Elijah in the Vineyard

In Jezreel, beside Ahab's palace, lay Naboth's vineyard. Material possessions meant everything to the king and when Naboth refused his offer of money for the vineyard Ahab took to his bed and would not eat. The scheming Jezebel so worked that Naboth, accused of blasphemy again God and the king, was stoned along with his sons. This brings Elijah back into the picture. Sidelined for a number of years, the prophet has not despised the chastening hand of the Lord nor fainted under it but has learned from it. His repentance and remorse is clearly evidenced in his immediate, fearless and faithful response, Hebrews 10:5-11. He brings the message of God's judgment against the family and whole house of Ahab so faithfully to the king that he comes to repentance. A second message is carried to the king announcing a reprieve not a pardon. The destruction of his family would not be in Ahab's lifetime but after his death. But God was a God ready to pardon. Mercy could have been known. Sadly, both Ahab and his family failed to grasp this opportunity.