JEZEBEL Normally when you hear the name Jezebel, you think of wickedness, evil, deception etc. Who was Jezebel and where do these affiliations come from? Ethbaal who was a priest of the false god Baal, had a daughter and called her Jezebel. She was a strong-willed woman who would stop and nothing to get what she wanted. At that time, Ahab was the king of Israel and he married Jezebel. As Ahab was a very weak king, he abdicated much of his authority to his wife. Jezebel believed so much in her idolatry, that she ordered all the priests who served the Lord to be executed. (1 Kings 18). Fortunately, Obadiah, who managed the royal palace and had a great fear of the Lord, took one hundred priests and hid them away. During that time, Elijah, who was a great prophet of the Lord came to speak to King Ahab. The country experienced a great drought that had already lasted three years. Elijah told Ahab that the drought was directly attributed to him as he allowed his wife to rule over him and as a result allowed the Israelites to partake in idol worshipping. Elijah then ordered that all 850 false prophets of Baal and Asherah must meet him on Mount Carmel. Jezebel was looking after these false prophets and provided them with food and shelter. On Mount Carmel, the false prophets prepared an alter and a bull was slaughtered for offering. All 850 false prophets called out to their false gods for a whole day, but they could not succeed in their gods setting their alter on fire. Elijah built an alter out of twelve stones, (representing the sons of Jacob). He had his alter and slaughtered bull, soaked in water three times until it was totally drenched. He then prayed to the Lord and the next moment fire fell from the sky and consumed his alter. The people of Israel saw this and immediately started to give God praise and glory. Elijah then gave the instruction to have all 850 false prophets captured and executed. Shortly after this it started to rain, and the drought was ended. King Ahab returned to the palace and told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and that he executed all her prophets. (1 Kings 19). Jezebel was very upset and sent a message to Elijah informing him that he would be killed by the next day. Elijah was very distraught as he was hoping Jezebel would turn from her ways after all that happened. He knew he could not stay there as the King Ahab was so under the spell of his wife, that he would never protect him. Elijah fled into the wilderness where he gave up hope as he believed that he had failed. God provided for him for 40 days in the wilderness and then gave him instructions. Elijah was to anoint Hazael as king of Syria and Jehu as the new king of Israel in the place of Ahab. He also had to anoint Elisha as his replacement as prophet. Elijah found Elisha and anointed him and Elisha followed him. However, the two kings would only be anointed by Elisha after much time had passed by and only after Elijah was taken up into heaven in 2 Kings 2. Back at the palace, King Ahab had his eye on the vineyard next to the palace as this was the ideal place for a vegetable garden. He asked the owner, Naboth to give it to him and that he would either provide him with money or with another vineyard better than the one he currently owned. Naboth refused the offer, and he told Ahab: “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”, (1 Kings 21:3). King Ahab retuned to the palace and he was sulking. Jezebel then decided to take matters into her own hands, and with an elaborate scheme, she had Naboth executed for a crime he did not commit. She then ordered Ahab to claim the vineyard for himself. Sometime later, Elijah met up with Ahab and prophesied over him and Jezebel. He would die in the fields of Naboth, and Jezebel would be eaten by dogs. Ahab immediately humbled himself and as a result, the prophesy concerning him was not fulfilled. After Ahab later died in battle, the judgement on his house did happen as his son, Joram died in the fields of Naboth. When Jehu was anointed as King of Israel, Jezebel got word of this and dolled herself up by putting makeup on her eyes and an adornment on her head. She looked down through the window to Jehu and said: “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” (2 Kings 9:31) She was sarcastic by calling Jehu Zimri, as Zimri had died seven days after he started to reign. It was like threatening Jehu that the same thing would happen to him. King Jehu then ordered Jezebel’s own officials who was standing at the window with her, to through her out of the window. They did this and when she fell, her blood splattered all over the wall and the horses at the bottom. She was then trampled by the horses. After Jehu entered the palace, he gave instruction for Jezebel’s body to be buried. His servants however returned telling him that dogs ate the flesh of her body and there is only a skull, feet and the palms of her hands left. This fulfilled the prophesy given by Elijah, that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs and that she would not be buried. Jezebel was a murderess, a wicked woman who plunged the whole of Israel into idol worshipers. She loved to control others and would do anything to get her way. She was allowed to do this for 30 years, but in the end, she met her fate in a terrible death. Her name became so notorious that in Revelation 2:20, John uses the same name for a woman in the church of Thyatira describing a false prophetess committing sexual immorality and teaching and seducing the Lord’s people into comiting idolatry. To this day, the name Jezebel has become a symbol for all that is wicked, shameless, immoral, unscrupulous and corrupt. Jezebel serves as a warning to all who defy the Lord and attempt to corrupt His children. This should be a lesson to all who defy the one true God. God’s power is without limit and judgement is real!