Over My Dead Body

I. THE PRESENT DILEMMA (1 Kings 21:1-4)

A. The Vineyard (1 Kings 21:1)

1. The possession of Naboth, a Jezreelite
2. Located hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria

B. The Desire (1 Kings 21:2)

1. The convenience of the desire—“because it is near unto my house”
2. The insincerity of the desire—“I will give thee the inheritance of my fathers”

C. The Defense (1 Kings 21:3)

1. The spiritual inheritance—“the LORD forbid it me,”
2. The physical inheritance—“the inheritance of my fathers”

D. The Defeated (1 Kings 21:4)

1. His spirit—“heavy and displeased”
2. His sorrow—“because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him…I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers”
3. His behaviour
a. He laid him down upon his bed.
b. He turned away his face.
c. He would eat no bread.

II. THE PAST INHERITED

A. The Heavenly Inheritance

1. Naboth suggested that the LORD would not approve of his relinquishing of the vineyard.
2. This is because the land was God’s gift to the nation of Israel.

B. The Costly Inheritance

1. Jezreel was part of the inheritance given to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:20, 56).
2. The people that inhabited this land were a people that had chariots of iron (Joshua 17:16).
3. Even after the initial victories, later generations had to battle for their land against the:
a. Midianites and Amalekites (Judges 6:33)
b. Philistines (1 Samuel 29:1)
c. Etc

III. THE PRINCIPLE ADMIRED

A. Naboth’s Hesistancy

1. He was uncomfortable relinquishing something passed down from God.
2. He was uncomfortable relinquishing something for which his fathers had fought and laboured.

B. The Spiritual Admonitions

1. Removal by others—“Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.” (Deuteronomy 19:14)
2. Removal by owner—“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” (Proverbs 22:28)

C. The Spiritual Application

1. God has given us dictates for worship for which our fathers laboured. We ought not be willing to move the lines or give up territory on these things.
2. God has given us spiritual blessings such as joy, peace, and contentment. We should not be willing to give these things up without a fight.
3. God gives us ministries to do for Him. Many of these ministries were the labours of those before us. We should be unwilling to quit on these ministries or give ground on them.