January 27, 2016
Jezebel
Tonight, I intended on meditating upon 1 Kings 19:11-18 which addresses how God revealed Himself to Elijah in a moment where Elijah was suffering greatly - mental and spiritual anguish in particular. Rather than using a thundering bolt to get Elijah's attention, God spoke in a still small voice to His remaining prophet (the other prophets having been killed at the hands of Jezebel and Ahab).
Considering Elijah's situation as a result of King Ahab, initially, I went searching deeper into the reign of Ahab as King of Israel (22 years). One cannot understand Ahab without quickly drawing an eye on Jezebel. If anyone wore the pants in Ahab's family, it was Jezebel. In our society, the name "Jezebel" is and always has been associated with bad morals, harlotry and sexual immorality. No one in his/her right mind would name a child after Jezebel.
Reading about her life in both 1 Kings and 2 Kings (and by extension in 2 Chronicles via Ahab's life and death), it becomes quickly apparent that Jezebel is not noteworthy so much for being sexually immoral (although I am sure that this strain existed in some fashion). Instead, Jezebel is just plain evil as far as "it is her way or no way" and "no one will stand in her way, not even God Himself". Ahab's greatest mistake in his life may have been the simple fact that he chose to marry Jezebel.
Jezebel had come from royalty herself. But she was from a kingdom that followed false idols. Serving the one true God would not be an option with her as de facto queen of Israel even if that one true God revealed Himself in powerful and unmistakable ways which showed Baal for who Baal was, a made-up fictitious idol. You have to be some special kind of evil to destroy Godly prophets in spite of the goodness God brought to Israel and her people time and time again when drought or other adverse circumstances faced the kingdom.
The death of Jezebel revealed the contempt God Himself had for the way she had lived. Being thrown to the ground, trampled underfoot and torn to shreds and eaten by stray dogs without so much as a means for a proper burial reflected the most humiliating and degrading way to die. A death from which no honor could be salvaged. A life wasted.
There are countless lessons to be learned from the life and death of Jezebel and for that matter her husband Ahab. Ahab's life ended in an inglorious manner as well. His replacement as king, Jehu, an individual who took command in a way that some outsiders would interpret as via treason, further cemented the idea that among all the mistakes and wrongs that Ahab did over the course of his reign, he should have avoided marrying Jezebel. If you marry the wrong person, you could be setting yourself up for a path in life that takes you down dark alleys into the land of destruction. Ahab and his entire family suffered natural and eternal consequences for his association with Jezebel.
Copyright 2016 - Luke Enno
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