Jezebel's Death Threat


 I was listening to my audio Bible as I walked this afternoon, and I heard the passage in 1 Kings of the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  This is one of the great miracles in the Bible.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s an exciting read.


1 Kings 18:38-40 KJV  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  39  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.  40  And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.


Elijah and the prophets of Baal have a contest to show which God is real.  Elijah/God wins, and Elijah has the prophets of Baal killed.


The queen of the land Jezebel, a believer of Baal, is humiliated and furious:


1 Kings 19:1-2 KJV  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.  2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.


I’ve read this passage many times.  I’ve used this passage in lessons I’ve taught many times, but I’ve never thought about it in this manner before.


If a king or queen truly wants to kill someone, would they send a message to them, warning them of what they are going to do on the following day?  Jezebel sends a messenger to Elijah telling him of her plans.


This tells me that her intent wasn’t to kill Elijah, but to scare him.  I believe that she did believe, after what God did in response to Elijah’s dealing with the prophets, that God would protect Elijah from her assignation attempt.


1 Kings 19:3 KJV   And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.


Elijah became afraid for his life, and ran.  What a reversal of faith we have here. . . Jezebel having faith that God would protect Elijah, and Elijah one of the Bible's great pillars of faith, not having that same faith in God as a believer of Baal.


Lots to think about here. . . Unbelievers can have faith in God.  Even great pillars of faith, can have weak moments where they succumb into fear.  Jezebel ended up dying an ignominious death.  Elijah went on to be mightily used by God, and one of only two recorded in the Bible to be taken up directly to heaven.


No matter how deep you delve into the Word of God, there are levels and layers undiscovered. . . 


I love You my God. . .

I thank You for Your Word. . . 





Dave 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Measurement Standard. . .

Image
A kilogram is currently defined by a standard cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy which is kept at the International bureau of weights and measures near Paris, France. On May 20th of this year a new definition will replace the platinum-iridium artifact association. The new definition will be: taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.62607015×10−34 when expressed in the unit J⋅s, which is equal to kg⋅m2⋅s−1, where the metre and the second are defined in terms of c and ΔνCs. A second is defined as the amount of time a cesium-133 atom takes to vibrate 9,192,631,770 times. A compass points to the magnetic pole of the earth to determine the direction north. A meter is defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of orange-red light, in a vacuum, produced by burning the element krypton-86. In each of these cases, a measurement is determined by something outside of what is being measured. . . something independent of the measurer. Where am I going with this? For t...
Read more

When Your Mother Dies. . .

Lessons learned when you were four become much more meaningful. . . The temperature of the whole world chills a little. . . Toll House cookies are no longer merely a snack, but a monument. . . Mothers day changes from an obligation to a craving. . . Sometimes the air thins and you gasp for breath just sitting in a chair. . . Crying for Mommy returns after a fifty year absence. . . You lose something vast and precious that you didn't even know you had. . . You crave being held and hugged all the time. . . The last time you spoke to her is now at the bottom of a big ache. . . Tears are found in totally unexpected places. . . Never again. . . her magical home made vegetable soup. . . wonderful green beans, potatoes, and ham that aren't falling apart and soupy. . .meat loaf with just the perfect amount of ketchup on top. . . those just right crispy fried potatoes. . . never again. . . for ever. . . Your chance to repay an enormous debt is lost. . . You lose ...
Read more

How to Find a Great Church. . .

Image
or Beetles and Bell Curves. . . The following is expanded from a talk that I gave at a men's meeting at the Elkhart County Jail March 11, 2009 Many years ago I heard on the radio, or read in a magazine or book, or saw on television. . . I just cannot remember even what medium I saw this on. . .anyway,  a scientist talked about what he could deduce about God from the design of the universe.  This man's response fascinated me and I have continued to ponder upon it for some twenty or twenty-five years after hearing it. This scientist said that he could tell two things about God from the design of the universe.  The first being that God has an inordinate love of beetles.  Zoologists have catalogued roughly 700,000 species of insects and almost half of those are various kinds of beetles.  Of all living plants and animals roughly 20% of that entire number are beetles.  That was the first thing that this scientist noticed about God's creation. The second thing was...
Read more