I don’t know if it is only me or every woman but I love studying different Bible women characters. Proverbs 31 woman is my ideal woman. I mean, I don’t think I will ever measure up with her in this life but I won’t give up. She is the most amazing and fascinating woman for me.

Talk about industrious, she is number one! Talk about wise, she is the wisest woman ever! Confident? Are you serious? She is very confident! Is she a fearful woman? No! Is she the crown of her husband? Big time! Is she a hardworking woman? You know what, let the word of God tells about her:

“¹⁰ An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.

¹⁴ She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.

²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:10-12, 14-18, 25-27ESV

I mean, do you blame me if I desire to be like this woman? I hope not! And guess what the secret of her life is?

Listen: –

“³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

Did you see that?

Yes! God is the LORD, God and KING of her life. How would I know? She fears the LORD!

“¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10ESV

Do you want to see the direct opposite of this Proverbs 31 woman?

Well, you may find quite a bit in the Bible but for me personally, Jezebel stands out first. You find the story in 1 King and 2 King.

Jezebel is the daughter of a heathen king, “the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians” (1 King 16:31). Jezebel doesn’t worship the True God. She worships herself. She is the god and king of her own life. She bows down to “Baal.”

Jezebel became the wife of Israel’s king, King Ahab who provoked God to anger by doing many evil deeds including marrying Jezebel, the heathen woman.

Jezebel is a very confident and fearless woman. She is a go-getter; she gets things happen. And she is a “spiritual woman” in her own way even though she rejects the True God, Jesus Christ.

Her husband, if he needs something and cannot get it, he cries to her as if a baby cries to her mama and his wife, Jezebel, gets it for him. Jezebel is unstoppable!

One day her husband, the king, wants to enlarge his garden place. To do that, he has to take over the land next to his palace which belongs to one poor guy called “Naboth the Jezreelite.” So, the king asks Naboth if he can buy his land but Naboth refuses saying the land is something he inherited from his fathers and does not want to give or sell it to the king.

So, the king, just like a little boy, goes to his palace feeling really sad.

Listen to the story: –

“ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.””  1 King 21:5-7ESV (in the Amharic version of the Bible, you find this story in chapter 20)

Did you see how powerful Jezebel is?

Oh, yes! How she is going to get Naboth’s land is not the question she wants to answer. She will get the land for her “crying baby” husband! Period! For her, the end justifies the means. So she orders a day of fasting. Who? Jezebel! Remember, she is spiritual! Fasting for what? To murder Naboth and cover up her deeds with spirituality. You can find the rest of the story in 1 King and 2 King but in short, she stoned Naboth to death for the crime he didn’t commit and she gave the land to her husband.

Lying, cheating, cooking the book, deceiving and all those things are nothing for Jezebel but tools she uses to get what she wants. Divorce and abortion are her tools to get rid of any “obstacles” which come in her way. But she is also “spiritual,” in her own way. She sleeps with her boyfriend but comes to church to sing worship songs. She lives with her boyfriend and has little kids but avoids marriage because she doesn’t want to commit sin by divorcing “the husband.”

Everything about Jezebel is upside down but she doesn’t know it!

As you can read the story in the 2^nd King, God anointed Jehu to avenge the house of King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, for all the evil and sinful deeds they had committed. (King Ahab received God’s mercy because he repented of his sin and Jehu didn’t come to his house until King Ahab was dead – 1 King 21:27-29)

2 King 9 reads:

“When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.” 2 King 9:30ESV

Jezebel made herself presentable, and even more than that. Do you know why?

Well, Jezebel is the god of her own life. She does what she wants and she gets what she wants to get. Period! And her femininity and sexuality are her powerful weapons she uses to make all men to kneel down before her and serve her. So, when Jezebel heard of Jehu, for her, Jehu was one of those men, men who fall for any half necked woman. So, Jezebel adorned herself and went out to meet Jehu.

“And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?”” 2 King 9:31ESV

Just look at her fearless nature and the confidence she has on her body and beauty to weaken this mighty man of God, Jehu, and put him under her feet.

Did Jehu reply to her? Are you serious! No!

Rather he did this:

“he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. ” 2 King 9:32-33ESV

Jezebel died as Elisha the prophet prophesied!

What is the difference between Proverbs 31 woman and Jezebel? Before we look at their difference let’s look at their similarities. Their similarities are actually many! They both are confident and fearless women, no rest until they get things done. However they have one difference:

Proverbs 31 woman worships the True God; Jezebel worships idols, she is the king and god of her own life.

Yes, all of us women, if and when we reject Jesus Christ, we end up becoming our own gods. Since we are not gods but human beings we dig own our grave by being gods of our life. May God draw us to His Son, Jesus Christ and help us to know Him, love Him and fear Him because our honor, worth and value are only found in Christ Jesus.

When we women fear God, we become “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20) as God designed us to be. However if we reject God, we become “the mother” of every sinful and evil deeds. ///