Letter To Laodicea (part 108)

Clearly then, when we get past a merely superficial reading of the story of Ahab, Jezebel, Naboth, and the vineyard, we are able to conclude that the story is less about Jezebel and Ahab, and more about the abuse of power, corruption, and injustice that so often accompanies unnecessary acquisitiveness.  In this story, these things are unmistakably linked to and result from Ahab’s idolatry and to his failures in regards to the covenant.  While it also gives us a unique glimpse into the meal culture that aids in informing our understanding of the subject, it serves to remind us that these abuses and injustices were not limited to Ahab and Jezebel, by any means.  We also see them in play, rather often, in the life of men such as King David. 

In one story (though there are several from which to choose), David killed a man to take his wife.  Jezebel, on the other hand, killed a man to take his land.  Such is the nature of power.  So much more then, do we comprehend the nature of the cross and what it says about power.  Interestingly enough, when Ahab was confronted by Elijah in regards to the action that had been taken by his wife, “he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted.  He slept in sackcloth, and walked around dejected.  The Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse before Me?  Because he shows remorse, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.’” (21:27b-29).  This is not dissimilar to the response that David gave to Nathan, when confronted with his own actions.  So too do we see a similar response from the Lord.  The Lord spoke about bringing disaster to the reign of Ahab’s son, and death came to the son that was born to David and Bathsheba.

For the second example at which we will take a look during this interlude, we venture to the sixth chapter of the second book of the Kings.  There, we find that “the king of Syria was at war with Israel” (6:8a).  We learn that the King of Syria has become upset at the prophet Elisha, and the reason given is that “The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom” (6:12b).  This was an obvious source of frustration for the king of Syria, as it continually thwarted him in his battle plans against Israel.  For this reason, the king of Syria sought to capture Elisha, and to accomplish this, sent “a good-sized army” (6:14) to surround the city in which Elisha was located.  Elisha asks the Lord to strike the army with blindness.  The Lord intervenes accordingly, producing a rather humorous episode in which Elisha goes to the army and tells them “This is not the right road or city.  Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for” (6:19b). 

Elisha then leads this detachment of the Syrian army into Samaria, which was part of the territory of the king of Israel.  The king of Israel, quite naturally, is pleased with this turn of events, asking Elisha “Should I strike them down, my master?”  (6:21b).  With what we can see as a glimpse of what God ultimately expected of His covenant people, Elisha replies by saying “Do not strike them down!  You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down?” (6:22a).  He continues on, and we find ourselves contemplating our Lord, His cross, and the power of His meal table as we read “Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master” (6:22b).  Fascinating, is it not?  While we remember that the king of Israel was the representative of the people of Israel, and as we contemplate the overall meal culture and the power of participation in a meal, we go on to see how he responded, reading “So he threw a big banquet for them and they ate and drank.  Then he sent them back to their master” (6:23a).  What was the long-ranging impact of this action?  What resulted from this feeding?  “After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel” (6:23b).     

If we are willing to look for it, we find such examples throughout the Scriptures.  If we are willing to take the examples seriously, contextualize them with that which is spoken and acted out by the Messiah (the physical embodiment of Israel’s God), and understand how the early church picked up on what they were learning about Jesus through the oral traditions while filtering the message of God and the requirements of the covenant people through the message of the cross (Paul’s quotation of Proverbs 25:21: “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink” while informing the church at Rome as to the shape that the acted-out love of God will take), then we will have a wide and clear lens through which to view the situation at Laodicea.  We will then in a position, properly informed about the relative circumstances of Laodicea, to make the application of the absolute truths there presented.