Ahab & Jezebel: The “Ride-or-Die” Couple

And if that wasn’t bad enough, he went and married the Sidonian princess. (I Kings 16:30-33)

You know her too, a real “ride-or-die chick”. She did any and every thing to support her husband whether it was right or wrong.

Under their reign the people of Israel got increasingly drawn into idol worship and further and further away from the true and living God.

We know the story of Mount Carmel – the 450 prophets of Baal plus the 400 prophets of Asherah square off against Elijah the man of God (I Kings 18:17-40). One man executed 850 men. The king was afraid, and rightly so, but his wife was not scared. She was fully determined to seek her revenge on the man responsible. Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah and he ran for his life (I Kings 19:1-4).

Now let’s not get distracted by Elijah’s response. Let’s focus instead on Ahab and Jezebel’s relationship. Did you notice that none of them had any boundaries? Idol worship? Sure. Threats? Why not? Take what I want? Of course. Murder? Definitely. Any thing to get their way.

We are told that whoever finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from God (Proverbs 18:22). This was not the case here. This was the case of a bad woman meeting a bad man – a volcano meeting a tornado. Bonnie meeting Clyde and woe unto anyone who was in their path.

This escalating couple teaches us that:

Ahab and Jezebel Still Speak

We know what should have happened. Ahab should have known who Jehovah was and should have served Him and Him only. His wife should have been chosen from among the God-fearing people and together, their worship should have been a sweet savor to the Almighty God.

The lesson is still valid for us today. We need to be God-fearing people on the lookout for God-fearing partners. It makes no sense for us to pretend that we can just marry anybody and everything will be fine. There are too many Biblical and modern examples of what happens when God’s people choose to do contrary to God’s will.

Prayerfully reading the Bible is one of the best ways of learning what God’s will is. Doing this repeatedly changes our lives. I know. I’ve been there. God’s word is powerful beyond our imaginations and it can change the whole world if we’d let it.

Let’s Pray

Lord, help us to hide Your word in our hearts. We know that doing this can change our lives and we need that change today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let’s Chat

What are some of the ways God’s word has changed your life? How do you see where it can make additional changes? Prayerfully ask God to convert your heart.