September 24, 2020
Parable or Truth?
There were godly people in a land of plenty who had the favor of the Heavenly Father upon them. They were so blessed, powerful and prosperous until neighboring countries feared opposing them. Wealth and prosperity have a way of going to the head though as it did with this people who felt things would always be well with them. God reached out to them time and time again to return to righteousness but they insisted on having their own way. As one might imagine, the Heavenly Father allowed them to have it their way for a season in hope that they would see their error and return. Instead of seeing the wrong, they reveled in their power over the weak and rejoiced in their bounty as God observed in silence. This people became so wicked that nations around them marveled and the poor within the land began to cry out from their suffering. With the wickedness in the land and the outcry of the poor, God was obligated to intervene because He is Master over His providence.
The King and his Queen were wicked servants of false gods and had no respect for the God of the Universe. The Queen in particular had a great love of her false gods and led her husband to deeper allegiance to false gods, further away from thoughts of truth. They had corrupted the religious leaders and turned them into prophets of their false gods. Warfare, chaos and general discord abounded and the people felt hopeless.
The few that were still faithful to the True God fled or hid out from the furor of their Queen, lest they be killed for not serving her gods. There was a faithful prophet, loyal to the True God and who had His ear. Now that God was ready to move in the land to remind the people of His sovereignty, he called on this man of God to be His voice. There would be a great test to prove who the real God was.
This real prophet of the True God named Elijah was summoned to stand up for God. Elijah invited the worshipers of the false god, Baal, and his prophets to come to the testing ground before him and those that believed in God (II Ki 18). Each side would have a chance to prove who was god by preparing a sacrifice and asking their god to light the fire and receive it. The 450 prophets of Baal prepared the bullock on the wood and called upon their god for hours, cutting themselves with knives until they gushed blood in desperation for a response. No response came after many hours and Elijah suggested their god might be too busy or sleeping and could not respond. By the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah prepared his bullock upon wood, soaked down with many barrels of water that ran around the altar and filled the surrounding trench. Then Elijah called upon the God of Heaven, who was the God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, to consume the offering with fire to prove to the people that He only was God. A fire from God fell upon the sacrifice consuming the burnt offering, wood, stones, dust and even licked up the water that ran into the trench. When the people saw this, they fell on their faces acknowledging the True God while the false prophets of Baal were taken off and slain. At the conclusion of this test, the long rain drought they had experienced for three years was ended. Queen Jezebel was furious that her prophets were all dead and threatened to do the same to Elijah.
The king and Queen continued to provoke the Lord with their wickedness until He foretold of their horrible deaths. “And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel (1Ki 21:23).” The day of Jezebel’s death came as prophesied. In 2Ki 9:30, Jezebel famously painted her face and leaned out the window near the wall as the next King, Jehu, the killer of her husband, approached. “And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down…(2Ki 9:32-33).” Jezebel died as prophesied: “This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel…(2Ki 9:36).”
This story reveals the fierce anger of God against idolaters and false gods. The king and queen were the highest leaders in the land over God’s people but they were idol worshippers. God hates idol worshippers and He had thrown down many evil leaders throughout scripture of the Old Testament. God is a jealous God as He had said about Himself [“…for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God (Ex. 20:5)”] and He does not tolerate idol gods.
We’ve Got It Better!
There is a transfer of power from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Where God dealt with sin in the Old Testament, often through prophets or judges, in the New Testament God has handed off much authority to the righteous Spirit-filled believers as children of God. In that Jesus took authority over the devil through His sacrificial death on the cross, He has the right to transfer or appoint His servants the power He possesses. The Children of God in the earth have the authority of God to pull down Satan’s kingdom. The Christian church or faithful believers have the power of God to exercise the authority of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. We see in the New Testament, the apostles of Christ seeking the heart of Christ to exercise the power of God in righteous authority (Act 13). The power of God comes from heaven through the authority of Jesus to the children of God. Every born-again child of God can and should operate in the authority and power of God in their spear of influence or office to promote the peace and order of God’s kingdom as Adam and Eve were originally authorized.
We are no longer under an evil overlord to rule us if we are indeed a Spirit-filled child of God. As children of God, we are to deal with evil that comes against us on various levels (Eph 6:11/Luk 10:19); and we are told by our Lord to “throw Jezebel down off the wall.” Jezebel is not necessarily a woman, but Jezebel is an evil spirit that resides in people who try to block the will of God being done in the earth. Ahab and Jezebel were rulers symbolic of evil ruling spirits that the saints must oppose to live free. Jezebel in II Kings was an evil woman who exercised evil authority against God, His kingdom and His people with the intention to overthrow righteousness.
God used people, some good and some evil like Jehu, to move in the earth to carry out His will. If the children of God would obey the voice of God, they are plentiful enough and powerful enough to get the work of God done in the earth. We do not have to live under evil rulers if we make our voices known to God. He awaits our prayers to move on our behalf. We are living in a time in America where the Spirit of God is available through many believers to occupy until Jesus comes. Too many Christians have been cuddled and smothered by religious leaders who failed to teach God’s power because they were either ignorant, in error or false, causing hindrance to God’s children enjoying their liberty and rights. This omission has allowed space and time for the devil to operate his plan against the body of Christ, diluting their power in a time of need. God is moving on behalf of His children in America but God’s children must stand up against evil sitting on every wall. We, unlike the Old Testament saints, do not need to use violence when we have God’s Spirit and power to operate on our behalf. We remember:
…Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2Ch 20:15
God declares that the victory is ours because Jesus has already won the battle for us. Every child of God is engaged in this battle and is deputized by the Lord to exercise the power of Christ against evil. Believers need not wait on a leader to pray to the Father on their behalf but each believer should pray in his own words and voice to ask for God’s help.
The people of God are a powerful people who should not allow the enemy or false leaders to deprive them of their privileges. We can enjoy the land of plenty and the One and True God as our God. He is on our side if we obey. No good thing will He withhold from us if we believe. Let’s love our neighbor and fight against evil. God is with us if we will be with Him. Let’s pray that the people’s eyes and hearts be opened and God’s will prevail for the nation.
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isa 35:4
Truth and Life Ministries of Christ with Apostle Joyce Reba Payne 