In I Kings 21, Jezebel and Ahab lived in a palace in Jezreel. Near the palace was a lovely vineyard owned by Naboth, a Jezreelite. Ahab coveted the vineyard, desiring to plant a garden in it. He asked Naboth to sell it to him, offering to pay the market price or a land swap for a better vineyard.
Naboth refused, noting the land was a family inheritance. Israelites viewed the land as Gods and that the people as tenants could not dispose of their land. (Leviticus 25:23).
Ahab pouted all the way home, and arrived sullen and angry. He refused to eat and laid on his bed. Jezebel came in to see him, and asked why he was in such a mood and why he wouldn’t eat.
Ahab told her of the deal he tried to reach with Naboth. Jezebel taunted him, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer Up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Jezebel grew up with a differently kingship structure – her father took what he wanted, when he wanted it. Jezebel was not to be stopped by an Israelite inheritance law or Israelite property law.
She took Ahab’s seal and wrote letters. in his name, requsting the elders and nobles in Naboth’s city host a fast. At the dinner, the elders were to have Naboth seated in a prominent place among the people. Two scoundrels were to be seated opposite him. These two men would later falsely testify that Naboth had cursed both God and King Ahab. After Naboth was tried for blasphemy and sedition, the death sentence was carried out.
With Naboth dead, the land went to Ahab and Jezebel.
Jezebel told Ahab that Naboth was dead, and Ahab promptly went down to the vineyard and took possession of it.
God, however, did not view this murder and theft as a trivial matter. He sent Elijah to Ahab in the vineyard. There, Elijah pronounced Ahab’s punishment for these crimes: death, specifically, in the place where Naboth died, the dogs would lick up Ahab’s blood. Dogs would eat those belonging to Ahab’s family and Jezebel would be devoured by dogs near the wall of Jezreel.
Ahab, hearing this prophecy, repented by tearing his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. The Lord saw Ahab humbled himself and decided to delay the disaster until after Ahab’s death.
Jezebel apparently did not repent.
Jezebel scoffed at the word of the Lord and schemed a way to get Naboth’s property for Ahab. She was a dangerous woman because she was a poor loser. If she didn’t get her way, she’d figure out a way to wield her power to get back at the person.
She was focused on making her own life easier, regardless of the impact on others. In a way, her persistence should be admired. Imagine if she converted to the Jewish faith and followed God with the devotion she demonstrated for Baal and for herself. Instead of a legacy of ashes, she could have a legacy worthy of mention in Hebrews 11.
