Stolen Identity (Exodus 20:15, 1 Kings 21:1-16)

In 1986, Robert Fulghum published a small book that went on to sell more than seven million copies and spend 110 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s still a popular book, and it has inspired many parodies (books, TV shows, movies, and others) and even a musical production. Perhaps you’ve read it: All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The title essay is a list of simple rules for life that most children are taught at a very young age, from “play fair” and “clean up your own mess” to “live a balanced life” and “be aware of wonder.” Of course, there’s “don’t take things that aren’t yours.” Even children know that stealing is wrong.

Perhaps Israel’s King Ahab and his wife flunked kindergarten. Clearly they did not learn the lesson about theft.

A man named Naboth owned a vineyard close to Ahab’s palace, and Ahab wanted the land to convert it to a vegetable garden. So he asked Naboth for the property, offering to pay whatever the land was worth or to give him a better vineyard. But Naboth refused. He believed that God owned the land and had granted Naboth’s family a lease on it, thereby making it his family’s permanent inheritance. The kings of other nations could simply take whatever they wanted, but the rulers of Israel were not allowed to confiscate privately held property. And Naboth would not insult God by giving away what God had given him. So King Ahab went home to sulk. When his wife, Jezebel, saw him and heard his story, she reassured him. “I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

So Jezebel cooked up a scandal. She had two men falsely accuse Naboth in public of cursing both God and the king, a capital offense, and the people dragged Naboth outside the city and stoned him to death. Then she told Ahab to get up and take the land he wanted. Problem solved. End of story? Not quite. There will be consequences for what Ahab and Jezebel did, as there are always consequences when we break the law. Not only did they steal Naboth’s land, they also stole his good name and reputation and his life. Naboth was an honorable man. He followed the law, living in harmony with God and his neighbors. Ahab and Jezebel broke God’s commandment, disregarding the value of relationship with God and with the people the king was supposed to lead and serve. There will be a price to pay.

Some people treat stealing as a lesser crime than, say, murder. But we see in this account that one can easily lead to the other. Taking what doesn’t belong to us deprives the owner of his or her property, but it can also ruin reputations and destroy relationships. And what God greatly desires for us is that we live in harmony with our fellow humans, loving and supporting them. He wants us to play fair and clean up after ourselves. He wants us to honor him by treating our fellow humans with kindness and compassion. Unless we are in a right relationship with one another, we cannot be in a right relationship with God.

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