Who is Jezebel?

Good morning! God is good all the time, all the time God is good! Say, who is Jezebel anyway?

the marriage between Israel's king Ahab and Sidon's princess Jezebel was politically motivated. Unfortunately, the union had an ill effect on Israel's worship of Yahweh. Even today, the name "Jezebel" is associated with all that is evil.

Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh (1Kings 18:13). She was also the one who frightened Yahweh's prophet Elijah so much that he fled for safety. She also caused the man Naboth to be killed so her husband could possess Naboth's field. Her evil deeds led Elijah to predict that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs after her death. Since Jezebel was so evil, how could she have had so much power?

Her influence came from being the wife of Ahab, make her the queen, true, but not the whole story. She was also the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. During Ahab's time Sidon was one of the most powerful and certainly richest areas in and around Israel. The material culture of the Sidonians is one of the highest of those found in ancient Canaan. Their ceramic dishes are artistically beautiful, make the typical posts of the Israelites look clumsy and backwoodish.

As a princess from Sidon, Jezebel might have been the original "uptown" girl. She came from the richest and most advanced culture, as the daughter of a king, to Israel, a simple hill-country kingdom. Her aristocratic presence overwhelmed those around her; all eyes and hearts turned in her direction. They swooned in following her god Baal and deserted Yahweh, God of Israel. Not suprisingly, this original "uptown" girl also influenced her husband Ahab's worship of Baal.

Flash and dazzle turns heads. Makes me think of Hollywood, young, misled stars. Does this ring a bell in America? Thank you for reading.

In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny