Spirituality: 1 Kings Chapter 21

This chapter talks about King Ahab. King Ahab wanted a vineyard owned by Naboth from Jezreel. Naboth would not part with the field because he said the Lord told him that the land should pass from generation to generation in his family. Ahab gets upset and tells his wife, Jezebel, what happened. So she decides to have people slander Naboth in public as a blasphemer. Naboth ends up getting stoned to death. As the king goes to claim the field, God speaks through the prophet Elijah, telling Ahab that God will "bring disaster on you and consume you." Furthermore, God "will destroy every one of your male descendants". That's rough.

Hearing this, Ahab repents and God decides to spare him, but still destroy his sons. I see two really big issues here. The first issue in this story is the corruption of power. If you do not have a moral code that you live by, then desire can make bad things become acceptable. King Ahab has absolute power and fell prey to it. He allowed his wife to do his dirty work just to acquire a piece of land, not because of need but because of want. There is nothing inhibiting the king from making bad choices; he has no repurcussions that are readily visible.

As a result of no morality, Ahab's actions cause his sons pain. This is the second issue, families paying for the sins of the father. You can't choose your family, and there is a big responsibility parents have to protecting that relationship since they chose to conceive their offspring. King Ahab's lack of morality does have repurcussions. He has doomed his sons. Think about that. He neglected to protect his children and now they will suffer because of him. That is every parent's worst nightmare.

What I take from this story is to stay true to your moral compass because you don't know what consequences immoral actions may bring.