T. R.A.S.H TALK

(Truly Redeemed and Sanctified In Him)

NABOTH’S VINEYARD

In today’s T.R.A.S.H. Talk, we will look beyond a veil that many people may miss when they are reading the word of Yahweh and the mystery behind Naboth’s vineyard. 1 Kings 21 is a chapter about King Ahab and his desire to take possession of a vineyard from a man named Naboth, a Jezreelite. This particular vineyard was located in the capital City of Samaria, next to the palace grounds of Ahab, the king of Israel. Ahab wanted the vineyard for himself so he could plant a vegetable garden next to his palace. Much to his dismay, Naboth told the king that he would never sell the vineyard because it was his ancestral inheritance. Can you imagine someone telling the king of Israel ‘no’? Naboth could and he did!

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!” (1 Kings 21:2-3)

In scripture, a vineyard is representative of Yahweh’s abundance. It takes time to get established and to produce fruit, but once established the fruit is in abundance. There is a pruning required to maintain the branches on the vines so as to produce even more fruit each year. A vegetable garden is only mentioned two times in the Bible; here in 1 Kings 21 and previously in Deuteronomy 11:10: “For the land that you are about to enter to occupy is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sow your seed and irrigate by foot like a vegetable garden.”  The symbolic contrast between the two is to rest in the abundance of Yahweh and His love and provision vs. toiling the soil through works with a slave mindset (in other words, stay in Egypt or come out).

There are many mysteries in the Bible that are not really mysteries at all but rather hidden treasures and gems. Let’s start with solving a mystery within the names Naboth, Jezreel, Ahab, and Jezebel because once we see the meanings, we may gain some revelation of why God allowed this event to happen in history and how it points to the importance of a coming redeemer, Yeshua.

1) Naboth (pronounced Naw-both) name meaning is: Words, prophecies, sprout. Naboth is the feminine plural of the word Nob (which means fruit, priestly city)

2) Jezreel means:  God sows, spreads seed. The name comes from the Hebrew word Zara (to sow or scatter seed) and El (God)

When we read of Ahab coveting Naboth’s vineyard, we can determine that there is a prophetic message involved that Yahweh is intending the readers to understand.

Often times, we place the focus on Ahab and his cowardly covetousness of the vineyard and him letting his wife, Jezebel pick up the pieces for him. But in reality, the focus here is on Yeshua and His inheritance. 

Who was Naboth?

Naboth was a 5^th generation descendant of Jacob. He was from the tribe of Manasseh– the great grandson of Joseph. We know that Jacob had twelve sons, one being Joseph, and upon his deathbed, Jacob (called Israel) spoke blessings over each of his sons. When he got to Joseph in Genesis 49:22, he spoke over Joseph’s line which included his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Joseph is a fruitful vine –

a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. 

The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you,with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb. 

The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers. (Genesis 49:22)

Jacob told Joseph that he will be a fruitful vine. He will be a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches spread over the wall. His influence and blessings would go far beyond him (scale the wall) to many generations.  So, five generations later, there was Naboth guarding his ancestral inheritance and reaping the fruits of his vineyard when Ahab approaches him. 

3) Ahab name meaning: Father’s brother; also translated friend of his father.  Achab : “father’s brother,” a king of Isr., also a false prophet; Transliteration: Achab, Phonetic Spelling: (akh-awb’)
Definition: “father’s brother”, a king of Isr., also a false prophet

4) Jezebel name meaning is: Exalted of Ba’al. Strongs #0348: lbzya ‘Iyzebel. Jezebel = “Baal exalts” or “Baal is husband to” or “unchaste”; queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, daughter of Ethbaal. 

What Does Naboth And His Vineyard Have To Do With Yeshua?

As we continue reading in 1 Kings 21, we see that Ahab was rather distraught about being told ‘no.’ He knew that he had no legal recourse to take the land from Naboth. When God brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land, He made it very clear that they each receive allotments to land and that the land was a gift to them from Him. It was to remain within families from generation to generation as an inheritance. Ultimately, however, the land belongs to Yahweh. Naboth took this to heart. He understood the importance of his inheritance.

Jezebel sees Ahab is discontent and takes matters into her own hands and plots a plan. Seeing how Ahab was not able to convince or bribe Naboth to give up his vineyard, she usurps her husband’s authority and fraudulently writes letters to certain men in the city in Ahab’s name and hires two scoundrels to set Naboth up to be put to death. She proclaims a fast, has Naboth seated at the table with the elders of the city, as a place of honor, and then wickedly proceeds to have the two men accuse him of blaspheming God and the king. Does this sound familiar about someone else we’ve heard or read about?

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 honor 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. (1 Kings 21:7-10)

Fast Forward in Time – From 874 BC to 30 AD

It’s amazing to think that approximately 840 years later, the true vineyard keeper would be walking across the same land of Israel, going to the very same city in Samaria and throughout all the villages, being fruitful in all His works through his sound deeds and character, sharing the gospel of peace, and yet the same spirits that drove Ahab and Jezebel to kill Naboth sought to steal, kill, and destroy His vineyard by falsely accusing Him of blaspheming God and the king. Mark 14:55-64 says:

Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” But not even then did their testimony agree.

And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But He kept silent and answered nothing.

Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. (Mark 14:55-64)

(Also noteworthy: Yeshua’s servant and disciple, Stephen, was also falsely accused of blasphemy and he was stoned to death. The name Stephen means crown; crowned; victors wreath)

The Parables of Yeshua

During His three years of ministry and prior to his arrest, Yeshua spoke many parables because He knew those who sought to have him killed. However, to those who would be the laborers in His vineyard, the parables were explained and revealed. Of all the parables He spoke pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, it is no coincidence that the majority are in reference to vineyards, planting, sowing seed, being fruitful, etc. 

The disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (Matthew 13:10-13)

If you now go back and read the various parables Yeshua spoke in the New Testament and look at them this time from the Naboth’s Vineyard perspective, you will see the prophetic in the Old Testament that pointed to the day of our Redeemer’s return and the promises of His inheritance.

Naboth = Words, prophecies, sprout, fruits

Jezreel = God sows, scatters seed

A significant parable in the Bible is the parable of the sower and the soils (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15). In that parable Jesus explains to His disciples and all those who have ears to hear that the seed is the Word and it is Yahweh who sent Him with full authority to be the sower (plants, scatters) of the seed, thereby fulfulling Old Testament prophecy. He is also the Seed (Galatians 3:16-18), the very Seed of Abraham spoken of in Genesis. 

Yeshua has been given a vineyard that will flourish, be fruitful and multiply because the soil (heart, soul, and body) will be those who receive His word and put it into practice by obeying it. This vineyard is the inheritance of His fathers house. We are called to be co-heirs with Yeshua in the kingdom of heaven and to also be sowers of the seed. 

From the very beginning of time (Genesis 1), we learn of this seed, and it began on the third day, when the Three created all the vegetation. The vineyard in the Garden of Eden was brought forth and Yahweh set into motion the wonders of the garden and being fruitful and reproducing.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”’ and it was so…And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. (Genesis 1:11-13)

The seven days of creation in Genesis 1 is also prophetic in that it tells us of the second coming of Yeshua HaMashiach. Not only did Yeshua give his life for our sins, was placed in a tomb, and rose again on the third day, so too it will be when the laborers of the vineyard have completed their work in the fields that owner of the vineyard will come and there will be eternal rest. Just has Yahweh destroyed the house of Ahab and Jezebel, so He will destroy all the wicked vinedressers that seek to kill the heir and seize his inheritance. Those who repent and return to Him will be saved.

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-46)

“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. 

In 1 Kings 21, once Naboth is killed, Ahab goes to his vineyard and takes possession. This is another clue of the mystery of our Adversary, Satan. He has sought for milleniums to take possession of Yahweh’s vineyard. Yahweh, however, made it clear what was to come upon Ahab’s house and Jezebel. 840 years later, Yeshua was dealing with the same spiritual dynamics and tells the Israelites that He is the true vine in the vineyard. The same is in effect today.

The True Vine (John 15:1-8)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Nehemiah 9:36,37
Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

In Conclusion

Fellow brothers and sisters in Yeshua Ha Mashiach, we have read in 1 Kings 21 how Naboth had an adversary who stopped at nothing to obtain something that was not legally his.

We have the same adversaries today operating as the spirits of Ahab and Jezebel. The two spirits work hand in hand and join forces with other spirits as Satan’s agents. Satan knows he has no right to our vineyard, no right to our blessings, and no right to our promises in Yeshua HaMashiach. He has no legal right to take the inheritance that Yahweh has given us…unless we give him that right.  He loves to usurp the authority of our Redeemer.

A deception our adversary uses is he tries to bargain with us by offering us something just as good or better than what we already have. Ahab did this with Naboth and we see the subtle plot and the plan of our enemy. He tries to get us to settle and exchange God’s best for good. He’s a good negotiator and manipulator. Don’t fall for it!  Yeshua experienced the same adversary during His 40 days of trial and temptation in the wilderness. He defeated Satan by using the word of Yahweh right back at him. It worked!  Read Matthew 4. It still works today!

The word of Yahweh used in conjunction with the name of Yeshua and the power of His Spirit causes the enemy to flee. If he has gained a deceptive foothold into your vineyard, become a Naboth and stand your ground! Speak your inheritance in Yeshua! If Yahweh is with you, He will go before you and scatter your enemies.  We can rest assured that if we abide in Yeshua, He abides in us and His spirit of truth and comfort is our advocate against the wiles of the adversary. Our Redeemer sees the wicked vinedressers in our life, even those we or our ancestors sold out to, but here is the promise of our inheritance: Eternal life through the redeeming blood Yeshua shed on the cross for our sins, and through our confession and steadfast faith in Him, we are truly redeemed and sanctified in Him. He purchased us (His vineyard) fair and square with the price of His blood and it is true that whosoever shall believe in Him will never die (though he may fall asleep) but shall have everlasting life with Him in the kingdom of Yahweh.  May we always remember the strength and goodness we have in and through our Redeemer.

Prayer

Father Yahweh, we thank you for the mysteries of Your word that bring us abundant life. We thank you that you are The True Vinedresser and that you love us so much that you gave us your Son, Yeshua, who is The Vine. He is the Word, the good Seed, the Resurrection Life. We are his branches and Father we need pruning by Your grace.  We come before your throne of grace and ask you to open up the books of our family line and identify every person that sought to steal, kill, and destroy your vineyard through the wicked vinedressers both in our ancestral line as well as ourselves today. We repent and renounce those sins and iniquities. Forgive us the transgressions and close the door to the wickedness and curses brought upon us as a result.  Cover them with the blood of Yeshua.  We ask you to redeem the time that has kept us out of your presence and your will for our lives and deliver us and cleanse the land that has been defiled through spiritual and physical whoredoms, jealousies, divinations, lying spirits, error, bondage, and death. Open our eyes and ears to see you and hear you more clearly so we can speak and be sowers of Your seed.  Lead us no longer into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. We ask that you release the blessings that have been held up as a result of these sins. Release them at your appointed time for each of us so that we can be fruitful for Your kingdom and tend to Your vineyard in a way that will honor You. We know time is short. We give you all the praise and glory in the name of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua HaMashiach. Amen.

Garry and Norma

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