Podcast Introduction Our reading today is 2 Kings 6-10. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “That Cursed Woman, Part 2.” Comments on 2 Kings 9 A couple weeks ago, we read 1 Kings 19-22, the title for the episode was That Cursed Woman, Part 1. Of course the Cursed Woman was Jezebel. Let me refresh your memory in regards to Jezebel.   We first read about her in 1 Kings 16:31 when she married King Ahab. According to Today’s Dictionary of the Bible, this was the first time a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage with a heathen princess. And as we’ve seen from our reading, the alliance was not good for anyone concerned. 1 Kings 16:30 says of Ahab, “…Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.” When he married Jezebel, he began worshipping Baal.  You probably remember that in 1 Kings 18 when Elijah had the showdown with 450 so-called prophets of Baal, and how God sent fire down from Heaven and burned up the sacrifice, all the water around the altar, and the 450 prophets? It was Jezebel who sent a message to Elijah which said, “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah believed her and ran for his life. In 1 Kings chapter 21, King Ahab’s neighbor, a fellow named Naboth, had a vineyard that Ahab wanted, but Naboth refused to sell it to him. Now I’ll read verses 4-8 of chapter 21:  4So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat! 5“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?” 6“I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her. 7“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!” 8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. 9In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” So as you see, Jezebel was quite a piece of work, right? Back to Today’s Dictionary of the Bible. Listen to what it says about her: “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 splendor.  Four hundred fifty prophets ministered under her care to Baal, besides four hundred prophets of the Asherah who ate at her table. The idolatry, too, was of the most debased and sensual kind. Her conduct was in many respects very disastrous to the kingdom both of Israel and Judah.  Her name came to be used as the synonym for a wicked woman.” Quite a legacy, huh? If there were a hall of fame for evil people, she would have been one of the earliest inductees.