Devotion 5/19, He is our Refuge and Strength
Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden. . . .” But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
1 Kings 21:2- 3
When God gave Israel the land he had promised them, each clan received a tract of land as their inheritance. God also made clear that this inheritance was to remain in each family throughout the generations. When times were hard, some families in debt had to sell their land, but in those cases the sale was never meant to be permanent. (Ref. Leviticus 25; Joshua 13-21.)
Naboth owned a vineyard that was close to Ahab’s palace in Jezreel. Ahab asked Naboth if he could buy the vineyard so that he could use it as a vegetable (or herb) garden. Naboth refused because the land was ancestral inheritance.
The story of Naboth assures us that, while God sometimes seems silent in the midst of suffering, He is neither unaware nor uncaring. Naboth was an innocent man who suffered unjustly at the hands of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
Father, thank you for being a God of justice. Make us a people of justice too! We can be silent or assert ourselves, but only Your will be done. I pray the Holy Spirit fill us and we do only “your will” in everything we say and do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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