(1) В¶ And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. (2) And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. (3) And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
The sin of Ahab, in coveting this vineyard of Naboth, will not so fully appear, unless we connect with it the law of God, concerning the possessions of Israel in Canaan. The Lord had solemnly commanded, that no land in Israel should be sold off from the proprietor forever. For, even in case of extreme poverty, at the year of jubilee, if the poor Israelite's poverty, before this year, prevented him from repurchasing it; unbought in that year, it was to revert back to the original owner again. And there can be no doubt, but that a blessed gospel mercy of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, was veiled under this command. Indeed the matter is so plain, that a reference only to the scriptures concerning it, will be sufficient proof: see Leviticus 25:23-28. Well might Naboth therefore excuse himself, and say, The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.