Wesley Corpus

Chapter XXI Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, ver. 1 - 4. Jezebel procures Naboth to be stoned, ver. 5 - 14. Ahab goes to take possession, ver. 15, 16 Elijah meets him, and denounces the judgment of God, ver. 17 - 24. Upon his humiliation a reprieve is granted, ver. 25 - 29. The Lord forbid - For God had expressly, and for divers weighty reasons forbidden the alienation of lands from the tribes and families to which they were allotted. And although these might have been alienated 'till the jubilee, yet he durst not sell it to the king for that time; because he supposed, if once it came into the king's hand, neither he, nor his posterity, could ever recover it; and so he should both offend God, and wrong his posterity. Dost thou govern - Art thou fit to be king, that hast not courage to use thy power. A fast - To remove all suspicion of evil design in Ahab, and to beget a good opinion of him amongst his people, as if he were grown zealous for God's honour, and careful of his people's welfare, and therefore desirous to enquire into all those sins which provoked God against them. On high - On a scaffold, or high - place, where malefactors were usually placed, that they might be seen, and heard by all the people. Blaspheme God and the king - Indeed his blaspheming God would only be the forfeiture of his life, not his estate. Therefore he is charged with treason also, that his estate may be confiscated, and so Ahab have his vineyard. Stoned him - And it seems his sons too, either with him or after him. For God afterward says, (2Kings 9:26) I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. Let us commit the keeping of our lives and comforts to God; for innocence itself will not always be our security. Saying - Thou hast murdered an innocent man; and instead of repenting for it, hast added another piece of injustice and violence to it, and art going confidently and chearfully to reap the fruit of thy wickedness.