Skip to main content

Jezebel

Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidonians (1 Kings 16:31).

 Her name originally meant 'The Prince Baal exists'. Baal was a weather god worshipped in the Syro-Palestinian world.

  In Biblical Hebrew Jezebel's name means 'there is no nobility'.


 Jezebel is an evil woman in the Bible (Revelation 2:20). Her Evil deeds

 The main characters in the life of Jezebel were all affected in one way or another by her evil deeds. Ahab, the king and her husband was a weak willed man whom she dominated and led to do much evil (1 kings 21:25). She encouraged him to worship idols while she personally made sure all the prophets of God (who she could catch) were killed (1 Kings 18:4). She personally took care of the prophets of Baal giving them direct access to the throne (1 Kings 18:19).


 Jezebel's domination of her husband was directly responsible for the whole of Israel falling into the sin of idolatry. The whole nation suffered a famine caused by the lack of rain. This was God's judgement on them 1 KingS 17. This was particularly humilating for Jezebel since Baal was supposed to be the god of weather.


When Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel Jezebel soon got on his case. She threatened to take his life. Elijah knew this was no empty threat and ran for his life. The mighty prophet of God who had raised the dead and called down fire soon became afraid and even depressed because of Jezebel's action 1 KingS 18.


Jezebel not only worshipped idols but also practiced witchcraft (2 Kings 9:22).


 Abuse of Power
Naboth owned a vineyard. Ahab desired it but Naboth refused to sell the king the family property. Jezebel intervened and had Naboth killed simply to meet Ahab's selfish needs. At this point Jezebel herself was in charge of the nation of Israel. Ahab the king was simply her puppet 1 KingS 21.


 God's Judgement
God eventually sent Elijah to declare judgement on Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab was to die and have dogs lick his blood and his descendants cut off (1 KingS 21:17-22, 1 KingS 22:29 - 40, 2 KingS 10).


As for Jezebel she was to be eaten by dogs (1 kings 21: 23-28, 2 kings 9: 30 - 37). Jezebel lived for quite a while before God's judgement caught up with her. Apart from idol worship, witchcraft and sheer wickedness Jezebel also used the spirit of domination and seduction to get her ways (2 Kings 9:30).
There is no record of Jezebel repenting. She did much evil.

The main lesson from Jezebel's life is that the deeds of a few can adversely affect a whole nation. Evil people sometimes live long. Could God be giving them the chance to repent? Destruction waits for them if they do not.

Pray against the spirit of Jezebel. 
Make sure you do not become one of them.


Women of the Bible/Author: Author: Dele Oke

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miriam

Miriam was the big sister of Moses. Her name (sometimes rendered as Mary in English) means 'bitter' although it could also signify 'one who loves or is loved by Yahweh'. Yahweh means 'the self-existent one'. Yahweh is one of the ways the children of Israel referred to God. Meet the family Amram and Jochebed were the father and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. Moses was the youngest of the three yet became the leader of the pack (Exodus 2:3-4; Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59). Moses was the man who led Israel out of Egypt. As the big sister of the family Miriam knew all the secrets. Women often get to know about things that men don't. When Pharaoh of Egypt decreed the death of all Israel baby boys in a desperate attempt to curb the growth of Israel, Amram and Jochebed put baby Moses into a waterproof basket and set it on the river in an attempt to save his life. It was Miriam who was watching the basket when the daughter of Pharaoh discovered it. It w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feed My Sheep

Jesus Reinstates Peter John 21:15-20 New International Version (NIV) When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said,  “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said,  “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said,  “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him,  “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,  “Do you love me?”  He said, “Lord, you know all things;  you know that I love you.” Jesus said,  “Feed my sheep.     Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”   Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Deborah

Deborah was a prophet, a leader (otherwise known as a Judge) in Israel as well as the wife of Lappidoth (Judges 4:4).  Deborah means 'bee'. Bees are responsible for pollination of flowering plants. Pollination is what creates seeds that grow into other plants. One third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination of plants and bees play a major role in this 1 . The biblical Deborah, like a bee, fulfilled an active and vital role in bringing life to the community. Background After the death of Joshua, the man who had led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, God raised up Judges to lead and rule Israel. The first Judges God used were Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar (Judges 3). And then came Deborah. In Deborah's day Israel had no overall leader. Everyone did whatever they pleased and the nation fell into sin and were oppressed by the Canaanites (Judges 21:25). Jabin was the Canaanite king during the era of Deborah. Sisera was the commander of Jabin's...
Post a Comment
Read more