So [Jezebel] wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. She wrote in the letters, "Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death"... Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, "Thus says the LORD: Have you killed and also taken possession?"... (1 Kings 21:8-10, 17-19a)

Elijah's divine call to challenge Ahab comes in the wake of a royal plot to falsely accuse Naboth of a crime. Ahab had asked Naboth to surrender his plot of land, which abutted the summer palace of the king, in exchange for a better plot of land, or for money (v. 2). But Naboth refused to consent to the offer, citing the fact that it was his family's ancestral inheritance. Since the text does not give any indications of economic realities for Naboth, it is difficult to know with any precision whether Naboth would have relied on the vineyard for his yearly income, and did not want to risk transferring his business to a new plot; or whether he simply refused out of familial pride. But a few things can be said: first, a transfer of the business would presumably have been a great risk for Naboth economically; on his own plot of land, he could be sure that the vines were in good health, and had been properly taken care of. On another plot, there was no such guarantee. If he were to take the money, he would have had to buy a new plot of land on which to practice his agriculture, and would have lost out on at least a year's worth of harvest, if not more. When living in a subsistence economy, this option is simply not possible. It might have been that the offer Ahab made considerably underbid the value of the land: after all, it was right next to the king's summer palace. (The fact that this structure was not even the primary residence of the king is hinted at in the wording of v. 1: "Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria". The fact is then reemphasized in v. 18: "Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth..."; my emphasis). But whatever the economic reasons Naboth may have had to hold onto the land, there was one significant social impetus for Naboth to keep his land: it was the traditional, right thing to do. The land had been transferred through his family for generations, and would be given eventually to his own children as their inheritance when Naboth died; how could he sell such a meaningful plot of land, to which he owed his very life?

After learning of Ahab's dismay as the refusal of his claim to eminent domain, Jezebel hatches a plan that can only lead to Naboth's demise: he is to be set in a position of honor at a local festival, and then falsely accused of wrong-doing, of cursing God and the king, crimes punishable by death. His accusers are characterized even in Jezebel's own words as "scoundrels", the equivalent of today's "hatchet men." They carry out this royal command with immediate effect: a good and upstanding Israelite man is brought low merely by the utterance of four false words (six in English): "Naboth cursed God and the king" (v. 13). Naboth is quickly taken outside, and put to death (v. 14). We ought to find horrifying the speed and efficiency with which the central government dispatches of its troublesome countrymen. But it is not solely the national government that has brought about this heinous crime of false accusation and conviction without a fair trial. Equally terrifying (and perhaps even more insidious) is the royal use of Jezreel's local government in carrying out the offense. The "elders and the nobles" to whom Jezebel sends her instructions in v. 8 were the occupants of positions that were to be used for the purpose of true justice; it is the elders in the gate who were, in early Israel, the arbitrators of justice and fairness. Once that independent position has been compromised - either through royal intimidation or through the installation of royal surrogates in the council of elders at the local level - those who run afoul of the established authorities can no longer count on justice in the city gates.

It is to speak boldly and plainly to this situation that God calls the prophet Elijah. The words that God instructs Elijah to use portray the divine disdain for Ahab's involvement - as minimal as it may have been on the level of actual practice - in the affair surrounding Naboth's vineyard: "Have you killed and also taken possession?" Jezebel's letter was sent in secret; the elders and nobles presumably acted in secret; and the "scoundrels" kept their instructions secret as long as possible. But despite this veil of secrecy, the truth has its own way of coming out. In 1 Kings God delivers the oracle to the prophet Elijah; in the modern day, subpoenas and the threat of contempt of court will eventually do the same thing.

In the same way that God called Elijah to - in the old and familiar formulation - speak truth to power, God calls the modern church to do the same. In an era of government self-service and political hatchet-jobs, and under an administration in which thousands of electronic communications are "lost", it is no longer acceptable for us, the church, to simply stand by and watch as our nation's judicial system is increasingly politicized to secure more and more privilege for fewer and fewer people. As the Body of Christ, a people who claim to have a special status as the People of God, we recognize that the United States of America is not a new Israel, a holy country established solely by God and for God's glory. But we must also affirm that God has called us to speak on behalf of the oppressed, to voice our concerns on behalf of those who have no voice, to "hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate" (Am 5:15). It is our obligation, as God's people, to publicly and prophetically give voice to God's disdain for human attempts at secrecy and the manipulation of truth; for the overextension of administrative power and influence, such that it destroys innocent lives and reputations; and for the power-grab that clothes itself with a manufactured justice, the balances of which are irrevocably deceitful from the beginning (Amos 8:5).

Dear God, you have indeed told us what is good, and what is your will: that we should do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly in your presence (Micah 6:8). We ask that you would give us the strength and perseverance of your prophets, so that we may not consider ourselves "at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1), but rather that we may burn for justice and honesty and peace for all your earthly creation, as a foretaste of your heavenly kingdom to come. Amen.

Contributed by Jeremy
Sunday June 1, 2008
Liturgical Year A Week 27
Sunday Gospel reading:
Day of Pentecost