The Bible does not disclose much information about the character of Naboth. But one thing we are told about him is that he owned a vineyard, which was in Jezreel. Naboth's name in Hebrew means 'fruit' or 'produce', so it is very significant that he should be the owner of a vineyard. As we have already seen with some of the other characters in our story, Naboth seemed to live up to his name, fulfilling his God-given role in life. The name 'Jezreel' is also significant in this story, for its Hebrew translation is 'God will sow'. Now we are not told that Naboth's vineyard was particularly large, or that it was better than any other vineyard in Israel. But its prime location next to the palace of Ahab meant that it constituted an ideal acquisition for the king. Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard for a garden, and so he offers to give him a better vineyard in exchange for it, or to buy it for a price. But Naboth remains faithful to the Lord in refusing to sell Ahab the inheritance of his fathers (Leviticus 25:23). Ahab is much displeased at this, and when Jezebel finds out the reason for his depression, she concocts a way whereby the king can get his hands on the property. So Jezebel sends letters to the rulers of Jezreel, signed in Ahab's name and sealed with his signet ring, demanding that they proclaim a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. Then two men, 'sons of Belial' or 'children of wickedness', were to sit before Naboth and accuse him of blaspheming God and the king. The penalty for these sins was death by stoning, and so with Naboth out of the way, Ahab would be free to take possession of the vineyard for himself. Of course the townspeople, fearing wicked Ahab more than they did the Lord, were only to happy to do what Jezebel had asked.

This story, in dealing with the sin of covetousness, has parallels in the life of King David in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba. It also has a remarkable parallel with some of the parables of the Old and New Testaments. In the Gospels, the Lord relates a parable about a certain householder that planted a vineyard. He planted a hedge around it, and built a watchtower, and a winepress, and leased it out to tenants, before going on a journey into a far country. And when the time of harvest drew near, he sent his servants to receive the produce of it. But the tenants of the vineyard were greedy and wanted it all for themselves. So they beat the servants and sent them away empty-handed. The owner of the vineyard then sent other servants, but some they wounded and others they killed. At the last he sent them his only son, saying, "They will reverence my son", Mark 12:6. But they said to themselves, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours", Mark 12:7. And so they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

These stories are like a miniature picture of what God would do in sending His own Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins (John 3:16). The nation of Israel is referred to as God's vineyard many times throughout the Scriptures (Isaiah 5:7). The passage in Isaiah 5 reminds us how God planted the children of Israel in the promised land after He brought them up out of Egypt. But the religious and political leaders of the nation, the 'tenants' of His vineyard, refused to give Him the spiritual fruit of it. Like Ahab, they wanted it all for themselves. So the Lord sent His servants the prophets to them (Jeremiah 7:25), but some they wounded and others they killed. At the last, God sent them His only Son (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus Christ was that 'fruit' in the story of Naboth (Isaiah 53:2, John 15:5). The religious leaders accused Him of blasphemy against God in claiming to be the Son of God (Matthew 23:63-66), and of blasphemy against the king in making Himself the Messiah (Luke 23:2). Pilate knew they had delivered Him out of envy (Mark 15:10), but fearing the people more than he did God, he delivered Him to be crucified (Mark 15:15). And so the Lord Jesus Christ was taken outside the city walls and crucified (Hebrews 13:12). "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed", Isaiah 53:5.

Ahab later humbled himself before God, and the Lord postponed his judgement. We must also humble ourselves before God and repent of our sins. And those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour can have their sins completely forgiven. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all", Isaiah 53:6. How can we obtain the forgiveness of our sins? The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

So Elijah was forced to flee for his life. But the Lord was taking care of Elijah. The Lord instructs him to flee, and turn eastward, and hide by the brook Cherith. There he would drink of the brook, and there the Lord had commanded the ravens to feed him (1st Kings 17:3-6). I had the privilege of being able to see this brook during my last trip to the holy land. There is a photograph of the brook on the right. It was especially nice for me being there, as I had done this study on the life of Elijah prior to coming here, so it had a special significance for me. The brook is not too far outside the city of Jerusalem, but it is still in a desert place. The word 'Cherith' in Hebrew means a 'cutting' or 'separation'. It could be that the brook got its name for the way it cuts through the land. But for Elijah, this was a place of separation. He was physically separated from the nation of Israel, and he was spiritually separated unto his God. That is what the word sanctification means. It means to be set apart unto God for a special purpose (Exodus 13:2. John 17:17,19). It was here, during this time of testing, that Elijah learned what it meant to depend on God. And it was here the Lord showed Elijah that He was Sovereign, even over the creatures that He had made. As the Lord said in the Gospels, not one sparrow falls to the ground without the Father knowing, and yet He cares for us much more than He does for the animals (Matthew 10:19-31). So God cared for Elijah. Sometimes we go through circumstances in our lives where we are separated from the world, either through sickness or difficult circumstances. But it is during those times that we are able to experience God's care for us in a way we never did before. Thinking about the 'cutting' aspect of Cherith, sometimes in the Middle East you will see groves of Olive trees, and they may appear to be hacked down to the ground until only a stump in the ground remains. You might think to yourself, how could that tree ever grow again? But it does. And the cutting is necessary to produce a greater yield of fruit in the coming harvest. When the Olive tree is cut down, it sends forth new shoots out of its roots. That reminds us of two Scriptures. The first in Job 14:7, that there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will grow again. This was true in the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was cut down by God because of his pride, but grew again after he humbled himself (Daniel 4). It also reminds us of the prophecy concerning David and the coming of the Messiah, that the Lord Jesus Christ would be a Branch that would spring forth out of Jesse's roots (Isaiah 11:1). Sometimes in our lives we depend on people and things rather than depending on the Lord for our needs. And sometimes the Lord will cut away these things from our lives, so that we will learn to depend on Him instead. As the Lord said, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit", John 15:2. If you are going through a time of purging, be glad, because the Lord intends it for your good. 

The Scriptures tell us that the drought caused the brook to dry up, and so Elijah is forced to move on once again (1st Kings 17:7). But this is a divine drought. He is only passing through what the Lord has already decreed should happen, so the Lord must be able to meet his need, even in this wilderness. And so the Lord sends him to a place called Zarephath, a city that belonged to Tyre and Sidon, north of Israel. And again the Lord displays His sovereignty over His creation, when He declares that He has commanded a widow to sustain him there. But how could a widow, who has no form of income nor means of support, possibly sustain herself never mind anybody else? The Lord did not explain to Elijah at this time how He was going to sustain him. But Elijah had faith that the God who had brought him thus far would not fail him now. The word 'Zarepath' in Hebrew means 'refinement'. And it was here that the faith of the widow was refined in the furnace of affliction. The drought had hit Sidon too, and when he met the widow, she was gathering two sticks with which to cook the last meal for her and her son. It is interesting to note the widow's increasing revelation of the God of Elijah. The first time she addresses Elijah in reference to the meal, she says, "As the Lord thy God liveth", 1st Kings 17:12. Either she was not personally a believer in the God of Elijah, or she no longer believed in Him. Perhaps due to the circumstances of her husband's death, or perhaps due to the famine and their own impending deaths, she had lost faith in God. But Elijah declares that the God of Israel says her barrel of meal will not run out, nor will her cruse of oil fail, until the day He sends rain on the earth (1st Kings 17:4). While this was nothing less than a miracle, we are not told that it affected the faith of the widow and her son to a great extent. It would take something that comes much closer to the heart to cause her to turn to the God of Elijah. It would take the death of her son. Her second address to Elijah was as a 'man of God'. She now recognized the God of Israel to be the true God, for she asks whether Elijah has come to call her sin to remembrance through the death of her son. We are not told what her sin was, but clearly it bothered her and it was this that prevented her from trusting in the God of Elijah and separated her from a relationship with God. The Scriptures do tell us that God will call to remembrance the sin of those who have not had their sins forgiven through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (John 8:24). And God requires that which is past (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Of course Elijah intercedes to God on behalf of the widow. And for the second time in the chapter, he asks her to give him something first. The first occasion was when he asked her to make him a meal first, and then make for her and her son. That was to test the widow woman's faith, whether she trusted the word of the Lord fully or not. For all that she had would only suffice to make a meal for her and her son. The second time Elijah asks her to give him what is closest to her heart. "Give me thy son", he says. Once again her faith was being refined. Elijah prayed, and the soul of the child came into him again. And the widow said, "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth", 1st Kings 17:24. The question is, did she not know it before? What about the barrel of meal? That didn't touch her heart, but this did. And look at what she says, the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth. It was no longer the 'God of Elijah'. It was no longer the 'God of Israel'. She calls Him Lord, which shows that she has trusted Him herself. What can we learn from Zarephath? The Lord also demands first place in our lives. As the Lord said in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". May the Lord help us to not depend upon the fickle things of this world, but to depend solely upon Him, and to put Him first in our lives.