Jezebel

Good morning friends,
Yesterday we read about how a prophet anointed Jehu to be King of Israel and how he and his followers killed the reigning King of Israel. That was part of the fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy about what would happen as a result of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel's injustice and sin against God. Today's reading shows what happened to Queen Jezebel. Her death takes place at Jezreel, which is where the vineyard that she and King Ahab had stolen from Naboth was. Justice for Naboth took a while to come about, but did happen in the end.

God bless,
Sam

2 Kings 9:27-37

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, saying, “Shoot him also!” And they shot him in the chariot at the ascent to Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to Megiddo, and died there. ²⁸His officers carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David.

²⁹In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

³⁰When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out of the window. ³¹As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” ³²He looked up to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down; some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, which trampled on her.

³⁴Then he went in and ate and drank; he said, “See to that cursed woman and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; ³⁷the corpse of Jezebel shall be like dung on the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’”

Naboth's vineyard

Good morning friends,
Yesterday's reading ended with Jezebel consoling (and gently mocking) her husband in his disappointment over Naboth's refusal to sell his vineyard. Jezebel told Ahab she would get him the vineyard he wanted; today we see her plan in action. Jezebel was obviously a powerful woman, so when she asked the elders of Jezreel to arrange a trial and execute Naboth, they are quick to obey.

We've seen it before in the Bible and in the news; powerful people are often temped to abuse their power for their own gain. Here the abuse is especially sneaky. Jezebel and Ahab don't want to take the radical step of simply taking the vineyard openly by force; instead they cloak their theft in the false trial of an innocent man. Thus they steal not only Naboth's vineyard, but also his reputation. Power is a dangerous but necessary thing. We are all called to be attentive to how we use the power we have: to use it to help others, not to take advantage of them.

God bless,
Sam

1 Kings 21:8-14
8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. 9She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; 10seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out, and stone him to death.”

11The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. 13The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to death. 14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

real estate and religion

Good morning all,
We've been away from Elijah's story for a little while. When we left that story Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal and then fled from Ahab and Jezebel's wrath. God led him through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai and then sent him from there to anoint a new king for Syria and for Israel. We're skipping over a series of battles between King Ahab and King Ben-Hadad and a prophecy from another prophet that Ahab will die.

In today's reading we see Ahab strolling along when he sees a piece of land that he likes next to his palace, so he asks to buy it. In Israel buying and selling land was more complicated than what we're used to because God distributed the land to the various tribes when the land was conquered. As a result, Naboth's vineyard isn't just his property but a plot of land designated to his family for as long as his family has been around. There were ways one could sell one's land, particularly if one fell on hard times, but there were specific biblical rules about how and when that could happen. For this reason, and probably because he likes his vineyard, Naboth doesn't want to sell, so Ahab goes home disappointed. We'll see where the story goes from here.

Blessings,
Sam


1 Kings 21:1-7
Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2And Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.” 4Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, “I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.

5His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?” 6He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it’; but he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7His wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”