Thursday, June 11, 2009

Jezebel

Focus verses: II Kings 9:30-37

When Jezebel had Naboth killed so that Ahab could have Naboth's land at Jezreel, the word of the Lord came to say that the dogs would lick up Ahab's blood on that very land. But it also said that the dogs would devour Jezebel's flesh also on that very spot.

What could Jezebel have done to deserve such an ignominous end?

She fed Ahab's covetousness by telling him that as king, he should have the piece of ground he wanted. Never mind that God Himself had parceled that land to another family.

She took the seal of the king and wrote letters to elders and nobles in Naboth's city. In those letters, she laid out a scheme that used others to conspire against Naboth, to lie about Naboth, to have Naboth stoned to death.

The charge against Naboth was that he had cursed both God and the king. It was a lie. Naboth had not cursed God or the king. He had, in fact, simply honored God's legacy to his family by holding onto the land that had been parceled out as his family heritage from God.

Jezebel took God's name in vain in the most heinous manner, using it to condemn an innocent man.

Today's reading sees the dogs devour her flesh on the very land Ahab coveted. The word of the Lord never fails. Ahab was the most wicked king in Israel and Jezebel was his equal in treachery and wickedness. The Lord excised that particular wickedness by orchestrating the deaths of the couple and cutting off all their heritage in the land.

Father, God,

Help us to be discerning in our words and deeds. Grant us the favor of knowing Your voice among all the others that whisper in our ears. Keep us faithful to Your words, careful to do in Your name only those things which You have decreed.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

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