Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidonia, married Ahab, king of Israel. King Ethbaal was the priest of Ashtaroth who murdered the king of Tyre and took over his throne. He was fanatical about his Baal worship, and his daughter Jezebel followed in her father’s footsteps, leading her new husband to join in her pagan worship practices.
1 Kings 16:30 says that Abab did evil in the sight of the Lord and was more evil than all the kings before him. Then, as if he weren’t bad enough, he married Jezebel, and as a result , he served and worshipped Baal.
Ahab built a Baal temple in Samaria and set up an altar in the temple. Then he made a wooden image to worship.
Ahab did more to provoke God to anger than all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16:33)
We’ve seen the influence of pagan wives over their husbands, but Jezebel, as queen, stepped up to do her own leading. Not content with her husband’s worship of Baal, she decided to make sure that all of Israel worshipped Baal as well. So she sought out and ordered the death of all prophets of the Lord.
How she must have rejoiced as she watched the murder of all those men of God. She thought by ridding the land of the prophets, she could influence all of Israel to her Baal worship. But God isn’t so easily defeated.
Jezebel may have thought she won the battle, but she sorely underestimated her opponent. Despite her evil power, Jezebel was soon to learn that Jehovah would forever reign the victor.
Read about Jezebel and Ahab in Scripture: 1 Kings 15:29-33, 18:4
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