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I have a granddaughter that attended a spring solstice celebration with her
school class to celebrate "mother earth". Since the activity was listed as
a field trip into the forest her parents had no idea until after the fact
that she would be singing, dancing and chanting to "mother earth".
And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu?
And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms (idolatry) of thy mother
Jezebel and her witchcrafts (sorcery and witchcraft) are so many?
(2 Kings 9:22)
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity
and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also
rejected thee from being king." 1 Samuel 15:23
Ahab wanted the vineyard that belonged to Naboth…Jezebel hired killers
to commit murder in order to steal the vineyard.
"And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have
it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give
thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will
give thee the worth of it in money.
Verse 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give
the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy
and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken
to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat
no bread.
Naboth was not being of disloyal or disrespectful to the king, but he remembered
God’s divine law, which prohibited the sale of a paternal inheritance
[Lev_25:23; Num_36:7]; Naboth (1Ki_21:3) refused to sell the vineyard to the
king because he was obeying God. Ahab pouting, sulky and pettish demeanor
betrays a spirit of selfishness.
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so
sad, that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto
Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money;
or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and
he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto
him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and
let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent
the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling
with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set
Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him,
to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.
And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. And the men of his
city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city,
did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which
she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among
the people. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before
him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in
the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king.
Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that
he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead,
that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not
alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,
that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to
take possession of it. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite,
saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold,
he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And
thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed,
and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith
the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick
thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine
enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself
to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee,
and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth
against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make
thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house
of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked
me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying,
The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab
in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the
fowls of the air eat. (Verse 25) But there was none like unto Ahab, which
did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel
his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according
to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children
of Israel." 1 Kings 21:1-26
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall
eat the fruit thereof. " Proverbs 18:21
Jezebel had been warned and yet she justified her conduct. She had no shame…she
applied her make-up and fixed her hair and then positioned herself so she
could see and be seen at a window.
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her
face, and tired (fixed her hair)her head, and looked out at a window. And
as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who?
And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down.
So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and
on the horses: and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did
eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for
she is a king's daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more
of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore
they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD,
which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion
of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel
shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so
that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
(2 Kings 9:30-37)
"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better
it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with
the proud." Proverbs 16:18-19
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