A Phoenician princess called Jezebel did evil in the sight of God. Jezebel’s name tells a story. It refers to a morally corrupt woman, with or without makeup.
Jezebel was a woman of influence, but like any other force, influence can be used for good or evil, a contrast beautifully captured in a book I recently reviewed, A Jewel in a Rubble, by Anita Asantewah Appiah which highlights the power of positive influence.”
Her husband, Ahab, the king of Israel, was equally evil.
Jezebel was born rich and in charge. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. Her marriage to Ahab was strictly a political alliance between two nations. But it was her personality and her past, not her position alone, that made her dangerous.
Jezebel’s Mission to Spread Baal Worship
She grew up as a worshiper of Baal and was determined to drive Jehovah God out of Israel and to usher in Baal and Asherah, a fertility god and goddess of love. Eros, not agape. Unfortunately, Jezebel filled her palace and surrounding worship centers with 450 priests and 400 priestesses of her foreign gods.
Sexual immorality, temple prostitution, even the sacrifice of children was the order of the day. If it took murdering a few hundred holy men of Israel to promote her religious beliefs, so be it, it seemed.
Jezebel’s Bloody War Against God’s Messengers
It was Jezebel who gave the orders to wipe out the prophets. She was a woman who urged her weak husband, Ahab, into a life of crime. Ahab, however, was the one who took the heat from Elijah, one of God’s favoured prophets.
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.”
After all, Jezebel never claimed allegiance to the Hebrew God. But Ahab, as king of Israel, turned his back on the Lord and embraced his wife’s religion. As such, the greater blame fell on his shoulders.
Elijah demonstrated the power of the God of Israel by inviting the 450 prophets of Baal to prepare a bull for sacrifice and collectively call on Baal to set fire to their altar.
The pretend priests called on Baal all day, but there was no show.
That evening Elijah built an altar of twelve stones, one for each tribe, poured water on it three times, and called upon the Lord God. The fire of the Lord fell from heaven, burning up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil, and the water. The people fell prostrate before the Lord and did the bidding of Elijah by killing all 450 of Jezebel’s prophets.
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
There was Ahab, wringing his hands and sweating spear points, while Jezebel listened in heated silence, anger sending a jolt of adrenaline through her veins.
So, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
Jezebel’s words weren’t pretty. In fact, all of her pronouncements are contained in five verses. When it came to speechmaking, Jezebel packed a brief but vicious punch. Her first statement was a threat. The second was a complaint. The third was sarcastic. The fourth was an audacious order. The fifth was an insult. Two of them referred to murder; the other three were direct hits at Ahab’s dubious leadership abilities.
When Jezebel spoke
She was one of those women you might admire for their courage but never invite over for lunch. She had almost none of the qualities we can associate with. We are never told she was beautiful or alluring, though she certainly knew how to make the most of her appearance with cosmetics and costumes.
We are never told that Ahab loved her, though he was certainly under her spell. Nor are we told that she loved him or anyone else.
Potiphar’s wife loved men. Delilah loved money. Jezebel loved power. Not the kind conferred by God, like Samson’s. This was power she created herself, the hard way, one dead prophet at a time.
Was there anything to recommend her? Oh yes:
- She had a finely tuned mind.
- She had boldness and courage.
- She had strong leadership abilities.
- She had an assertive personality.
- She had a royal lineage.
Except Jezebel twisted that queenly list of traits for the glory of Baal:
- She used her bright mind to devise evil schemes.
- She used her courage to commit murder.
- She used her leadership skills to take over the throne.
- She used her assertiveness to draw people away from God.
- She used her queenship to manipulate her subjects.
Jezebel, A queen with attitude
Ahab looked out his window with longing, his eyes transfixed not on the lush body of a Bathsheba, but on his neighbor Naboth’s small, verdant vineyard. King Ahab had a thing about land, it seems, and wanted the property for a vegetable garden, so he offered Naboth a choice: a bigger vineyard or a big check. The man turned him down, insisting the land was his inheritance. Didn’t Ahab, of all people, know that such a real estate transaction was prohibited by Mosaic law?
Ahab acted in a regal manner, worthy of his calling. That is to say, he pouted.
So, Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. 1 Kings 21:4
King with attitude. Granted, Jezebel was a handful, but Ahab was hardly a prize, described as “uncouth, crabby, and often cowardly.” Moments later, Ahab developed a queen-size headache.
His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
A caring wife, concerned about her hubby’s welfare and diet? Not on your life. This was Jezebel, delivering her words in a taunting singsong, no doubt.
He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
He said the truth
To his credit, Ahab told her the truth.
Jezebel, his wife, said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel?”
Heavenly Father, forgive me for being an insensitive ignoramus.
None of us has killed a prophet, but more than one woman is guilty of slaughtering her spouse’s self-confidence with a verbal blow.
A man’s sins in this circumstance are fear and insecurity. His wife’s verbal agility and aggressive personality make it difficult for him to feel in charge, and his sense of self-worth plummets.
Bring on Jezebel in her new role as a motivational speaker. “Get up and eat! Cheer up.” “I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
She didn’t offer advice or seek it. She simply took control. That’s what Jezebels do best. “Wicked women are often excessively fond of power, and Jezebel was nothing if not wicked and excessive.”
Jezebel’s Plot Unfolds
She wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles living in Naboth’s city. She instructed them to proclaim a fast, seat Naboth in a prominent place, and then seat two scoundrels opposite him to bring charges that Naboth had cursed both God and the king. They were then to take him out and stone him to death.
The elders and nobles complied. Naboth died, and Jezebel said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard.”
So, Ahab got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
Elijah Confronts Ahab
But the Lord saw it all and said to Elijah the prophet:
“Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
“I have found you,” Elijah answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
There’s more. God pronounced judgment not only on Ahab but on Jezebel as well.
The dogs will devour her
Also concerning Jezebel, the Lord said, “Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
Ahab’s Temporary Repentance: Sackcloth and Ashes
Ahab’s response? He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, fasted, and went around meekly.
He was wicked, but he was also scared out of his royal robes.
And God relented. “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day…”
So, God postponed the disaster for a generation. But He never forgot.
Jezebel went about business as usual. Until the day she heard that Jehu was in town.
The Last Days of Jezebel: Paint, Powder, and Pride
By now, Jezebel was queen mother. Her son Joram ruled Israel.
And the same Jehu who was a commander in Ahab’s army was now king, on a mission from God to clean house.
When Jezebel heard Jehu was coming, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out a window.
Why the sudden interest in cosmetics?
- Some say Jezebel thought she could seduce Jehu.
- Others believe she was simply honoring her royal position.
- Still others think she was preparing to die like a queen.
Whatever the reason, her last moments were not private.
Thrown from the Window: Jezebel’s Violent End
As Jehu entered the gate, she called out, “Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
Not the smartest thing to say. Zimri was a former chariot commander who killed his king, reigned for seven days, then died. Jezebel, in calling Jehu “Zimri,” was calling him a murderer, a usurper, and a coward.
Jehu looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?”
Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
“Throw her down!” Jehu said.
So, they threw her down, and some of her blood splattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
Then Jehu went in and ate and drank.
“Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”
Prophecy Fulfilled: Dogs Devour Jezebel
But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet, and her hands.
They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah… On the plot of ground at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh.”
The Moral of Jezebel’s Story: Pride Goes Before Destruction
Queen Jezebel, the evillest woman in the Bible, came to a disgusting end.
Jezebel was proud of her pride. It was her strength, her glory, and ultimately her destruction.
