#114 JEZEBEL: A LESSON IN WICKEDNESS 9-10-26
Jezebel has become almost synonymous with wickedness. Her name has come to represent manipulation, idolatry, cruelty, and rebellion against God. But Jezebel was not evil because she was a woman. She was evil because she chose evil.
The Bible never teaches us to fear women or distrust women. It teaches us to recognize wickedness wherever it appears. And if we are going to understand Jezebel correctly, we must also understand Ahab. He was not an innocent man who happened to marry a bad woman. Ahab was himself a wicked king who repeatedly chose what was wrong. “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” (1 Kings 21:25). Jezebel was wicked, but Ahab was responsible for his own choices.
HER PROBLEM
Jezebel’s greatest problem was that she had no reverence for the God of Israel. She brought the worship of Baal into the royal house and used her position to attack the worshipers of the true God. She did not merely practice idolatry privately; she used influence and power to promote it. The prophets of the LORD were hunted, and Elijah stood almost alone against the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:4, 17-19).
Sin becomes especially dangerous when we stop being satisfied with doing wrong ourselves and begin trying to convince everybody else to do wrong with us. Jezebel’s heart was turned away from God, and Ahab allowed his heart to follow hers. “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). There is a warning here for every one of us: never allow another person’s influence to become an excuse for your disobedience.
HER PLANS
Jezebel’s wickedness became especially visible in what she did to Naboth. Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard because it was near the palace, but Naboth refused to give away the inheritance of his fathers. Ahab went home miserable, but Jezebel stepped in. She arranged for false witnesses to accuse Naboth of blasphemy, and Naboth was taken out and killed. Then Ahab took possession of the vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-16).
What a picture of how sin works. Covetousness wanted the vineyard. Weakness refused to do what was right. Manipulation devised a plan. Lies provided the excuse. And an innocent man died. Yet Ahab cannot escape responsibility. He may not have written the letters, but he benefited from the crime. He may not have spoken the false accusations, but he accepted the vineyard afterward. Sometimes we imagine that we are innocent because we did not personally carry out the evil. But God sees the heart, the consent, the silence, and the benefit we receive from another person’s wrongdoing.
HER PUNISHMENT
Jezebel may have appeared powerful, but her power was temporary. Ahab may have appeared to get away with his wickedness, but God had not forgotten. Elijah came with a message of judgment: “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours’” (1 Kings 21:19). Ahab eventually died, and later Jezebel met the terrible end God had pronounced against her. She was thrown down from the window, and the prophecy concerning her was fulfilled (2 Kings 9:30-37).
The lesson is not that God delights in punishment. The lesson is that wickedness cannot win. Evil may sit on a throne. It may wear a crown. It may have money, influence, political power, and people willing to obey it. But none of those things can protect a person from the judgment of God. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
Jezebel proves that influence is a serious responsibility. A person can use influence to bring people toward God or away from Him. Ahab reminds us that weakness is not an excuse for wickedness. We are responsible for what we choose, even when somebody else is encouraging us to choose it. And together they remind us that sin rarely remains contained. One person’s rebellion can influence a family. One person’s compromise can influence a kingdom. One person’s silence can give evil room to grow.
We should also remember that the opposite is true. Righteousness is contagious too. Courage can strengthen courage. Faith can strengthen faith. Kindness can awaken kindness. One person who refuses to compromise can influence an entire generation. Elijah stood against the prophets of Baal, and though he felt alone, he was not forgotten by God. “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18).
Jezebel’s story is not ultimately a lesson about women. It is a lesson about wickedness. It is a lesson about what happens when people reject God, abuse influence, manipulate others, tolerate injustice, and refuse to repent. Ahab shows us that evil does not always look like aggression. Sometimes evil looks like weakness, passivity, compromise, and simply allowing someone else to do what we know is wrong. God calls both the powerful and the weak to righteousness.
There is still a throne above every earthly throne. There is still a Judge above every earthly judge. And there is still a God who sees what happens when the innocent are mistreated and the wicked seem to prosper.
We do not have to become like Jezebel, and we must not become like Ahab. We must stand with the Lord, obey His Word, refuse to compromise, and remember that every road of rebellion eventually leads to judgment. The world may admire power, but God looks for righteousness.
Our problem is sin, our plans must be surrendered to God, and our ultimate destiny is determined by whether we will turn from wickedness and follow the Lord.
BDD
