Chapter-a-Day 2 Kings 9

Jehu looked up at the window and called, "Is there anybody up there on my side?" Two or three palace eunuchs looked out.

He ordered, "Throw her down!" They threw her out the window. Her blood spattered the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her under his horse's hooves.  2 Kings 9:32-33 (MSG)

Jezebel was a piece of work, and it's no wonder that 21 centuries later her name is synonymous with a wicked, conniving woman. Today's chapter, the story of her demise, reads like a Hollywood script. Having controlled the nation through her weak husband, then each of two dutiful sons, her political power has finally waned. The handwriting is on the wall.

The balance of power has shifted and she cannot rely on the strength of men to protect her, so she grasps at her last remaining line of defense: her sexuality. God's message does not record her age, but I picture Jezebel an old woman, aged beyond her years by her hard living and sexual promiscuity. She puts on her sexiest make-up and outfit like the tragic Norma Desmond getting ready for Mr. Demille's close-up in Sunset Boulevard. Her intense sexuality and well-honed seductive charms have manipulated men her entire life, so she deludes herself into thinking it will work again. This time, however, she stands at the window looking the part of the fool. Her make-up is clown-like. Her charms powerless.

The newly appointed King, Jehu, merely has to call up to Jezebel's servants. Her evil ways have turned even her closest servants against her, waiting merely for the right moment to turn on her. Jezebel's long, hard ride at the pinnacle of regional power was suddenly over. Her family killed or murdered, she finds herself utterly alone to face righteous anger.

Those who live hard, fall hard. It's not just in Hollywood movies. The story of Jezebel is revisited every day in our lives and in lives around us. What a good reminder that the life choices we make today will have consequences further down the journey.

Comments

[kr]

32 Jehu looked up at the window and called, "Is there anybody up there on my side?"

Isn't this what it feels like many days? We just want to know if anybody is on our side. We may be struggling with something or feeling inadequate and just want to know if we are walking alone. We even forget that God is always beside us, yet Jehu asked the question seeming to know that somebody up on the wall was on his side. We need to be more confident in that too.