Listen, children, girls and boys! Pouting never pays! You may think it brings you joys By its easy ways, But it robs you, like a thief, And at last it brings you grief.
Who would have believed that a grown-up man would pout? But Ahab, the king of Israel, did it; and here we have the story:
Ahab had built a summer house in the little city of Jezreel, which was north of Samaria, his capital city. And around this summer house he had made wide, grassy lawns and gardens of beautiful flowers and trees. He had taken much time to make this summer house and its surroundings very beautiful, and whenever he came to Jezreel he tried to think of some way to add to its attractiveness.
One day while the King was walking through his gardens and admiring their beauty, he noticed that just across the fence was a fine vineyard. Now the vineyard belonged to a man named Naboth, and Ahab thought, “I should like very much to have that vineyard for my own! I will speak to Naboth, and ask him to exchange it for an-other that. I will give him in its place. Or I will pay for it with money.” Ahab hurried around to the other side of the fence to speak to Naboth. He said, “You have a good vineyard here, just outside my palace grounds. I should like garden. What shall I pay you for the place?”
But Naboth did not care to sell his vineyard. He said, “My father lived here, and my grandfather, and even my great-grandfather. I can not let you have this ground, for it is my inheritance.” And he would not take another vineyard in exchange for that one, neither would he take money from the King, for he wished to keep the vine-yard for himself.
When Ahab saw that Naboth could not be persuaded to part with the vineyard he turned and walked away. But he kept thinking, over and over, “I want that vineyard of Naboth’s!” And the more he thought about wanting the vine-yard the unhappier he became because Naboth would not part with it. Finally Arab went back to his home in Samaria, still very much disturbed in his mind because he could not get what he wanted. When Ahab reached his home he went straight to bed. There he lay all day with his face to the wall, pouting! He would not eat, and he did not care to talk to any one. At last Jezebel came into his room and asked, “What is the matter, Ahab, that you are so sad you will not eat?” And Ahab told her all about his experience at Jezreel with the man who would not part with his vineyard. Ahab knew that his wicked wife, Jezebel, would find a way to get possession of that vineyard. And he was not at all surprized to hear her say, “Get up from your bed at once and eat some food. Stop thinking about your troubles, for I will get that vineyard for you.”
Jezebel’s plan to secure the vineyard was very cruel. She wrote letters to the rulers of Jezreel and sealed them with her husband’s seal. In the letters she commanded the rulers to take Naboth and have him stoned to death on a false accusation. She told the rulers to have two very worthless men testify that they had heard Naboth speak wickedly of God and of King Ahab. For such an act as this the law commanded that a man should be put to death, and she knew the people who believed the words of the two men would be willing to throw stones at poor Naboth.
Not long afterwards a messenger came to Jezebel, saying, “Na-both is stoned, and is now dead.” And Jezebel called Ahab and told him to go at once to Jezreel and take possession of the vineyard that he wanted, for the owner was no longer alive to refuse him. And Ahab climbed into his chariot and rode rapidly to Jezreel, thinking as he went, “Now I can have that vineyard, after all!”
But Ahab did not get much happiness out of that vineyard. While he was walking about between its long rows of grapevines, planning how he would change the place into a beautiful garden, suddenly he came face to face with the prophet Elijah. And he stopped short, and said, “Have you found me, OQ my enemy?”
Elijah answered, “I have found you. And now God has sent me to ask if you have killed and also taken possession. O wicked man! the wild dogs licked the blood of poor Naboth, whom you have killed. And in the very same spot the wild dogs will some day lick your blood because you have done this great evil in the sight of the Lord.”
Ahab trembled as he listened to the prophet’s words. And he heard Elijah say that not one of his children should go unpunished. And Jezebel, the wicked Queen, should die an awful death, more terrible than the others, for she had caused Ahab to do so much evil in the land of Israel.
Naboth’s vineyard was no longer a delight to Ahab. He tore his kingly robes as a sign of his grief, and dressed himself in sackcloth. Then he refused to eat food again, but this time he was not pouting, for he was trying to show God that he was sorry for his wrong-doing. And when God saw that Ahab was repenting, he told Elijah that he would not allow Ahab’s wife and children to be destroyed until after Ahab himself should die.