Good Riddance Jezebel



2 Kings 9:29-37
29 In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.
31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?”
32 And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him.
33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her.
34 Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”
35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.
36 When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel,
37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’ ”


Finally, it is time for God to deal with Jezebal, the author of Israel’s (and now Judah’s) idolatry. She would now receive what had been prophesied of her. R.D. Patterson describes it this way.

“News of all this had no doubt reached Jezebel. Sensing her own imminent demise, she arranged herself in queenly fashion and went to the window to await Jehu’s arrival. As Jehu entered the gate below, she called tauntingly to him with words calculated to cut Jehu down to size. Jehu is called a “Zimri,” a name [that] had become synonymous with “traitor,” the implication being that usurpers usually do not last too long themselves. Jehu was fully up to the occasion. Looking up to the window where Jezebel was, he called out for anyone who would stand with him. When some of the eunuchs responded to Jehu’s bidding, Jezebel was thrown to the courtyard below. Jehu subsequently rode over the fallen body and went in to dine in the banquet hall of his predecessor.” 1

We’ve discussed before that God always keeps His promises – including the promises for destruction!  The Good News of the Gospel is that God has sent His Son into the world to save us from our sin and that promise has been kept. But the other side of the coin is that God promises destruction for those who would thwart Him and hate Him. Jezebel is a case in point. Her demise is ugly; pushed out of a window and left for the dogs to eat! God keeps his promises – all of them.

[1] Patterson, R. D., & Austel, H. J. (1988). 1, 2 Kings. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 4: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (207). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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