Don’t Just Stand There in Your Armor! It’s Time to Fight! What do Pharaoh, Jezebel & Haman have in common? Pride led to their destruction, and their hatred for God and His people kept them from repenting. What do these people (or their spirits acting in other people) have to do with you? Maybe nothing, but you may be facing one just as many of us are now. “Go Down, Moses” Pharaoh This ruler of the known world at that time considered himself to be god on earth. The account written in Exodus 1 tells us he didn’t know Joseph, had treasure cities built for himself, dealt shrewdly with the Israelites to enslave them, afflict them, and killed their newborn sons because he feared how strong they would become outside of his rule. God spared one particular son, Moses, and raised him up to be the deliverer of His people. *** I’d like to point out here that Moses was not the only Godly person to stand up to Pharaoh or refuse to obey Pharaoh over the Lord. The midwives, Moses’s parents, Miriam (who, as a child, spoke to the pharaoh’s daughter to offer to find a nursemaid – their mother – for Moses) and many less famous characters all played a part in God’s plan. You may not be called to be a Moses and may be called to be a midwife, but your calling is important in God’s plan. There are no insignificant people in the body of Christ! *** Pharaoh had many chances to do what was right before God sent plagues to Egypt. He did not have to give an order to commit infanticide. He did not have to enslave or oppress his subjects. He did not have to insist he was above the law and all gods. When Moses and Aaron appeared before the pharaoh, they told him the Lord bid him let Israel go so they could worship. Although the Lord hardened the pharaoh’s heart, pharaoh also did so willingly. Each of the 10 plagues that were sent to Egypt was a slap in the face to them because each plague attacked one of their gods – including the pharaoh himself when his son was killed. Each plague showed Who God was, and pharaoh continued telling God “no”. (link) After witnessing the destruction of Egypt by the hand of God firsthand and having to ask a fugitive (Moses) to pray to lift the plagues, the pharaoh let the Israelites go – only to harden his heart again and seek revenge. Exodus 14 tells of the Lord leading Moses and the people toward the Red Sea. The pharaoh and Egyptians believed them to be trapped and pursued with full force. Even after the angel of God prevented the Egyptians from getting to Israel while they entered the sea (that now had a dry walkway), they pursued after God’s people! With that last ditch effort against the Lord, the Egyptian army was annihilated when God let the sea close on them. Pharaoh’s pride ruled him. He knew the Lord’s power. He knew how God spared His people. His country saw famine, pestilence, pain, and death. He brought his country to ruin and sealed it with his army being completely wiped out. Egypt has NEVER been able to recover this nor enjoy the power and prestige it once had. The pharaoh in your life can witness all God does for you and drive himself into poverty to keep you under his/her thumb. Whether you are a Joshua and enthusiastically seeking the Promised Land or an unsure Israelite afraid the walls of water will wipe you out, following God is your salvation. He may have to close your ability to go back into “slavery” by closing the personal Red Sea of your life to keep your distance from your pharaoh, but it’s for your benefit. Just remember: “13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” – Exodus 14:13-14 “God Is in Control” Jezebel Here is a summary of 30 traits. link Jezebel married King Ahab. They are known as two of THE MOST WICKED people in the Bible. In fact, Jezebel left such an evil impression that she is mentioned in Revelation as Jesus talks of how he hates the church allowing her to teach and seduce His people to follow her wicked deeds. Jezebel operates mainly with manipulation, intimidation, lies and control – witchcraft. She is devoted to herself and her god (herself). She is very religious but does NOT have the Spirit of God. Rather…she has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. Jezebel’s most noted for erecting statues to her god, baal. She had almost 1,000 priests/prophets for her gods and sought to erase Jehovah God from Israel. She was responsible for the murders of almost all the prophets of God. She controlled her husband and sent orders in his name. She used the influence and power of her husband to further her agenda. When Ahab pouted over not getting Naboth’s vineyard (and didn’t plot to get it), she used Ahab’s seal to make a letter she wrote official, hired people to lie and claim that Naboth blasphemed the Lord so that he would be stoned to death and the vineyard available – I Kings 21. We later find out his sons were killed also (since they would have inherited the vineyard). Jezebel knew God’s laws required witnesses in order to sentence someone to death. She used religious rules, hired people to lie and took innocent people’s lives to get what she wanted. Can you say perjury? This act resulted in Ahab getting something he wanted but eventually cost him his life because he went along with taking the land at the expense of an innocent man. Ahab and his sons would be cut off because of this. His son that ruled in his place would be killed and thrown into the field. Elijah, the prophet that was taken to Heaven in a chariot of fire, challenged the prophets of baal to a test. Whichever God rained fire from Heaven and consumed the sacrifice offered would be the God of Israel. The Lord won, and all of Jezebel’s prophets were slain. Jezebel hears of the challenge, knows the miracle of the Lord, has just sat through 3 ½ years of drought prophesied by Elijah with rain returning only after Elijah said it would and vows revenge on Elijah! Elijah lived holy before the Lord and called people to repentance to worship the true God, and Jezebel was completely against it. Elijah did not actually have to confront Jezebel to end the problems with her. God told him to appoint Jehu (one of her army captains) to finish her off. Unlike the pharaoh seeing miracle after miracle within a short amount of time, Jezebel was “in power” for more than 20 years through her husband and then through her son. She’s introduced in I Kings 16 and is killed in 2 Kings 9. She witnessed God’s wonders but probably felt sure that she was immune to Divine justice because she believed she had gotten away with illegal, immoral activity for so long. When Jehu rides in and kills the king (after he was anointed the next king), her son, she puts on make-up (to invoke the seducing power of her gods?) and leans out the window trying to guilt Jehu into stopping his mission to kill her. He ignores her, asks who’s on his side, and two or three eunuchs (probably foreign to Israel and immune to her deceptive charm) throw her out the window. Jehu then makes sure she’s dead by driving his chariot over her body and goes inside to eat. Her blood is splattered on the wall, the dogs eat her carcass, and the only thing left are the bones of her skull, hands and feet. A Jezebel in your life is relentless and will not stop until one of you is destroyed. You will see the true spirit in this person rise up the moment you ever say “no” or you are no longer needed. You are disposable and are a threat as long as you serve and encourage others to serve the True and Living God. She will lie, arrange for others to lie on you in court, steal from you and your family, openly defy God, and does not even bat an eye when her actions result in the death of her husband or children. She wants power and control and will use any means necessary to get and keep it. This enemy locks onto you with a deathgrip and will not leave willingly. This is a battle that you may face for several years before she is overthrown. Stand strong, and remember God is watching and will deliver perfect justice. You have to be willing to stand up to and face this adversary. Don’t be fooled by the front she puts on (painting her face), and ignore her words (guilt/manipulation). Throw her down and stomp her to the ground. There is no negotiating or compromising with this spirit. Only one of you will come out of this victorious. “I Want It All Back” Haman Haman almost succeeded in his plot to exterminate the Jews. Haman was a descendent of King Agag of the Amalekites (a group of the Lord’s enemies who caused trouble and killed Israelites when they came out of Egypt). King Saul, several hundred years earlier, was given a command from God to utterly destroy the Amalekites – from the king to the cattle. King Saul mostly obeyed but chose to spare Agag and some spoils from war (I Sam 15). Saul lost his kingdom from this disobedience, but the Amalekites grew in number from whoever was not killed. Haman is the result of not completely destroying what God tells us to destroy. It comes back after us with a vengeance. Mordecai was a Benjamite (and believed to be a descendent of King Saul) who raised his cousin/kinsperson as his daughter – Hadassah/Esther. Long standing enemies will come face-to-face. Haman rose to a high position under the king through plots, schemes and positioning. His one driving force in life was to destroy the Jews. He had a burning desire to see Mordecai killed because Mordecai refused to abase himself before Haman to satisfy his ego (Esther 3). Esther became queen by gaining the favor of King Ahasuerus when he sought to replace Queen Vashti. She hadn’t revealed her heritage. It is noted that God’s name is not mentioned once throughout the entire Book of Esther, but His hand is all through the activities. Haman convinces the king to give him permission to wipe out a “certain people”, Jews, that he said did not follow the laws (Esther 3:8). He uses the king’s seal to issue a decree to go destroy them. Mordecai gets word to Esther to plead on behalf of their people for their lives. Esther agrees to risk her life (to go before the king unsummoned, especially after the embarrassment of Vashti not appearing, meant death unless the king spared her), requests all the Jews fast and pray for 3 days, and prepares a banquet for the king and invites Haman (“5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” Psalm 23:5a). At this point, Haman is living high on the hog. He has money, power, a title, thinks he’s special because he’s invited to a private banquet from the queen and is about to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth. Here is where the Lord lets everything fall into place swiftly. While Haman is having gallows built by his house to hang Mordecai, the king is having chronicles of the city read to him and hears he has never rewarded Mordecai for saving his life. The next morning, he calls Haman to ask what should be done for this “certain man” the king wants to honor. Filled with pride, Haman gives his desires only to find out he has to lead Mordecai – the man he hates most – through the streets shouting the king delights to honor him (Esther 6). Embarrassed, he hurries back to his home to complain to his wise men and wife. The last words he hears from his wife are that his plans will utterly fail because he’s gone against the Jews (v.13), and then someone knocks on the door to take him to the queen’s second banquet. Already upset, the queen now asks the king to spare her life and the lives of her people and reveals she’s a Jew, also. Terrified of the king’s wrath against him, he falls on Esther and begs for his life. The king assumes Haman’s pushing up on his wife and has him snatched up, finds out Haman wanted to kill the man who saved his life (Mordecai) and hangs him (in front of his house) on the gallows meant for Mordecai. Additionally, Mordecai is promoted, issues a decree to allow the Jews to defend themselves and kill anyone trying to kill them (which became an annual celebration in remembrance of the Lord delivering them – Purim), is given Haman’s house, and all 10 of his sons are hanged. By the time Haman lived, he knew the Jews’ history, knew of the God they worshiped, and knew of their deliverance. His pride and hatred led to his destruction and the destruction of his lineage. This enemy could care less about your contributions. The only thing this person desires is to see you, and everyone associated with you, suffer and die. Pharaoh doesn’t mind you worshiping God as long as you are tolerant and obey his commands. He wants what you can provide, and you must thank him for every little thing he gives even while he beats you into submission. Jezebel is on a mission to take out anyone that worships and encourages others to worship the One, True God. She will twist Bible Scriptures, manipulate the law and take advantage of her own family members to get whatever she desires. Haman doesn’t want to give you the opportunity to live to even find out about God. He is cunning, deceitful and strategic in his plot against you. This person doesn’t plan to cause trouble – he plans to eliminate you. Remember, he’s only here because whatever God said to eliminate wasn’t destroyed, so it grew in strength and is now positioning itself to devour you. Make no mistake. These…spirits…HATE…you! Do not let your guard down. Compromise is impossible. They talk a good game. They may sound sweet and look good, but the Spirit of God is far from them. In fact, the person may just be a walking demon. Pray for God’s guidance in how to handle this person in your life, for the wisdom to know when and where to move, and for the strength and courage to engage and fight. “Authority” “Making War in the Heavenlies” – link “We Declare War” – link “Shake the Foundations with Praise” – link “Mountain Mover” – link Luke 10:19-20 “19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Jesus said we will have tribulations, but He has overcome the world (John 16:33). We have a great commission and a work to do until His return. We can’t do that if we allow the enemy to take us out. The enemy can’t do anything before it’s time. Even satan had to get the Lord’s permission before touching Job. Whether you’re a foot soldier on the frontlines as a missionary in a Christian-murdering country or a cook in a soup kitchen ensuring people are fed, you’re in this – and you’re already on the side that wins! Jesus promised many things to those who overcome, but this I love: “7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” – Rev 21:7 “War Cry”
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:54:12 +0000
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