When a Pushy Princess Marries a Corrupt King

Drama Queen Series, Part 2
1 Kings 16:34
“In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.”

I’m the oldest grandchild on my mother’s side. Now, those of you who share my position know instantly the perks this has to offer. You get to be the grandchild of ‘firsts’. This can be a double-edged sword so it is best to take advantage of this benefit only if you are positive this is a ‘first’ that the family would like to participate in. I recommend ruling out being the first of anything that includes: poison, the police (that goes for the actual 5-0 and the band), pit bulls and of course, decorative art featuring the paintball gun.
Another perk that comes with the territory is that all of the other grandchildren basically do what you want; pretty much when you want. Again, I’d like to clarify, it is best to be cautious with this kind of power.
On the norm my role as Mahoney Grandchild was one laced with responsibility and leadership. I organized countless backyard plays, doo-wop concerts, family newscasts, spontaneous pool parties and many late-night sleepovers. I did my job well. That is until my second- in- command, Danee, would pitch me an idea that, as the leader, I simply could not pass up.
Now, let me vouch on behalf of leadership skills and devious minds connecting: THEY ARE NOT A GOOD MATCH! Where I could plan and execute an idea in seconds…Danee could envision the youngest of us crying in the most creative of ways. Put us together and the youngest of us would find his or herself trapped within a well-planned trick.
Have you ever had a character trait of your own find its explosive match in someone else? Speaking from experience I know that when my leadership skills got around my cousin’s powerfully creative mind – things happened. And those things were not always for the better. Do you share a similar relationship with someone?
Perhaps you have a tendency to low self-esteem. You get yourself around a man who is all for a power trip and you may be on your way to victimized submission. Perhaps you may be the type who thrives on a fast paced, living on the edge lifestyle – get yourself around a guy who drag races after kicking back a few drinks and you may be on your way to one adventure filled death trip.
Sometimes relationship goes against the design God first had in mind. God’s relationship order is one that cultivates balance. Not one that mixes extremes, ending up with a recipe for disaster.
Ahab and Jezebel had such a relationship. The Word of God tells us “Ahab…married Jezebel … and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.” Wow.
Something about these two – Ahab and Jez – went deeper than your normal sinful relationship. These two got around each other and things instantly took a turn for the very worst. As a matter of fact their sin ultimately led to the fulfillment of the Word of God, spoken through Joshua, in Joshua 6:26. Their oldest and youngest sons died because of their rebellion.
What are your volatile relationships costing you? Who is the Jezebel or Ahab in your life? Whom do you get around and instantly notice a change for the worse? I’d like to be clear that I am not talking about your average off days, where your best friend spills the newest gossip and you bite that bait up like a starved fish. I’m asking who fosters something negative in you. Or who brings out a character trait Christ would rather you check at the door? Is there anyone who puts you in moral danger? Are you falling prey to a very unhealthy relationship?
Sometimes the only remedy is cutting that connection loose or, with prayer, cutting the ties for a while. Asking Christ to realign your relationship. 1 Kings, my friend, absolutely drills home the need to live a life that serves the Lord – not the sinful desires that are ignited in unholy unions. We see here that when Jezebel, one pushy princess, got around Ahab, one corrupt king, sin happened and ultimately their children died.
I don’t know about you but I don’t want to take part in anything that sets itself up against the holiness of Christ. Nor do I want to welcome needless sacrifice in my life – as we see so obviously in their royal story.
You may be wondering how we heed warning and pinpoint people we should not be united with. 2 Timothy 3:1 clearly alerts us, “Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals. Stay clear of these people.”
We are wise to heed the Word and to take it to heart. The people of Israel had been warned. Before they had even made a request for a king to rule over them, the Lord had spoken plainly, ‘When you enter into this new land and meet up with men and women of other nations “Don’t marry them: Don't give your daughters to their sons and don't take their daughters for your sons—before you know it they'd involve you in worshiping their gods, and God would explode in anger, putting a quick end to you.” I wonder what would have happened in Israel had Ahab listened to this warning.
1 Timothy warns just as clearly: Do not be married to the ways of the world. This week, I encourage you to pinpoint any areas in your life where you may see an unhealthy ‘marriage’. Whether it is in an actual relationship, in activity, in word, in thought – ask Christ to make your theme song one of love and justice; righteously married to The King.

Choosing Contamination - Drama Queen Series, Part 1

1 Kings 16-30:33 (TM)
“Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before God than anyone yet—a new champion in evil! It wasn't enough for him to copy the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat; no, he went all out, first by marrying Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then by serving and worshiping the god Baal. He built a temple for Baal in Samaria, and then furnished it with an altar for Baal. Worse, he went on and built a shrine to the sacred whore Asherah. He made the God of Israel angrier than all the previous kings of Israel put together.”


“Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before God than anyone yet—a new champion in evil! It wasn't enough for him to copy the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat; no, he went all out, first by marrying Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians...”
You know things aren’t good when you are listed as the first over- the- top sin that sets your husband apart from the rest. Let me rephrase that – you know you aren’t good when you are listed first.
My brother, when he was in elementary school, after first hearing the story of Jezebel was rather intrigued. I don’t think he was impressed with her knack for taking all things good and making them instantly bad. I am confident he could not name her husband or even locate her story in the Bible. No, her impact was a bit different on him. He knew she was evil. He knew of her demise. So for this portion of his little life he would declare in any given fight that I was ‘Jezebel.’
At the time I was horrified! How could he compare me to this psychopath? I knew all about her and was rather jilted that my brother saw a bit of her in me. He was right. As I’ve done my research on Jezebel this last week – our similarities are rather striking. I wonder if you also may find yourself within the bullet list of her life.

[] Jezebel was the type of woman you’d hire instantly
[] She was take charge
[] She had her thoughts readily organized and verbally in tune
[] A leader through and through
[] Something in her was clearly devoted to worship – however misguided
[] She was seductive
[] Simply a master manipulator
[] A practiced retaliator
[] She thrived on intimidation
[] Jezebel could probably remember anything and everything Ahab had ever done wrong and list it in alphabetical order – spinning it to her advantage
[] The girl seems to be a man’s daydream and worst nightmare all at the same time
[] She was the Queen of Confrontation
[] Jezzy had an air of influence about her
[] Straight to the heart of it: Jezebel took advantage of her womanhood in a skilled and willingly evil way

I wonder if you see yourself in any of those character traits. Mentally check off any you have in common with this Phoenician Princess. The first four I was ‘Amen’ing! It was after the rest developed that our similarities began to tug at my heart. How could my little, however devious he is, brother actually be on to something?
I’ve read numerous versions of Jezebel’s story and the King James Version of 1 Kings 16:31 caught my attention in the most gripping of ways. “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.”
Interesting. He took to wife Jezebel. In other words something about Jezebel and her ideals drew Ahab to her. Perhaps it was the way she moved, her razor sharp tongue (although I would think one would be more scared than enthralled by that) or maybe it was the air of veiled knowledge that she seemed to possess. Whatever it was - Ahab wanted in.
He chose her. We know this because of the wording of Scripture on his embracing of a bride. “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in sins…that he took to…Jezebel…” In simple terms: He picked her. He was in on the deal. Regardless of his pile of sin, Ahab was willing to add one more transgression to the collection. He wanted a union with Jezebel for whatever crazy reasons he had.
2 Kings 9:22 gives us a bit of a glimpse into the contamination of Jezebel’s philosophies. Jehu, a righteous man, is quoted as asking, “How can there be anything good …as long as the promiscuous whoring and sorceries of … Jezebel pollute the country?"
The woman was polluting the country with witchcraft and wickedness. And take note: All of her access to her throne of pollution started with one man’s sinful choice. He took to Jezebel.
Who took to you this week? What positions of influence have we been chosen for? Think about it for a moment. What relationships are we cultivating on a daily basis? Are we without even realizing it, aiding in the pollution of others’ lives? How are we handling our leadership roles as women? Are we flaunting immoral ideals because we feel they are our rights? Are we cloaking truth in order to get our way? Are we soiling our chance to take a stand for righteousness? Are we taking our positions and using them to promote our own agenda?
Romans 14:13-14 tackles the subject of contamination. “Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I'm convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.”
As women we are given the ability to nurture our boyfriends, husbands, children, friends, co-workers, whomever -- we are nurturers by design. I’d like to be a woman who lives up to that calling. 1 Peter 5:2 instructs us to “Tend (nurture, guard, guide, and fold) the flock of God that is [your responsibility], not by coercion or constraint, but willingly; not dishonorably motivated by the advantages and profits [belonging to the office], but eagerly and cheerfully…”
In other words not choosing to contaminate because of our given position. And not taking advantage of men and women who ‘take to’ us. 1 Peter 5:2 urges for us to be nurturers of righteousness.
Jezebel had the power to change the course of Ahab’s reign. She could have sat the guy down, tried to talk some sense into him -- later on in his story we see humility come out in him therefore we know she may have had a shot at shaping his reign for a healthier course.
I wonder will we take advantage of our ‘Take To’s’, whomever they may be, to feed our selfish wants or will we seek counsel from Christ -- exemplifying His name and His design for our lives and relationships. I don’t know about you but from now on I am choosing to rid of contamination and embrace my call to righteousness. Join me as I journey on with prayerful leadership in the relationship roles Christ has intended for me.

Check back on Monday for the start of my new devotional series following the life of Queen Jezebel!

Overall Purpose

Ephesians 1:7-11 (The Message)

“Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

I stumbled upon a pair of overalls yesterday. I’m still recovering. Let me set the stage for you: We (my Mom, sister Kate and I) were walking through Macy’s, hunting for jeans, particularly looking for a great deal. I made my way over to this rack that housed Army-like blouses, zipper up sweat shirts and to my utter shock a bare pair of overalls!
Oh. The terror. Overalls were really popular when I was in the sixth-eighth grades. I was victim to this fashion crime. I would wear my overalls one of two ways: Slap a belt around the denim and let the front flap and back straps hang down or hook only one of the straps, leaving the other side on a freefall expedition. There were a ton of buttons, way too many zipper compartments and I am humiliated to admit an embroidered rose design on both side pockets and the front flap of my favorites.
Dangerous little denim number -- not only do I now consider this fashion suicide, I thank God I made it out of the overall ordeal alive. Do you have any idea how many doorways my loose strap got me caught in?
I’m actually suffering with repulsion as I sit here and contemplate my junior high existence. How could I possibly have thought overalls looked good on me? And how could anyone else have joined me? Honestly, my friends should’ve taken one good look at me and tossed out the nearest window any ideas they had of purchasing their own pair. I’d like to take this time to publicly apologize for anyone I may have aided in becoming a member of my overall nightmare.
While I am at it I’d like to, on behalf of my generation, also apologize for the following: Blossom. Hawaiian print shirts. JNCO jeans that were way too big for our waists. The smiley explosion. Adidas wind pants and all the noise they made as we walked around the mall. The Macarena. The constant chant of ‘Waaassssuuppp?” Any Beanie Baby obsession. This next one pains me so but I simply must: The Backstreet Boys. My mind is reeling as I think of all the other necessary requests for forgiveness I could muster up in this moment but I’m actual about to laugh too hard to continue on.
To be honest my overall admission has been freeing. There is something about taking a hard look into the past and seeing how far I’ve come. As a twenty-someone my life is very growth focused right now. Purposed progress is a basic requirement for adulthood. The only option we have if we do not see progression is remaining stagnant. Stagnant is not enough for me and it is not enough for you either.
Christ is in the business of moving us forward. Ephesians 1:11-12 tells us, “It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”
The overall purpose. Oh, how the Word of God gets me pumped! Now, I realize Christ is not making plans for my actual- 90’s fashion disasters but can’t you see how He takes everything and uses it for a grander purpose. Christ has even taken my overall-wearing thoughts and shown me such a grand truth for our lives.
I’ve considered in these past days the power of having purpose. Purpose ignites in us a passion -- something to aim for. A reason to keep going. Our delight in purpose is no accident -- Genesis 2:15 astounds me time and time again, “God took Adam and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.” Even in paradise there was something to work for. There was growth and Adam was in charge of maintaining it.
On the flip side of our purposed passion can be an overwhelming feeling of needing to do so much more. We need to find the delicate balance between striving for increase yet not becoming a slave to development.
I believe every now and then it is vital for us to stop and pause. To look back at who we were and what we were living for before -- and to see how far we have come. To thank God for the ‘overall purpose’ and plan He has for our lives. To welcome the work yet praise Him for the past victories.
What is your Overall moment? Where have you been before that now you cannot even believe? Any old moments in your life that now seem so foreign to whom you have become? For what purpose have you been moving forward? How has Christ been teaching you who you are and what you are really living for?
How amazing that before we even first heard of Christ and got our hopes up - he was watching and designing his purpose for your life. His overall purpose worked out in every moment and every day.
Join me today as I rest in the knowledge that while I have so far to go -- I have come so far. “Looking back for me is like a night and day difference. He has taken me from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (1 Peter 2:10)
Embrace God’s Overall Purpose in your life. Look back on the lessons learned and welcome the ones to come. Sooner than later whatever current crisis you find yourself in will be a memory -- a memory, if you honor Him, marked by the cause of Christ and not lost in the march of your life.
Let me tell you something: only Christ could take my overalls and make them something worth remembering. How I praise His name for His never ending, always urging, rest encouraging, renewing promise. He makes me boldly declare things I would never before have been caught dead whispering!
Exhibit A: I’ve got some overall moments I can be proud of!