When we heard again at Mass recently the story of Ahab, Jezebel, and the poor vineyard owner, Naboth, the sadness made me wonder. Do you ever wonder? Why, Ahab? What on earth were you thinking? Deeper still, why does evil get any bit of a leash at all, any ounce of success in this world? Quick summary: Ahab wants the guy’s place, Naboth says no, and then wicked-wifey-Jezebel says leave it to me, writes some letters in the king’s name and gets the guy falsely accused and stoned to death. Presto-sicko, enjoy your new home, Ahab! Is that how life really goes?
Why do bad things continue to happen? We see it all around us, and it can be quite discouraging. Here’s what struck me, though.
You can’t defeat what you can’t see
Could it be that foul things are allowed to come to a head, suffering to ensue, rough times, tragedy, even, so that worse does not follow? Pain is felt, agony even, so that the real, underlying issues or hidden problems can finally be seen and addressed, maybe? I believe it to be so.
This, at least, is encouraging to me. What about you?
Ahab was a fool, it’s easy to say. But, he couldn’t see it until it was staring him right in the face. I love the line he gives Elijah the prophet when he shows up. “Have you found me out, my enemy?” I can just imagine this scene, as his evil is brought to light.
Also, the people needed to see. So they could, literally, throw Jezebel out of a window to her death and devouring by dogs. Not a pretty picture. You can find, in the Second Book of Kings, Chapter 9, the rest of the story about Jezebel.
Do you also remember Macbeth, and the prophesy, “When Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane”..? Oh, how could an entire forest move? This is what the ambitious, overcome-with-evil Macbeth thought to himself. His “Lady,” a chilling echo in time of Ahab’s wife, eggs him on, and both get their tragic due when the spears cut from the trees of that prophesied wood draw near in the attack on the castle. Evil blindly blunders forward, unable to see its own imminent demise. Can we see it, though?
The point is: Evil is its own undoing
Good does win, but it takes time. Let’s not forget. Let’s remind each other. Let’s tell and read stories to constantly drive home this point. Don’t abandon hope. Don’t abandon the good, the true, the beautiful! Evil will out, as they say. The snake revealing itself to strike the heel will finally get its head crushed. See and believe.
These are themes and this a hope I pray comes through in my writing. If you’re following along, maybe you can find a trace in the latest chapter of my serial novel, Blood of Relics, available now for paid subscribers (and to be released for all in its entirety by year-end, I hope.)
This story spans the entire globe, but if you’re looking for something closer to home, check out my latest book, available on Kindle or hardback announced in this post:
And remember to keep the light burning, keep the fire of hope ablaze which may seem like folly to fools like Ahab, but will carry us through to the happy end.
Michael