King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 7

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

We noted in our last article in this series how the victory at Mt. Carmel was won handily by Jehovah and all the prophets of Baal – 450 of them – were taken and executed. Why? This seems so harsh. The problem was that they were in Israel and they were leading the people away from the Lord God Jehovah. Had they stayed in their own region, they probably would’ve lived. Unfortunately, they trespassed onto God’s Land that He specifically gave to the Israelites. Because the 450 prophets of Baal were in Israel at the request of King Ahab’s wife Jezebel, they were the vehicle through which the people of Israel were taught to worship false gods. The contest was a clear and decisive victory for Jehovah God and Elijah was acting as clean-up crew, to rid the Land of Israel from those who would seek to turn the people’s hearts away from Jehovah.

Now that the victory had been easily achieved against Baal (Satan), one might be tempted to think that national repentance for the nation of Israel was on its way. Surely, King Ahab and Jezebel would recognize defeat and submit to that defeat graciously, right? Wrong. They simply dug in their heels and refused to acknowledge that Jehovah God was the God and all others were merely pretenders to the throne.

This may have been on Elijah’s mind as the Lord enabled him to run at full speed supernaturally and actually beat King Ahab (who was on horse), to Jezreel, roughly 18 miles away. There, Elijah waited for King Ahab to acknowledge defeat and “surrender” to Jehovah. After all, King Ahab was the king of Israel, the only nation in the history of the world that was specifically created by God for His just and holy purposes.

Unfortunately, as we learn, this submission of King Ahab to God was not to come. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Let’s look at the text.

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, ‘May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!’

Notice what’s happening in the text above. Ahab essentially runs home to his wife and tells her what has happened. Clearly, Ahab was expecting her to either fight his battle for him or at least offer some sage advice on how to solve his “problem.” It is clear throughout Scripture – not just the Old Testament, but the New as well – that the man is the head of the home. I know that’s not politically correct in today’s world. You know, “down with the patriarchal system of male dominance,” etc., but the reality appears to be that when God looks at each home, the buck stops with the husband/father. This is clearly true as far back as the Garden of Eden, following our first parents’ sin, God first questions not Eve, but Adam (Genesis 3).

I also realize those who are opposed to such a system for today normally quote Galatians 3:28, which states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” This verse of course, references our salvation and the fact that in Christ, there is no difference between people regardless of gender or position in life. But salvation does not mean that God overturned all order in society. In fact, after Paul wrote these words in Galatians, he clearly stated that he did not allow women to teach men (1 Timothy 2:12). Those words to Timothy were written well after Paul penned the words in Galatians, which means that he was referencing two different things entirely or Paul was contradicting himself. We know that cannot be the case. Some argue that Paul meant it solely for that specific church and was not a blanket statement for all churches. A careful reading of his word does not support that theory. Paul even gives the reason why he would not allow women to teach men and it went all the way back to Eve.

For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1 Timothy 2:13-14)

Paul tells us that there were two reasons why he (Paul) did not allow a woman to teach a man. First, Adam was formed first before Eve, and second, Adam was not the one deceived, but Eve was fully deceived. Of course, this meant that Adam deliberately and knowingly sinned. However, at least he understood what he was doing and that person can be more easily corrected. A person who is deceived cannot often see the truth. It evades their grasp. Who knows what it was like before the fall or what it would have been like had neither Adam or Eve fallen at all. But we have what we have and it is certainly part of the “curse” placed over all Creation. It will one day be taken away and I greatly look forward to that. Of course, we men need to understand that we cannot lord it over our wives. Paul gives very specific guidelines for how to be a wonderful, caring husband, who lovingly leads his wife and family in Ephesians 5. We are not to be tyrants.

Like Adam, King Ahab abdicated his God-given responsibility not only in his kingdom, but with respect to his marriage. It’s one thing to look one’s wife for advice, counsel, and support. But to expect her or to allow and even encourage her to take the lead position is simply wrong. It shows weakness and indecisiveness on the part of the husband, as well as an unwillingness to take the reins of responsibility given by God Himself in the order of His Creation. Ahab probably knew that Jezebel had a temper and he may have realized that the best way to deal with it was to let her lead the way in certain situations. This would allow him to sit back and bask in the glow of Jezebel’s actions.

There was not only no national salvation for Israel on its way as a result of God’s victory at Mt. Carmel. Elijah now faced a new problem, one that he probably did not expect. In this case, as we read, Jezebel wasted no time. She quickly sent a message to Elijah saying that he would be dead by that time on the next day. No sign of repentance on her part! Imagine watching or seeing 450 prophets of the god you worship get cut down by the sword after losing a very decisive and clear battle between the false god of Baal and the only true God, Jehovah. I get the feeling Ahab was hoping for such a response from her because he wasn’t man enough to do it himself. Yep, he wanted Jezebel to fight this battle for him.

Neither of them could see the truth that Baal had no power at all and that Jehovah was not only greater, but infinitely greater! This didn’t faze them so instead of repenting and humbly seeking forgiveness, they became even more stubborn, just like Pharaoh of the Exodus (and it was probably not Ramseses II! [1]).

Isn’t this the way it goes too often? Even when people are met with undeniable evidence that God is God and all other gods are completely false, human nature tends to cause people to become even more arrogant and proud. Instead of allowing the truth of the situation to bring one to one’s knees – as should have been the case with both King Ahab and Jezebel – people build even more walls to keep that truth out.

What truth are you refusing to acknowledge today? What is the Lord attempting to shed the light on in your life and instead of acquiescing to Him, you simply ignore the gentle tugs of the Holy Spirit?

Unfortunately, in this life, we have many things to grow through, to cast off, and to embrace. As long as we are alive, we can count on the fact that the Holy Spirit within us will do what it takes to conform us to the image of God, the Son. He can do it the easy way or the hard way and much of that is determined by our attitude and demeanor toward Him.

It’s not just unsaved people like King Ahab or Jezebel who dig in their heels against God. Christians do it. You do it. I do it. It’s the common thread caused by our sin natures. Next time you’re tempted to focus on someone else’s problem, reject that thought and allow the Holy Spirit to deal with the board in your own eye. Don’t be like Ahab or Jezebel. You won’t win. It won’t go well for you. Elijah had his difficulties as well that God needed to correct.

I want to take a break from this series, but we may come back at some point to focus on Elijah and what the Lord did in him.

[1] For a great documentary on the subject of the Exodus, watch Patterns of Evidence: Exodus

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective