Day 62
1 Kings 20 - 22
Bible Time Period: Divided Kingdom
Israel split into rival kingdoms and fell into idolatry: Help me to choose your kingship over other loves.
Reflection
Back in chapter 17, we read that King Ahab “did more to
anger the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the kings of Israel before him” (v. 33).
Notice in that sentence that even though Israel has rejected God’s rule,
he still is “the God of Israel.” In
chapter 20, God sends a message that they would know that he is the LORD
(20:29). Any time you see “LORD” in all
caps in the Bible, it is the covenant name of God, YHWH or I AM that is
meant. This is the Name by which God
revealed himself to Moses by the burning bush.
Jezebel
Daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and wife of King Ahab of Israel. Scripture portrays her as a women of corrupting influence and power in the court of Ahab. After marrying Ahab she promoted the worship of the Canaanite storm and fertility god Baal. She also persecuted the prophets of Yahweh with such venom that the survivors went into hiding. She thereby roused the indignation of the prophet Elijah, who challenged the Baal prophets directly. In the confrontation on Mount Carmel, Elijah humiliated the Baal prophets and then led them to the brook Kishon, where he slaughtered them. (1 Kings 18:20-40).
Daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and wife of King Ahab of Israel. Scripture portrays her as a women of corrupting influence and power in the court of Ahab. After marrying Ahab she promoted the worship of the Canaanite storm and fertility god Baal. She also persecuted the prophets of Yahweh with such venom that the survivors went into hiding. She thereby roused the indignation of the prophet Elijah, who challenged the Baal prophets directly. In the confrontation on Mount Carmel, Elijah humiliated the Baal prophets and then led them to the brook Kishon, where he slaughtered them. (1 Kings 18:20-40).
Jezebel swore vengeance upon Elijah, who took flight into the wilderness (1 Kings 19:1-18). She also contrived the death of Naboth the Jezreelite, so that her husband could seize his vineyard (1 Kings 21:5 - 16).
Elijah foretold a horrible death for Jezebel (1 Kings 21:23), and his prediction came to pass. When Jehu rose up against the house of Ahab, Jezebel adorned herself and appeared at her window to ridicule the general as a mere pretender. Her eunuchs, however, threw her from the window, whereupon she was trampled under the hooves of horses and then devoured by dogs - as Elijah had prophesied (2 Kings 9:30-37). (Catholic Bible Dictionary, General Editor, Scott Hahn, page 448)
Jehoshaphat
At the end of 1 Kings we read of Jehoshaphat, the fourth king of Judah from around 873 to 849 BC, the son and successor of Asa by Azubah. He came to the throne at the age of thirty-five. Generally, his long reign was marked by its comparative tranquility. He was pious and "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord." (1 Kings 22:43)
At the end of 1 Kings we read of Jehoshaphat, the fourth king of Judah from around 873 to 849 BC, the son and successor of Asa by Azubah. He came to the throne at the age of thirty-five. Generally, his long reign was marked by its comparative tranquility. He was pious and "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord." (1 Kings 22:43)
Today's Reading
1 Kings 20-22
Commentary
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Art
Jezebel and Ahab Meeting Elijah in Naboth's Vineyard - Sir Frank Dicksee
Jezebel and Ahab Meeting Elijah in Naboth's Vineyard - Sir Frank Dicksee
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