JEZEBEL

1. Bible Stories

a) The Bible is full of so many great stories, from struggle to triumph and impossible to miraculous. There are many different kinds of famous stories in the Bible. If you have to read and study the verses closely, there is so much to learn about what the story really means. Such story allows us to know God more deeply and helps us grow up in spiritual life.

b) If you are new to the Bible and want to know some of the most famous Bible stories, here is one of them.

2. Jezebel

a) Jezebel, from the Old Testament (Kings I and II), was the wife of King Ahab who ruled the kingdom of Israel. By opposing the worship of the Hebrew god Yahweh, neglecting the rights and well-being of her subjects, and challenging the great prophets Elijah and Elisha, she prompted the internal conflict that plagued Israel for decades. 

2.1 Tyrannical Rule of Jezebel

a) When Jezebel married Ahab, she influenced him to worship Baal, a nature god. As a woman seeking more power, she sought to destroy those who questioned her and most of the prophets of Yahweh were murdered at her request. These evil and tyrannical works motivated the righteous vengeance of Elijah who correctly predicted the encounter of a severe drought as divine retribution against Jezebel. Elijah later had the Baal priests killed after they had failed in a contest with him to see which God would answer their prayers to inflame a bull offering, Baal or Yahweh. When Jezebel learned of the killing, she furiously vowed to have Elijah killed, forcing him to flee for his life (I Kings 18:19–19:3).

2.2 Murderous Envy

a) Another cruel act credited to Jezebel is written in I Kings 21:5–16. Next to Ahab’s dwelling was a vineyard, which he envied and desired. It was owned by a civilian, Naboth of Jezreel. When Naboth declined to part with his vineyard as “the inheritance of my fathers” and Jezebel falsely accused him with cursing “God and the king,” which resulted in Naboth’s death by stoning. Elijah faced Ahab in the vineyard, prophesying that he and all his successors would be slain and that dogs would devour Jezebel.

2.3 Jezebel is Thrown Over and Overthrown

a) Some years after, Ahab died in fighting with the Syrians and Jezebel continued on for nearly another ten years. Elijah’s heir, Elisha the prophet, continued the determination to end Baal worship. He anointed a militant leader named Jehu to be king of Israel, an order that prompted civil war as Jehoram, Jezebel’s son, then ruled. Jehu then killed Jehoram and sought to overthrow Jezebel and take his place as ruler of Israel. Anticipating him, she decorated herself in fancy clothing for the occasion. Looking down from her window, she mocked him, and Jehu commanded her eunuchs to toss her out of the window. After her fall and death, he ordered that she be buried as a king’s daughter, however, it was found that dogs had eaten most of her body, just as Elijah had predicted. Jezebel has come to be recognized as a model of the wicked woman, embodying the characteristics of cruelty, greed, and vanity.