Can you explain what and who “Jezebel” is?
Before we consider this, let me ask you a question. When is the last time you met a woman or a girl with the name of Jezebel? Like most people, you may have never met one. After looking at what Scripture says about this woman you’ll know why parents don’t give their daughter this infamous name.
The first mention of Jezebel is in 1st Kings 16:30-31, “And Ahab the son of 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 of 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.” Jezebel was the daughter of a wicked priest who worshipped the false god Baal, and as we shall see she walked in the footsteps of her father. It is no wonder that she married Ahab, who was also known for his wickedness and that together they “served Baal, and worshipped him.”
We read in 1st Kings 18:4, “For so it was so, when Jezebel CUT OFF the prophets of the LORD…” Verse 13 repeats her act of EXTERMINATION, “…Jezebel SLEW the prophets of the LORD.” We learn here that Jezebel was a HEARTLESS MURDERER. This act marked the beginning of her mad and vile treachery.
The next mention of her is in 1st Kings 19:1-2, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time” (NKJV). Elijah the TRUE PROPHET of God had killed all the FALSE PROPHETS of Baal and Jezebel’s response was to THREATEN TO MURDER HIM within 24 hours. This not only reveals her MURDEROUS CRUELTY, but her DEFIANCE OF GOD. She was known for leading the people of Israel into idolatry, just as she had influenced her husband Ahab to do so, and anyone who stood in her way could expect to be killed. (You can read about another Jezebel in Revelation 2:20 that had the same influence for evil in the church at Thyatira.)
In 1st Kings 21 we have the shameless story of Jezebel murdering an innocent man named Naboth. Why did she have him killed? Because her pitiful husband Ahab wanted the vineyard that Naboth owned. In order to procure the vineyard for Ahab Jezebel, devised a wicked plan. Verses 8-10 read, “And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to BEAR WITNESS AGAINST HIM, saying, ‘You have blasphemed God and the king.’ Then TAKE HIM OUT, AND STONE HIM, THAT HE MAY DIE” (NKJV). Jezebel’s evil plot came to pass and Ahab seized Naboth’s vineyard. She proved herself to be a CONNIVING, GREEDY, and EVIL MURDERER. This also revealed Ahab’s weak character and how Jezebel was a DOMINEERING WOMAN who ruled both the “home” and the “throne.” Verse 25 confirms this, “But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because JEZEBEL HIS WIFE STIRRED HIM UP.”
In 2nd Kings 9 Jezebel’s violent death is recorded. Elijah had predicted her gruesome death and by the order of Jehu she was thrown down a wall, trampled by horses, and eaten by dogs. She was defiant to the very end but at the last she “reaped what she had sown.” She was so wicked she was not given a burial. This too was predicted by Elijah, as we see in verses 36-37, “On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot of Jezreel, so that THEY SHALL NOT SAY, ‘HERE LIES JEZEBEL’.” (203.9) (DO)