Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
As leaders our focus is always upon God’s kingdom and God’s will in life. We lead others to have a kingdom focus and a desire for the will of God in all things. This should be easy but there are spiritual powers that seek to turn our focus in life so that we become distracted from what God is doing in our lives and in our world. I have been writing on the story of Jezebel and presenting that Jezebel was not merely a woman in the days of Elijah. Jezebel is a spirit that seeks to put our attention and desires upon some aspect of creation to meet our needs in life. In the story of Elijah, Jezebel was sent to turn the focus of the prophet to himself. By her actions, the prophet became the “key issue” – “not God and His power”. It was not the power of Elijah on Mount Carmel that brought victory on that day. It was the power of the God who answered by fire! God was the issue not the prophet! The power of Jezebel to stop the mouth of the prophet was found in the prophet’s inability to stay focused on God, but rather receive the massage of Jezebel. Jezebel had not bound the blessing in the earth for 3 ½ years. God had bound the blessings through the binding ministry of Elijah. It was now time for a “loosing” ministry and Jezebel was attempting to drive the prophet back into a “binding” season.
1 Kings 19:3 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.
Jezebel sent a “messenger” to Elijah in order to intimidate him back into a ministry of “binding”. Elijah should have known that Jezebel had no power to stop what God had loosed upon the earth. She even came to him in the name of the “dead gods” who previously could not save the now “dead prophets” of Baal and Asherah. It was time for Elijah to stand fast in the loosing power of God, but the Scripture says that Elijah “saw” the spirit of Jezebel which the messenger had delivered. He “received” a spirit sent to stimulate a response of fear. Jezebel was the flesh embodiment of a controlling spirit. When we “receive” or “give an audience to” a spirit of intimidation we become “intimidated”. When we “receive” or “give an audience to” a spirit of control we become “controlled” and even “controlling”. Elijah received the spirit of Jezebel so what followed was an attitude in Elijah that sought to “control” the situation.
Elijah had “expectations of ministry” and things that he thought should come about immediately. His disillusionment of the work and way of God allowed him to receive this messenger of Jezebel. Jezebel didn’t come to him. She sent a messenger. Why didn’t Elijah stand fast to see God defeat the messenger like he did with the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel? It was Elijah that opened the door to receive the power of Jezebel to drive him back into a binding ministry.
Beersheba means “well of the oath” or “the seventh well”. On the seventh day of creation God rested. Elijah had “loosed” in the earth – thus it was “loosed in the heavens” and it was now time to release and rest. Elijah’s servant stayed at the “well of the oath” (“the seventh well”), while Elijah went into the wilderness. When he should have trusted in the seventh day – the Sabbath rest of God – he went another day’s journey into the wilderness. I believe that he entered into something new that God wasn’t doing.
1 Kings 19:4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Elijah “went a day’s journey into the wilderness”. Anytime we attempt to go beyond what God is doing, or even move away from what God is doing, we set ourselves up for a spirit of deception. We will “bind up” the very work that God is wanting to do in our lives, and we will find ourselves concerned and focused on ministry that is out of season and inapplicable to the times of God’s present restoration. This kind of activity will often drive a ministry, or an individual, into works of the flesh. These works of the flesh can be manifested in various forms carnal thinking and carnal actions. Simply said, these are things that offer carnal appeasement to our wounded hearts. When we go beyond where God said to “rest” we are not producing what God said to do. We will produce some new work that is a work of deception and heresy.
When a ministry or an individual person, moves away from the place of God’s work and blessing there will be a manifestation of legalism, defensiveness, pride, and the like. There will be a manifestation of confusion due to the self-seeking spirit that drives them to go beyond where God is. Where there is self-seeking, there is “confusion and every evil work (Jam. 3:13-18).
Elijah manifested this spirit of confusion by praying to God that he might die while he was under the broom tree. He had just run from the messenger of Jezebel so that he wouldn’t die. He said that he was no better than his fathers but when confronted by God he professed that only he was left who had not bowed the knee. He confessed humility but manifested pride. He prayed that he would die but ran so he would live.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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