JEZEBEL: A MEAN QUEEN

(I Kings 19 - II Kings 9)

 Most of Israel’s kings were bad,

Few were considered great.

King Ahab was the worst of all,

He made God quite irate.

 Ahab married a foreign princess;

Jezebel was her name.

The daughter of a Phoenician king,

Her wickedness is still her fame.

 Jezebel worshiped Baal,

The king  built a temple for him.

But God is a jealous God;

And so He was angry with them.

 Ahab and Jezebel led the nation,

And idols were forbidden.

God wants no gods before Him,

And their brazen sin wasn’t hidden.

 Sure enough, idol worship caught on;

It spread throughout the land.

Jezebel was so faithful to Baal,

That she didn’t fear God’s hand.

 Near the palace was a neighbor’s vineyard,

Passed down through each generation.

Naboth was now the owner who,

Was approached by the king of the nation.

 “Let me have your vineyard,” said Ahab.

To use for a vegetable garden.

Naboth refused for his ancestors’ sake;

His decline the king would not pardon.

Ahab said, "I’ll give you one better,

Or pay you what it’s worth."

But Naboth still refused the king,

And an evil scheme gave birth.

 Ahab didn’t get his way,

So he went home in defeat.

Jezebel asked him why he was sad,

And why he refused to eat.

Ahab told her the story;

She thought that he was weak.

She told him to “Cheer up and eat,

I will get the vineyard you seek.”

 She wrote to the elders and nobles,

To tell the people to fast.

Gather them together, she wrote;

It was then Naboth’s fate was cast.

“Seat Naboth where most can see him,” she said.

Her next words Satan would bring:

“Seat two scoundrels opposite him,

Who will say he cursed God and the king.”

  The elders and nobles complied;

They showed Naboth no pity.

He was accused of blasphemy,

And was stoned outside of the city.

 Jezebel then told Ahab,

“Naboth is now dead.

Go take control of his vineyard.”

So Ahab did as she said.

 God sent Elijah to Ahab,

Since Naboth died by his hand.

To say, “This is what the Lord says,

‘You killed Naboth and took his land.’

‘In the place where Naboth died,

Is the place where you will die too.

As the dogs licked up his blood,

The same will happen to you.’

 ‘You did evil in the eyes of the Lord,

So disaster on you will fall.

Jezebel and your sons will die;

Death will call on them all.’

‘Dogs will eat her body;

And the bodies of the city dwellers.

The birds of the air will feed,

On the dead country fellers.’”

When Ahab heard these words,

He knew God would do what He said.

So he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth,

He was already mourning the dead.

When God saw humility,

He delayed the impending disaster.

But Ahab’s days were numbered,

With fate, God is the caster.

Jezebel Goes to the Dogs

 Ahab’s humility didn’t last;

To false prophets he returned.

He hated God’s own prophet;

In other words, God he spurned.

 Ahab and the king of Judah,

Joined forces to start a war.

They got advice from false prophets,

Which hurt God to the core.

 The king of Judah asked for God’s prophet,

Which only made Ahab mad.

He called for God’s prophet, Micaiah, saying,

“He tells nothing good but all bad.”

 The false prophets said “Go to war.

You will surely win.”

But Satan put words in their mouths,

Through a lying spirit within.

 Micaiah warned against the war;

He told them to go home instead.

With that, he was put in prison,

Where he was fed water and bread.

 So the two kings went to war.

Ahab wore a disguise.

But a random arrow found an open space,

The result of his listening to lies.

 They propped him up in his chariot,

As the driver wheeled him about.

The battle raged on all day,

By evening he had bled out.

 They washed the chariot in a harlot’s pool,

And in places where Ahab bled,

The dogs licked up his blood,

As the word from God had declared.

 Ahab’s son was crowned the new king,

But God had a different plan.

He had Elisha send a prophet,

To anoint another man.

 The man’s name was Jehu.

As a commander he was employed.

God told him to destroy Ahab’s house,

To avenge His servants they destroyed.

 Jehu went to Naboth’s land,

Where he found Ahab’s son.

He shot Ahaziah through the heart,

While his chariot was on the run.

 Then Jehu went near the palace.

The queen knew he’d pass just below,

So she painted her eyes and fixed her hair,

Then watched him from her window.

 When Jehu approached the window,

Jezebel began to jeer.

“Who is on my side?” Jehu said.

Then he saw eunuchs behind her appear.

 “Throw her down,” Jehu said.

When they did, she was trampled by horses.

The dogs ate all but her skull and hands,

And got rid of her evil forces.

 In order to punish her evil deeds,

There could never be enough flogs.

Her death resembled her life;

One could say she went to the dogs.

Becky Overturf Wall

Comments appreciated. Was my telling of the story helpful in remembering details? Do you know any Jezebels?