The humans Jezebel and Ahab (Part 3)
First lets see who this Jezebel really is and what her character is. For that we need to go back to the old testament, to the days of king Ahab. Read 1 Kings 16 till 1 Kings 22.
And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
1 Kings 16:31
This is the first time that Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyros, is mentioned in the Bible. The story of Jezebel and Ahab contains many patterns in behavior where we can learn a lot from. First there is seduction. This seduction causes spiritual blindness and deafness, when someone falls for it. Jezebel seduced Ahab and he fell for it. Then there’s the next step in the process, which is gaining more authority by marrying Ahab. The fact that Ahab married the daughter of the king of Tyrus wasn’t the bad thing. The bad thing was that she was a priest of Baal, a worshiper of idols, and that she had no intention to turn her back to those idols, to serve the One and only God. Once Jezebel was married to Ahab, she gained more authority, since she now was the queen of Israel. But did she respect the (God given) authority of her husband? No. She made him a slave to her will and made him worship idols.
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
1 Kings 17:1
Despite of the fact the king Ahab was blinded for the truth, he did knew that he was in violation with God’s word when he married Jezebel, a priestess of Baal. Because of his blindness, he started to serve and worship Baal. Therefore he came under God’s judgment and God didn’t allow the rain to come for several years.
For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.
1 Kings 17:14
God is working in and through the lives of those who are righteous in His eyes. He will never forget those who are truly willing to follow Him, no matter what the cost. The anointing shall flow through the lives of these people. Regardless of the leaders who fell for Jezebel, the work of God shall always continue through the lives of the ones who remain standing.
Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”
1 Kings 17:22-24
Now we know that God can do miracles, but satan can do miracles as well. There are only a few miracles that only God can do. God is the only one who has the power to bring people back from the dead. That’s why this miracle is so special. Because God did the miracle, the people knew immediately that is was God and that the words of Elijah were spoken on behalf of Him. Unlike Jezebel, God doesn’t spent much time explaining that He is who He is. He just shows them. Even in the times of drought, He looked after His people while Jezebel was busy promoting herself. After these years of drought, God thought it was enough and so He sent Elijah back to Ahab.
Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:17-19
Notice that attitude! After ignoring Gods requirements by marrying Jezebel and serving and worshiping Baal, after years of great drought, Ahab still approached this messenger of God with an attitude of pride. Unbelievable. It is exactly how someone responds who’s influenced by Jezebel. It is the spirit which we know as the spirit of Ahab, always blaming someone else and not taking any responsibility. But God did not settle for that attitude. Again He didn’t spent much time explaining Himself, unlike Jezebel, He just showed that He is who He is.
And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
1 Kings 18:36-39
The only reason why Elijah did what he did, the way he did it, was because he knew Who appointed him and Who sent him. Therefore he was able to use his God give authority, and God answered by FIRE. While Jezebel did all her blah blah, while nothing happened, God came and just showed His glory to His people. It is very interesting to see that the aim of God was to turn the hearts of His people back to Him, by sending His FIRE. God didn’t came with the attitude like “I’ll show them Who’s boss”, but to win the hearts of His people. That means relationship. O He longs so much for His people to have an intimate relationship with Him. The FIRE that He sent from heaven, was so impressive, that His people immediately recognized that He is God. What was their response? They fell on their faces and they worshiped Him! The FIRE wasn’t a result of the actions of people, it was a result of the God Who longed for His people. The FIRE is sent to purify and cleanse Gods people.
Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.
1 Kings 18:44,45
True worship and abasement, like the way God’s people responded, will always cause the rain to come. The rain stands for restoration. If we respond in the right way to Gods fire, to the cleansing and purifying process, then restoration will be the result. If we don’t, we have to start over again, repent again and go through the cleansing and purifying process again, again and again, until we surrender completely and allow God to change us from the inside.
And then there’s that remarkable small cloud. It would be meaningless in the eyes of many. If we only look with our natural eyes, it will appear meaningless. But as soon as we start to open our spiritual eyes, we will see the great rain that is coming our way. Every new work of Him comes as something that seems meaningless, but the power that’s released out of that… WOW! We should better be awake and alert! Remember, God will not move unless we will repent and clean His house. If our lives and churches remain unchanged, then we’re just giving God lip service.
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
1 Kings 19:1-3
Here we see a very typical response when Jezebel is exposed. As soon as her evil works are exposed, she becomes hysterical. The first thing she does is to make you believe that it is not her who’s wrong, but you. And she can be very convincing with that! The next thing she does is using witchcraft (control, manipulation and intimidation). Usually she will use intimidation to scare the true messengers of God off. Elijah became scared and fled.
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19:11,12
Most of the churches (including their leaders) are so impressed with all the great signs and miracles, that they can easily be misguided. Why? Because many did not learn yet who to distinguish the voice of God among everything that happens. And really, that voice is the thing that matters most. That means relationship. When all these great things started to happen, Elijah was impressed, but he didn’t notice God in any of it. After the FIRE the voice came. And when the voice came, Elijah immediately noticed. Again this is a beautiful image of how God works in this present day as well. At the moment that we get at the end of our own abilities, and are willing to surrender to God, then He will step in. It is hard to hear His voice, as long as we are in the cleansing and purifying FIRE. But as soon as we’ve been through that, the small voice will become clear to us. That is what really matters. The Father, speaking to and with His children.
And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” 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 pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.
1 Kings 21:1-10
This is what we call the true character of Jezebel. Fortunately, we still have Naboth’s in these days, who aren’t willing to fall for the tricks of the enemy. Those who remain standing, in the midst of all the craziness and storms. But that brings up the attitude of those monsters Jezebel and Ahab. As soon as someone refuses to bow before their seduction, their attitude changes and becomes different. Ahab will go in the victim role, while Jezebel turns into an hysterical witch, willing to destroy and kill. A few things that point out are the fact that Jezebel uses the name (which is equal to the authority) of king Ahab. Out of his name she orders Naboth to be (publicly) humiliated and accused of things he didn’t do. She uses blasphemy to justify her orders, which typically is the behavior of the religious spirit. Then she orders to kill him, outside the congregation, as a despised and rejected man. All because he was willing to remain standing for what God had told him. And everything was done in Ahab’s name. So while Jezebel did everything, all responsibility was for Ahab.
And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.”
1 Kings 21:23,24
This is how she ended once, soon she will end like this again. God had enough of this. These games of Jezebel must and will stop. What does this mean for these days and for the current situations? For Jezebel it means exactly what’s described in Revelation 2:
Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Now is the time to wake up. Every ministry that is build by someone who’s demonized by the spirit of Jezebel will fall and never come back. At this point it may be a big ministry with a lot of followers, but don’t be deceived and look how they will end. The people who are demonized by the spirit of Ahab will find their selves in great tribulation, their ministry will end as well, unless they will repent of their deeds. It is already happening in these current days and remains until every work from the enemy is destroyed.
Thus says the LORD: “ Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.
Jeremiah 17:5,6
And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
1 Kings 16:31
This is the first time that Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyros, is mentioned in the Bible. The story of Jezebel and Ahab contains many patterns in behavior where we can learn a lot from. First there is seduction. This seduction causes spiritual blindness and deafness, when someone falls for it. Jezebel seduced Ahab and he fell for it. Then there’s the next step in the process, which is gaining more authority by marrying Ahab. The fact that Ahab married the daughter of the king of Tyrus wasn’t the bad thing. The bad thing was that she was a priest of Baal, a worshiper of idols, and that she had no intention to turn her back to those idols, to serve the One and only God. Once Jezebel was married to Ahab, she gained more authority, since she now was the queen of Israel. But did she respect the (God given) authority of her husband? No. She made him a slave to her will and made him worship idols.
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
1 Kings 17:1
Despite of the fact the king Ahab was blinded for the truth, he did knew that he was in violation with God’s word when he married Jezebel, a priestess of Baal. Because of his blindness, he started to serve and worship Baal. Therefore he came under God’s judgment and God didn’t allow the rain to come for several years.
For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.
1 Kings 17:14
God is working in and through the lives of those who are righteous in His eyes. He will never forget those who are truly willing to follow Him, no matter what the cost. The anointing shall flow through the lives of these people. Regardless of the leaders who fell for Jezebel, the work of God shall always continue through the lives of the ones who remain standing.
Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”
1 Kings 17:22-24
Now we know that God can do miracles, but satan can do miracles as well. There are only a few miracles that only God can do. God is the only one who has the power to bring people back from the dead. That’s why this miracle is so special. Because God did the miracle, the people knew immediately that is was God and that the words of Elijah were spoken on behalf of Him. Unlike Jezebel, God doesn’t spent much time explaining that He is who He is. He just shows them. Even in the times of drought, He looked after His people while Jezebel was busy promoting herself. After these years of drought, God thought it was enough and so He sent Elijah back to Ahab.
Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:17-19
Notice that attitude! After ignoring Gods requirements by marrying Jezebel and serving and worshiping Baal, after years of great drought, Ahab still approached this messenger of God with an attitude of pride. Unbelievable. It is exactly how someone responds who’s influenced by Jezebel. It is the spirit which we know as the spirit of Ahab, always blaming someone else and not taking any responsibility. But God did not settle for that attitude. Again He didn’t spent much time explaining Himself, unlike Jezebel, He just showed that He is who He is.
And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
1 Kings 18:36-39
The only reason why Elijah did what he did, the way he did it, was because he knew Who appointed him and Who sent him. Therefore he was able to use his God give authority, and God answered by FIRE. While Jezebel did all her blah blah, while nothing happened, God came and just showed His glory to His people. It is very interesting to see that the aim of God was to turn the hearts of His people back to Him, by sending His FIRE. God didn’t came with the attitude like “I’ll show them Who’s boss”, but to win the hearts of His people. That means relationship. O He longs so much for His people to have an intimate relationship with Him. The FIRE that He sent from heaven, was so impressive, that His people immediately recognized that He is God. What was their response? They fell on their faces and they worshiped Him! The FIRE wasn’t a result of the actions of people, it was a result of the God Who longed for His people. The FIRE is sent to purify and cleanse Gods people.
Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.
1 Kings 18:44,45
True worship and abasement, like the way God’s people responded, will always cause the rain to come. The rain stands for restoration. If we respond in the right way to Gods fire, to the cleansing and purifying process, then restoration will be the result. If we don’t, we have to start over again, repent again and go through the cleansing and purifying process again, again and again, until we surrender completely and allow God to change us from the inside.
And then there’s that remarkable small cloud. It would be meaningless in the eyes of many. If we only look with our natural eyes, it will appear meaningless. But as soon as we start to open our spiritual eyes, we will see the great rain that is coming our way. Every new work of Him comes as something that seems meaningless, but the power that’s released out of that… WOW! We should better be awake and alert! Remember, God will not move unless we will repent and clean His house. If our lives and churches remain unchanged, then we’re just giving God lip service.
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
1 Kings 19:1-3
Here we see a very typical response when Jezebel is exposed. As soon as her evil works are exposed, she becomes hysterical. The first thing she does is to make you believe that it is not her who’s wrong, but you. And she can be very convincing with that! The next thing she does is using witchcraft (control, manipulation and intimidation). Usually she will use intimidation to scare the true messengers of God off. Elijah became scared and fled.
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19:11,12
Most of the churches (including their leaders) are so impressed with all the great signs and miracles, that they can easily be misguided. Why? Because many did not learn yet who to distinguish the voice of God among everything that happens. And really, that voice is the thing that matters most. That means relationship. When all these great things started to happen, Elijah was impressed, but he didn’t notice God in any of it. After the FIRE the voice came. And when the voice came, Elijah immediately noticed. Again this is a beautiful image of how God works in this present day as well. At the moment that we get at the end of our own abilities, and are willing to surrender to God, then He will step in. It is hard to hear His voice, as long as we are in the cleansing and purifying FIRE. But as soon as we’ve been through that, the small voice will become clear to us. That is what really matters. The Father, speaking to and with His children.
And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” 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 pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.
1 Kings 21:1-10
This is what we call the true character of Jezebel. Fortunately, we still have Naboth’s in these days, who aren’t willing to fall for the tricks of the enemy. Those who remain standing, in the midst of all the craziness and storms. But that brings up the attitude of those monsters Jezebel and Ahab. As soon as someone refuses to bow before their seduction, their attitude changes and becomes different. Ahab will go in the victim role, while Jezebel turns into an hysterical witch, willing to destroy and kill. A few things that point out are the fact that Jezebel uses the name (which is equal to the authority) of king Ahab. Out of his name she orders Naboth to be (publicly) humiliated and accused of things he didn’t do. She uses blasphemy to justify her orders, which typically is the behavior of the religious spirit. Then she orders to kill him, outside the congregation, as a despised and rejected man. All because he was willing to remain standing for what God had told him. And everything was done in Ahab’s name. So while Jezebel did everything, all responsibility was for Ahab.
And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.”
1 Kings 21:23,24
This is how she ended once, soon she will end like this again. God had enough of this. These games of Jezebel must and will stop. What does this mean for these days and for the current situations? For Jezebel it means exactly what’s described in Revelation 2:
Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Now is the time to wake up. Every ministry that is build by someone who’s demonized by the spirit of Jezebel will fall and never come back. At this point it may be a big ministry with a lot of followers, but don’t be deceived and look how they will end. The people who are demonized by the spirit of Ahab will find their selves in great tribulation, their ministry will end as well, unless they will repent of their deeds. It is already happening in these current days and remains until every work from the enemy is destroyed.
Thus says the LORD: “ Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.
Jeremiah 17:5,6
