Jezebel And Ahab
By
Rev. Todd
W. Allen
Villa Rica 8/22/04
I Kings 21:1-7
An-elect lady told me
after one of my sermons that in any
discussion of marriage we should always
bring in the concept of oneness. Marriage
creates a oneness. Two people become one
flesh. What a thought to ponder! What a
marriage becomes determines what two
people become. Their lives are so
intertwined, so united, so merged that
what happens to one happens to both. Both
have a contribution to make to the success
or failure of the marriage, but even more
important than that the marriage produces
an impact, for good or for evil on the
family, on the community, on the nation
and on the world. The lives of the two
individuals become homogenized, for better
or for worse, so that their combined
witness makes a distinct impression on the
lives of others.
Adam and
Eve are never thought of separately. We
get a witness from their marriage that
overshadows their individual lives so when
Eve sinned she drew Adam into sin. When
Adam sinned he plunged the whole human
race into sin. Together they have a
corporate and. unified witness that will
last throughout eternity.
How
important that we marry right, that we
marry in the Lord. Who you marry will
determine a lot more than you suppose. It
is a decision that has importance far
beyond what you imagine.
But a
marriage can be directed toward good ends
or evil ends, as we see so clearly in the
lives of Ahab and Jezebel. What these two
people did is inscrupturated forever as
exceedingly evil. Like two polluted
streams running together their lives
merged and their evil characteristics
combined to make a horrible combination of
evil. Instead of restraining each other in
the evil of their corrupt desires they
joined forces to become a worse force for
evil together than they would have been
separately.
The world
would have considered their marriage a
happy one. There was no quarreling between
Jezebel and Ahab. They both got what they
wanted out of their marriage. Ahab got a
woman who was beautiful and sensuous,
resourceful and cunning. Jezebel became
Ahab’s partner in life. She was all he
wanted in a woman. She had pagan nobility.
She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of
the Zidonians. She was well taught in the
ways of the world. She kept up with all
the fashions. She had an air of mystery.
She was very religious, a zealous
worshipper of Baal. She knew many secrets
of the occult. She was proud, well
educated, and sophisticated.
And
Jezebel got what she wanted in a man. A
man born to power and wealth; a man she
believed she could handle. A man who was
worldly enough to let her do her thing so
long as she babied him and kept him
convinced that she loved him. He didn't
care if she maintained 450 prophets of
Baal or if she introduced the ways of the
world into the palace. All she had to do
was keep him happy and she had everything
she wanted in life. She had luxury, power,
and wealth. That is exactly what she
wanted from marriage. She was happy. Ahab
was happy. They never had a cross word. If
they did the Scripture says nothing about
it. Outwardly to the nation they were
happy, united, devoted to each other’s
interests-- and why not? What helped one
helped the other. Ahab's covetousness
never conflicted with Jezebel's vanity and
false worship. And Jezebel's ruthlessness
and deceit never cost Ahab the loss of a
single prize he sought. She helped him
gather wealth. Her false worship brought
in money. She was sought after as a
priestess of Baal. She had friends all
over the world that consulted her and the
prophets she commanded. She was never a
liability to Ahab. She was an asset. He
knew she was wicked. But she was beautiful
and she pampered him. They had an
understanding. She got what she wanted and
he got what he wanted.
I.
Ahab Wanted Naboth's Vineyard.
Some
people might think that Ahab acted
correctly toward Naboth. He was courteous
and made Naboth a reasonable offer. Ahab
spoke to Naboth saying, "Give me your
vineyard, that I may have it for a
vegetable garden because it is close
beside my house, and I will give you a
better vineyard than it in its place; or,
if you like I will give you the price of
it in money. But Naboth said to Ahab,
''The Lord forbid me that I should give
you the
Inheritance of my fathers." (I kgs. 21:
2,3)
Covetousness is often cloaked in sweet
words and a pretended concern for the
rights of others. Ahab was outwardly a
gentle man. He never threatened people. He
wanted people to think he was restrained
and gentlemanly. But he was willing to let
his wife threaten and even murder his
enemies. He let his wife do the scheming
and the conniving. His wickedness
manifested itself by her hand. But it was
not done without his knowledge. He did not
tell her what to do; he just gave her a
free hand to do her thing.
Sometimes
the roles are reversed in a marriage. The
husband does the wickedness but the wife
is aware of it and keeps silent. Ananias
and Sapphira are a case of two Christians
who collaborated in deceit. Ananias sold
the land and kept back a part of the price
for himself and the Scriptures says it was
with his wife’s full knowledge. (Acts
5:2).
The
Scripture exposes Ahab’s true attitude.
4So
Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed
because of the word which Naboth the
Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said,
“I will not give you the inheritance of my
fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and
turned away his face and ate no food.
5But
Jezebel his wife came to him and said to
him, “How is it that your spirit is so
sullen that you are not eating food?”
6So he said to her, “Because I spoke
to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him,
‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else,
if it pleases you, I will give you a
vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I
will not give you my vineyard.’” 1 Kin.
21:4-6 (NASB)
Ahab acts
like a big baby, a spoiled brat.
He
misquotes Naboth -- What Naboth said was,
The Lord forbid me that I should give you
the inheritance of my fathers. Naboth was
obeying the Word of God. God commanded
Moses to establish the law of the land as
follows:
23‘The
land, moreover, shall not be sold
permanently, for the land is Mine; for you
are but aliens and sojourners with
Me. Lev. 25:23 (NASB)
7“Thus no inheritance of the
sons of Israel shall be transferred from
tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel
shall each hold to the inheritance of the
tribe of his fathers. Num. 36:7 (NASB)
Naboth’s
land was not for sale or trade. Ahab's
proposition could be considered a
temptation for him, but he refused to give
in to the temptation. The vineyard had
been in the family for generations and he
had a duty to transmit it on to his
posterity as it had been handed to him. He
loved God and he loved his family.
We are
stewards of what God puts in our hands. We
must answer for how we use our
possessions. It all belongs to God.
II.
Jezebel Set Out To Get Naboth's Vineyard
For Ahab.
Jezebel
did not confide in Ahab exactly how she
was going to get the vineyard, but Ahab
would have been under no delusions as to
the wickedness she was capable of
devising.
7Jezebel
his wife said to him, “Do you now reign
over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let
your heart be joyful; I will give you the
vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” 1 Kin.
21:7
To Jezebel
power was only worth having if you could
use it to get what you wanted. Jezebel
derived a lot of satisfaction out of being
the queen behind the scenes who really ran
the show. Ahab was quite willing to have
it that way. Perhaps he felt that he was
really using her to get what he wanted
without having to worry about the details.
He trusted her cleverness and if things
went wrong he could always pretend to be
the innocent husband.
A lot of
marriages are based upon the same kind of
unspoken understanding in manipulating
circumstances to the advantage of the
marriage partners. Perhaps there is no
murder committed but much evil is
perpetrated in the name of love.
Evil
usually involves others. In this case
Jezebel put the pressure on the elders and
politicians in power to make them
co-conspirators in her evil plan. See
1 Kin. 21:8-16 So she wrote letters in
Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal,
and sent letters to the elders and to the
nobles who were living with Naboth in his
city. 9Now she wrote in the
letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat
Naboth at the head of the people; 10and
seat two worthless men before him, and let
them testify against him, saying, ‘You
cursed God and the king.’ Then take him
out and stone him to death.”
11So the men of his city,
the elders and the nobles who lived in his
city, did as Jezebel had sent word
to them, just as it was written in the
letters which she had sent them. 12They
proclaimed a fast
and seated Naboth at the head of the
people. 13Then the two
worthless men came in and sat before him;
and the worthless men testified against
him, even against Naboth, before the
people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the
king.” So they took him outside the city
and stoned him to death with stones.
14Then they sent word to
Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned
and is dead.”
15When
Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned
and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab,
“Arise, take possession of the vineyard of
Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused
to give you for money; for Naboth is not
alive, but dead.” 16When Ahab
heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to
go down to the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
1 Kin. 21:8-16
Jezebel
had so spun her web of deceit and intrigue
that she knew she could depend on those
crooked politicians to join her in
wickedness. Jezebel intimidated these men.
But this does not excuse their wickedness.
They acted as agents for the murder of
Naboth.
The corruption of Baal
worship is to be seen in the wickedness it
spawned in the nation. There was no
justice. It corrupted the highest
officials in the government of the nation.
III.
Judgment Is Certain For The Wicked.
God sees
all things. Nothing is hidden from his
eyes. God sent Elijah to pronounce
judgment on Ahab --
1 Kin. 21:18 -24 “Arise, go down to meet
Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria;
behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth
where he has gone down to take possession
of it. 19“You shall speak to
him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Have
you murdered and also taken possession?”’
And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus
says the LORD, “In the place where the
dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the
dogs will lick up your blood, even
yours.”’”
20Ahab
said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my
enemy?” And he answered, “I have found
you, because you have sold yourself to
do evil in the sight of the LORD. 21“Behold,
I will bring evil upon you, and will
utterly sweep you away, and will cut off
from Ahab every male, both bond and free
in Israel; 22and I will make
your house like the house of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha
the son of Ahijah, because of the
provocation with which you have provoked
Me to anger, and because you
have made Israel sin. 23“Of
Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying,
‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district
of Jezreel.’ 24“The one
belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city,
the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in
the field the birds of heaven will eat.”
(1 Kin. 21:18 –24)
Ahab's marriage was an
alliance in wickedness. The Bible says
that Jezebel incited Ahab to sin. The
fruits of their marriage were idolatry,
deceit, conspiracy and murder. And just as
the Word of God predicted, both died
violent deaths. Dogs licked their blood
and in the case of Jezebel dogs ate her
body leaving nothing but her skull, her
feet, and the palms of her hands.
Ahab met
his death trying to recover land from
Syria. He ignored the warning of the
prophet Micaiah and went out to battle
with Jehoshaphat against the Syrians to
recover Ramoth-Gilead. Trying to escape
death, he put off his royal robes and went
to battle disguised as a private soldier.
But there is no disguise that can hide the
sinner from God's judgment. A random arrow
shot by an unknown soldier struck him and
became the arrow of divine retribution.
His sons too met violent deaths. Jezebel
escaped death for eleven years after the
death of her husband but her day of
reckoning came. Jehu ordered her thrown
down from her tower in Jezreel and drove
over her body with his chariot; her blood
spattered the horses and the wall. Later
he gave orders to have her buried but all
they found was her palms, her feet and her
skull (2 Kgs. 9:7, 30-37).
Several
questions present themselves by the
marriage of Jezebel and Ahab.
(1) What
kind of a witness is your marriage having?
Is it to the glory of God or just to the
satisfaction of the two of you~
(2) Have
you considered the serious implications of
your marriage and determined that, by
God's grace your part in the marriage will
be pleasing to God and worthy of Christ?
What is your contribution to your marriage
– is it selfless or selfish, good or evil?
(3) Is
there a need for repentance for sins of
commission and sins of omission?
(4) If you
are not married and are considering
marriage in the future, are you putting as
the first consideration the Christian
testimony of your future husband or wife?
What do you expect from marriage?
(5) The
apostle Paul advises that a single person
may have a greater opportunity to serve
the Lord simply because there is
single-mindedness and less distraction
from total dedication.
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The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
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distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word.