In the Shadow of Jezebel Read online

  © 2014 by Mesu Andrews

  Published by Revell

  a division of Baker Publishing Group

  P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

  www.revellbooks.com

  Ebook edition created 2014

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  ISBN 978-1-4412-1329-7

  Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

  This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearance of certain historical figures is therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Praise for Love Amid the Ashes

  “Andrews re-creates the biblical story of Job through the eyes of the women who remained loyal to him. She has interwoven Job’s steadfast faith and his willingness to lead others to God amidst devastation and restoration. This classic story will speak to readers in new ways and ignite the passion for the ways God brings love into our daily lives.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars

  “Andrews’s research shines through on every page as she delves deeply into the cultural, historical, and biblical records to create this fascinating and multilayered tale surrounding the OT hero Job and his family. Full of drama and overflowing with fresh biblical principles of finding forgiveness, hope, and healing.”

  —CBA Retailers+Resources

  Praise for Love’s Sacred Song

  “Andrews weaves a beautiful tale and takes readers to an ancient Jerusalem rich with history and customs and a culture that struggles to follow the one true God. This novel is well researched and well told.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars

  “Andrews breathes life into her characters, portraying Solomon, who was known to have over 700 wives and 300 concubines, as a very human man whose love for one woman stands above all others. Recommended to readers who enjoy biblical retellings that focus on male/female relationships, such as those of Jill Eileen Smith and Francine Rivers.”

  —Library Journal

  Praise for Love in a Broken Vessel

  “Andrews guides readers to fully grasp the ministry of Hosea. She creates biblical characters who are lively and vivacious and hold our attention. Their lives become a rich tapestry to find the one true God. The author is undoubtedly passionate about a believer’s quest to reconnect with God. This read exquisitely brings the Bible to life.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars, Top Pick

  “Mesu Andrews has pieced together Scripture’s truths with historical supposition through her masterful, research-based writing and captured the spiritual climate of those ancient days. Biblical fans will find it a powerful story of God’s redeeming love and forgiveness that’s as relevant now as it was then.”

  —CBA Retailers+Resources

  To my mothers:

  The mother who gave me life—thank you for loving me unconditionally. I see Jesus in you every day.

  The mother of my heart—thank you for choosing to love me. I learn to give by watching you.

  The mother who gave me her son—thank you for teaching him to love well. I’ll see you again someday in glory.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Endorsements

  Dedication

  Note to the Reader

  Character List

  Family Tree

  Prologue

  Part 1

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  Part 2

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  Part 3

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  Epilogue

  Author Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Mesu Andrews

  Back Ads

  Back Cover

  Note to the Reader

  Israel demanded a king, and Yahweh gave them Saul. When Saul failed them—as Yahweh warned he would—1 Samuel 13:14 says the Lord “sought out a man after his own heart.” David was that man, and Yahweh expressed His favor with a threefold covenant: David’s lineage, kingdom, and throne would endure forever (2 Sam. 7:16), even if his descendants needed discipline from time to time.

  The first discipline came after David’s son Solomon died, when civil war split the kingdom into two nations. The northern ten tribes retained the name Israel, with its eventual capital in Samaria. The southern nation became Judah, maintaining David’s descendants on the throne, with the capital in Jerusalem and the worship of Yahweh in His holy Temple.

  Israel’s King Ahab married the daughter of a Phoenician Baal priest, bringing pagan worship to the forefront of Israelite society. Though Judah’s King Jehoshaphat remained true to Yahweh, he couldn’t afford to make Israel his enemy, so the good king agreed to his son’s treaty marriage with Ahab’s daughter—a decision that shrouded two generations in the shadow of Jezebel.

  Character List

  Ahab eighth king of Israel; married Jezebel (Jizebaal) to seal treaty with Phoenicia

  Ahaziah/Hazi (king) ninth king of Israel; son of Ahab and Jezebel

  Ahaziah/Hazi (prince/king) sixth king of Judah; son of Jehoram and Athaliah; Sheba’s half brother

  Amariah high priest during Jehoshaphat’s reign and beginning of Jehoram’s reign

  Anna Jehoiada’s first wife (fictional)

  Asa (king) third king of Judah; Jehoshaphat’s abba

  Athaliah/Thaliah/Thali daughter of Ahab and Jezebel; married Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram; Hazi’s ima; Sheba’s guardian

  Elan priests’ assistant (fictional)

  Eliab helpful priest during Jehoiada’s early high priesthood (fictional)

  Elijah Yahweh’s prophet in Israel; died approximately ten years before Jehoram’s reign

  Elisha Yahweh’s prophet in Israel after Elijah’s ascension

  Gadara midwife from the City of David (fictional)

  Hobah Sheba’s favorite widow (fictional)

  Jehoash/Joash (prince) Hazi and Zibiah’s son

  Jehoiada second priest during Amariah’s high priesthood

  Jehoram (king) firstborn son of Jehoshaphat; fifth king of Judah; Athaliah’s husband; abba of Hazi and Sheba

  Jehoshaphat (king) fourth king of Judah; Jehoram’s abba

  Jehosheba/Sheba Jehoram’s daughter; Hazi’s half sister

  Jehozabad Zabad’s best friend and fellow Korahite (fictional)

&
nbsp; Jehu Israel’s general under King Joram

  Jezebel/Jizebaal daughter of Phoenician King Eth-Baal; wife of King Ahab; Gevirah of King Joram; ima of Queen Athaliah; mastermind of Baal’s rise to power in Israel/Judah

  Joram/Ram tenth king of Israel; son of Ahab and Jezebel; Athaliah’s younger brother

  Keilah young widow who is friends with Sheba (fictional)

  Mattan Baal high priest for Queen Athaliah

  Nathanael second priest to Jehoiada (fictional)

  Obadiah nobleman in Ahab’s administration; Yahweh’s prophet

  Zabad young guard made chief keeper of the threshold under Jehoiada (fictional)

  Zev captain of Judah’s royal Carite guard (fictional)

  Zibiah Hazi’s wife; Prince Jehoash’s ima

  Prologue

  2 KINGS 6:24–25

  Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. There was a great famine in the city.

  SAMARIA, ISRAEL, 843 BC

  From Jizebaal, Queen Mother—Gevirah—of Ram, King of Israel.

  To My Revered Daughter, Athaliah, Queen of Judah, Wife of King Jehoram.

  Greetings with blessings from almighty Baal Melkart, Rider of the Clouds.

  Our plan to expand Baal’s dominion will fail if your brother Ram continues to be duped by Elisha. Yahweh’s prophet convinced him that his god ended Aram’s recent siege on Samaria. Ram pledged his loyalty to Yahweh and destroyed my Baal temple and sacred stone in Samaria.

  I warned him that almighty Baal would have his vengeance, Athaliah.

  But he laughed.

  Now Elisha is building prophet schools and teaching others to blaspheme Baal Melkart, while our nation falters under Ram’s weak leadership.

  If the fear of Baal Melkart won’t bend the will of Israel’s king, perhaps the fear of Jizebaal will. Ram must know that every king is replaceable—even my son. It’s time I met my grandson Hazi. He’s proven more pliable than Ram and seems more courageous than your husband.

  I believe it’s time to involve your daughter Sheba as well. I know her preparations as Baal’s high priestess are nearly complete, but she may prove more useful in an alternate role. Bring her to me so I may judge her myself.

  Come quickly to our spring palace in Jezreel.

  Written by my own hand.

  1

  2 CHRONICLES 21:12

  Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet, which said: “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘You have not followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah.’”

  Late for the evening meal again, Princess Sheba hurried down the grand stairway, embers of fury still white-hot. A bumbling maid had dropped her favorite ruby earring and, after an enduring search, found it under Sheba’s couch. In order to make an example of the careless girl, Sheba denied all her handmaids their evening meal. Queen Athaliah would commend her strict discipline. She might even forgive Sheba’s tardiness when she noticed how beautifully the ruby earrings matched the scarlet head covering Abba had given her.

  Sheba was usually afforded these little indiscretions since she was King Jehoram’s favored daughter, but the looming pall in the dining hall made her wonder if she’d pushed too far. Keeping her head bowed, she tried to walk softly, but her new sandals clicked with every step across the marble tile.

  Finally reaching the dais, Sheba took her customary place at the women’s table beside Ima Thaliah. She kept her head low but felt every eye focused on the royal tables. Surely the eerie silence didn’t hinge on her late arrival.

  “You’re late, Jehosheba.” Ima Thaliah leaned close, whispered, and used Sheba’s full name—three sure signs of her anger. But the queen always maintained control, considering emotions a luxury of the weak. Her ochre-stained lips, now pressed into a thin red line, resembled a wound against her alabaster skin and screamed their warning.

  I’ll probably have to help the servants clear the tables.

  Ima often disciplined publicly if the offense was public in nature. Sheba’s hidden bruises were testimony of her private errors.

  Tonight, as on most other nights, two tables graced the elevated dais. Abba Jehoram sat at the head of the men’s table, his closest advisors on his left, and Ima Thaliah presided over the royal women. The remaining tables formed neat rows in the expansive dining hall, every place filled with the king’s council members, secondary wives and children, royal tutors, and Sheba’s cousins—sons of Abba’s deceased brothers. Three new tables had been added to make room for the cousins and their guards soon after Abba’s brothers died. The thought of clearing all those dishes made Sheba bristle even more about her lost earring.

  Perhaps my maids will lose two meals.

  “Well, are you going to read it or not?” The queen’s shrill voice split the silence, her eyes focused on a sealed scroll in Abba Jehoram’s hand.

  Sheba leaned close to whisper, “What’s happening?” but fell silent at Ima’s glare.

  “You read it.” Abba shoved the scroll back at his queen, bridging the small space between their tables. His hand trembled, the gold rings on his fingers clinking intolerably.

  While Ima broke the seal and unrolled the parchment, Sheba scanned the tables of the king’s royal guard. Her favorite brother, Hazi, sat among the hulking Carite soldiers, his eyes wide and staring, which sent her heart into a gallop. If even mischievous Hazi looked anxious, this scroll must be of grave concern indeed.

  With a huff, Ima Thaliah cast a disparaging glance at Abba Jehoram and cleared her throat. Sheba sat a little straighter, proud to be seated at the queen’s right hand. She wondered not for the first time if Abba realized his good fortune at marrying such a capable woman. Athaliah, like her ima Jizebaal, had been trained as Baal’s high priestess before her marriage, learning not only the religious rites but also how to read and write in three languages.

  “The letter begins like this,” Athaliah said. “‘You, King Jehoram, have not followed the ways of your abba Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah. But you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did.’”

  She slammed the scroll onto the table. “Really, Jehoram. I refuse to read any more. This scroll could not have been written by Elijah. He’s been dead for ten years. This is obviously a ploy of his student Elisha, trying to deceive you as he’s deceived my brother Ram. He wants to control the kings of both Israel and Judah.”

  Abba Jehoram grabbed the scroll from her and read the remaining message aloud. “‘You have murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better than you. So now Yahweh is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow.’” His voice faded, the last words barely a whisper. “‘You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.’” The scroll dropped from his hands, clattering to the marble floor.

  Sheba’s thoughts raced with her heart. What prophet would dare threaten the king of Judah and his entire household? She glanced at Ima Thaliah, expecting the placid, granite calm.

  Instead, her red, mottled neck showed raw fury. “Obadiah!”

  The old nobleman rose with effort from the tufted cushion at his designated table, his gait labored, his back bent with age. “I am at your service, my queen,” he said, kneeling, head bowed. Sheba noticed he’d attempted to comb his thinning white hair over a bald spot.

  Ima regained her composure, her voice a dangerous purr. “Are you at my service, Obadiah, or do you still serve Yahweh’s prophets as you once served them in my abba Ahab’s court?”

  Obadiah lifted his gray head to meet her gaze. “I was given the scroll by one of Yahweh’s prophets, it is true, and I delivered it to my lord Jehoram. But I serve King Jehoram and his family faithfully, my queen. King Ahab sent me to Judah to save my life,
and I will not betray his favor.”

  “He sent you to Judah because my ima Jizebaal planned to kill you with the rest of Yahweh’s conspiring prophets.”

  “Enough, Athaliah! Enough!” Abba Jehoram slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone in the hall and overturning his glass of wine. A thin film of sweat formed on his upper lip and forehead, and he was trembling head to toe.

  Obadiah slowly resumed his bow, the only one in the hall seemingly unaffected by the prophet’s message.

  Abba Jehoram stood, thrusting the parchment toward the nobleman. “Look at the scroll, Obadiah. Is it the writing of the prophet Elijah or not?” Abba’s purple robe dragged through the spilled wine.

  He didn’t notice, but Sheba did. The red stain soaked upward—like blood. Was it a bad omen? She cast a glance at Baal’s high priest, Mattan, who sat on Abba’s left as his primary advisor. He was also responsible for Sheba’s magical arts training as a Baal high priestess. He’d taught her to read signs in everything—a bird’s flight, bug bites, even spilled wine—but the bald, beady-eyed priest seemed as preoccupied with the mysterious document as was the king.

  Obadiah rose, reached for the scroll, and studied it. “I saw Elijah’s writing only once, but as I recall, these markings look similar.”

  “Similar or the same, man? Is this message authentic? Will the prophecy be fulfilled?”

  The nobleman’s features softened as he returned the scroll. “I believe the message is authentic, King Jehoram, but Yahweh is merciful and forgiving. Would you like me to summon His high priest? Amariah can speak with you about seeking Yahweh as your abba Jehoshaphat did.”

  “How dare you!” Ima Thaliah stood, placing a protective hand on Abba’s shoulder. “He does not need advice from the priest of the god who is trying to destroy him! Now leave—before I do to you what Gevirah Jizebaal should have done years ago.”

  Obadiah resumed his humble bow, quickly backing out of the hall, while Ima coaxed Abba back to his embroidered cushion and knelt beside him. “I will not have you bullied by these Gileadites. These prophets from east of the Jordan can’t be trusted, and their Yahweh is no match for Baal Melkart. Yahweh has battled the gods of Canaan since the days of your abba Jehoshaphat, but Yahweh’s power is waning.” Ima glanced in Mattan’s direction. “Tell him there’s nothing to worry about.”