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| Valley of Fire, Nevada |
Our society and culture very much advocates the Jezebel way of doing things - women being control freaks, dominating over men, doing it our way, we don't have to submit to anyone. And anyone who gets in our way, we are quick to destroy. We worship all sorts of idols and sacrifice so much in order to please ourselves. I didn't realize how much women as a society and culture resemble Jezebel until I read this chapter. This is very bad.
I was on the road to being like Jezebel and certainly was in my first 2 marriages. But, in this 3rd marriage, learning to submit to the authority of headship of being leader in our household to my husband as it says to do in the Bible, it has been very challenging, but also rewarding. It is my nature to want to control and only by God's strength and daily leaning on Him that I can submit to my husband's authority, whether I agree or disagree. How miraculous and wonderful that is to do it God's way. Certainly not the easy way, but it's a way that brings blessings and ultimately peace.
2. Read 1 Kings 16:31. Then read Deuteronomy 7:1-15.
- 1 Kings 16:31 - 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. (NASB)
- Deuteronomy 7:1-15 - 7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess, and has cleared away many nations before you, the Hittite and the Girgashite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than you,2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant (treaty) with them nor show mercy and compassion to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son; 4 for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled and burn against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5 But this is how you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire. 6 For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people for His own possession [that is, His very special treasure].7 “The Lord did not love you and choose you because you were greater in number than any of the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed (bought) you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.9 Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who is keeping His covenant and His [steadfast] loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, by destroying them; He will not hesitate with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.11 Therefore, you shall keep (follow, obey) the commandment and the statutes and judgments (precepts) which I am commanding you today. Promises of God 12 “Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the [steadfast] loving kindness which He swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your [olive] oil, the offspring of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you.14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren (childless, infertile) among you or among your cattle.15 The Lord will take away from you all sickness; and He will not subject you to any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will impose them on all [those] who hate you. (AMP)
a. Why was it important for the people of God to obey His instructions for them?
God really wants to bless His people, to keep them from harm, disease, protect them. If they are disobedient, He'll withdraw His hand of blessing and must discipline. God would rather not need to discipline His people.
b. How does God feel about our disobedience to His Word? Also consider Isaiah 30:1.
- Isaiah 30:1 - Woe to the rebellious children! This is the Lord’s declaration. They carry out a plan, but not Mine; they make an alliance, but against My will, piling sin on top of sin. (HCSB)
3. While God held Ahab responsible for his own decisions just as He did Adam in the Garden of Eden, it is important to see the contribution of a wife's influence on her husband, just as we saw how Eve and Sarah had great influence on their husbands. Certainly we can conclude that Jezebel also had great influence on her husband as well. How can we be positive influences on our husbands? Prayerfully, think about ways that you can influence your husband for good and not for evil?
We can be positive influences on our husbands by staying close to God through obeying God. How can we do this? We must hide God's Word in our hearts - meaning study Scripture, memorize Scripture and also, we must take actions to apply the Bible to our lives as we understand it. Also, we must pray and ask God to open our own eyes to our own sin and allow God & the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
We must be continually open to God's correction and discipline, but also do things in love like in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.) (NIV). It is challenging to love in every day situations, especially when we are emotionally charged in not a good way. But if we take God's Word as true, and it is because I've tried to prove it wrong many times and failed. Loving God's way is not easy. Submitting to our husbands is not easy because it's contrary to our society & culture, as well as to our sinful natures.
Though as a Christian, the Spirit Man in me is perfect, but my soul, my human being is not perfect. So we must love as Christ tells us to love our husbands and to depend on Jesus to help us do this because in our own strength, we cannot do this. Or, at least I cannot. We're to encourage our husbands and willingly submit to our husbands as heads of our households. We are to trust the Lord through our husbands that even if they make a mistake, God will still honor our submission.
In Romans 8:28 - 28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (AMP) that is says that God will still work things out for His glory. So, yes, things may seem messed up at this moment, but we're to give God the control through our husbands. We are to have a quiet and gentle spirit and that can win our husbands towards the Lord or to draw closer to God. The Bible tells us that we are helpmates to our husbands.
We must be continually open to God's correction and discipline, but also do things in love like in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.) (NIV). It is challenging to love in every day situations, especially when we are emotionally charged in not a good way. But if we take God's Word as true, and it is because I've tried to prove it wrong many times and failed. Loving God's way is not easy. Submitting to our husbands is not easy because it's contrary to our society & culture, as well as to our sinful natures.
Though as a Christian, the Spirit Man in me is perfect, but my soul, my human being is not perfect. So we must love as Christ tells us to love our husbands and to depend on Jesus to help us do this because in our own strength, we cannot do this. Or, at least I cannot. We're to encourage our husbands and willingly submit to our husbands as heads of our households. We are to trust the Lord through our husbands that even if they make a mistake, God will still honor our submission.
In Romans 8:28 - 28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (AMP) that is says that God will still work things out for His glory. So, yes, things may seem messed up at this moment, but we're to give God the control through our husbands. We are to have a quiet and gentle spirit and that can win our husbands towards the Lord or to draw closer to God. The Bible tells us that we are helpmates to our husbands.
I know that my husband is greatly influenced and encouraged by me when I don't having a whining, complaining spirit that is argumentative, but when there is conflict, we can rationally and reasonably talk in good tones of voices, being respectful of each other. I know it also encourages my husband when I am helpful and letting him have his own way. If I should disagree with him, to do this in a gentle, nice way instead of controlling and confrontational.
Tone of voice, body language, attitude make a huge difference. No use of sarcasm, but a humble, willing spirit. Put it this way, it takes all of me to lean on God because sometimes I just don't feel like this. Also, there are periods of time when my husband needs space to cool down, so I need to give him this space without doing it with a bad attitude. I have a lot of work to go, but I am making headway.
Tone of voice, body language, attitude make a huge difference. No use of sarcasm, but a humble, willing spirit. Put it this way, it takes all of me to lean on God because sometimes I just don't feel like this. Also, there are periods of time when my husband needs space to cool down, so I need to give him this space without doing it with a bad attitude. I have a lot of work to go, but I am making headway.
4. Luke 6:43-45 (“You don’t get wormy
apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of
the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own
life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your
true being brims over into true words and deeds.) (MSG) explains so much about "roots and fruits!" It tells us this: What is truly in the heart (root) will eventually come out of us (fruit). The words that spill out of our mouths and the deeds we do are basically just the fruit of the root. Behavior is the natural result of what is in our hearts. Our behavior can only lastingly be changed if our hearts are changed first. Jezebel had bad attitudes and actions because her heart was messed up. She was just living out of her true self through her words and ways.
Consider what these verses say to us in regard to our heart motives, especially as a woman. Read the verses and record your thoughts as you consider the "roots of your fruit." What can we learn about our own hearts?
- Luke 6:43-45 - 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (NIV)
- I need to work on rooting out bad attitudes because when I'm tired and upset with my husband or kids, some vile things come out and that shouldn't be. If it were not in me, then it wouldn't come out, right? Lots of work needed here.
- Psalm 19:14 - May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (NLT)
- This is my continual prayer and a verse I constantly meditate on. If I look back at the years, I see a change, but sometimes day to day, I do not. I want God to infiltrate every part of me and that especially when I'm weak, tired, upset, worn out, that the only things that come out of me are the sweet and good things of God and not the vile things I've kept inside of me. For those things, I need to repent and get healing from so they are no longer a part of my life. Working on this.
- Jeremiah 17:9 - “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? (NASB) - God continues to use the Holy Spirit to allow me to be in situations that reveal the nature of my heart. These are opportunities for me to repent and get healing for all those sins so they do not further hinder me. It's amazing how much wickedness is inside of me. But, God does want me on a "short leash" so that that I am not allowing anything between Him and me, so that He can powerfully work in my life. Not easy, but definitely worth it.
5. What encouragement does God's Word give us in regard to the sinfulness of our hearts?
- Psalm 32:5 - Then I let
it all out; I said, “I’ll make a clean breast
of my failures to
God.” Suddenly the pressure was
gone—my guilt dissolved, my sin
disappeared. (MSG)
- The Bible says we don't have to hide and pretend we don't sin, even the best of us that others may think are really good, we are not. God wants us to acknowledge ALL our sins, no matter how bad. There is nothing so bad that Jesus didn't die on the Cross for and God is always willing to forgive us. But we have to acknowledge that it is sin and ask God for forgiveness. And this is really important, but then to get healing for all the stuff that that sin has caused and going back through all our ancestors. This is how we make sin right because Jesus died for those sins and He makes it right for us. The devil wants us to feel ashamed and embarrassed, that we cannot reveal our sins to God, that they cannot be forgiven, but that's a lie. You also don't need to go to a Priest to confess, because JESUS is the bridge to God and we need only go to Him. However, it would also do us good in many situations (not all) to also ask forgiveness of those whom we've offended, when it's wise and God tells us to do this.
- Psalm 51:17 - The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (KJV)
- Sin separates us from God and God wants us to truly understand that. Sin is not to be taken lightly and no matter what degree of sin from a white lie to murder, it's all sin to God. Sin is sin to Him, even if we humans place sin in varying degrees of badness. Satan will never go to God for forgiveness, even though he knows it's sin. That's the big difference. We can use Jesus to bridge that gap between us and God caused by sin. We can choose to take that gift freely or not at all. Our choice. Not God's choice. He set the boundary and gives us free will to choose not only Salvation through Jesus, but also that once we have Salvation from eternal damnation, that we can continually live in right standing with Him.
- 1 John 1:8-9 - 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NIV)
- I love that the nature of God is love and He loves infinitely. We don't have to pay penance or anything or need a priest to absolve of us sin, only Jesus. How wonderful that is.
KEEPING IT PERSONAL JOURNAL
Write any thoughts or convictions that you have in regard to this lesson. What personal lessons concerning Jezebel will you apply in your own life? How will you be more intentional as a woman of God?
I'm encouraged that though I have sinned so much and that I've made many bad choices, that if I'm willing to acknowledge my sins, God is able to and willing to forgive me. It doesn't mean I don't face the negative consequences of my choices, but somehow doing this brings about a peace I would not otherwise have. I do not need to control everything. God is in control, even when things seem to be falling apart at times.
I can submit to my husband and do, but it must be out of love. Ahab did eventually recognize his sin and acknowledge it before God, but he did reap the negative consequences, too. I think I will meet Ahab in Heaven one day, but not Jezebel because she was always about herself. She was her own god. Too bad Ahab didn't take the stands he should against Jezebel before it was too late.
I can influence my husband positively for Christ. But, I must let God and the Holy Spirit do the work in my husband's heart to change him to be more like Jesus. I am not to play the Holy Spirit. Just as God is patient with me, I must be patient too with my husband and kids.
I can submit to my husband and do, but it must be out of love. Ahab did eventually recognize his sin and acknowledge it before God, but he did reap the negative consequences, too. I think I will meet Ahab in Heaven one day, but not Jezebel because she was always about herself. She was her own god. Too bad Ahab didn't take the stands he should against Jezebel before it was too late.
I can influence my husband positively for Christ. But, I must let God and the Holy Spirit do the work in my husband's heart to change him to be more like Jesus. I am not to play the Holy Spirit. Just as God is patient with me, I must be patient too with my husband and kids.
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