1 Kings 21, 1 Thessalonians 4, Daniel 3, Psalm 107

DateVersionReading Plan
October 18, 2024ESV (2016)M’Cheyne Plan 2024

1 Kings 21

Adjoining Ahab’s palace in Jezreel was a vineyard owned by Naboth. Ahab asked Naboth to give him the vineyard to have it for a vegetable garden, offering a better vineyard or money for its value. “Naboth refused to sell or exchange his land, since the law of Israel decreed that property should remain in the family to which it was originally assigned (Lev. 25:23–28; Num. 36:7; Ezek. 46:18).” (FSB)

Ahab told his wife, Jezebel, that he had asked Naboth for his vineyard and the subsequent refusal. In response, Jezebel set out to obtain the vineyard for her husband, sending letters in Ahab’s name and with his seal to the elders in Naboth’s city. The letters directed the elders to proclaim a fast and set two worthless men against Naboth to bring a charge against him. “The treacherous Jezebel thus framed Naboth so that it would appear he was being executed for breaking the law of Jehovah. Since the property would pass on to Naboth’s sons after his death, Jezebel had them murdered as well (2 Kgs. 9:26). The iniquitous queen was as thorough as she was wicked.” (FSB) The events played out and, upon hearing of Naboth’s death, Jezebel told Ahab to take possession of the vineyard. As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he took possession of the vineyard, showing no remorse for his wife’s wicked scheming or the death of Naboth.

The word of the LORD then came to Elijah and told him to meet Ahab who was in Naboth’s vineyard. Elijah told Ahab that the LORD would bring disaster upon him, making his house like the house of Jeroboam and cut off every male, recalling “the prophecies against kings Jeroboam (14:10–11) and Baasha (16:3–4) of Israel.” (FSB) The LORD through Elijah also said that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs within the walls of Jezreel.

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his flesh, fasted and went about dejectedly. “In a surprising acceptance of a very shallow repentance (note Ahab’s continued rebellion in the next chapter), God pronounced that the prophesied destruction on Ahab’s house would happen only after Ahab’s death.” (CSB Notes) The CSB continues in saying that, we “must accept God’s sovereignty on those occasions when he seems harsh by our standards and also when he seems too merciful by our judgment.” (CSB Notes)

1 Thessalonians 4

Paul urged the Thessalonian brothers in the Lord Jesus to walk as they ought and so to please God. They were do as they were doing and more, emphasizing “the progressive nature of the Christian life.” (CSB Notes) The will of God is their sanctification, abstaining from sexual immorality, that each of them knows how to control his body in holiness and honor. Thus, they are to be distinct from the Gentiles who do not know God. “Paul gave two reasons for Christians to abstain from sexual immorality. First is that the Lord is an avenger who will judge the offense. Second is that sexual impurity violates God’s call to live in holiness. The implication of God’s giving us his Holy Spirit is that a person should not mix human sexual impurity with God’s holy nature in the Holy Spirit, who dwells within the Christian (1 Cor. 6:19).”

Paul admitted that they had no need for anyone to write to them concerning brotherly love as they had been taught by God and that it was indeed what they were doing to all the brothers in Macedonia. “The believers at Thessalonica distinguished themselves by loving all the Christians in all of Macedonia. By commending them for it, Paul memorialized them forever.” (BBC)

Paul then speaks of the coming of the Lord, that they were not to grieve as others with no hope over those were “asleep”, a metaphorical term of Christians who had died. He assured them that since they believe that Jesus died and rose again, so too will God bring with Him those who had fallen asleep. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven in a profound manner and the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those who are alive to be caught up them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and always be with Him. Paul exhorted the church that they were to encourage each other with these words.

Daniel 3

King Nebuchadnezzar made a massive statue of gold as an image (approximately 90 feet high by 9 feet wide), demonstrating that the king’s pride had overcome the momentary humiliation of the previous chapter in Daniel’s revelation of the king’s dream (Dan. 2:46-47). He then sent for all the officials to come to the dedication of the image. As they stood in front of the image, the herald proclaimed to the people that all were to bow down and worship the image at the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music. Those who did not fall down and worship the image would be immediately thrown into a burning fiery furnace.

Certain Chaldeans (a general term for the Babylonian people) came along and maliciously accused the Jews of not worshiping the image. They reported to the king that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, as faithful Jews, refused to worship the idol. This infuriated the king and he commanded they be brought before him. The king addressed them directly to confirm the accusation of their lack of image worship. He told them that it would go well with them if they worshiped the idol but their failure would result in being cast into the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told the king that they had no need to answer him in this matter. To them, it was a moot point because they would not bow down and worship the idol even if their own death would be the consequence.

Again filled with fury, the king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than it was usually heated, that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were to be bound and thrown into the furnace. This they did while fully clothed, wearing their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments. Due to the urgency of the king’s order, the flame of the fire killed the men who put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace.

The king was astonished when he looked into the furnace and saw not three men but four, unbound and walking in the midst of the fire. The king described the fourth man as being “like a son of the gods”. The FSB provides some helpful context on this reference:

The Aramaic phrase here for “son of the gods” is akin to the Hebrew phrase “son of God/the gods,” which is generally a reference to spiritual beings sent from God. Nebuchadnezzar sees the three men and a spiritual being in the fiery furnace (see his comment in v. 28). The man was a divine being sent to render service to the three Hebrew youths.

The king then ordered the men to come out of the furnace to himself. All the officials gathered together and saw that the fire had no power on the men; their hair was not singed, cloaks not harmed and had no smell of fire on them. Nebuchadnezzar answered by blessing the LORD for sending His angel to deliver His servants and decreed that anyone who speaks against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was to be torn from limb to limb. The king then promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Psalm 107

Psalm 107 is the first psalm in the final book of Psalms—Book Five. Like Pss 106; Psa 107 is a praise psalm that looks back on Israel’s history. In it, the psalmist recalls how Yahweh has redeemed portions of His people from various locations and difficult situations. He first recounts the locations and situations of difficulty (vv. 1–32), then describes Yahweh’s power (vv. 33–43). He implies that any ruler who attempts to oppress Yahweh’s people will experience the difficulty that they try to bring upon Israel. This psalm seems to reflect the context of Israelite life after the Babylonian exile (post 538 BC) as it mentions Yahweh gathering His people from around the world (v. 3), and more specifically the context after the second temple was made and rededicated (after 516 BC). (FSB)

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