Casandra Martin

Jezebel seems a funny topic for The Jesus Resolution. As one of the most evil queens found in the Bible, she hardly seems worthy of thought for someone committed to looking like Jesus. Yet, Jezebel’s example is written into the pages of scripture just as surely as Abraham’s, David’s, or Paul’s. Is there something for us to learn about being God’s people from someone who devoted her life to pushing Him away?

Jezebel’s story is recorded in I Kings 16-22, with the record of her death being found in 2 Kings 9. Jezebel was married to Ahab and together their union plunged Israel into a time of unrelenting idolatry and darkness.

There are three lessons we can learn from Jezebel and her wicked example.

1. She had an unrelenting commitment to her god. Despite living at a time of great miracles and hearing the voice of the mighty prophet Elijah, Jezebel never let go of her commitment to Baal, her idol-god. There is something to be learned from her determination that nothing was going to cause her to walk away from her faith.

2. She instilled deep faith in her idols in her children. Jezebel did a great job of passing on her faith to her children. They all hung onto Baal as tenaciously as she did. She passed on the wrong faith, but the intensity with which she instilled that faith in her children challenges us to do the same with the truth of Jesus.

3. She used her position to call others to bend their knee to Baal. Jezebel was unashamed about using her place on the throne to draw the eyes of others to her god. She devoted her energy, her resources, and her focus to creating hearts that worshipped Baal. So often, we are hesitant and timid about talking about Christ or recognizing the opportunities God gives us to open doors of faith for others. There is a lesson to be learned from Jezebel about boldness.

We should shun the footsteps of Jezebel. We can, however, learn something about tenacity, legacy, and opportunity from her evil choices. Imagine the good she could have done if she had chosen to follow the Lord. God gave us her story so that we can more clearly see ourselves and His heart.

My Jesus Resolution today is to learn something from Jezebel. I want to be unrelenting in my commitment to looking like Jesus. I long for my children to deeply embrace His truth. I am going to be unashamed of the gospel of Christ and eager to share its message of hope. It is amazing how God can take someone so evil and use her to teach me more about following Him.