“Still, there was no one like Ahab, who devoted himself to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight, because his wife Jezebel incited him.” (1 Kings 21:25, HCSB)

Some relationships are good and some are really bad. John and Paul were great partners for music. Bonnie and Clyde were bad for banks. Ahab and Jezebel were horrible for God’s people. Ahab is Israel’s king. Yet his wife (the first lady of Israel) cared nothing about the people. She hated the prophets of God and she influenced Ahab to follow other gods. Ahab is the most notorious evil king in history. The reason is that of his wife. No one names a woman after Jezebel because she was so evil.

The lesson to see here is that a wife and make or break a marriage. If she supports her husband and encourages him to follow God, then the family will be successful. However, she can insult the spouse, nag him, and discourage him. In this case, Jezebel “incited” Ahab to go away from God. Many wives do the same thing to their spouses. This is one reason why many men don’t want anything to do with the church. Instead of helping and encouraging their spouses, they sometimes stubbornly try to overpower their spouses.

This is why the Bible shares with us why it is important how a wife acts toward her husband. She can encourage his participation in the church. She can also easily drive her husband away from the church. The holiness of the wife matters. Their influence is critical to the success of a marriage, a family, and a church.

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash