Well, congregation, in the history of the church, Christians have died for seeking the privilege of opening the Word of God. And still today, in many countries and lands and peoples, there is danger in even owning a Bible. We have this evening the privilege of opening that Bible. and also the Catechism as its helpful explanation and direction for us. So tonight if you would please to 1 Kings chapter 21. 1 Kings chapter 21. We'll read there verses 1 to 24. We'll take up then again Lord's Day 42 for the second time of the Heidelberg Catechism. That's on page 249, page 249 in our small book, the Forms and Prayers book. It's a little easier to read there than in the back of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal for whatever reason, a bit different type set and a little darker. Print to be found in the forms and prayers book so 249 in a moment. We'll respond Publicly out outwardly to those questions of Lord's day 42 But first this evening follow along beloved as we listen to the instruction that we have tonight from the Word of God Remembering again what it was the Apostle Paul said in Romans 15 for that all these things That were written beforehand were written for our learning And so we find direction from the Word of God in 1 Kings chapter 21 and at verse 1. 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. And 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, a Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please 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 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. So the men of the city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent 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, 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. Then, The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, in the place where dogs lick the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours. So Ahab said to Elijah, have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Bashan, the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger and made Israel sin. And concerning Jezebel, the Lord also spoke, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field." Thus far, dear congregation, God's glorious and true word. Keep your Bible open and near you, but let's turn this evening to the summary of the teaching of the Word of God as we have it tonight in the Heidelberg Catechism at Lord's Day 42. Continuing in our exploration of the Eighth Commandment, very significant for our day and our churches, and these two questions. Again, page 249, question 110. Notice the negative side. What does God forbid in the Eighth Commandment? He forbids not only outright theft and robbery, which governing authorities punish, but in God's sight theft also includes all evil tricks and schemes designed to get our neighbor's goods for ourselves. whether by force or means that appear legitimate, such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume, fraudulent merchandising, counterfeit money, excessive interest, or any other means forbidden by God. In addition, God forbids all greed and pointless squandering of His gifts. And then question 111, notice the positive side. What does God require of you in this commandment? That I do whatever I can and may for my neighbor's good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may help the needy in their hardship. These things, beloved, the word of God does teach. And therefore, we do believe. Let's continue this evening in prayer and ask God's help. Our Father, again, it astonishes us and amazes us in a good way, a positive way, that every particular, detailed, exacting situation the believer might come up against in this life in the veil of tears is given to us by way of instruction in your word. You've left nothing out. Lord, so many things of the issues of our hearts, some about which we do not yet know, You give us even ahead of time instruction, direction in Your Word, showing to us the outworkings of salvation so that we might understand, as the Catechism is here addressing to us, what it means to be thankful. Help us, O Lord, this evening to learn and live thankfully in obedience. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, dear congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, we began last Lord's Day evening an in-depth study of the Eighth Commandment. We were in Numbers 11. Seen there in Numbers 11, what the catechism here says, that God forbids all greed. Now that's something that the Christian needs to understand in a general way, in a broad way. We need to confess that. God forbids all greed. And we saw it from Numbers 11 in terms of food greed. But greed is one of the more complex sins. Contrast for a moment greed as compared to anger. In terms of anger, we can go, and I've experienced this many times, I'm sure you as well, we can go from happy to quite angry in just a mere moment or two. It's not something we plan ahead of time. We don't think about and are conceiving in our minds how we might get angry. It seems to just happen. Now there's much more to it than that, of course. But greed. Greed is something which develops over time. And we take it up little by little Some things about greed we learn. Other things are just there in our DNA, an aspect of the sin nature, and those things begin to combine in us, and we struggle with this significantly, especially later in life. Now, Covenant Family, Lord's Day 42, of the Catechism, teaches us that evil tricks and evil schemes are hatched in our hearts as methods to satisfy and justify greed. Evil tricks and evil schemes are hatched in our hearts as methods to satisfy and justify greed. Now, I don't know what you think about that, but in terms of the rich and the poor, perhaps we're inclined to think, well, greed is something, and the scheming for greed is something that really grabs hold of poor people because they want more and need more, perhaps. Well, beloved, you know that's perhaps not the case, don't you? Often the rich hatch the best plans and are the most proficient at explaining away guilt as they greedily plan to take more and more Man's sinful heart is ready and able to justify greed. Man's sinful heart is ready and able to justify greed. And so tonight from the text and the catechism of these four things, we'll ask the question, how much more land does a king need? Second, his wicked wife plans evil schemes for greed. Third, lying, deception, stealing, and murder serve king greed. And fourth, the king self-justifies, but God condemns this sin. Man's sinful heart is ready and able to justify greed. So perhaps we're already thinking in terms of a king and what a king has and what he has the ability to have. And we ask the question, how much more land does a king need anyway? But it's Ahab. Ahab, the son of Omri, was a pathetic king. He really was a combination of two terrible ethical realities. Two terrible ethical worlds came crashing together in him. He was on the one hand weak. What good king is a weak king? Or what weak king is a good king? Controlled really by his wicked wife, Baal, worshipping Jezebel. But not only weak, and maybe these things go together, he was spoiled. Acting often as a child. And in our text, this is exactly how he behaves. Now, you might remember from last week when we were considering food greed in Numbers 11, we said about Israel that when they had only manna and no meat, they acted like two-year-olds or three-year-olds, pouting and grumbling and complaining, stomping their feet, wanting, wanting and wanting. Doesn't this so well show to us Ahab? Covenant family, covenant family, we see here that the powerful and rich king would take the little lamb, in this case a vineyard, out of the arms of a weak but highly principled man. Now you'll catch what we meant just there. An illusion of taking the lamb out of the arms of a poor man is what God sent the prophet Nathan to say to David, wasn't it? When David was sexually greedy for Uriah's wife Bathsheba. And we think of the list of the things that David accomplished in wickedness to have that which he wanted in that sexual greed. Well, with Ahab, what we see here is the picture of greed's mask. It's taken off his face and we are able to look at the backside of it and see part of the DNA, the structure of what it is that greed really looks like. In verse 4, he goes into his house and he pouts like a two-year-old. Well, sin is childish after all, isn't it? When you get right down to it. Now remember last week we said that greed and discontent are like kissing cousins, and we see it again here. But we see it with a much more carefully examined heart. What was Ahab like? Beloved, we need to realize why verses like verse 4 in our Bible are so invaluable for us. You look at verse 4, So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him. I will not give it to you. He lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food. And you begin to say, well that particular verse is really not necessary in terms of the structure of the narrative. The historical record hasn't changed so much in significant ways. If that verse were not there, we could get the point of what Jezebel did. We could understand Naboth's murder. We could understand the wickedness of taking what was not yours. But why that verse? Well, the glories of God having preserved for us in His Word verses like this that we might see the heart. We might understand what greed looks like in the beating blackness of a heart grabbed by this evil greed. Beloved, we need to go another step about that, don't we? Here's what greed does in our hearts. Here's what it looks like if you were able to peer by some really advanced medical device into the elders could have such a thing and look into the to the heart, as it were, of an individual who is struggling with greed, you would see some of these things there. When we can't have what we really want, how do we respond? Covenant family, if you feel pouting or frustration or anger rising up in the smallest way, when you understand that you can't have something that you want, beware. You're battling greed. Greed is a very complex sin. Like the seventh commandment, adultery, like lust, greed. It's a greed that's hidden behind several layers of beautifully arranged decorated curtains so that those who are looking from the outside can't really see it. Maybe you can begin to see some of the protrusions and it works itself out eventually, but it's such a complex matter. On the other hand, get four or five three-year-olds together and put a bowl of candy in the middle of the room on a table in front of them and then walk to the edge of the room and watch and you'll see greed in full force, won't you? It's like that, isn't it? Powerful. Well secondly then, his wicked wife plans evil schemes for greed. Now what are we doing here in terms of the Eighth Commandment? What is it we're trying to understand? Is it only greed? No, there's more than that. We said it, didn't we? The negative side, we need to address that and then we'll get to the positive side of things. But we, as we said last week, we can't really get to the applying of the positive things until we first pull away and expose and wrestle with the negative things. And the catechism would have us think about that tonight. What is stealing really? It's not enough just to say, don't steal. It's not enough to say, well, going into a store and as a child shoplifting the candy bar, it's not enough to say that explains or defines or in a comprehensive way says that's stealing. Or even the financial guru who brings all kinds of people to say, invest your money in me and I'm going to give you a great return and it ends up being a Ponzi scheme after all. Even those things don't fully define greed, do they? But this now is where the catechism reminds us that in God's sight, theft includes all evil tricks and all evil schemes designed to get. Designed to get. The answer to question 110. The state lottery is the government's evil scheme to get money from people And so in the narrative, verse five, but Jezebel, we might even say it boldly, enter now evil personified. She is wicked and so will be her daughter, Athaliah. Jezebel wastes no time in constructing an evil scheme It just jumps, it seems, right into her mind. It's right there. Now, we could say, well, she's a tool of the enemy. She's being used of Satan. And that certainly might be the case. And certainly the evil one's influence is not slight. It's not slack in terms of her actions. But she is scheming nonetheless. Certainly, this scheme is going to prove to be of deep wickedness. Well, covenant family, since self-control, since self-control is of the fruit of the spirit, and since greed throws off and tramples self-control, we know then that greed is of the putrid fruit of the devil. It's one of those complex sins. comes at us little by little and grabs us and a hold of us in ways we don't yet realize and it is however seen here clearly with Jezebel. There's that principled man, Naboth. Not only does he understand the instruction given to the covenant people that when this inheritance from the fathers comes down to the children Leviticus 25 and Numbers 36, it's to be held and not given up. But he understands the honor and the delight and the interest of showing forth the faithfulness of his fathers before him. And he treasures that which he has received. He wants to honor, in terms of the fifth commandment, that line before him. And so it must be evil schemes that are used to kill good. Now it's helpful, isn't it, to have these historical narratives? A much better phrase, as I'll say it again, not to burden you, but historical narratives are a much better phrase than Bible stories. Historical narratives. And they're brilliant and they're picturesque. Preserved for us in the Old Testament to either show us, on the one hand, who Jesus Christ is and his righteousness or to show us on the other hand the opposite that is who Jesus Christ is not and a display of unrighteousness. And this is what we see before us. We see here something of the personification of evil, of unrighteousness being lived out. And so we can be very blunt about it. We don't have to hold back. And beloved, the church in our day must not hold back in terms of saying, as Isaiah does, let's call evil evil, and let's call good good, because the world is going to do the opposite, and is doing the opposite, calling evil good and good evil. But what is the behavior of righteousness? In terms of a possession, what is the behavior of righteousness? Look at Naboth. Does he have a lot compared to the king? No, just a very little. Is he concerned about the growth of his investment to such an extent that he could one day buy out the king? We're not given anything like that in the text. A very simple man, indeed, with a very little bit, but he holds on to it because he knows the treasure and the privilege of that possession handed down to him. And who is Ahab and Jezebel? We can be very blunt about this, can't we? Can we say, and not be too simplistic in saying it this way, that Jesus Christ was not greedy? He had only the barest of the basic necessities of food and water and clothing. Sometimes not even a place, as we know in Scripture, a place to lay down his head at night, don't we? And yet, now think of this. and yet he is the king over all kings he is the creator of all creation he owns everything and he had so very little now there is of course a lot that goes into that and we might we might be charged with oversimplifying things but i think today is the day in which the church needs to be very simple And we need to understand this in simplest terms, that evil and wickedness makes plan to take that which is not their due. Covenant family. Covenant family, we need to use simple language in saying that greed is evil. And plans to improve our position unrighteously is sin. Now there is in Jesus Christ forgiveness, even for greed. There is forgiveness for greed. Not just the bare sin of the violation of the Eighth Commandment, but all the tributaries, all of those things which lead up to that choice and that behavior. There is forgiveness for all of that, but only when we come clean and name it for what it is and confess it openly and say, I've been greedy and I repent. Thirdly then, lying, deception, stealing, and murder serve King Greed. So what is begun here by wicked Jezebel has no righteousness in it, no redeeming qualities to it. Sort of like saying, well, I'm going to watch that movie or use that show or that idea or that philosophy, because I think it has some redeeming qualities in no beloved. There is no redeeming qualities here. And that's something that needs to be said in our day of shades of gray, rather than the clear truth, right versus wrong. We see these things in the Scriptures. And we learn from the Word that there is wrong and there is right. There is bad and there is good. And there is unrighteousness. It is here in the text. And that unrighteousness is in what Jezebel designs. Now you think about this in the sense that the Catechism is directing our attention to those tributaries, those actions that underlie, that lead to the choice, the decision of a greed action. The Catechism says, but in God's sight theft also includes all evil tricks and schemes designed to get. And this is exactly what Jezebel enters into doing here. She writes letters in the king's name. She uses his seal. She commands lying. She says use scoundrels. She commands murder. All so that she can steal. So that she can take what is not hers. Now we understand, if we think about it even more carefully, a lot of other sins going on behind the scenes of this greed. Think about the political power of bowing to idolatry. Think of the sins of having to pay off those two scoundrels to lie in that public setting. Think of the sins of coveting, the breaking of the ninth commandment that the city leaders, and these are people of supposedly the covenant, those city leaders and their coveting understanding that they were earning favors with the king and the queen if they would follow the dictates of this letter. You see, beloved, as we noticed last week, it's not just one sin, but all kinds of other sins are grabbed up with it. That one sin gives birth to so many more. Is it just a king pouting on his bed and refusing to eat food? Or much more serious? Covenant family there is here, and we need to understand this, that this sin is like a king's sin. It is like a king sin requiring many other sins as servants to cause greed to be fulfilled. There is an anatomy to these sins. God forbids the wicked scheming necessary to pull it off. And we need to exercise Holy Spirit birthed self-control over the tentacles of greed. Here's a good Bible verse for us to memorize, and it's important on this one because it's so often misquoted. It's important to get the little words in this verse right. 1 Timothy 6.10, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Each one of those words given by the Holy Spirit Very helpful for us understanding exactly what is going on here. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, 1 Timothy 6.10. And how many kinds of evil have we just begun to expose noted here for us in this historical narrative? And yet there is another good verse which helps us with the issue of the broad sweep of the 8th commandment. It actually makes keeping the 8th commandment all the more complex when we think about this verse in Jeremiah 17. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? What does that say to us? It says to us that we need to be humble. Because we are often the last person to know that a certain sin has begun to bear fruit in our lives. I think it's particularly true with a powerful, complex sin like greed. We are often the last one to know that that's begun to take hold of us. We may even be thinking in positive ways about our use of money or other resources. We begin to say, well, I'm going to be very careful. I'm going to think carefully and I'm going to study the matter so that I can increase my position, especially financially. Well, when we're thinking that way, how is it that we are able then to step back objectively and ask the question, what role has greed played in this plan of mine to increase or solidify my position, especially financially? How can I know that myself? Firstly, by knowing the scriptures. How is that? Because you see, the Word of God is a two-edged sword which cuts into us. So, Hebrews 4.12, to discern the thoughts and the intents of the heart. The thoughts and the intents or the intention of my heart. Scripture reveals that. And then that word from the mouth of a brother or a sister who comes to you and says, now listen, hold on a minute. What's your goal here? What's your plan? Covenant family, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit uses the Holy Scriptures to show us where we are scheming or striving to have what God has not planned us to have. And this is why in the old covenant administration, you see it sort of in the The markings of a play as now the actors are on the stage and you say verse 17, enter stage right, Elijah. It is that God sends his prophet as the word personified, the prophet comes and he says, thus saith the Lord. To speak to Ahab. Because Ahab must come to know his sin. Some of you perhaps looked ahead and followed the chapter out to its conclusion, verses 26-29, and you said, well, Ahab here comes to a certain repentance about this matter. And yes, it's true, though it's temporary and fleeting and weak, yet this is what the Word of God accomplishes. But we, beloved, need to say, what is the weight and the significance and the power and the spread of greed? Are we listening to God? Because what happens first is that the king self-justifies, but God condemns this sin. The king self-justifies, but God condemns this sin. I think as far as the historical narrative goes, verses 14 and 15 and 16 are the most interesting in terms of what must be going on behind the scenes. Then they sent to Jezebel saying, now were they happy to send this information to her? Did they realize they were coming into some political fortune now? They've earned and curried some favor with the queen and the king through her? They send to her saying Naboth's been stoned and he's dead. And she comes to the king. And she tells him. Now we're almost left scratching our heads and asking the question, what is it that he is thinking right now? When she comes with this haughty confidence, Naboth's dead. How did Ahab justify what he must have known? And I think, beloved, this is for the church today in our complicated world a most important question. What was Ahab's answer to the news of verse 15? Did he think in his mind, oh, how convenient! Bully, bully, my problem's been solved. And he skips out of his castle, as it were, and down the path, and there he is, and he takes possession. Great, now it's mine. The mindset seems to him all's well that ends well. The ends justify the means. But beloved, to make this as basic as possible for a moment, there are things God forbids. Question 110, things God forbids in terms of our consideration of resource, money, part of that. And there are, question and answer 111, things God requires. And the worldly success of Ahab is so rudely interrupted by the righteous judgment of Almighty God. I want it for my convenience, Ahab said. And he was willing to look the other way in terms of lying and deception and scheming and paying off and murder so that he could have what he wanted. so that he can enjoy more prosperity in terms of vegetable garden. And it will be, verse 21, taken away. Because, and isn't the word interesting here, it will be taken away from you, verse 21, because you sold yourself, verse 20, to do evil in the sight of the Lord. Covenant family, the only planning and striving, the only planning and striving in terms of the plan for how we use money that pleases the Lord, is that plan to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God, even financially, Micah 6.8. Because of greed and pride, God is ready to bring a most powerful judgment to fall on the head and shoulders of Ahab and Jezebel. Money and the desire for it has been very powerful and an influence on the human heart all along. One of the most important vocations that has come to be seen in our day in terms of our use of money is a financial planner. It was even told and decided at Synod that ministers ought to consult along with their deacons with a financial planner. If you have any money in reserve or you're saving for retirement and you have interest about what to use your money for and how to secure it, you may have already visited a financial planner. Now listen, there is nothing inherently evil or wrong or bad about pursuing expert advice in terms of how we secure and use our resources. Nothing wrong about that. But there's a deeper question. And it goes something like this. What is your plan for your money? Why are you accumulating? Why are you saving? What plan are you working? Now, there's no prejudice here to say that Christians are planning in wickedness or are planning in selfishness. That's not the prejudice here at all. But the question has never really been significantly asked by most of us, I would assume, in terms of what the Catechism is talking about in respect to the Eighth Commandment. Why are you saving? Oh beloved, this entire historical narrative with Ahab and Jezebel is exactly the opposite of what God calls us to as believers. Exactly the opposite of how He tells us to view and use money, wealth, power, influence. Our first plan must be for righteousness. But, now listen, for righteousness now, for righteousness today, for righteousness in the moment. Is that to say that we then don't plan for the future? Of course, that's not what we're saying. But beloved, we need to think about the life the Lord has given to us in this moment to live and the resources that he's given to us to use in this moment of life, in this time and in this place so that righteousness will be seen and heard and known and told in the immediate event of a situation that comes to us, and we answer it in terms of godliness. Now this is our calling. Covenant family, ask the Lord to search you, to know your heart, to know your anxieties. Isn't that an interesting word for this matter? to see if there is any wicked way in you, to then lead you in the way everlasting, Psalm 139, in terms of your plans for your money. The catechism is very clear, isn't it? But these words need to rest with us this evening. The catechism says, in God's sight that He might see when He looks at us the application of the merit and the mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the areas of our life that greed would die a quick death and generosity come to be in its place. Amen. Our Father and our God, we praise You for Your Word, which sometimes stings. Maybe even we already think of apologetics against certain things that we have heard. We pray, Lord, that You would humble us and that You'd help us to understand the significance of the Eighth Commandment. The issue of money and greed and the use of our resources, such a sweeping matter for the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels and so also for the church today. Would you help us, O Lord, to glorify you in these matters, which are not small but large, and that you would be pleased to see something of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ coming more and more, not less and less, to be witnessed in a particular people, that you be honored and glorified to see Christ's work in us. Help us in this, we pray, O Lord, tonight, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.