1 Kings 21:4 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Bible Comments

Ahab came into his house, heavy and displeased He was so vexed to be denied by a subject the thing he wanted, that his vexation made him sick, took away his stomach, and made company disagreeable to him; so that his grief and trouble appeared in his countenance. Here we see, 1st, That irregular desire, or “discontent, is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves: it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour: it is the heaviness of the heart, and the rottenness of the bones; 2d, It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition, but from the mind. As we find Paul content in a prison, so Ahab discontent in a palace: he had all the delights of Canaan, that pleasant land, at command; the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasure of a court, and the honours and powers of a throne; and yet all this avails him nothing without Naboth's vineyard. Inordinate desires expose men to continual vexations; and they that are disposed to fret, be they ever so happy, will always find something or other to fret at.” Henry.

1 Kings 21:4

4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.