Devotional Guide, Today’s Reading –Monday July 1, 2019

Theme: INTEGRITY

Text:  “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.” – 1 Kings 21:7.

Comment:  A ready example of someone who lacked integrity is the woman Jezebel. Her name means “chaste”, but the name meant nothing to her, for chastity also means “pure in thought and deed”. This woman who was the wife of Ahab king of Israel, and a Phoenician princess, turned her husband into a mere puppet. After the famous contest at Mount Carmel in which the 450 prophets of Baal were worsted she vowed to put Elijah to death – and the man of God had to flee for his dear life! (1 Kings 19:1-3; 21:25)  She pretended to have followed due process in getting Naboth to be stoned to death – just so that Ahab could seize his vineyard. (1 Kings 21:1-16) She established Baal worship on a grand scale in the land of Israel and fed 450 prophets of Baal from her kitchen.

A writer is quoted by Easton’s Bible Dictionary thus: “Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel. She is the first great instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man, passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendour.”  (See 1 Kings 18:19; 1Kings 16:31, 21) As the prophet of God had prophesied she died in a violent and disgraceful manner. (1 Kings 21:21-24; 2 Kings 9 :30-37) That should be a lesson to all.

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