“So the men of his city…did as Jezebel had written to them.” (1 Kgs 21:11)
During the mid-nineteenth century BC, an evil queen named Jezebel reigned over Israel with her husband, King Ahab. However, the marriage was not based on mutual love but politics. To strengthen an alliance between Israel and Phoenicia, Jezebel’s father, the king of Sidonia, gave her to Ahab in an arranged marriage.
Jezebel was a highly influential and powerful woman. As an active promoter of her native religion that worshipped Baal and Asherah (containing a total of 850 gods), she was vehemently against the God of Israel. She opposed God so much that she pursued His prophets, killing many of them and forcing others into hiding. One such prophet was Elijah, who ran for days after he defeated the prophets of Baal in a contest at Mount Carmel (1 Kgs 18:20-19:10).
One story particularly illustrates Jezebel’s evil disposition.
In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab attempted to buy a vineyard that adjoined the palace, but the vineyard’s owner, Naboth, refused to sell. In her anger, Jezebel orchestrated a plan to ensure Naboth was unfairly denounced for blasphemy against God and the king and subsequently stoned to death. Upon his death, she proudly told her husband he could have the property.
The Lord God condemned Ahab for taking the vineyard, but He passed a harsh judgment on Jezebel. Elijah prophesied to Ahab in 1 Kings 21:23, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel,” which we see fulfilled later in 2 Kings 9:30-37 after a commander named Jehu led an insurrection after Ahab’s death.
When Jehu entered the royal palace, he ordered Jezebel’s eunuchs to throw her out the window, which they did, splattering her blood on a wall from the impact (2 Kgs 9:33). A few hours later, after he had his lunch, Jehu ordered Jezebel’s body to be buried since she was a king’s daughter. But when the eunuchs went out to bury her, they could not find anything remaining of her except her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands, just as Elijah had prophesied (v35).
Jezebel possessed considerable religious and political influence. She was also very bitter, selfish, arrogant, conniving, and vindictive. As such, centuries later, her name became culturally associated with the concept of a shameless, angry seductress.
Jezebel’s story is a great example of what happens when we reject God and fail to repent despite multiple warnings. Her prideful stubbornness, staunch defiance, and absence of morals ultimately resulted in her literal destruction. As wonderful as she thought she was, her talent and intellect could not save her.
Living life apart from God always leads to dreadful outcomes. The Bible repeatedly says that His judgment is on us all. Therefore, let us humbly draw near to God and seek to live for Him rather than ourselves. His way is the way to life (Jn 14:6). In Him alone we find true joy, peace, and contentment. bb
