JEZEBEL
A. "AND AHAB THE SON ON OMRI DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD ABOVE
ALL THAT WERE BEFORE HIM. AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS IF IT HAD BEEN A
LIGHT THING FOR HIM TO WALK IN THE SINS JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT,
THAT HE TOOK TO WIFE JEZEBEL THE DAUGHTER OF ETHBAAL, KING OF
THE ZIDONIANS, AND WENT AND SERVED BAAL, AND WORSHIPPED HIM" - I
KINGS 16:30-31
- So reads the story of a woman called "Jezebel;" the embodiment of evil:
- The story of this woman fills a person with abhorrence of all that is evil
- Because the story of Jezebel encompasses not only her own life, but the life of a whole nation
- Yet, we shall do well to consider the story of that infamous character, if only to
see sin in its true nature:
- The name of "Jezebel" is synonymous with all that is evil, including idolatry and murder
- Also, because there as yet are many Jezebels in this sinful world against whom we must beware if we would save our souls
B. JEZEBEL - THE WOMAN WHO WAS A SHE-DEVIL
- The truth we shall see as we take a retrospective look into her blood-stained
history:
- It was Jezebel who introduced the worship of Baal into Israel to a point where about a few refused to bow their knees before Baal - I Kings 19:18
- It was at her instigation that many of the true followers of Jehovah lost their lives
- It was at her scheming that an innocent citizen not only lost his vineyard, but was brutally murdered - I Kings 21:1-16
- Jezebel ruled the country:
- King Ahab was a vacillating, sin-loving underling to that infamous character; she dominated him completely
- This woman was the basic cause that Jehovah had to send a famine among his people that brought untold suffering
- But her day of doom came when God judged that wicked woman and those who shared with her the crime against Israel
- Ahab fell first - he knew better and the justice of Jehovah came to him first - I Kings 22:37
- Jezebel's end came later - compare - I Kings 21:23 with 2 Kings 9:7-36; 2 Kings 9:30-37
C. THE STORY OF JEZEBEL HAS A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT LESSONS FOR GOD'S
PEOPLE TODAY
- Ahab sinned against the plain instructions from the Lord:
- "Neither shalt thou make marriage with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me" - Deut. 7:2-5
- In fact, wicked Ahab encouraged his people to forsake Jehovah and serve Baal
- Jezebel was a shrewd, cunning and very determined person with great powers
of influence not only over Ahab but also over the nation:
- She guided not only the affairs of state
- But guided the worship of the nation; she had a way of getting the best of powers set against Baalism. Even that mighty prophet fled before her - I Kings 19:1-22
- Would we understand the "Jezebel" in Bible prophecy - Rev. 2:20:
- We must know some of the depths of Satan in the life of Jezebel, Ahab's wife
- The Jezebel of the Old Testament was a bodily manifestation of the Master mind of Satan, of whom the Lord testified that he was a murderer from the beginning - John 8:44
- The worship of Baal had three special characteristics:
- It magnified the forces of nature above the Creator; it worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars - nature worship
- Gross immorality was associated with the worship of Baal
- But most important is the fact that the world at large is worshipping Baal as truly as ancient Israel did