DEVOTION – DAY 168

1 Kings 21:15-16 “You Shall Not Steal”

 

1 Kings 21:15-16 “As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite that he refused to sell to you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.”

 

The above verses record the theft of a vineyard adjoining the palace of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab wanted the vineyard owned by Naboth, but he refused to sell it to Ahab. Ahab complained to his wife, Jezebel. Jezebel plotted to have Naboth killed. When Jezebel know that Naboth was dead, she told Ahab that he could take possession of the vineyard. Both Ahab and Jezebel were guilty of taking something that did not belong to them. God had commanded in Ex.20:15 “You shall not steal.” Ahab and Jezebel had violated that command and they had sinned against God. They were also guilty of violating another of God’s commandment in Ex.20:13 “You shall not murder.”

There are people today that continue to take things that do not belong to them. Recently, news leaked about some people in power trying to “steal land”. The land had belonged to the government of Pahang, a state in Malaysia. The land was originally unused forest. The government invited local farmers to cultivate the land and offered to let each farmer have title to several acres each. The farmers cleared the land and planted durian trees. It took much hard labor by the farmers and they waited patiently for the trees to mature and bear fruit. After 10 years, the trees matured to bear fruit and the farmers finally began to see profit from all their hard work. Meanwhile, the farmers applied to the state government for title to their land. But as the price of durians had risen sharply, the once useless land that was now filled with mature durian trees had become valuable. The farmers found that the state government was reluctant to issue them the land titles. Instead, the state government claimed that the land had been sold to a company, that now demanded “payment and commission” from the sale of durians.

The act of taking something that does not belong to us is more common than we like to admit. For example, people may not realize that when they carry out personal errands when they are supposed to be at their work, they are actually “stealing” from their employers. When people under report their income tax returns, they are actually “stealing” from their government. When people find something of value in the street and they fail to report what they had found, or fail to return it to the rightful owner, it is like “stealing”. When we borrow something and fail to return the item, that is the same as “stealing” the item.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for warning us not to take anything that does not belong to us. Help us to always value and respect the property of others and teach our children to do the same. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

 

Questions

  1. What causes people to want to take something that does not belong to them?
  2. What are common examples of “stealing” that we see in our society today? Discuss.
  3. What must people do when they are guilty of stealing? Discuss.
  4. God judged Ahab and Jezebel and God judges those who break His commands. What advice would you give someone who had been guilty of stealing?