• Jacob Chanikuzhy

What distinguishes luxury from avarice? The answer found in Seneca, the Roman philosopher and statesman, is that “Poverty wants some, luxury many, and avarice all things.” Many have fallen prey to avarice, which, contrary to initial impression, deprives one of joy and satisfaction. Erich Fromm, German psychologist, describes greed as “a bottomless pit that exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” Avarice has destroyed not only individuals but also nations. Historians attribute the collapse of the mighty empire of Rome to greed for wealth and power. Biblical character King Ahab of Israel is a sad example and victim of avarice (1 Kings 21). Perhaps, not many are familiar with the biblical figures of King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. The best way to introduce them is to remind one of King Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias. Just as Herodias had a grudge against Prophet John the Baptist for his critique of the illicit relationship of the royal couple, so also Jezebel longed for the blood of Prophet Elijah for his critique of the Baal worship of the royal pair and the Israelites.
King Ahab had a desire to annex the vineyard of Naboth to his own property. Naboth, however, was not willing to either sell or exchange his vineyard, as it was his ancestral property. Leviticus 25,28 prohibited Israelites from alienating their ancestral land except in dire needs. King Ahab was greatly depressed by the defiance of Naboth. In his deep grief, Ahab refused to eat and drink. His proud spirit made it impossible to digest the idea that his lowly subject has denied him the desire of his heart. The behaviour of King Ahab was puzzling. He was the king who possessed a palace and its amenities, the throne and its powers and privileges, servants, land, vineyards, money, and all. Still, he craved for the piece of land that belonged to Naboth! Avarice is an insatiable appetite. Now, his wife Queen Jezebel came to know about the issue that vexed the king. The simple solution she found was to eliminate Naboth. But, to throw dust in people’s eyes, she pretended to act out of religious fervor. Hence, in cold blood, she arranged for the death of Naboth on charges of blasphemy.
Had Jezebel wanted only the property of Naboth, she could have possessed it by arranging to forge a document. But, the fact that she orchestrated his death indicates that she hated him for his worship of Yahweh. Naboth could be one of 7000 people God kept apart (1 Kings 19,18), who had not bowed before Baal. The murder of Naboth by Jezebel was all the more obnoxious because he was condemned to death under the cover of royal intent to protect the sanctity of the name of Yahweh. Jezebel asked the nobles and elders of Jezreel to proclaim a fast as if they were doing penance and thereby trying to avert a divine punishment. She asked them to subject Naboth to a trial as if they were trying to please God by earnestly trying to purge Israel of any offense against the dignity of Yahweh. Thus, Naboth was executed under the cover of the religious piety of the king, while the real reason was his greed for the land and hatred of the queen against a true worshipper of Yahweh. But, Israel has a God who sees the hearts of all humans. The story ends with street dogs licking the blood of King Ahab at the very same place where they had licked the blood of Naboth.
What the Bible narrates is not the story of the unjust aggression, that happened centuries ago, against an innocent individual by the powerful ruler of society, but what happens in this world on an everyday basis. When the ravenous eyes and the stony heart of the ruler of the land/organization/institution are set on something, his clever and die-hard followers will find some technical and apparently legal ways to help the ruler have his way. The easiest but most heinous means to achieve one’s selfish goal is to use the pretext of God and religion. When the ruler in power complies with the insinuations of his coccus to abuse power to persecute the innocent, he is rushing to his own ruin, as the ignominious end of King Ahab sternly forewarns.