Deceiving Cloud

Published: March 8, 2020, 10 a.m.

Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.(1 Kings 16:30 NKJV)

..there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.
(1 Kings 21:25 NKJV)

For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)(1 Kings 18:4 NKJV)

(1 Kings 21:1-28 NKJV)
1. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, \u201cGive me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.\u201d
3 But Naboth said to Ahab, \u201cThe Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!\u201d
4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, \u201cI will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.\u201d And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, \u201cWhy is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?\u201d
6 He said to her, \u201cBecause I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, \u2018Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.\u2019 And he answered, \u2018I will not give you my vineyard.\u2019 \u201d
7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, \u201cYou now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.\u201d
8 And she wrote letters in Ahab\u2019s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth.
9 She wrote in the letters, saying,Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth [a]with high honor among the people;
10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, \u201cYou have blasphemed God and the king.\u201d Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.
11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people.
13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, \u201cNaboth has blasphemed God and the king!\u201d Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, \u201cNaboth has been stoned and is dead.\u201d
15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, \u201cArise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.\u201d
16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.The Lord Condemns Ahab
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 \u201cArise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.
19 You shall speak to him, saying, \u2018Thus says the Lord: \u201cHave you murdered and also taken possession?\u201d \u2019 And you shall speak to him, saying, \u2018Thus says the Lord: \u201cIn the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.\u201d \u2019 \u201d
20 So Ahab said to Elijah, \u201cHave you found me, O my enemy?\u201d
And he answered, \u201cI have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord:
21 \u2018Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free.
22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.\u2019
23 And concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke, saying, \u2018The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the [b]wall of Jezreel.\u2019
24 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.\u201d
25 But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife [c]stirred him up.
26 And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
27 So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.
28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 \u201cSee how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.\u201d

The Lessons We Learn From Jezebel

1) Don\u2019t Use Good Qualities for Evil
Queen Jezebel had some good qualities. Unfortunately, she used them for evil instead of for God\u2019s glory:

She was smart, but she used her intelligence to come up with evil schemes.
She had boldness and courage but used those attributes to intimidate others and to commit murder.
She had strong leadership abilities but used them to control her husband who was king and to take over the throne.
She was assertive but used the quality to turn people away from God instead of turning them toward God.
She had a royal lineage but used it to manipulate her subjects. She didn\u2019t become a royal by marring King Ahab. She was a Phoenician princess, the daughter of Ithobaal I, king of Tyre, according to 1 Kings 16:31.
Jezebel could have used those same attributes to glorify God, but she didn\u2019t. If you have those qualities, use them for good and not evil.

2) Don\u2019t Use Power to Do Wrong
Jezebel was so determined to get the vineyard that she set a series of evil acts in motion that caused Naboth to be killed and she and Ahab to get the vineyard after his death.

Jezebel wrote letters to the elders that were filled with false accusations and character assassination.
Jezebel committed forgery and identity theft by putting King Ahab\u2019s seal on the letters she wrote accusing Naboth (1 Kings 21:8).
She had them people testify that Naboth had cursed both God and the king (1 Kings 21:10).
She commanded the people to \u201ctake him out and stone him to death\u201d (1 Kings 21:10).
Naboth was killed, Ahab got the man\u2019s property, and Jezebel once again got her way. She told her husband, \u201ctake possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead\u201d (1 Kings 21:15).

Jezebel tried to destroy those who opposed her. God\u2019s prophets were intimidated and afraid of Jezebel. They had good reason to be afraid. She commanded most of them to be killed. All except 100 prophets were killed. Elijah ran for his life away from her so his life would be spared.

3) Don\u2019t Serve Wrong God
Jezebel encouraged her husband King Ahab to abandon the worship of Yahweh and promote the worship of the deities Baal and Asherah. Ahab took his wife\u2019s advice and the worship of Baal and Asherah rose to a national level as the worship of Yahweh declined.

Jezebel is considered to be a bad person in the Bible, and she worshiped that bad god of the Bible, Baal (1 Kings 16:31). Jezebel, like the foreign wives of Solomon, required facilities to carry on her pagan worship. Ahab, like Solomon, built altars for Baal worship.

Because of Jezebel\u2019s heavy involvement in idolatry and the influence she had on her husband, Ahab turned his back on God. According to 1 Kings 21:25, \u201cThere was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife.\u201d