_Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs._ AHAB’S GARDEN OF HERBS Walking in the garden, what do we see? 1. Covetousness. God’s brand is upon covetousness. Contentment is a Christian duty. Not sinful is the desire for comfort, for sufficiency; it is the inordinate desire th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee._ THE REPLY OF NABOTH, AND ITS LESSONS I. The reply of Naboth. 1. It first assures us that he is a conscientious man, and a worshipper of Jehovah. No; but from a conviction of his duty to God as the Supreme Lawgiver: and,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased._ TEMPER-A DEADLY SIN In other and less dignified words, Ahab, when he could not get his own way, went to bed in a sulk. I take it that all those who have tried even to be close students of human nature are agreed that life as a rule suffers most,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?_ A CURE FOR THE DUMPS The witty Sydney Smith once said, “Never give way to melancholy, for if you do, it will encroach upon you like an overflowing river and overwhelm you.” He added he had given twenty-four precautions to a lady of melancholy d... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth._ WIFELY AMBITION, GOOD AND BAD How important that every wife have her ambition an elevated, righteous, and divinely approved ambition! And here let me say that what I am most anxious for is that woman, not waiting for the rights denied her or postponed, sho... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite._ ELIJAH’S MISSION OF JUDGMENT We bend our attention exclusively on the part played by Elijah amid these terrible transactions. I. He was called back to service. How many years had elapsed since last the word of the Lord had come to Elijah, we... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?_ AHAB AND ELIJAH The keynote of Elijah’s character is force--the force of righteousness. The New Testament, you remember, talks about the “power of Elias.” The outward appearance of the man corresponds to his function and his character. The whole of his career is... [ Continue Reading ]
_But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord._ AHAB I. An illustration of the depths of human depravity. 1. Ahab’s pre-eminence in sin (1 Kings 16:30). There had been many instances of wickedness decked with the robes of royalty; but there... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes._ AHAB’S REPENTANCE I. How Ahab’s repentance was called forth. A threefold crime is here laid to the charge of the King of Israel: that he had provoked God to anger--that he had made Israel to sin--and that he had sold hims... [ Continue Reading ]