I Kings 21
Naboth refuses to sell property to Ahab verse 1- 3
And it came to pass after these things
that Naboth the Jezrelite had a vineyard
which was in Jezreel
hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria
And Ahab spoke to Naboth
saying
Give me the vineyard
that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is near
to my house – and I will give you for it a better
vineyard than it or – if it seems good to you
I will give thee the worth of it in money
And Naboth
said to Ahab
The LORD forbid it me
that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you
Ahab was angry verse 4
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased
because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite
had spoken to him – for he had said
I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers
And he laid him down upon his bed – and turned away his face
and would eat no bread
Jezebel ask what is wrong verse 5- 7
But Jezebel his wife came to him
and said to him
Why is your spirit so sad
that you eat no bread?
And he
said to her
Because I spoke unto Naboth the Jezreelite
and said to him
Give me your vineyard for money – or else if it please you
I will give thee another vineyard for it
and he answered
I will not give you my vineyard
And Jezebel his wife
said to him
Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel?
Arise – and eat bread – and let your heart be merry
I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite
Jezebel orders Naboth’s death verse 8- 10
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name – and sealed them with his seal
and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were
in his city dwelling with Naboth
And she wrote in the letters
saying
Proclaim a fast – and set Naboth on high among the people
and set two men – sons of Belial – before him
to bear witness against him
saying
You did blaspheme God and the king
And then carry him out – and stone him – that he may die
Elders kill Naboth under false charges verse 11- 14
And the men of the city even the elders and the nobles
who were the inhabitants in the his city
did as Jezebel had sent unto them
and as it was written in the letters
which she had sent to them
They proclaimed a fast
and set Naboth on high among the people
And there came in two men – children of Belial
and sat before him – and the men of Belial witnessed against him
even against Naboth- in the presence of the people
saying
Naboth did blaspheme God and the king
Then they carried him forth out of the city – and stoned him with stones
that he died
Then they sent to Jezebel
saying
Naboth is stoned – and is dead
Jezebel tells Ahab to take field verse 15- 16
And it came to pass – when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned
and was dead
that Jezebel said to Ahab
Arise – take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite
which he refused to give for money
for Naboth is not alive – but dead
And it came to pass – when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead
that Ahab rose up to go down to
the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite
to take possession of it
LORD sends Elijah to condemn actions verse 17- 19
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite
saying
Arise – go down to meet Ahab king of Israel
which is in Samaria
BEHOLD – he is in the vineyard of Naboth
whither he is gone down to possess it
And you shall speak unto him
saying
Thus said the LORD
Have you killed – and also taken possession?
And you shall speak unto him
saying
Thus says the LORD
In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth
shall dogs lick your blood – even yours
Elijah gives Ahab message of the LORD verse 20- 26
And Ahab said to Elijah
Have you found me – O mine enemy?
And he
answered
I have found you
because you have sold yourself to work evil in the
sight of the LORD
BEHOLD – I will bring evil on you – and will take away your posterity
and will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall
and him that is shut up and left in Israel
and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat
and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah
for the provocation wherewith you have
provoked ME to anger and made Israel to sin
And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD
saying
The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel
him that dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat
and him that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat
But there was none like to Ahab
which did sell himself to work wickedness in the
sight of the LORD – whom Jezebel his wife stirred up
And he did very abominably in following idols
according to all things as did the Amorites
whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel
Ahab fasted before the LORD verse 27
And it came to pass – when Ahab heard those words
that he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh
and fasted – and lay in sackcloth
and went softly
Second message of the LORD to Ahab verse 28- 29
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite
saying
See you how Ahab humble himself before ME?
because he humbled himself before ME
I will not bring the evil in his days
BUT in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you. (2486 “forbid” [chaliylah] means far be it, reprehensible thing, God forbid it, let it not be, Never! or a is course marker of adversative emphasis)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were given territory by Joshua to inherit. Each tribe had a section of land that their tribe was to inherit after they conquered the Amorites that were presently living in their land.
Remember that all of the tribes decided to allow some of the people from the nation to live in the land with them. When they were strong the heathen people of the land would pay them tribute. When the heathen were strong the Israelites would pay them instead. It was not a good arrangement. They were disobedient in not conquering the land completely.
Now once a family inherited a plot of ground, they were to keep it in their family forever. If they happened to become poor, they could sell the land until the year of jubilee and then it would come back to them.
So when the king asked Naboth to sell him the land it was like asking him to give up something that his family was supposed to have for the next generations. It was something that he felt he couldn’t do.
Well, that wasn’t good for King Ahab. He pouted and his wife wonders what was wrong. He told her he wanted the property and Naboth wouldn’t sell it to him. She was going fix it.
So Naboth was being true to his family but the king didn’t care because he wanted what he wanted. It was wrong but he didn’t care. It was a command from the LORD to keep the land in the family.
Our comments to those who ask us to do something that is against the standard of God should be the same as Naboth.
CHALLENGE: Our goal should always be to keep the standard that the LORD commands us to keep and encourage others to do the same no matter what. It cost Naboth his life.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. (2856 “sealed” [chatham] means marked, affix a seal, to confirm, to fasten with or as if with a seal, to mark with a sign of conclusion, or use a seal to close up and make secure)
DEVOTION: Now that the king has pouted and his wife has found out the reason what happens? She writes a letter to the elders and nobles of the city and seals it with the seal of the king. Remember she is the one who brought Baal worship into the nation in full force and it wasn’t against his standard to lie and cheat when it was necessary.
What does she write? She wrote a letter to them giving instructions for them to hire evil men to lie about something that Naboth had done and then take him out and kill him. She did all this with the king’s seal and probably the king’s approval.
So the men of the city did what she said to please their king and he was able to take over the land he wanted that used to belong to Naboth. When we want something would we do whatever we could to get what we wanted?
We might judge Jezebel or Ahab or the men of the city but would we do something about the same if we really wanted something that someone else had? All of this was sin but they didn’t care.
It is important that we look at what we are doing to others from the viewpoint of the LORD if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. There was a saying connected with different things people would wear: WWJD.
CHALLENGE: We need to think those thoughts when we are working with people.
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: 10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, You did blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. (1100 “sons of Belial” [baliya’al] means uselessness, wickedness, good for nothing, someone who is of no worth, especially in regards to righteous behavior, unprofitableness, wickedness, evil person, vile thing or good for nothing)
DEVOTION: In all generations there have been men and women who are good for nothing. They are individuals who will do or say anything for money or just for the sake of hurting others. These individuals are just plain wicked. They love to get others in trouble. They are always looking to hurt others.
Here we find that the queen and the nobles were working together to falsely accuse Naboth for personal gain. They worked together to hurt someone who didn’t deserve it but they didn’t care. They enjoyed hurting people for personal gain or just for fun.
So we find that they did the deed that the queen wanted and took Naboth out and killed him, so that, the king could have what he wanted without even knowing what was happening.
It is sad that people think that they can get away with something when they know that there is a God in heaven who will one day judge them for their actions but they just don’t care.
We live in a day and age where this is still happening. There are individuals who just want to cause other individuals to suffer. They trick them into something and then say it is the other person’s fault. They know how to get their evil way no matter what but they don’t realize that one day they are going to face a Righteous Judge who knows what they have done and will condemn them for their actions.
People get away with sin for a while but not for eternity. It is sad the ones they hurt have to live with their lies or in the case of Naboth he had to die right away. He will be judged by the LORD and given a reward while those who lied will face eternity in the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
We need to watch out for these types of people in our world. We have to ask the LORD for wisdom regarding who we trust and who we don’t. We need to make sure that we don’t allow these types of people into leadership in our churches. We need wisdom as we deal with others.
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD for wisdom regarding who we trust and who we put in places of authority because there are many individuals who like authority but are not righteous.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O mine enemy?” And he answered, I have found you: because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. (4376 “sold” [makar] means to sell oneself, to give oneself up, to do evil, give up, surrender, or to betray to others)
DEVOTION: Here we have a king who is over the nation of Israel who has given himself over to evil instead of righteousness. He married a wife who was a heathen that worshiped a false god named Baal. He agreed to let her lead the nation into the worship of Baal. He surrendered to the wishes of his wife instead of the LORD.
Elijah confronted him on what he had done to the nation. He was not the only king who worshiped false gods but under his reign there were more people worshiping this one false god over any other king. He was betraying the people by leading in the wrong direction and Elijah said he was going to pay a price for his ungodly leadership.
The problem is that we can surrender to evil in our life easily. We don’t necessarily have to marry someone who is not a follower of the LORD. We can just hang out with individuals who don’t love the LORD and they can lead us into things that are wrong for us to do as a believer. We want to be part of the crowd rather than different from the crowd.
If we have other believers who look up to us we can lead them away for good convictions regarding proper service to the LORD. We will be held accountable for leading our Christian friends away from the LORD. They will have to answer but so will we.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they were leading their followers to be twofold more children of hell them themselves. It was a charge that they would have to answer for when they stood before HIM at the Great White Throne Judgment. They were going to be judged for their actions.
Now if we are genuine believers the LORD will discipline us if we are heading in the wrong direction and will send people into our life to warn of the consequences of going in the wrong direction and leading others that way as well.
CHALLENGE: Lead toward the LORD. Confess to the LORD and to those who follow you that you were leading in the wrong direction and want to change directions and want them to follow you in the right direction with you.
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: 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. (328 “softly” [’at] means gently, to move gently, secret, slowly or meekly)
DEVOTION: Have you ever wanted something from someone that they were not willing to give up? What did you do? Did you get angry? Were you depressed over it? Did you have a pity party?
We find that Ahab wanted to have a garden next to the palace but it was property that belonged to Naboth. He didn’t want to sell his family inheritance. The price was not right.
So we find that Ahab went home sad and his wife, Jezebel, asked what was wrong. He told her. She told him that she would get him the field. She wrote a letter in his name to the elders and they falsely accused Naboth of blaspheme. They stoned him to death.
Jezebel came and told Ahab that the field was his now. Naboth was dead. He didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t seem to care how he got the field, he was just glad he had it.
However, when he went down to claim the field he was met by Elijah. Elijah had a message from the LORD. The message was not good. Not only was Ahab going to die but his whole family was going to die.
Ahab had sinned greatly against the LORD. Ahab had allowed his wife to kill Naboth for his vineyard.
Now Elijah meets him in the vineyard and tells him what the LORD is going to do to him. He had stirred up the anger of the LORD. The LORD had judged him by telling him that his whole male descendants would be killed.
Surprise!!! Ahab humbled himself before the LORD and went meekly before HIM. He had put on sackcloth. He had fasted before the LORD. The LORD noticed his actions and gave him a reprieve.
Ahab’s son was going to receive the judgment of God. If the LORD would do that for this man, what will HE do for us when we fast and pray before HIM?
Our God is a forgiving God. There is only one unpardonable sin – the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. First, HE must be our Savior and LORD. Then, HE is our advocate before the Father. That is GREAT NEWS!!!!
CHALLENGE: Even with a great sin the LORD is a forgiving God. HE wants us to come humbly before HIM. We all need to come before HIM after we have sinned whether it is great or small. HE hates sin.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Elders to proclaim a fast verse 9, 12
Ahab fasted before the LORD verse 27
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 3, 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 28
God – Elohim (Creator) verse 10, 13
Word of the LORD verse 17, 28
Sight of the LORD verse 20, 25
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Amorites verse 26
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Sons of Belial verse 10, 13
Jezebel’s letter verse 10
Blaspheme verse 10, 13
Lied about Naboth verse 13
Evil verse 20, 21, 29
Provoking the LORD verse 22
Sin verse 22
Wickedness verse 25
Abominable verse 26
Idols verse 26
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Humble verse 29
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Naboth the Jezreelite verse 1- 4, 9- 16
Had a vineyard hard by the palace
Didn’t want to sell his inheritance
Invited to feast
Put in high place
Falsely accused
Stoned
Ahab – king of Samaria verse 1- 6, 15- 29
Wanted Naboth’s land for garden of herbs
Because of the lack of land he ate no bread
Told by wife Naboth was dead
Took possession of vineyard of Naboth
Elijah was to tell Ahab of his coming death
Called Elijah his enemy
Provoked the LORD to anger
Caused Israel to sin
Jezebel – wife of Ahab verse 5- 15, 23
Asked why Ahab was so sad
Promised to get vineyard
Wrote a letter in Ahab’s name
Letter went to elders and nobles
Told them to call a fast
Hire children of Belial
Falsely accuse Naboth
Stone Naboth
Judged of the LORD
Put on sackcloth and fasted
Elders and nobles verse 8- 15
Received letter from Jezebel
Proclaimed a fast
Stoned Naboth per Jezebel’s letter
Send letter to Jezebel of death of Naboth
Elijah verse 17- 26, 28, 29
Told to confront Ahab
Reason: Ahab sold himself to work evil
Told him that all males would be killed
that were related to him
Word of the LORD came to him
LORD promised not to punish
Ahab in his days because
he humbled himself
Jeroboam verse 22
Baasha the son of Ahijah verse 22
Children of Israel verse 26
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
27–29 Ahab reacted strongly to the Lord’s rebuke, clothed himself in sackcloth, and fasted (v.27). Therefore, God again sent Elijah word concerning the king: because he had humbled himself, the threatened punishment would be delayed until the lifetime of his son (vv.28–29). However, no stay of execution would be granted for the villainous Jezebel.
The king’s remorse was sincere; paradoxically Ahab could be influenced for good by the divine message (cf. 1 Kings 17 and see the note on 2 Kings 10:18). Therefore, the Lord in his longsuffering bore with the king yet further. There is little indication, however, that Ahab’s basic character was altered so as to produce that godly repentance and genuine faith that lead to a real conversion experience. To the contrary, there is no indication that he changed his idolatrous ways, much less restored the ill-gotten vineyard. How gracious is an everloving God who deals in boundless mercy even with a thankless and thoughtless generation (cf. 2 Peter 3:9)! (Patterson, R. D., & Austel, H. J. (1988). 1, 2 Kings. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, pp. 160–161). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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21:27–29. Elijah’s predicted judgment crushed Ahab. In sincere repentance he humbled himself before the Lord. Tearing one’s clothes (Es. 4:1; Job 1:20), wearing sackcloth (Gen. 37:34; 1 Kings 20:31–32; Es. 4:1; Neh. 9:1; Dan. 9:3), and fasting (Neh. 9:1; Dan. 9:3) all manifested a spirit of grief and contrition. God noticed Ahab’s change of mind and behavior. Ahab’s life was deep-dyed with sin, but in response to his self-humbling, God showed him some mercy. The destruction to come on Ahab’s house would not be carried out in his own days but in those of his son Joram (2 Kings 9:24–26; 10:17). Jezebel, however, did not repent. She suffered all that God promised she would without mercy (2 Kings 9:30–37). (Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 533). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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21:29 his son’s days. Since Ahab had truly humbled himself before the Lord, he did not see the disaster forecast for him (v. 19). Instead, God postponed it until the reign of his son, Joram, ca. 852–841 b.c. (2Ki 9:25, 26). Joram died in the field of Naboth (cf. v. 19). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ki 21:29). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Elijah is sent by the Lord to confront Ahab (21:17–29); his message is harsh. Ahab has murdered an innocent man and stolen his property. Ahab has sold himself to evil. As Naboth’s blood was licked up by dogs, so will Ahab’s; these dogs will also eat Jezebel’s flesh. The entire house of Ahab is to be destroyed as Jeroboam’s (1 Kings 14:10–11) and Baasha’s (1 Kings 16:12–13). Ahab shows remorse and humility; there is, however, no evidence of repentance. Ahab’s demonstration of humility postpones the disastrous end of his family until the following generation. The Lord in mercy and justice does not bring a disastrous death upon a humbled man. (Van Groningen, G. (1995). 1-2 Kings. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 250). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
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Ver. 29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? &c.] Which yet was but an external humiliation, to be seen only with bodily eyes, as were all his actions and postures, before observed. Some Jewish writers think his repentance was true and perfect, and his conversion thorough and real: they tell usk, that he was in fasting and prayer morning and evening before the Lord, and was studying in the law all his days, and returned not to his evil works any more, and his repentance was accepted: but the contrary appears manifest; we never read that he reproved Jezebel for the murder of Naboth, nor restored the vineyard to his family, which he would have done had he been a true penitent; nor did he leave his idols; we quickly hear of his consulting with the 400 prophets of the groves, and expressing his hatred of a true prophet of the Lord, ch. 22:6, 8. his humiliation arose from dread of punishment, and not from the true fear of God; however, it was such as was never seen in any of his wicked predecessors, and is taken notice of by the Lord. Luther from these words concluded, and was persuaded, that he was saved: because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his sons days will I bring the evil upon his house; this was not a pardon, only a reprieve; the sentence pronounced on him and his family was not taken off, nor countermanded, only the execution of it prolonged; it is promised that the destruction of his family should not be in his life-time, but after his death, in his son’s days, otherwise he himself died a violent death, and the dogs licked his blood, as were foretold; however, this may be an encouragement to those who are truly humbled for their sins, and really repent of them, that they shall receive forgiveness at the hand of God, since he shewed so much regard to an outward humiliation and repentance. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 765). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Kelly writes (IL): 2 words have really been on my heart lately…forgiveness and grace. I think of how many times I have done wrong and fallen away from Christ and He has been faithful and just to forgive me yet when people I love most have “done me wrong” I am hardest on them and it’s harder to forgive them. As I’m thinking about all this, I think it’s because those are the people we love most and trust most and when they hurt us, it hurts the most. But just like every time we do wrong, we hurt God, we also need to forgive and give grace. Very hard but only with Christ in us can we do this.
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In our hard-driving society, gentleness is almost a lost commodity. Not only is it rarely honored, but it is also often thought of as being undesirable. Yet Paul instructs Timothy that the “servant of the Lord must . . . be gentle” (v. 24) and that our gentleness may help others repent from sin. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek (the gentle)” (Matthew 5:5). Gentleness is not a word which suggests weakness or impotence. It is used of powerful war horses who have been skillfully trained to instantly obey their masters. It is a word which suggests power under complete control. It offers much. (Quiet Walk)
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GOD DWELLS IN US
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12
God dwells in us. That is one of the grounds of my assurance, my certainty. “No man hath seen God at any time.” Very well, then, do we go on in doubt and almost in despair wondering whether there is a God? No! says John; “if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
Now, I confess very readily that I approach a theme like this with fear and with a sense of awe. Consider the great statement in John 14 of this intimate union between the believer and God the Father and God the Son, of Their abiding in us and dwelling in us. We are familiar with chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 of John’s Gospel, and here we have the same thing again. “God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” And John goes on to say in 1 John 4:13, “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit,” and in verse 15, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
At this point, like Moses, we take off our shoes! We are concerned with something that is glorious and magnificent, and so we have to be very careful as we handle it. The statement is that if we love one another, God, ”God who is love, God the Almighty, God the eternal”dwells in us. I think that the great thing at this point is to realize that we must not materialize that conception. We must not think of God in material terms; God is spirit. It is God, who is spirit, who dwells in us.
A Thought to Ponder: It is God, who is spirit, who dwells in us. (From The Love of God, p. 85 by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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WHO DOES THE CROSS INVITE?
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
To whom does the invitation of this cross come? It comes to failures, the people who know they have gone wrong, the people who are filled with a sense of shame, the people who are weary and tired and forlorn in the struggle. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” You know He is talking about people who are laboring to live a good and clean and straight life. That is what He means by laboring and being heavy-laden—by the law of God, the commandments, moral ideals. You have tried and sweated and fasted. You are laboring, like Martin Luther before he saw the truth, like John Wesley before he saw it. Like all these people before they saw it, you are laboring, trying to live the good life, but failing; we are miserable failures, weary and forlorn.
The hymns of the church have always expressed this.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one;
Stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad…
Horatius Bonar
That is how they have come. The invitation is to such—the weary and worn.
A Thought to Ponder
The invitation of the cross comes to failures.
(From The Cross, pp. 167-168, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Opening the Ear
“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.” (Psalm 40:6)
That Psalm 40 is primarily a Messianic psalm speaking mainly about the work of Christ is evident from its quotation as such in Hebrews 10:5-10. The psalm is prophesying particularly of His incarnation, as He says: “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me” (Psalm 40:7).
Burnt offerings and sin offerings had indeed been required from God’s people under the law, but these were not an end in themselves. These sacrifices were meaningless unless they were offered out of a willing heart, obedient expressions of submission to a forgiving God.
That was the implication of the “opened ear,” a symbolic expression indicating one’s willingness thenceforth to hear only the voice of his master and to submit to His will in all things. If a freed bondservant “shall plainly say, I love my master…I will not go out free: Then his master shall…bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever” (Exodus 21:5-6). This was the testimony of the coming Messiah, as reported in our text.
Then note its application as recorded in Hebrews 10:5: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” That is, the phrase “mine ears hath thou opened” is translated by the Holy Spirit as “a body hast thou prepared me.” The perfect submission of the Son to the Father required that He become a man, with a very special human body prepared by His Father. Then Psalm 40:7 becomes (in Hebrews 10:7): “Lo, I come…to do thy will, O God….By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9-10). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)