Ahab and Naboth: A Tale Twice Told
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!
when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away:
so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Micah 2:1f (Spoke 11, Cycle 2)
I tremble at the overwhelming glory of God's Wisdom. All the hairs
on my body stand on end - like little worshippers praising their Creator - when He opens my eyes
to the wonders of His Work. The two
verses above are just such a miracle. What wonder! A miracle
that remains ablaze - burning bright before our very eyes - able to be viewed now and forever!
Omri and Ahab
The story begins with one of the wickedest Kings in Israel's history - Ahab the son of Omri.
These names (Omri, Ahab) [Verify] appear
together in four verses of the Bible: three consective verses in 1 Kings and one in
Micah:
| 1 Kings 16.28f |
Micah 6.15f |
| So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of
Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty
and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that
were before him. |
Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives,
but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not
drink wine. For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of
the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make
thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore
ye shall bear the reproach of my people. |
We have a Spoke 11 KeyLink between 1 Kings and Micah:
 | KeyLink: Omri and Ahab | 1 Kings Micah |
Ahab's murder of Naboth and theft of his vineyard.
1 Kings records the extreme evil of Ahab and his wife Jezebel when
they conspired to murder Naboth and steal his vineyard. The parallels with the first few verses
of Micah 2 are absolutely overwhelming. Here is a table of the highlights.
| 1 Kings 21 |
Micah 2 |
| 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have
it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house |
And they covet fields ... |
| 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the
inheritance of my fathers unto thee. |
... so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. |
| 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of
the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will
not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed,
and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. |
... that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! |
| 7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of
Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the
vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. |
... because it is in the power of their hand. |
| 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set
Naboth on high among the people:
10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness
against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry
him out, and stone him, that he may die. |
... devise iniquity ... |
| 15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and
was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of
Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth
is not alive, but dead. |
... and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: |
| 17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria:
behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess
it.
19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the
LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak
unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked
the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?
And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil
in the sight of the LORD. |
... work evil ... |
Consider these correspondences. The highlighted words are all from Micah (with slight variations),
whereas the story is from 1 Kings:
- Ahab coveted Naboth's vineyard.
- Naboth refused because it was his heritage
- Jezebel encouraged Ahab because the power was in his hand
- Jezebel devised an iniquitous plan to destroy Naboth and steal his vineyard.
- Jezebel devised iniquity while Ahab was upon his bed.
- Ahab and Jezebel used violence to take away the vineyard
- God sends Elijah to declare His judgment, specically refering to his work of evil
We have here seven common elements linking Micah 2 and 1 Kings 21. The thematic correlation is absolutely
impossible to miss. Yet this is but the beginning! There are two KJV KeyLinks between Micah 2 and 1 Kings 21!
Both speak of an inheritance or heritage within one verse of the word bed[s] - this is a KeyLink:
| KeyLink Set: (Bed* w/i 1 Inheritance/Heritage) | | 1 KingsMicah |
We also have a KJV KeyLink based on the specific phrase the Lord God Almighty used to condemn Ahab -
searching the entire KJV for all occurrences of the phrase ("work evil") [Verify]
yields exactly two verses: Micah 2.1 and 1 Kings 21.20 when Elijah spoke to Ahab for his sin against
Naboth!
| KeyLink Phrase: 'Work Evil' | | 1 KingsMicah |
Two Witnesses
Finally, the appearance of two false witnesses in 1 Kings (Book 11) echoes the appearance of God's
Two Witnesses in |
