Chapter 11: The Fall of the Queen

Ahab was dead, but the judgment on his house was not finished.

His sons took the throne after him, but their reigns were brief. God had told Elijah at Horeb to anoint three men. One of them was Jehu son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel. Years later, that commission was fulfilled. Jehu was anointed and given a single purpose: carry out the judgment God had pronounced on the house of Ahab. (2 Kings 9:6-10)

Jehu rode for Jezreel.

When Jezebel heard he was coming, she knew what it meant. She had watched her husband die. She had watched her sons fall. Now the man God had chosen was riding toward her gate. She did not run. She did not beg. She painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and positioned herself at the upper window of the palace. In that culture, a queen appearing in full royal composure before an approaching enemy was an act of defiance.

When Jehu entered the gate, she called down to him.

JEZEBEL“Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?”— 2 Kings 9:30-31

Zimri was a king who had murdered his predecessor and ruled for only seven days before killing himself. She was telling Jehu that his reign would be just as short.

Jehu looked up at the window.

JEHU“Who is on my side? Who?”— 2 Kings 9:32

Two or three eunuchs appeared behind her. Jehu gave the order. They threw her from the window. Her blood spattered the wall and the horses, and they trampled her body beneath them. (2 Kings 9:33)

Jehu went inside and ate. Afterward, he sent men to bury her. But when they went out, they found almost nothing. Only her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. Dogs had devoured the rest.

JEHU“This is the word of the Lord that He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite.”— 2 Kings 9:36-37

Every word Elijah had spoken in Naboth's vineyard had come true. The three assignments given to a broken prophet on a mountain in the wilderness, all fulfilled.