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The Life of Elijah #7: Naboth

CCEA School of Discipleship

October 26, 2025

Have all the guys go to one side of the room, the gals to the other.

Guys with guys, gals with gals. Share one thing you could pray for each other.

Homework

The assignment was to read Swindoll: Chapter 8: When God says, “That’s enough!”?

(Optional: Chapter 9: Watch Out for the Enemy)

Can anyone share with us one thing you were encouraged by?

How are you doing with your Bible memory verses? Anyone want to try and recite all three?

(James 5:16–18 NKJV) —16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

About the Final:

Our last class is next week. You’ll have one week after that to turn in your final.

The point is to recite the three verses to someone outside of class.

You can recite them all at once, or you can spread them out and recite one at a time if you want.

Have the person(s) you recited to sign the “final” paper.

Either turn in your paper in class or take a picture and email it to me.

Don’t forget that we did short little studies on each verse to help you memorize them. They are on weeks #2,3,5.

Introduction

Last week we saw the discouraged Elijah run from Jezebel, 300 miles to Mount Sinai.

He needed time alone with God.

God challenged Elijah’s view of things

Instead of agreeing that “Elijah was the only one left”, God showed Elijah that there were in fact 7,000 in Israel who had not yet bowed the knee to Baal.

God gave Elijah some new directions

God wasn’t finished with Elijah.

Three men needed direction from God through Elijah:

Hazael as the new king of Syria.

Jehu as the new king of Israel.

Elisha as God’s new “prophet”.

Elisha was the only one that Elijah actually would “anoint”. The others would be anointed by those raised up by Elijah.

There’s an entire chapter of 1Kings that we’re going to skip.

I wish we had 10-12 weeks to cover the life of Elijah instead of just 8.

In 1Kings 20, there is a record of a series of battles between the northern kingdom of Israel, and their arch nemesis, Syria.

If you study the chapter, you’ll find that God was sending several unnamed prophets (or a “man of God”) to help King Ahab. There were indeed more prophets in Israel than just Elijah at this time.

These prophets will give guidance to Ahab that will allow him to have several stunning victories of the greater armies of Syria.

The chapter ends with Ahab receiving a rebuke from God for not destroying the Syrian king when he was in his hands.

(1 Kings 20:43 NKJV) So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.

Ahab acts at times like a spoiled child.

1Kings 21 - Naboth

21:1-16 Naboth’s Vineyard

:1 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

:1 Naboth – “fruits”

Some of you might confuse this fellow with “Nabal”, the “fool” married to Abigail who wouldn’t help King David. Naboth is a good guy.

:1 Jezreel … Samaria –

I want to make sure you understand that there are two different places mentioned in this chapter.

Play Samaria and Jezreel map video

Samaria is up in the central hills, 35 miles north of Jerusalem.

This is where the main government headquarters were for the northern kingdom.

Jezreel is another 21 miles further north, located in the large valley of Jezreel/Megiddo.

This is where Ahab maintained another house, a “winter palace”.

For those of you who have been to Israel, Jezreel is about 1.5 miles west of Ein Harod, or “Gideon’s Spring”.

This is the valley where the battle took place between Gideon and the Midianites.

The location of Naboth’s vineyard is near the city of Jezreel.

:2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

:3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

:3 the inheritance of my fathers

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

1. The Land

God’s design for Israel was that the land be kept within ownership of each family.

(Numbers 36:7 NKJV) So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

Naboth cares about the way God wants things done.

This is a huge issue today in Israel.

Today, the Jews, as the nation of Israel, claim that they belong in the land we call “Israel”.

The Palestinians claim the Jews have no standing with the land, and that it’s their land.

The name “Palestine” was first given to the land of Israel by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD who wanted to wipe out the Jews’ connection to the land of Judea. He named it after the Philistines, the ancient enemy of Israel, which had been wiped out 500 years earlier.

The current people known as “Palestinians” were nowhere in sight.

The phrase “From the River to the Sea” will often be heard at Palestinian protest rallies.

They are saying that ALL the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea belongs to them, and that the nation of Israel should be removed.

The Palestinian view is that the Jews have no historical ground to stand on, that there is no evidence of Jews in the land before 1948.

Their current official position is that there is no evidence there was ever a Jewish Temple on what we call the “Temple Mount”.

Yet archaeology has continued to show that the Jews have been in the land since the time of Abraham.

I’ve been reading a book recommended to me by our own Harry Cheney called “When the Stones Speak” by Doron Spielman, which details the huge project taking place in what we call the ancient “City of David”, the area south of the Temple Mount.

One of the biggest recent finds is the “Pilgrimage Road”, dating back to Jesus’ days. It’s a stone road that people would take from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple to worship Yahweh.

About a month ago, the Pilgrimage Road was opened to the public

Play Pilgrimage Road Edit video

The Jews belong in Israel.

And just like Naboth, the Jews have no intention of surrendering their land.

:4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.

:4 sullen and displeased

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

2. Leader Maturity

The previous chapter ended with Ahab rebuked for not dealing with the king of Syria:

(1 Kings 20:43 NKJV) So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.

Now he has another tantrum, the adult version of …

Play “Tantrum” video clip

What Ahab did was a little less obvious than this little boy, but it’s still the same.

What do you do when you don’t get your way?

Maybe you can handle it when you don’t get “candy”, but what do you do when it’s something more grown up like – a promotion, recognition for doing something difficult, the woman/man of your dreams, the answer to a prayer you’ve been praying (even if it’s something good like for a friend’s healing).

And what if you are a leader at the same time?

When life fell apart for Job, look at how he responded:

(Job 1:21 NKJV) And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

When things went from bad to even worse and his wife told him to just curse God and die…

(Job 2:10 NKJV) But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

So how do we get this “leader maturity”?

I think one of the key issues is how we handle difficulty in life.

The book of Hebrews is written to a Jewish audience that was going through great persecution. The writer talks about “running with endurance” the race set before us.

(Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV) …let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…

We grow up when we keep going.

He then goes on to talk about how we are “chastened” through difficulty. The word “chasten” speaks of raising and disciplining children, raising them to maturity.

(Hebrews 12:11 NKJV) Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We grow up when we are “trained” by the difficult things we face.

James also talks about how we handle the difficulties on our plate.

For Ahab, it might be something as simple as someone like Naboth saying “no” to him.

(James 1:2–4 NKJV) —2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Patience, or “endurance” (same word used in Hebrews 12) produces something. It has a “perfect” work. The idea of “perfect and complete” is what we might call “maturity”.

We grow up when we learn to endure through our trials.

Ahab didn’t “endure”. He had a tantrum.

:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”

:6 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 another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

:7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

:7 I will give you the vineyard

Some of us are “fixers”.

We like to fix other people’s problems.

Sometimes that’s a good thing.

Yet sometimes we can cross the line of what is right, all in the name of our concern for our loved ones.

Jebezebel is a good reminder that it’s not always good to be that “fixer”.

Sometimes it’s not even a clear “sin” that we commit in trying to fix things, but sometimes we keep people from experiencing the consequences of their actions – something that would be healthier for them to experience than when we always try to “fix” things.

:8 And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth.

:8 letters in Ahab’s name

She doesn’t do it in her own name. She puts her husband’s name on the line. Perhaps she knows that nobody would pay attention if it were in her name?

:9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people;

:10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have blasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.

Jezebel’s solution is simple. Eliminate Naboth.

:10 scoundrels

Literally, “sons of Belial”, or “sons of Satan”

The word is also in vs. 13

:10 You have blasphemed God and the king

These are serious capital offenses.

(Exodus 22:28 NKJV) “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

(Leviticus 24:16 NKJV) And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

:11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.

These elders think they’re doing this for the king.

It’s kind of odd that they don’t seem to question what is happening.

:12 They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people.

:12 proclaimed a fast

Not a feast.

It’s as if the city of Jezreel were facing judgment due to a serious sin, the city is going to need to repent.

:13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.

:13 two men … witnessed against him

According to the Law of Moses, it takes the testimony of two people to be able to put a person to death legally.

(Deuteronomy 19:15 NKJV) “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

Jezebel is making sure the requirements of the law are met, but by putting forth two witnesses, even though they are liars.

I find it fascinating that Jezebel is so well versed in the Law of Moses.

Satan is the same. He knows Scripture better than we do.

The consequences of giving false testimony was that you would receive the same punishment that the other person would receive if your story was truthful. (Dt. 19:19)

(Deuteronomy 19:19 NKJV) then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

These scoundrels are willing to risk their lives by giving false testimony to do what they think the king has asked them.

:14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

I wonder if it’s significant that they send this notice to Jezebel and not Ahab.

:15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that 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.”

:16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

:16 went down …

Directions like “up” and “down” in the Bible refer to altitude, not north and south on a map.

Samaria is up in the hills. Jezreel is down in the valley.

Ahab was in Samaria while all this drama was playing out in Jezreel.

Ahab gets what he wants.

I wonder if Ahab even stopped to ask what happened to Naboth?

Perhaps he doesn’t want to know how it happened.

21:17-29 Ahab Condemned

:17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

:18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.

Elijah is going to meet Ahab in Jezreel.

: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 dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ”

:19 Have you murdered

As far as most people knew, Ahab got possession of Naboth’s vineyard fair and square.

How could it be murder if Naboth blasphemed God and the king?

Didn’t Naboth deserve to die? How is it that Ahab “murdered” him?

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

3. God knows

You can’t hide your sin from everybody.

God knows. Sometimes God even tells His prophets. That can be scary if you are living a life of deceit.

There was another king who lied and killed to get something he wanted.

David wanted Bathsheba, a beautiful woman who was married to one of his friends, Uriah.

David took her, slept with her, and she got pregnant, all while her husband was off fighting the noble battles of the Lord.

In order to hide the adultery, David eventually resorted to having Uriah put to death through manipulating the battle with the Ammonites.

David was then free to marry Bathsheba, just as Ahab was now free to take Naboth’s vineyard.

It seemed that nobody knew what David had done.

(2 Samuel 11:27 NKJV) …But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

And the next verse reads…

(2 Samuel 12:1 NKJV) Then the Lord sent Nathan to David…

Nathan was sent by God to confront David over his sin, just like Elijah will confront Ahab over his sin.

Most people might not have known what David or Ahab had done, but God knew.

The Bible says,

(Numbers 32:23 NKJV) …and be sure your sin will find you out.

Jesus said,

(Mark 4:22 NKJV) For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

4. Stop Hiding

What do I do if I’ve been hiding my sin?

How did it turn out for that other king, David?

Before Nathan the prophet confronted him over his sin, he found out how miserable it was to try and hide his sin from God.

David recorded,

(Psalm 32:3–4 NKJV) —3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Nathan got right up in David’s face and told him that God knew about his sin.

Nathan told David that there were going to be consequences to his sin, things like being betrayed by his own son.

David responded to this confrontation with humility instead of anger.

(2 Samuel 12:13 NKJV) So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

David learned that he needed to admit his sin to God and ask for forgiveness.

We need to cultivate the habit of confessing our sin to God as soon as we realize we’ve blown it.

Solomon wrote,

(Proverbs 28:13 NKJV) He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

John wrote,

(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we admit our sins before God, He will forgive – He is “faithful” to forgive us.

God has already paid the price for our sins when Jesus died on the cross. That what makes God “just” when He forgives us because the price for our sin has already been paid.

But we need to stop hiding our sin and confess it.

When your sins involve breaking the law or harming others, God will still forgive you, but you may also need to face an earthly consequence of your actions.

Learning to confess our sins also impacts our relationships with others.

John wrote,

(1 John 1:7 NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Walking in the light means I’m not hiding in the dark. It means that I’m exposing myself to God’s penetrating light.

The blood of Jesus is there to cleanse us from all sin.

And we find we are not alone when we walk in the light – we will have “fellowship” with other believers who are trying to live open and honest lives before God.

Sometimes the idea of not “hiding” our sin requires that we also learn to admit to others that we need help.

James wrote,

(James 5:16 NKJV) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

:19 where dogs licked the blood of Naboth

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

5. Prophecy Fulfilled

I want to take a few minutes to talk about how God can fulfill prophecy.

I hope this will make sense to you.

Sometimes a prophecy is cut and dry, and the entire prophecy can be fulfilled exactly as it sounds.

Other fulfillments take a little more roundabout way.

When Ahab dies, it will be tied to the death of Nahab. (vs. 19)

This will be partially fulfilled shortly, but not in Jezreel like it seems the prophecy is saying, but in Samaria. This is where the dogs will lick up the blood. (1Ki. 22:37-38)

There will be a battle at Ramoth Gilead where a random bowman shoots an arrow in the air and it kills Ahab. He bleeds out in his chariot, then is taken to Samaria.

(1 Kings 22:37–38 NKJV) —37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken.

The dogs weren’t in Jezreel, but in Samaria. But his blood was licked up by the dogs, just like the prophecy.

But wait! There’s more!

Do you remember God telling Elijah last week to anoint “Jehu” king over Israel?

It happens when Ahab’s son Joram was king over Israel in place of his father Ahab.

An intern of Elisha’s anoints Jehu at the battle headquarters at Ramoth Gilead, Jehu was one of the chief captains in Ahab’s army.

After Jehu was anointed as king, he drove his chariot straight to Jezreel, where Joram was recovering from wounds in another battle at Ramoth Gilead.

Jehu drives right up to Joram and shoots him with an arrow.

(2 Kings 9:25–26 NKJV) —25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him: 26 ‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will repay you in this plot,’ says the Lord. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the Lord.”

So the part of Elijah’s prophecy about a death in Jezreel was fulfilled by Joram, Ahab’s son.

When we get to verse 29, we’ll see why part of this prophecy was fulfilled by Joram, not by Ahab.

Prophecy is not always linear. Sometimes there are some twists and turns, hops, skips, and jumps before it is all fulfilled.

:20 So Ahab 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:

:20 sold yourself to do evil

This entire chapter started with a proposed financial transaction. Ahab wanted to acquire Naboth’s vineyard.

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

6. What’s your price?

The Hebrew word for “sold” is מָכַר (mākar)

It can be used for the “selling” of just about anything (fields, oxen, houses)

Esau “sold” his birthright to Jacob.

(Genesis 25:33 NKJV) Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

It is also used quite often to speak about buying and selling people as slaves.

This is what happened to Joseph,

(Genesis 37:28 NKJV) Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

What was “sold” in our passage? Ahab was willing to pay for Naboth’s vineyard.

(1 Kings 21:2 NKJV) So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

Even though he will end up with Naboth’s vineyard, in God’s eyes the more important thing that was “sold” was not a vineyard, but Ahab, selling himself as a slave to do evil.

I think we need to be careful about the things we pursue in life.

There are going to be things that catch our eye, things that we want to “buy”.

But sometimes in the transaction, we find that we’ve hurt ourselves.

I want to play a short video – lots of people are wanting something they shouldn’t, and watch the consequences…

Play Flirting – New Yorker dress video

Maybe sometimes it would be better to choose poverty rather than compromise your integrity.

Solomon wrote,

(Proverbs 28:6 NKJV) Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

Sometimes it all boils down to sin. Am I selling myself to do something that’s wrong?

Paul wrote,

(Romans 6:16 NKJV) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Don’t “sell” yourself short.

:21 ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free.

:22 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 made Israel sin.’

:21 cut off from Ahab every male in Israel

The Hebrew word for “male” is “one who urinates against the wall”.

(1 Kings 21:21 KJV) Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

Ahab will not have a long “dynasty”.

Every male from Ahab’s family in the northern kingdom of “Israel” will die.

That’s pretty significant when you realize Ahab had SEVENTY sons (2Kings 10:1)

This will be accomplished in 2Kings 9-10 by Jehu, when he wipes out the descendants of Ahab.

There will be an heir that will survive in the southern kingdom of Judah.

In fact, to give you a glimpse of God’s grace, there will be an heir that will be in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

This is because the line of Ahab intermarried with the line of David.

:22 the house of Jeroboam …the house of Baasha

These were both fairly recent kings in the northern kingdom of Israel whose entire lineage was wiped out by their successors.

Jeroboam was first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was the one who rebelled against Solomon’s son Rehoboam and tore the kingdom into two nations. He ruled from 934 – 903 BC.

Baasha was another of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ruled from 900-877 BC.

While the house of David continued to have descendants who ruled the southern kingdom of Judah, the northern kingdom was ruled by men whose dynasties might last one or two generations before being completely wiped out.

Ahab ruled Israel from 874-853 BC.

These other two fellows were somewhat recent history.

:22 because of the provocation …

Quiz Alert!

Lesson

7. Saying hard things

If you want to have an effective ministry like Elijah, there will be times when you need to say hard things to people.

I find this difficult.

I like to say “nice” things to people, but I don’t like to be one who stirs up trouble.

These are hard words that Elijah is giving to Ahab.

Ahab has been provoking God with his actions and he will face serious consequences.

Paul wrote to Timothy,

(2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Some of the words like “rebuke” can be quite harsh, but it’s all in the way that you do it.

But it’s also important HOW you say them.

Paul also wrote to Timothy,

(2 Timothy 2:24–26 NKJV) —24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

The word for “correcting” (paideuo) is the word for raising children. Sometimes you have to say hard things.

:23 And concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

:23 concerning Jezebel

Ahab is facing serious consequences, but so is Jezebel.

:23 The dogs shall eat Jezebel

Having your carcass eaten by a dog instead of being buried properly was a thing of nightmares for a Jewish person.

For one thing, who will be able to pay their respects at your grave? Where would that even be?

This also happens in 2Kings 9, accomplished by Jehu (2Ki. 9:30-37).

She was thrown out of the window of the palace and the dogs ate her carcass.

When they told Jehu what had happened to her body…

(2 Kings 9:36–37 NKJV) —36 …And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.” ’ ”

:24 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.”

:25 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.

:26 And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

:25 because Jezebel his wife stirred him up

Ahab had lots of problems and was responsible for doing many horrible things.

But Jezebel also had responsibility because she stirred up her husband to do even worse things than he would have.

Quiz Alert! (we didn’t do this one in class)

Lesson

8. The Wicked Heart

Jezebel is pretty synonymous with wickedness. Not because she was a woman, but because of the things she did.

Here’s some of the things she did.

Leads others astray

She brought Baal worship to Israel when she married Ahab.

(1 Kings 16:31 NKJV) And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.

The wicked heart doesn’t hesitate to bring others along in their wickedness.

Later on, she even tried to seduce Jehu when he took over Israel.

(2 Kings 9:30 NKJV) Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window.

She will even influence the southern kingdom through her daughter the extremely wicked Athaliah, who will marry the king of Judah (but that’s another story)

Ahab and Jezebel had a daughter named Athaliah.

She was married off to Joram the son of good King Jehoshaphat of Judah (there were two Jorams – one a son of Ahab, the other a son of Jehoshaphat).

When her and Joram’s son Ahaziah was killed by King Jehu, Athaliah decided she wanted to be Queen again, and killed all the royal heirs, almost all of them.

She killed all her grandkids.

Hinders God’s servants

She killed the prophets of Yahweh

(1 Kings 18:4 NKJV) …Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord…

Supports ungodliness

The four hundred prophets of Asherah ate at her table

(1 Kings 18:19 NKJV) …the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

She paid for the entire nation’s subscription to porno-weekly.

Practices evil things

She practiced witchcraft

(2 Kings 9:22 NKJV) Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”

When Jesus writes to the church in Thyatira, there’s an individual there called “Jezebel”. That might have been her real name, or it might be just the label Jesus calls her. Look at the similarities to our Jezebel:

(Revelation 2:20 NKJV) Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

We might get real good at pointing fingers at others, but the Bible warns us about our own hearts:

(Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

To be honest, any of us are capable of doing the kinds of things that Jezebel did.

We can lead others astray – when our lives dabble in the wrong things, people get the wrong impression about what it means to love God.

We can hinder God’s servants – we can find ourselves criticizing others and discouraging some from following after what God has called them to do.

We can support ungodliness – maybe not by feeding Asherah’s prophets, but perhaps we’re watching things we shouldn’t be.

We can practice evil things – there are Christians who will dabble in witchcraft, astrology, Ouija boards, etc.

Solomon wrote,

(Proverbs 4:23 NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

I can be just like Jezebel.

David wrote,

(Psalm 51:10 NKJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Paul wrote,

(Romans 12:2 NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I think this is something we need to continually practice.

:27 So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.

:28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

:29 “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

:29 Ahab has humbled himself

God displays mercy by delaying the judgment on Ahab’s family.

Some scholars think that Ahab’s repentance was genuine. Others say that the way he listens to false prophets show that his repentance was far from complete.

But I lean towards the idea that at least some of his repentance was genuine.

God does indeed delay the judgment on Ahab.

We saw back in vs. 19 that the initial prophecy against Ahab would be fulfilled, but in stages.

Some would be fulfilled in Ahab’s death.

Some would be fulfilled with the death of Ahab’s son Joram.