“What’s the Scoop on....... Jezebel?”

Today in bible study Sandee’s  lesson was on Jezebel.  Sometimes a name says it all. How many of us know a ‘Jezebel’?  Not too many, I’m guessing! Right from the beginning, Sandee established that Jezebel was a wicked woman. 

Many of the women we have studied thus far have shown us what it means to be a godly influence.  Some of these women were not Israelites yet God was honored through their lives. With Jezebel it was different. Her life did not honor God at all.  As I was reading the passages we covered in class and in the homework I was thinking not only about Jezebel, and her ungodly influence, but about God himself.  A question came to my mind: “What does Jezebel teach me about God?”. 

Ahab and Jezebel’s life, like our own, is one marked by choices.  Jezebel’s father was the high priest of Baal.  From everything we read in scripture, not only did Jezebel worship Baal, but her life was devoted to corrupting and destroying those who followed the Lord, God of Israel. “There was never a man like Ahab (Jezebel’s husband) , who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife” (1 Kings 21:25, emphasis mine).  Ahab freely chose to marry this woman.  Last year we learned in our study of Ezra and Nehemiah that inter-marriage with foreigners  displeased the Lord greatly.  Going back to Solomon  (1 Kings 11), God warns of the danger of being led astray by wives who worships foreign gods.

In His mercy, God continually makes His presence known in their lives. In 1 Kings 18, God reveals His presence in a miraculous way.  There is a competition of sorts between the 450 prophets of Baal and Elijah.  At Mount Carmel,  the holy ground of Baal,  his followers construct an altar to their god.  From morning until evening they cry out to him, becoming increasingly frantic. This yields no results.  

Elijah then prepares a sacrifice to the Lord.   As an added challenge he saturates the offering with water. “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (1 Kings 18”37-38).  The people present fell on their faces acknowledging the Lord.  The 450 prophets of Baal were killed. Ahab then went to Jezebel and reported what had happened.  She had another choice to make. She could have recognized God’s power yet her heart remained hard, as did her husband’s.

In 1 Kings 21 we again see the fruit of wickedness in the lives of Ahab and Jezebel.  Ahab desired a vineyard owned by Naboth, an Israelite.  When Naboth refused to sell the land Jezebel had him falsely accused which led to his brutal murder. After his death she seized his property.  Following this incident, God sent his prophet Elijah to pronounce judgment on the couple.  They were met with another choice. Ahab and Jezebel could choose repentance or continue along the path of destruction.   

“When Ahab heard these words, 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).  There is no sign that Jezebel did the same. Ahab died a few years after the incident with Naboth yet Jezebel lived for many years.

In Jezebel’s life it is clear that her own choices led to her destruction but it didn’t have to be that way.  We can apply 2 Peter 3:9 to Jezebel’s life, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.  Elijah was a constant reminder to them of God’s presence. Although God does judge sin He is also a God of mercy. “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ez. 18:23). 

The character of God is so complex!  He is just. He is merciful. He is all-powerful.  The sum of His attributes make up who He is – they don’t exist independently. One of His attributes does stand out above the others. In John 1:4 and 8 the bible says “God is love”.  Some of us have seen Beth Moore’s ‘Measureless Love’.  She makes the point that God is very, very specific when it comes to measurement yet He says His love for us is measureless.  In Ephesians 3:19 Paul says that God’s love surpasses knowledge.  Beth also said that God goes to great lengths to make himself known to us.  God went to great lengths to make himself known to Jezebel because of His love.  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” (Eph 2:4-5a). How terribly sad it is to reject that choice.

We study the character of God to learn who He is. As we look to Him I am sure it is our desire to be transformed into His image.   So how can we do this as we go about our lives? “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).