Jezebel ranks as the most evil woman in the Bible. The Bible even uses her name as an example of people who completely reject God (Revelation 2.20, 21).  Many pagan women married into Israel without acknowledging the God their husbands worshipped.  They brought their religions with them.  But no-one was as determined as Jezebel to make all Israel worship her gods.  To the prophet Elijah, she seemed to have succeeded.  He felt he was the only one still faithful to God until God told him there were still 7,000 who had not turned from the faith.  Jezebel’s one outstanding “success” was in contributing to the cause of the eventual downfall of the northern kingdom – idolatry.  God punished the northern tribes for their idolatry by having them carried off into captivity.Jezebel held great power. She not only managed her husband, Ahab, but she also had 850 assorted pagan priests under her control.  She was committed to her gods and to getting what she wanted.  She believed that the king had the right to possess anything he wanted.  When Naboth refused to sell Ahab his vineyard, Jezebel ruthlessly had Naboth killed and took ownership of the land.  Jezebel’s plan to wipe out worship of God in Israel led to painful consequences.  Before she died, Jezebel suffered the loss of her husband in combat and her son at the hand of Jehu, who took the throne by force.  She died in the defiant and scornful way she lived.

When comparing Jezebel and Elijah, we have to admire each one’s strength of commitment. The big difference was to whom they were committed.  Jezebel was committed to herself and her false gods; Elijah was totally committed to the one true God.  In the end, God proved Elijah right.  To what or to whom are you most committed?  How would God evaluate your commitment?

 

Weaknesses and mistakes:

Systematically eliminated the representatives of God in Israel

Promoted and funded Baal worship

Threatened to have Elijah killed

Believed kings and queens could rightfully do or have anything they wanted

Used her strong convictions to get her own way

 

Lessons from her life:

It is not enough to be committed or sincere. Where our commitment lies makes a great difference

Rejecting God always leads to disaster

 

Vital statistics:

Where: Sidon, Samaria

Occupation: Queen of Israel

Relatives: Husband: Ahab. Father: Ethbaal.  Sons: Joram, Ahaziah

 

Contemporaries: Elijah, Jehu

Key verse: “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife” (1 Kings 21.25).

Jezebel’s story is told in 1 Kings 16.31 – 2 Kings 9.37. Her name is used as a synonym for great evil in Revelation 2.20.