which is why they were men of honesty, integrity and courage.  Because they lived their lives from the inside out the couldn’t be manipulated.  They were able to do the right thing when it would have been a lot easier to do the wrong thing.

That’s why it’s so important to work on your faith each and every day.  It’s your faith and the deep and devoted relationship with the Lord that goes with it that makes it possible for you to be an inside out person.

Since this is Father’s Day it seems appropriate that we end with a story about a boy who learned how to be an inside out person from his father.  You’ll find the story in one of the Chicken Soup For The Soul books where the son remembers what happened this way.  While standing in life to buy tickets to go to the circus the son noticed the family in front of them.  The husband and wife were holding hands, and the children were excited about going to the circus. However, the father quickly found himself in an awkward situation when the woman in the booth told him how much the tickets were going to cost.

“The father leaned forward and asked, ‘How much did you say?’

The ticket lady again quoted the price. The father didn’t have enough money.  How was he going to tell his wife and children that he didn’t have enough money to take them to see the circus?

Looking back on that moment, the son later wrote, “Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground.  We were not wealthy…(but) (m)y father reached down , picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, ‘Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.’  The man knew what was going on.  He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation.  He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his…and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his check, he replied, ‘Thank you, thank you, sir.  This really means a lot to me and my family.’  My father and I went back to our car and drove home,” the son wrote.  “We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.”

Life isn’t always easy when you’re an inside out person but Naboth and Elijah and that boy who didn’t get to go to the circus that day will all tell you the same thing.  They’ll tell you that life is always better when you live it as an inside out person.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

June 16, 2013