Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon, and Tyre, an ardent worshiper of Melquart, the Baal of Tyre. She marries Ahab, the king of Israel, an evil king; this was a political marriage designed to unite Israel and Tyre. Jezebel's name means "chaste, free from carnal connections," a very inappropriate name for this evil lady. She had at least two children from Ahab, and those were Athaliah, "Jehovah is strong," and Ahaziah, "Jehovah has possessed."
1 King 16:31
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.
Ahab is described in the Bible as the king who provoked the Lord to anger more than the previous kings due to his idolatry. As you can see, they had a common thing as the Crown of Israel was worshiping other idols, and those were religious Canaanite practices enjoyed by God's people.
1 King 16:32-33
And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
Jezebel was a beautiful lady with a strong character, and this is why she attracted her husband to her. One time she had an encounter with Elijah, the prophet of Israel; due to her corrupt or sensual practices, she demanded that her god would be observed the same as the God of Israel. The contest began at Mount Carmel, Jezebel was sure that her god was the true God and so instructed her prophets to prepare one bullock as a sacrifice to their god, and they danced around the bullock to bring fire and rain, but Baal did not answer as he was not the real God. Elijah's simple prayer demonstrated who the real God was and His power; the fire fell on the altar built by him and consumed the sacrifice.
1 King 18:23-38
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
She was also a lady willing to kill to gain more property which was demonstrated when she killed Naboth, who refused to sell his property to her husband. Once Naboth's sons were put to death at the same time as their father, there was no heir to the land. The custom in those days was that the king could claim the property for the crown if there were no heir. She was very evil, and that thought would have never come to her husband but came to her. Be careful when making our husbands do things that would never come to their minds. Her husband was a very passive man and not a leader in his house, and it seems like Jezebel was the lady to fix any problem that came into her husband's kingdom.
1 Kings 21:7-16
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the viney
Jezebel was very deep into witchcraft but was also in charge of the kingdom. Her husband was the Israelite who was supposed to lead his people but instead married and submitted to this woman who was only interested in worshiping her idols. She represents the evil that God allows for a limited time and will never triumph. She also represents a spirit of independence and rebellion against God. She led God's people into false doctrine, idolatry, and immorality while her husband just sat down at his throne with no remorse.
Revelations 2:20-23
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
On repeated occasions, Jezebel was able to see that the God of Israel was the true God, but she refused to accept the reality. Therefore, she refused to repent and will be judged one day with the rest of her followers. She had an embarrassing death, and that is something that nobody would want. Her death was prophesized by the prophet Elijah, and his words were literally fulfilled.
1 Kings 21:23
And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
2 Kings 9:30-37
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.
35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
Conclusion: It is sad to read that many have the opportunity to repent but take it for granted. I believe that we wives if we are not careful, could also be the dominant person in the house, which is not God's design for the home.
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