“Glory to the Precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Matthew 21: 43

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

We, the bride, the church should be as the vineyard (the kingdom of God) of Christ.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the portion of the Bible that we meditated upon in the past days, we meditated that we, the bride, the church in our spiritual life we should safeguard ourselves so that our soul does not become sullen and displeased.

Next what we are meditating upon is that 1 Kings 21: 1 - 16 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 

So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

So Ahab went into his house sullen 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 lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. 

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”

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 pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. 

She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honour among the people; 

and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.

So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 

They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. 

And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 

Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 

So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

The above-mentioned verses are given to us for a pattern. That is, each one of us are a vineyard of Christ. But if near that vineyard the palace of Ahab will be there then he will perform deeds to make it a vegetable garden. That is, in our soul we must never give place to the deeds of Ahab that is the altar of Baal. If we will give place in this manner, then the harlot Jezebel will be as his wife, the bride, the church and will deceive our spiritual life. Not only that but she will somehow kill our soul cunningly. In this manner, if our soul is killed then within us everyday the deeds of Satan will be growing. We cannot give good fruits according to the Lord. Then to inherit our soul completely Ahab will rise up within us. Therefore to completely destroy the high places of Baal that are around us and so that we never fall due to the deeds of Ahab and to give good fruits according to the Lord let us submit ourselves to the Lord.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless you all abundantly. 

       - To be continued