Women with a Story to Tell. Jezebel 2.

 For such an apostate king as Ahab and his wife Jezebel, at this time the great prophet Elijah shows up in Scripture (I Kings 17). For their sins, Elijah warns that there will be a drought in the land over the next three years. Then God sends Elijah to the wilderness where ravens bring him bread, hiding out from Ahab’s threats on his life. Later God sends him on to a town called Zarephath where a widow and her son sheltered and fed him while he was in hiding. 

 When the drought was nearing its end, God told Elijah to present himself before Ahab, who was still seeking his life. And here the story of Jezebel is revealed. 

 Elijah sent word to Obadiah, not the later prophet whose book we have, but to an earlier man by the same name who was the majordomo or steward over the palace of the king and queen. He is in quite a different station in life from the prophet Elijah who seems like a rebel to the kingdom. However, this man within the position that he finds himself, is a servant of YHWH also. This is a good reminder to serve the Lord wherever you are in life. 

 Scripture has an explanatory note about Obadiah. 

Now Obadiah revered the LORD greatly; when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid them fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water (I Kings 18: 3-4).

 This is where Jezebel’s religious preferences are revealed. She has aligned the state with a false religion, Ba-al worship, and proceeded to discriminate against other religions, especially YHWH worship. The record says that Jezebel had contrived a way to implicate the prophets of YHWH. For example, were they not responsible for the current drought? Propaganda is a wonderful thing; those in power can twist it this way and that. Yet no one seemed to care that these were state-sponsored killings. 

 King Ahab was so intent on finding Elijah that he went one way through the land and sent Obadiah the other way. While Obadiah was carrying out his assignment, Elijah revealed himself. Elijah told Obadiah to tell King Ahab where to find him. But Obadiah was cautious.

“As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you (to) I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth. Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets fifty to a cave and provided them with bread and water? Yet now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here; he will surely kill me’” (I Kings 18: 12-14).  

 Obadiah’s fear shows the scope of the power that Jezebel had. Obadiah rightly foresaw that her influence was such that even the steward of their household could be targeted for a politically motivated killing. Obediently, faithful servant of YHWH that he was, Obadiah went back and told the King the news. 

 Interestingly, instead of Elijah going to the king, the king came out to Elijah. Ahab opened with a false charge against Elijah: “Is it you, troubler of Israel?” It is the practice of a devious government to portray those who tell the truth as the ones who are causing all the trouble. Elijah tells the truth.

 “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the Ba-als. Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Ba-al and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table” (I Kings 18: 17-19). 

 Ba-al and Asherah, in the pantheon of the local gods, are represented on earth by Ahab and Jezebel. This is how the king deceives people, through a false ideology. Drunk on their power, with no one to stop them, the king and queen charge ahead on their path of destruction. 

 It is pretty clear that Jezebel is leading the charge and Ahab is a willing accomplice. So, it is true. Jezebel does deserve the bad press that she has received all these years. She is no role model for people who worship YHWH and trust in Jesus, rather she is an anti-role model showing us how not to act.