Jezebel
Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, who was King of Sidon. She became the wife of Ahab, who was king of the northern kingdom of Israel. She then became the Queen of Israel. She exerted a strong influence over the life of Israel, as she insisted on establishing the worship of Baal and demanded the absolute rights of the monarchy.
Her efforts to establish Baal worship in Israel began with Ahab's acceptance of Baal following their marriage. He followed her practices by building a house of worship and altar for Baal in Samaria, and by setting up a pole for worship of the Asherah. While Jezebel organized and supported large groups of Baal prophets, housing and feeding large numbers of them in the royal palace, a campaign was underway to exterminate the prophets of God. To meet this challenge God sent Elijah to prophesy a drought that lasted three years.
When Jezebel found that the Israelites fell down in tribute to God and the prophets of Baal were slaughtered, she flew into a rage and threatened Elijah's life. Elijah fled for his life into the wilderness.
Because Ahab desired Naboth's vineyard and he himself understood Naboth's right to retain the family property, Jezebel did not see it this way, she felt they deserved whatever they desired. She arranged to have Naboth falsely accused and executed, leaving the vineyard for Ahab's taking. Because of this evil crime Elijah pronounced a violent death for Ahab and Jezebel, a prophecy which was ultimately fulfilled.
As we can see Jezebel was for her own, she was quite selfish. She did not worship the true God. She believed kings and queens could rightfully do or have anything they wanted. She used her strong convictions to get her own way.
From her life we can learn:
-It is not enough to be committed or sincere. Where our commitment lies makes a great difference
-Rejecting God always leads to disaster
Jezebel's story in told in 1 Kings 16:31 - 2 Kings 9:37. Her name is used as a synonym for great evil in Revelation 2:20.
'But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.' 1 Kings 21:25
until next time...nel
Hello there.
ReplyDeleteAhab and Jezebel certainly met their ends and rightly so! God always protected his then chosen people, Israel, as long as they obeyed Him. In spite of everything God had done for them, including rescuing them from the hands of Pharaoh at the Red Sea, they turned against Him when they had Jesus, His Son, killed. God rejected them and has since been choosing people from all nations and tribes to worship Him and bear His Name (Psalms 83:18; Acts 15:14). Soon Jesus, as King of God's Kingdom, will take action to destroy all groups and individuals who oppose God's rulership, including Satan, once and for all! (Daniel 2:44; 7:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9; Revelation 11:18)
Thanks for sharing.
Entrepreneurial Goddess