1 Kings 21 bible reading and devotionals.

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From Come Thirsty

1 Kings 21

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”

4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:

“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a] 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’

23 “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of[b] Jezreel.’

24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”

25 (There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 15:4-10

4 He said, "Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Won't he leave the 99 in the open country? Won't he go and look for the one lost sheep until he finds it? 5 When he finds it, he will joyfully put it on his shoulders 6 and go home. Then he will call his friends and neighbors together. He will say, 'Be joyful with me. I have found my lost sheep.'
 7 "I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There will be great joy when one sinner turns away from sin. Yes, there will be more joy than for 99 godly people who do not need to turn away from their sins.

The Story of the Lost Coin

 8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. She will light a lamp and sweep the house. She will search carefully until she finds the coin. 9 And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors together. She will say, 'Be joyful with me. I have found my lost coin.'
 10 "I tell you, it is the same in heaven. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin."

Lost And Found

June 15, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher

Rejoice with me, for I have found the [coin] which I lost! —Luke 15:9

Recently, I couldn’t find my credit card. I began frantically looking for it because losing a credit card is no small thing. Automatic payments and daily purchases would all be disrupted until it could be replaced. Not to mention the possibility of someone finding it and charging items to our account. What a relief it was when my wife found it on the floor under the computer table.

In Luke 15:8-10, Christ told the story of something that was lost—a valuable coin, which was equivalent to a day’s wages. The woman who lost the coin was so concerned about locating it that she lit a lamp, swept the house, and carefully searched until she found it. Then she told her friends “Rejoice with me, for I have found the [coin] which I lost!” (v.9). Then Jesus gave the point of the story: “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (v.10).

People are of great value to God. Those who don’t know Him are lost in their sins. Christ paid the ultimate price by dying on the cross for their redemption. Do you know people who are lost? Ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to share the good news with them so they can repent of their sins and be found by our gracious God.

The Lord has come to seek and save
A world that is lost in sin;
And everyone who comes to Him
Will be restored and changed within. —Sper
To be found, you must first admit that you’re lost.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 15, 2012

Get Moving! (2)

Also . . . add to your faith . . . —2 Peter 1:5

In the matter of drudgery. Peter said in this passage that we have become “partakers of the divine nature” and that we should now be “giving all diligence,” concentrating on forming godly habits (2 Peter 1:4-5). We are to “add” to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace. Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, “Jesus . . . took a towel and . . . began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:3-5).

We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks. The routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don’t always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God.

It is difficult for us to do the “adding” that Peter mentioned here. We say we do not expect God to take us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we do! I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I will do my duty, not for duty’s sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Supporting the Weak Spot - #6635

Friday, June 15, 2012

When our kids were growing up we occasionally had our own personal emergency room at our house! Our youngest son dislocated his ankle in football, so the doctor put an air cast on his ankle for about six weeks for support. Oh, and then the oldest son, yeah he had surgery for a knee injury that he got in sports. So they recommended that he wear a knee brace whenever he played a game where he had to pivot much. So, let's see. You've got your ankle cast; you've got your knee brace. It's all based on a simple principle that prevents further injury.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Supporting the Weak Spot."

Okay, our word for today from the Word of God is from Luke 4 where Jesus is in the desert. "He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written, man does not live on bread alone.'" And at that point He is quoting a Scripture that He has obviously memorized from Deuteronomy 8:3.

Okay, where was Jesus' weak spot there in the wilderness? Well, obviously after 40 days, it was His need for food. Where did the Devil aim his temptation? Well, at Jesus' need for food, of course. And you notice Jesus' response; a verse that directly addresses the point where He was vulnerable. It's about bread. It's about food. Basically a verse that says, "Life is bigger than food." Okay, I've got a feeling that wasn't the first time Jesus said that verse. I have a feeling that during those days of fasting, He'd been drawing strength from that verse frequently. It's like a brace on a weakened knee; He applied Scripture to the area where He would tend to be weak.

Now, unlike what the four spiritual laws say about God, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," the Devil hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. He's sized up that vulnerable spot, and he's going to try to bring you down with that. So it's pretty important that you size it up, or you're going to be easy prey. Jesus knew his vulnerable spot, and He braced it with Scripture; specific Scripture that dealt with that specific issue. If the Devil is going to bring you down, what weakness do you think he'll use? Oh, you probably know. He's pushed that button many times. It's worked all too often. See, it's important for you to find Scripture that gives you God's view on your weak spot. Memorize it; repeat it to yourself frequently, not just when you're under attack. I think that's what Jesus did.

Re-program yourself by thinking Scripture where you usually think sin, and then hammer the Devil with God's Word and a response that is biblical whenever temptation comes. The Devil can't stand a biblical response.

So, where is the hole in your armor; that weak spot? Is it an old bitterness, maybe the tendency to think you're worthless, your sexual desires, maybe your thought life, tending to worry a lot, tending to run ahead of God. You know what it is. You've lived with that weakness for a long time; now cover it with Scripture.

You're ready for the Devil when you keep covering your weak spot with God's Word about it. That's a strong spiritual brace that will help you avoid any further injury. So, support that weak spot.