Justice & Mercy
Download MP3If you have a bible, I invite you to turn to 1st Kings 21 as we continue our study on the lives of Elijah and soon to be Elisha in the weeks ahead. First Kings 21 is there in your worship guide as well. And I just wanna go ahead and warn you, that we're going to look at something, controversial this morning, something that unfortunately, it evokes some pretty strong reactions in people. I've I've actually had people leave the room as I've discussed this. I've had people, they they like to bring their own stats, throw them on the table saying it supports their viewpoint.
Joel Brooks:But it's an important topic for us to talk about in in light of recent events. And that's, is Lebron the goat? Or or is it MJ? Now pastor Dwight would have you believe that it's LeBron, but but personally, MJ is is who I think it is. Now depending on your age, or where you grew up, you're likely gonna have a very different opinion on the matter, which is isn't too different than the topic we are actually going to look at this morning.
Joel Brooks:One that hopefully is less controversial. We're gonna look at what the Bible has to say about justice. Now I realize just even hearing the word justice or biblical justice, makes many of us uncomfortable. And I want you to know that that's okay. We are in an election season, and unfortunately, every word has become politicized.
Joel Brooks:I've actually preached on biblical justice many times over the years, and it's never really been seen as controversial until now. But these are the cultural waters we now swim in, and so here we are. Things that shouldn't be controversial suddenly have become so. But I want you to know at the start of this that I am not going to be talking about anything political. I I I want no part in any kind of partisan politics.
Joel Brooks:I think partisan politics has absolutely no place behind any pulpit. It has become nothing short of idolatry in our culture, and we will not, as a church, bow down to it. Just so you know, Jesus was way too conservative for liberals, and he was way too liberal for conservatives. He did not fit into any political camp that we have. So with enough caveats said there, enough warnings, why don't we go ahead and jump into the text.
Joel Brooks:We're not gonna read the the whole text that you have in front of you, but we're gonna read the first 16 verses. Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And after this, Ahab said to Naboth, give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house. And I will give you a better vineyard for it. Or if it seems good to you, I will give you its value and money.
Joel Brooks:But Naboth said to Ahab, the Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers. And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him. For he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my father's. And he lay down on his bed and he turned away his face and he would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?
Joel Brooks:And he said to her, because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, give me your vineyard for money or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it. And he answered him, I will not give you my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said to him, do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Joel Brooks:So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and she sealed them with his seal. And she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters, proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people, and set 2 worthless men opposite him, and let them bring charges against him saying, you have cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death. And the men of his city, the elders, and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel has sent word to them, as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them.
Joel Brooks:They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. And the 2 worthless men came in and sat opposite him, and the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying Naboth cursed God and the king. So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth has been stoned. He is dead.
Joel Brooks:As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, arise. Take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give to you for money. For Naboth is not alive, but dead. And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it. This is the word of the lord.
Joel Brooks:Pray with me. Lord, we have a hard time saying thanks be to God when we read a story like that. It unsettles us. And Lord, it's your word and we pray that we would listen intently to what you would have for us this morning. Open our hearts that we might hear you.
Joel Brooks:I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. Alright.
Joel Brooks:So this story is not as fun, not as fun to read or as fun to preach on as, you know, Elijah being fed by ravens or Elijah calling fire down from heaven or Elijah getting to listen to the Lord on the mountain of God and hear that still small voice. But this is an important story for us. It's also a timely story for us, for where we are in our culture, because it teaches us both God's heart for justice and for mercy. The story begins with Ahab at his palace. He's probably on on the rooftop looking around at his kingdom.
Joel Brooks:And and as he look, he looks out, he notices Naboth's vineyard, which is next to his palace. And he can't help but think how much better his palace would be if he could actually have that piece of property for a vegetable garden. I mean, which is understandable if you are a king. I mean, why have your servants have to walk, you know, a few blocks away when they can just pick the vegetables right there on your own property? And so the king, he he approaches Naboth and he asks if he can buy the vineyard from him.
Joel Brooks:Now, if you're Naboth, you just hit the jackpot. You just won the lottery. You're about to make a huge return on your investment. This is like hearing that the turnpike wants to go through your land or that some new developer wants to build a skyrise on your property. You're about to make bank.
Joel Brooks:But Naboth doesn't see it this way. He actually responds to the king with not just a no, but with a rebuke. He says, the lord forbid it. The lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers. You see, Naboth's vineyard was part of the promised land.
Joel Brooks:When the Israelites received the promised land and and they were settling down in Canaan, Joshua, he divided up the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. And then with each one of these tribes, he gave all the families within that tribe a slice of the land. And this was Naboth's slice, and it had been handed down from generation to generation. And it was to be his part of the promised land forever. To sell his land would be to sell his faith.
Joel Brooks:Now this put Naboth in an awkward position, because I'm sure he wanted to please the king, and I'm also sure that on top of that, he felt an enormous pressure to obey his government. But in the end, Naboth had to decide he would obey the King of Kings rather than just the king. And he would not give up his faith for money, no matter how much money was thrown at him. Now, of course, this completely baffles king Ahab. He he can't understand it.
Joel Brooks:There's actually not a category in his brain for this to fit in because he thinks, wait a second. I just offered you a lot of money, and you said no. I mean, money is what Ahab understood. Money is the language of the rich, and it is unfathomable for somebody who is really wealthy to believe that somebody could reject wealth, especially for something of of all things like a faith. Because of an issue of religion or faith, you're gonna reject all of that money?
Joel Brooks:Ahab couldn't figure it out. He went back to his house. He's all he's all vexed. He's he's sullen. He refuses to eat or sleep.
Joel Brooks:In other words, the picture we have of him is he's like a spoiled child. When Jezebel gets home, she notices that her husband is sulking around and she asked him, what's wrong? He says, mean old Naboth. He won't sell me what I want. And she basically responds to him by saying, hey, why don't you grow a pair and do something about it?
Joel Brooks:I mean, it's we're we're talking about Jezebel. Okay? She probably said something much worse than that. That's essentially what she says. She goes, what?
Joel Brooks:Man up? Are you the king or not? Kings do what they want. And then she looks at her what she sees as a pathetic excuse of the man in front of her. And she goes, fine.
Joel Brooks:I'll do it. I'll take care of it. Just quit your whining. A couple of weeks ago, somebody just came up to me after the service and they said, hey, when are we gonna look at when Jezebel dies? I really wanna see her die.
Joel Brooks:I get it. I get it. You know, the dogs will lick up her blood later. We'll get to that. But but she's pure evil.
Joel Brooks:I've never met anybody named Jezebel ever. Okay? The name's been banished. Well, she puts together her diabolical plan here. And what we see next is just this string of injustices.
Joel Brooks:Actually, we we see several different types of injustice. We're gonna see personal injustice, systemic injustice, and religious injustice. First, personal injustice. Ahab and Jezebel were personally unjust to Naboth. They lied and they stole from him, and their motivation was simple.
Joel Brooks:It was just plain old greed. And greed is still the motive for most of the injustice in the world. Now, like, I know that most of us in here, we don't like to think of ourselves as greedy people. We just always want something more, but we're not greedy. But let me give you the telltale sign as to whether or not you were greedy or not.
Joel Brooks:You're motivated by greed when you begin to see the people around you as either tools or obstacles for you to get what you want. People become tools or obstacles that are in the way keeping you from getting what you want. But you no longer see people as people. You no longer see peoples having value in and of themselves as being image bearers of god. You see, greed dehumanizes people.
Joel Brooks:Naboth becomes a non person in Jezebel's eyes. He's just an obstacle. An obstacle that needs to be removed so she and her husband could get what they want. So she dehumanizes him. And then she uses whatever power and whatever resources she has at her disposal to remove this obstacle so she could get what she wants.
Joel Brooks:So that's personal injustice. Next, we see systemic injustice. Ahab and Jezebel, they wouldn't actually have to get their own hands dirty. They could already use the structures and systems at work to do it for them. Jezebel, she wrote to the elders and to the leaders of the city who were the judicial powers of the day to use their powers to put Naboth to death.
Joel Brooks:And these men were more than willing to, to please their king at the expense of killing this nobody. I mean, as hard as this is to believe, I I think they could actually justify it in their minds. I mean, after all, they're just obeying orders. After all, they're just respecting the wishes of their government. After all, they just want to please their king.
Joel Brooks:Naboth is an enemy of the state. He deserves this. Probably in addition to those things, those justifications, there was there was probably some kind of wink wink and nod nod going on by by Jezebel. Perhaps there's gonna be some favorable tax laws passed that would help them. Maybe a few restrictions lifted, maybe there would be a new job in government waiting them if they were to do what she asked.
Joel Brooks:It's a story that we have seen way too often. But the end result is this. The very systems and structures that were supposed to protect people like Naboth were actually used against him. There's a lot of talk about systemic injustice in our country right now. And I could give you a whole lot of stats out there for you to look at, for you to chew on.
Joel Brooks:But what I found is that's kinda like trying to pick LeBron or MJ as the goat. Everybody kinda has their own stats that they like to pull out and to bend to prove whatever argument they already have. So instead, I'm just gonna ask you a question. If you happen to be arrested, would you rather be poor and innocent or rich and guilty? Which would you rather be, poor and innocent or rich and guilty?
Joel Brooks:And hear me, if there's if there's any hesitation in your answer, if you're having to, like, sit there and really ponder about this, you already have your answer concerning the injustices that are happening. And of course, this should be expected, Because the reason we have systems of injustice in our culture is because sinners make up the systems. The only way to remove unjust systems is to remove unjust people, or to have them transformed by the gospel. Church, this is why we preach the gospel. This is why we loudly proclaim the gospel in times like this because hearts have to be changed in order for societies to be changed.
Joel Brooks:Hear me. You could almost sum up the entire Bible with this statement. The Bible shows that our need is not for a new law, but for a new heart. It's our hearts that are the problem. And our hearts must be transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Joel Brooks:So we've seen personal injustice here. We've seen systemic injustice here. Now we see religious injustice. The first thing that Jezebel does was she told the leaders that they needed to call for a fast. Do you realize how horrible this is?
Joel Brooks:You called for a fast when you wanted God to reveal the sin in your midst, when you when you wanted sin to be exposed so you could repent of it. But this was a fast being called not to expose sin, but to cover it up. To cover over the sin. And the religious leaders just went along with it. Jezebel used the religious leaders of her day to get what she wanted.
Joel Brooks:She played them. And the church allowed itself to be played. Ahab and Jezebel, they couldn't give a rip about truly worshiping the Lord. I mean, haven't they been showing us that over and over and over again? I mean, for crying out loud, Jezebel just put a hit out on the Billy Graham of her day.
Joel Brooks:She just told Elijah in 24 hours, you're a dead man. But we really wanna worship and fast the Lord. And yet these religious leaders went along with it. They got in bed with these corrupt politicians. Now the end result of of of all of this, the the end result of this this personal, this systemic, this religious injustice is that Naboth was killed.
Joel Brooks:Actually, worse than that. You'll you'll find in 2nd Kings 9, it wasn't just him that was killed. All of his sons were killed as well because you can't have anybody inheriting his property. They're just wiping out his whole family from the earth. And then Ahab gets his little vegetable garden, all of this so that he could have his little garden.
Joel Brooks:Now if this story sounds vaguely familiar to you, it's because it's already happened before in the Bible with king David. King David went on the top of his roof one day. He looked out and saw a woman that belonged to another, something that belonged to another, and and he decided he wanted it. And so he went and he took her. He then used the powers that he had as a king to dispose and to kill her righteous husband.
Joel Brooks:All legal, of course, all above board, you know, in the law's eyes. He just had them killed in a battle that happened to go wrong. So hear me here. We see an Ahab, the most wicked king in Israel's history. He commits a horrible injustice.
Joel Brooks:And then we have the most righteous king in Israel's history committing the exact same injustice. Kinda makes you feel like we shouldn't put our trust in kings. Kinda makes you long for the king of kings to come and to reign in this world injustice. What else does this story teach us? Well, the first thing it it teaches us is this, The Lord sees injustice.
Joel Brooks:The Lord sees this injustice, and he sees all of the injustices of the world. They do not go unnoticed by God. And when he sees them, it angers him. He sees every secret letter, every little wink wink, nod nod. He sees it and it ticks him off.
Joel Brooks:The Lord sees this injustice, and so he sends his prophet Elijah to go and to confront Ahab and to pronounce judgment against him. Look at verse 20 and 21. We we read about this. Verse 20. Ahab said to Elijah, have you found me, oh my enemy?
Joel Brooks:He answered, I have found you because you have sold yourself. You have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly utterly burn you up, and I will cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Naboth, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me.
Joel Brooks:And because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel, the Lord also said, the dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.' After the Lord has Elijah pronounced this judgment, we then get kinda this summary statement as to the kind of person Ahab was. It might even be in parenthesis in your bible in verse 25, this this summary of of why this judgment was pronounced on this man Ahab. We read, there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably and going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.
Joel Brooks:Okay. Can we all just agree like good riddance to Ahab and Jezebel? Like is anybody gonna shed a tear about them being banished, them being punished, them being wiped off the earth? But the story doesn't end here. I mean, we get the summary statement, but it but it's actually not the end of the story.
Joel Brooks:And it's this part of the story that actually shocks us. This this next part of the story is is likely gonna offend many of you here. When Ahab hears Elijah's words, he repents. In verse 27, we read that he put on sackcloth and he fasted. Now, one of the astonishing things that I I find about this is that, you know, when when Ahab, he's been sinning all before, even sacrificed his sons to idols.
Joel Brooks:But he he had never repented at any point. And Elijah had gone to him and done these huge signs. Elijah had, you know, closed up the heavens to where it wouldn't rain, yet Ahab didn't repent. Elijah had called fire down from heaven yet Ahab didn't repent. Elijah had prayed and had the heavens heavens open back up and it poured down rain, and still Ahab did not repent.
Joel Brooks:But when Elijah says, thus saith the Lord, and calls out his sin, he repents. He just tells him the word of God and that what he did was wrong. It was sin. I know that this is not, you know, in vogue today for churches to do. But hear me, church.
Joel Brooks:Do not forget of the power of God's word, the power of God's word to call people to repentance, The power of God's word when we call sin, sin. As a church, we are to clearly, boldly, unapologetically tell people what God's word says is sin. Greed is sin. Racism is sin. Sex outside of the marriage of between a husband and a wife is sin.
Joel Brooks:You have oppression of the poor. That is sin. The murder of babies, whether they're in the womb or outside the womb, is sin. And we say these things without any apology, and we boldly declare these things because we know we don't have to call fire down from heaven. We don't have to do some miraculous sign that God honors actually the pro proclamation of his word when we call things out.
Joel Brooks:None of those other things changed Ahab. But when he was called out for a sin, he repented. God's word still goes forth in power, and we need that boldness to proclaim his word. The next shocking thing in this story is is is what happens when God sees Ahab's repentance. Read verse 29 with me.
Joel Brooks:This is God speaking to Elijah. And he says, have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? And Elijah's thinking, let me tell you what else I've seen. I have seen him kill his sons. I have seen him kill all of the prophets of God.
Joel Brooks:I have seen him put a debt you know, a price on my head. I just saw him kill Naboth. I have seen all of these things, But that's not what God is pointing out. Says, have you seen how he humbled himself before me? I'm not gonna bring disaster upon him, not in his days, but in his son's days, I will bring disaster upon his house.
Joel Brooks:That's shocking. I mean, that's that will rub you the wrong way. I mean, how in the world can God not punish Ahab after all that he did? I mean, doesn't God hate injustice? Absolutely.
Joel Brooks:Absolutely. But hear me, church. The only thing that matches God's hatred of injustice is God's love for mercy. The only thing that matches his hatred of injustice is his love for mercy. And we see that being boldly proclaimed here.
Joel Brooks:And I'll tell you what. If Ahab's son had repented, that judgment would have been postponed even more and more. The Lord is always responding to those who humble themselves before him. Now we find both God's hatred of injustice and his love for mercy beautifully woven together at the cross. The cross is where the hatred of injustice is is on display, It's also where his mercy is on display.
Joel Brooks:You see, we see God's judgment coming. It's being poured out. And then we see his mercy because it's not being poured out on us. His judgment is being poured out on Christ. Church, don't ever forget that this is your hope right here.
Joel Brooks:This is your hope. It is your hope both for the times that you have been wronged and for the times that you have committed wrong. It is your hope for the times that you have sinned or been sinned against. Your hope is always in the cross where we see God's anger towards injustice, and we also see his mercy flowing. We worship a God both full of justice and full of mercy.
Joel Brooks:Would you run to him? Pray with me, church. Jesus, thank you. Thank you for taking our punishment. Instead of receiving the wrath of God, we receive mercy and grace because of you.
Joel Brooks:And as we prayed or as we sang earlier, Lord Jesus, we do ask that we would give you that same heart. A heart that is passionate about justice and a heart that's passionate about mercy. And may we be a people that boldly proclaim you, Jesus, in a culture that is so desperate to hear it. And we pray this in your name. Amen.
