Jezebel, an ugly steward “But the people said nothing.” 1 Kings 18:21 Jezebel. The name alone is enough to get you thinking. But while there’s no doubt that she falls firmly in the box marked bad steward, plenty of questions remain. Who was she really? Why was she so bad? What can we learn from her cautionary tale of a life? Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, the one-time king of Israel. As a foreigner and daughter of the king of Sidon there’s no real surprise that she worshipped Baal. Eventually, she encouraged her husband to worship her own gods, in time spearheading a campaign to destroy all the prophets in Israel. Well, nearly all. Elijah was the last man standing, and the wild and crazy ride reached its peak at the famous show-down at Mount Carmel. It was there that the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah failed to match the power of Yahweh, paying with their lives. Threatened by an enraged Jezebel, Elijah fled alone to the desert - partially, though not fully, defeated. Jezebel’s actions were ruthless. She seduced not just a man and a king, but an entire nation. Her word was law and her actions often brutal. When Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to Ahab, Jezebel had him killed at a community prayer service. She took Ahab’s devotion to God and wove it into her plot to rob and murder him. Constructing a web of lies, she accused Naboth of cursing God, projecting onto him her own actions and sin: idol worship. The root of the Hebrew word we translate “idol’ has its roots in the same word for human waste or dung. People who worship idols are not just worshipping their own selves, and the very worst of themselves: their excrement. Jezebel is no different, worshipping herself, her power and her beauty. Even right at the very end of her life she demonstrates her vanity, as Jehu, the new anointed king, leads a
citizens’ revolt against her evil rule, we read how “Jezebel …painted her eyes and adorned her head …” (2 Kings 9:30). Even at the moment of her certain death, Jezebel was still worshipping herself, defiantly standing near an open window, mistakenly believing that her gods - her looks and her status - would save her. She is mistaken. Jehu calls for servants to throw her out her palace’s window. They do and her blood colours the walls. Jezebel is trampled under horses’ hooves and her body becomes food for the wild dogs. Ultimately, she becomes their dung. Strange, then, that her name still holds some power, some lure and mystique today. From the Bette Davis film to the Jezebel blog, her name conveys a sense of feminine power and cunning. In a sense, Jezebel is a still a queen; still ruling those who aspire to be beautiful, dangerous and utterly ruthless. Jezebel is the design who demands to be worshipped as the designer. She is the queen of everyone who worships their own self, whether their looks and appearance, or their power and wealth. Jezebel is the example of the creation who believes they are their own creator. Jezebels hunger for things that they want, not what they need. They are hoarders, never satisfied, living from conquest to conquest, purchase to purchase, hollow victory to hollow victory. Today’s Jezebels will destroy others to get what they desire: power and worship of their self. Our world today is filled with Jezebels. There are the dictators who send people to their deaths for their own gain, the ruthless business executives who will sell out their staff for a chance of a bigger profit. And then there are people like you and me; insecure, a little anxious and prone to make the kind of bad choices that can never give us the affirmation we crave and only leave others hurting. Jezebel was trapped by an illusion. She thought that by controlling her image with adornments she could control fate - both her fate and others’. That word ‘adornment’ is an old one, but the definition still stands; ‘the act of self-decoration'. Many cultures practice it, using jewels, make-up and whatever else to demonstrate social standing and cultural connections. Take a walk down your local high street today and you’ll see it in action plenty of times. But with Jezebel it went deeper than simply wanting to show that she belonged, it became a means of control. She wanted to alter the world around her by altering her appearance. Idolatry is worship of anything - even a good thing - other than God. Idolatry of self is worship of the worst part - the waste - of self. Jezebel was just such a worshipper, a steward who lead others into self worship. She was an ugly steward. And she still lives today.
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