Have you ever met anyone with the name Jezebel? I doubt it. Most parents, Christian or not, would probably not name their daughter Jezebel. This demonstrates how a woman who lived nearly 3000 years ago could live in such a way that her name is forever associated with all kinds of wickedness.
We are first introduced to Jezebel in 1 Kings 16:31. In this paragraph, the text describes how Ahab became king over Samaria and acted very wickedly. As a matter in fact, he was so wicked that the text declares,
"Thus Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. (1 Kings 16:33b)."
What turned him away from God? Notice a previous verse:
"It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him (1 Kng 16:31)."
He married a Sidonian woman whose father’s name meant, "With Baal." Even the name Jezebel has the name Baal built into it. In her native tongue it meant something like "What is Baal?" So is it any wonder that Ahab himself began to worship the same Pagan deities as his wife? The story tells us how Jezebel destroyed the prophets of Yahweh and sponsored Baal worship along with some 450 prophets of Baal. The text later makes it clear that she was a driving force behind Ahab’s favoritism of Baal worship,
"Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him (1 Kng 21:25)."
She proved to be the undoing of her husband, Ahab, and along with her husband contributed to the wrath of God coming down on Samaria with the Assyrian invasion of Samaria. He died an inglorious death. The dogs licked up his blood, and literally had Jezebel for dinner just as Elijah had prophesied.
So is it any wonder, when we come to the New Testament, that Paul tells us that when we marry, we should marry "in the Lord (1 Cor 7:39)?" Even a man like Solomon fell into the same trap as Ahab. His wives turned his heart away from the Lord.
There is a clear lesson here for anyone considering marriage. Do not even consider marrying a person who is not a faithful Christian. You will add an unnecessary burden to your faith. You can become one flesh, but you will not be one heart or mind. God, who is at the center of your life cannot be at the center of your marriage. Your marriage will be unbalanced unless you balance it out by leaning toward your unbelieving mate away from God. Once you start down that slippery slope, it is hard to get back. Some never return. So marry someone that you can not only become one flesh with, but also one heart, one mind, and one soul. Marry someone who will help you get closer to God, and get to Heaven, not someone who could hinder you.