Jezebel: The fearless evil woman

There are people who are permanently bound on doing evil and even if everyone around them changes for the better, these people still continue their evil and wicked  ways of life. They are stiff-necked, unmoved and unchanged by times and seasons. In fact, if evil was a person, such people would have been known as Evil. The Bible perfectly depicts human nature. We see the good, better, best and the bad, worse, worst. Jezebel, as we saw in our previous post, was one person who promoted, supported and sponsored idolatry in Israel. Idolatry promotes evil and vile lifestyles. Jezebel was a full-blown depiction of idolatry. She did not just serve the gods, she pushed others to serve them and she lived such a heartless and evil lifestyle. No wonder Ahab, her husband, partnered with her in idolatry. Jezebel was a bad influence and she doesn’t stop until she gets whatever she wanted. Even after the miracle the prophet Elijah did by commanding fire from heaven, Jezebel still didn’t fear God but she desired to kill the prophet. Elijah fled for his life.

Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” (1 Kings 21:7)

One more time, Ahab desired to have the vineyard of his neighbour known as Naboth. The king of Israel said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth” (1 Kings 21:2). But Naboth refused to part away his ancestral inheritance (1 Kings 21:3). Ahab went home sad and refused to eat. Ahab was coveting another’s property and yet he went home like he was the one that had been cheated. If Ahab had read the Ten Commandments, he would have known that the tenth commandment was about his unholy crave for the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. Exodus 20:17 states that, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” In other words, Ahab broke the law by his actions. Ahab went home sullen but Jezebel was not impressed. When she heard the reason for Ahab’s sadness, she said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite” (1 Kings 21:7).

Jezebel doesn’t take “No” for an answer. In the world of Jezebel,  the king must have everything he wanted. She therefore set up an evil agenda using Ahab’s name and authority. Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death” (1 Kings 21:8‭-10). The elders did exactly as Jezebel’s letter had commanded and they killed Naboth. After this, the elders sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death” (1 Kings 21:14). Without shame, fear or remorse,  Jezebel said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead” and Ahab “got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:15‭-‬16). See how Jezebel and Ahab partnered in evil. But, their actions did not go unnoticed. 

The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: “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!” (1 Kings 21:17‭-‬19). These were God’s words to Ahab and his family:
“I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’ “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘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” (1 Kings 21:21‭-‬24). Ahab was convicted and he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son” (1 Kings 21:27‭-‬29). The just God is also merciful to the humble. 

Jezebel on the other hand did not repent. She outlived Ahab and was queen mother when Ahaziah and Joram became kings. When Jehu overthrew and killed Joram, he went to Jezreel to destroy the rest of the house of Ahab. When Jezebel heard about it, fearlessly put on eye makeup, arranged her hair and looked out of a window (2 Kings 9:30) as if she was not scared for her life. Jezebel asked Jehu, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” Jehu looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.  Jehu commanded that they throw Jezebel down. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot. 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 the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. Jezebel’s body will be like dung on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel” (2 Kings 9:31‭-‬33‭, ‬35‭-‬37)

Jezebel used her influence to do evil but she died like a mere animal. There are lots of Jezebels in our world today. Men and women who have no fear for God and neither have any form of regard for humanity. If they don’t change, their end would be like Jezebel. They would face the wrath of God. If the sinner repents like Ahab, God shows mercy. But, if the sinner does not repent, God’s judgement would befall the sinner. 

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:14‭-‬15).