Overthrowing the Jezebel Spirit 1

Esther 1:20-22

²⁰ So when the king’s decree is made and proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, extensive as it is, all wives will give honor to their husbands, high and low.

²¹ This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did what Memucan proposed.

²² He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each in its own script and to every people in their own language, saying that every man should rule in his own house and speak there in the language of his own people…AMP

There are examples in the Bible of devoted women who were submitted to God through their honor and devotion to their husbands as the head of their households. I can think of Abigail, said to have been a woman of beauty and of good understanding, and who before she married David, had already shown submission to her first husband, Nabal even though he was considered a fool (1 Samuel 25:3).

There was also Ruth, who forsook her former ways and gods to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and her God (Ruth 1:16) to the land where she met Boaz, a prominent man of God who became her husband, and to whom her devotion and submission as unto God, gave Ruth an important position in the land and as an ancestor of King David (Ruth 2-3).

But there are also examples of women who from the beginning of creation have tried to usurp the position of head of the house from their husbands. This position represents God as the head, but the lack of honor of these women was one in which through their positions of authority, some could have and others did cause an avalanche of disrespect, abuse, rebellion, witchcraft, and an outright violation of divine order and disregard for the righteous judgments of God in the hearts of all those under their influence.

This time I’m thinking first of Eve, who made an executive decision to disobey the command of God to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without consulting first with her husband Adam. This resulted in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. There was also Vashti, who refused to come forth at the command of King Xerxes to be shown as his beautiful queen for all to see. Because her disobedience seemed to have been her habit, this last decision was the catalyst that caused the king to divorce her for he was put in a compromising position in front of all the people in the land high and low. One other example is Jezebel who would not take no for an answer and would murder and steal to get what she wanted for her and her family and led many away from God throughout the kingdom in order to worship her god Baal instead.

These actions were gradually one worse than the other and gave entrance to the spirit of Jezebel in the land. This spirit commands power and authority whether it is appointed or not. It also disregards other positions of authority and threatens when it feels threatened. Submission and honor are the operative opposites of the ways of this spirit—and it is one of the three-part deity of the Antichrist spirit (religion and mammon are the other two parts). Through manipulation, the spirit of Jezebel wants to rule everything in a perverted way and leads all under its influence away from God, communion, and intimacy with Him, and from the ways of His Kingdom. 

Surprisingly, many in the body of Christ are found with different degrees of this influence in their lives which came from generational sins of rebellion and perversion. Under its influence, these people try to manipulate their way through their circumstances and also manipulate the word of God and His timing to get the things they want without fully paying the price required to obtain them. When the spirit of Jezebel is at work in a person, it is to derail them from God’s path and destiny for them. This spirit has also been found causing chaos in the body of Christ to overpower established authority and order and when not detected and dealt with, has caused great damage in the lives of God’s children, in ministries, and families.

Revelation 2:20-23 in The Message version speaks of the character of this spirit and the outrageous things done in the body of Christ when gone undetected. It says,

^20-23 “But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you." The Message.

In addition, pride and haughtiness can be found in the Jezebel spirit which leads to the undermining of the admonitions and a lack of respect of those in positions of authority who, according to Romans 13:1 are placed in such positions by God. For this reason, humbling ourselves and not grow weary as we continue to act nobly and do right is important for in due season we shall reap the reward God has promised to us (Galatians 6:9). 

Romans 8:6 admonishes us to live a life led by the Spirit of the Lord which does not gratify the desires of our sinful nature (passed down from other generations and that has not been washed with the water of His Word and burned in His holy and purifying fire). Psalm 51:17 says that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and He does not despise a broken and contrite heart when, according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 comes to Him for help with repentance asking for His help to turn from our wicked ways so He can hear our prayers and heal our lands (our lives, families, finances, ministries, businesses, relationships, etc.). To Him alone be all the glory.∎