Anyone with a formula for success that consistently yields the desired results usually has a simple motto: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The same applies to the devil. He has an old trick he’s been using since the beginning of time and he hasn’t changed his formula.
Seduced Woman + Forbidden Fruit + Seduced Man = Destruction
It’s a proven formula that has consistently yielded victory after victory for the devil beginning in the garden of Eden. The devil seduced Eve with a little forbidden fruit. Eve seduced Adam with the same. Together they derailed their own lives and God’s plan for mankind. As a consequence, they paid the penalty for their sin.
God threw them out of His garden. Eve and every woman after her paid the price of sorrow and painful labor in childbirth. Adam and every man after him got a life of sweat and hard labor toiling in the dirt to provide for themselves and their families. The greatest price, however, was paid by their children. Cain murdered Abel. God cursed Cain. And, every generation of their children since Cain and Abel has paid the price for Adam and Eve’s original sin. All for a little taste of forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3; Genesis 4)
Another classic example is found in the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson was a man of supernatural strength and the source of his strength was a well-kept secret. Just as the devil used Eve to seduce Adam into opening his mouth to eat the forbidden fruit, he used Delilah to seduce Samson into opening his mouth to reveal his secret.
Not only did Delilah seduce Samson, she brazenly made her intentions perfectly clear to him. Delilah demonstrated three times that she wanted to learn the secret of Samson’s strength for one reason. She planned to bind him and turn him over to his enemies to destroy him.
Like many men, Samson believed he could play with the devil and get out of the game before the devil won, so he continued eating Delilah’s fruit. Samson won the first three rounds. Then he discovered the first three rounds were just a set up for the fourth and final round – which he lost.
During the fourth round Delilah spoon fed Samson serving after serving of guilt. She manipulated him, crying and whining about him not loving her enough to give her what she wanted. Finally, she won. She wore him down and enticed him into revealing his secret. That’s when the game ended. Delilah held Samson tenderly in her arms, gently rocked him to sleep, then she called in his enemies to destroy him. While he lay sleeping with his head still nestled on her knees, the devil slipped in and cut off his hair.
When Samson realized that his enemies were upon him, he flexed his bulging muscles only to discover that his strength was gone. God was no longer with him. His enemies gouged out his eyes, threw him in prison and put him in shackles. When Samson’s hair grew back and his strength returned, the devil paraded him in front of all his enemies to entertain the people. That was Samson’s final performance and it was a performance that brought the house down. Samson prayed for God to once again give him supernatural strength and so He did. Then, with all his might Samson toppled the pillars of the house, destroying the house and killing all that were in it including himself. (Judges 16)
Samson learned a sobering lesson that most men who sleep with the devil eventually learn. Close your eyes to sleep with a beautiful devil and eventually you will open them to find yourself stripped down to nothing with the real devil laughing at your destruction.
While many men gladly eat the fruit hand-fed to them by seductresses the devil sends into their lives, not every man with a great call on his life takes the bait. Wise men of God have taken the time to examine how God established the life outcomes of King Ahasuerus and King Ahab.
When King Ahasuerus sent for his beautiful wife Vashti to come greet the honored guests at his banquet, she snubbed him and his guests and publicly humiliated him before every man in his company. Thoroughly ashamed, he sought council from his trusted advisers about how to deal with the queen.
The king’s advisers cautioned him that Vashti’s brazen disregard for his authority, his reputation and her duty set a wholly unacceptable example for every other woman in the kingdom. Vashti’s actions had introduced a rebellious cancer into the kingdom. The king’s advisors feared that cancer would spread from the palace to their wives and into their homes. They warned the king that if he failed to properly address the issues in his own home, he would undermine the authority and ability of every other man in the kingdom to establish proper order in their homes. There was clear consensus. The king’s advisors offered him a solution that he had the wisdom to readily accept.
Reject the rebellion and return the untouched platter of forbidden fruit to the queen. Let Vashti know that she is forever cut off from the king’s presence. Issue a sealed decree throughout the kingdom inviting all the most desirable virgins to be considered for the queen’s throne and the king’s pleasure. Then, hand over Vashti’s throne and her royal estate to a woman better than she.
Vashti’s ill-advised display of pride and rebellion brought her down to nothingness before the entire kingdom. Soon thereafter, the lovely Esther was sitting on her new throne enjoying all of life’s pleasures with the king along with the former queen’s royal estate. Together, King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther saved the Jews and Esther is still the Bible’s most celebrated queen. (Esther 1; Esther 2; Esther 9)
King Ahab, on the other hand, had no greater pleasure than being hand fed a lavish diet of forbidden fruit served to him by his wife, Jezebel. She delighted in seducing him and hand-walking him down a path of great sin. Together they committed flagrant offenses against the Lord, most of which were master-mind by Jezebel. Finally, Ahab allowed Jezebel to seduce him into committing the offense that ended their reign and God sent a prophet to deliver the death sentence that sealed their fate. God faithfully promised that not only would they both die, but dogs would pick their bones clean and lick their blood from the ground. And so it was. (1 Kings 21)
As Christians we must recognize that while Ahab and his beloved Jezebel are dead and gone, her spirit is still celebrated, alive and well. From the beginning of time the devil has used the Jezebel spirit to topple kings and kingdoms. Today he is using it more so than ever to topple Christian marriages, homes, and churches.
Interestingly, the woman is rarely the primary target. She’s simply the bait the devil uses to get to the head of the house for the purpose of destroying the man, the house, and, in the case of pastors, the church. That is why God holds men, and especially pastors, accountable for their response to the manipulations and seductions that come their way including from their wives.
Too many Christians seem unaware that there is a hefty price to pay for falling prey to the Jezebel spirit. And so, God is sending an urgent reminder from Revelation 2 to His Church. It says:
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
And I will give him the morning star.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 2:18-29)
There is no question that women have power. God gives it to us to help build kingdoms. The devil gives women his power, too, to help destroy them. The devil’s power, like most seductive lotions and potions, is branded under many fancy names because it’s extremely challenging to market under generic names. The generic names are witchcraft and rebellion and they come with a little black book of simple, well-worn tricks.
The tricks are simple because the work is simple. Anyone can do it. Eve proved it. Delilah proved it. Jezebel proved it. The devil will use anyone from a queen to an alley cat as long as they stick to the formula. What he doesn’t tell the women is that when he’s finished using them to destroy men, he will turn on them like the snake that he is and destroy them, too. He leaves women cursed, broken, and shattered in the land of the living. Worse yet, he leaves them condemned to eternal damnation in the lake of fire where they will share company with the men they helped to destroy.
God’s work, on the other hand, is considerably more challenging, but the rewards are great. There’s no fancy branding for His power. It’s produced under its generic name so everyone knows exactly what it is. It’s Holy Ghost power. (Acts 1:8) There are no substitutions and there is nothing comparable. It detonates with a force exponentially greater than an atomic bomb.
Women who operate in the Spirit of Jesus Christ have Holy Ghost power over every trick, trap and deception of the devil and everyone he uses to do his bidding. We have the power to move seemingly immovable mountains. We have the power to destroy yokes, tear down every stronghold that exalts itself against the kingdom of God, set every captive free and build God’s kingdom. We have the power to open blind eyes and pray men of God into greatness. That’s why our little black book is thick and complex. It’s called a Bible and everything we need to know is in it.
God’s work can be absolutely grueling. Quite frankly, not every woman is equipped for it because not every woman is willing to follow the manual. It takes women of purpose, power and substance to do God’s work. That’s why He examines all of us, then weeds out those who are unfit for duty. Those who remain faithfully in His service are rewarded with an abundant life in the land of the living and eternal life in heaven to share the company of wise men and kings.
Let’s be clear. The question isn’t whether we, as women, have power over the human frailties of men. Of course, we do – just as men have power over the human frailties of women. The real question is whether we’re manipulating the power of witchcraft and rebellion to lure men away from God or wielding the sword of the Spirit and the power of the Holy Ghost to strengthen them so they can be who God has called them to be.
It is time for change in the house of God. We are losing too many men, women, and children to destruction masterfully orchestrated by the spirit of Jezebel. It is time for Christian men to open their eyes and stop falling for the oldest tricks in the devil’s book. It is time for Christian women to spend time in careful and prayerful self-examination to ensure that we are not the ones the devil is using. It’s time for all of us to be Holy Ghost power players in the very real war the devil is waging against the kingdom of God.
Copyright © 2012 Karen McNeil
All rights reserved.
My dad was a military man to the core. From an early age I learned there’s nothing quite like growing up in a strict military family with a father who runs the house like a bootcamp. The standards are high. The work is hard. The discipline is tough. But when you pass a test, the rewards are great. Sometimes the reward is as simple as a big smile that means, “Well done.” Sometimes it’s as exciting as getting your first car. Whether it was a smile or a car, just knowing I had my father’s approval was reward enough for me.
When he finally spoke I discovered he was more proud of me than I was of myself. Not only did he say yes, he was absolutely delighted to do so. That night I got a huge smile from my dad and very soon thereafter I drove my brand new car off the lot. For three months I made my car payments as promised. The fourth month I got a surprise. My parents had paid off my car.
We Just Speak Life 