Deborah: The Ultimate Jezebel-Preventative, Part II
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Welcome to Part II of Deborah: The Ultimate Jezebel-Preventative! Let’s dig in..!
Here’s how the Spirit of Jezebel is described in Scripture:
“Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron’; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:20-29)
Jezebel’s influence was seen in person after person, city after city, nation after nation, kingdom after kingdom in Scripture (and still is!). The passage above was to the Church of Thyatira, a seat of the goddess Diana who is the Greek embodiment of Jezebel. Another throne of Jezzy’s was Ephesus where the apostles were hunted down and caught in the midst of riots over mindless, idol worshippers yelling, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” in true mob-like form. It is actually this same “spirit infection” that caused Paul to utter one of the two most unpopular verses in Scripture as far as women in ministry are concerned.
Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. (I Timothy 2:11-12)
This passage appears to be stinging to women and if you take it at face value without examining the context--which many have--then you’d think women have no place in ministry or leadership in general. But that’s not true. Because we have Deborah who led Israel in the highest joint spiritual-governmental position in the nation. And trust me, if God REALLY wanted to raise up a man to do the job, He could have just like He did for Moses, Samson, David, John the Baptist, and others. But He didn’t. Obviously, He wanted a woman at the helm at the time.
And also, we find Priscilla, co-pastor of a church in her home along with her husband, Aquila, teaching the zealous Apollos about the Gospel with the fullness of the Kingdom and Holy Spirit (Acts 18). So obviously, Paul is not against women ministers in general. There was a centralized problem that affected women at Ephesus. Now let’s look at the backdrop of Paul’s first epistle to Timothy by examining his second.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. (II Timothy 3:1-9)
So we see the problem here: Jezebel, who puts the “devil” in doctrines of devils and is the ultimate seducer into sexual immorality has reared her ugly head in Ephesus, causing the “gullible women” to turn away from godliness and instead, were spreading their anti-Kingdom heresies around the town, and it would seem, in the local church. They had the exact opposite of the spirit of Deborah. One commentary states it this way:
The second position (which I shall call position 2) insists that the passage contains a temporary restraining order issued to curb the activities of a group of women who (most argue) were teaching the heresy in Ephesus. Thus the relegation of women to the role of learners, who must be quiet and submissive to the imposed (male) authority structure, represents a local rather than a universal rule. Similarly, the prohibition from teaching in verse 12 was a stopgap measure, and the reference to holding authority over a man is better understood as "wrongfully usurping" his authority. As far as Paul's use of Genesis goes, verse 14 provides an example or explanation, showing how just as the deception of Eve had drastic results, so also did the deception of some women in Ephesus. (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, “The Appropriate Demeanor of Women,” 2:9-15)
Yes, the Spirit of Jezebel was at work in the Early Church as she is now and we, by and large, have not yet received the revelation of the Spirit of Deborah and her role against Jezebel.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s compare the two women:
Both are given legal positions of authority.
Both are married (tied to a spiritual system).
Both have a form of godliness.
Both are prophets.
Both are triune prophets, priests, and “kings”; a royal priesthood.
Both are surrounded by carefully selected confidants, partners, and friends.
Now let’s contrast the two:
Deborah was arguably the greatest woman of Wisdom, whereas Jezebel was arguably the greatest woman of Wickedness in the Old Testament.
Deborah reinforced the qualities and characteristics of the Wise Woman, whereas Jezebel reinforced the qualities and characteristics of the Immoral Woman.
Deborah is the child of God, whereas Jezebel is the child of Baal and Asherah (the Queen of Heaven).
Deborah operates in the Spirit of God, whereas Jezebel operates in unclean spirits.
Deborah maintained the altar of God, whereas Jezebel maintained the altar of Baal and Asherah.
Deborah is a Mother in Zion, whereas Jezebel is a Mother in Babylon.
Deborah rules by God’s law, whereas Jezebel reviles God’s law.
Deborah is truly godly with godly authority AND power, whereas Jezebel has a form of godliness yet no godly authority to accompany her power.
Deborah raises up sons in Israel, whereas Jezebel creates eunuchs and binds them to foreign (strange, ungodly) ways.
Deborah is a true prophet and raises up true prophets, whereas Jezebel is a false prophet who persecutes true prophets and raises up false prophets.
Deborah surrounded herself with God’s prophets and men of good repute, whereas Jezebel surrounded herself sons of belial and men of ill repute.
Deborah worked with and built up men, whereas Jezebel manipulated and tore men down.
Deborah is a woman of authority: spiritual and natural. She is not a divine afterthought; she is not a second draft pick. She is the right person for the right job and the right time. And she can be who she is and do what she does because she is a woman under under authority, in submission to God. And when a woman is truly submitted to God, she honours and submits to all godly authority that He places in her life. If she was married, she submitted to her husband as unto God. She submitted to the written word and to the Word of God from her fellow prophets as unto God. And thus, she made submission for those entrusted to her easier because she fell in line right along with them and submitted unto God.
As Dharius Daniels would say, submission is not a thing to be feared, it is the very protection of God. Without God’s protection, we revert back to the curse. Not because He curses us, but simply because we have chosen to remove ourselves from His umbrella of protection. And blessed are all those who understand that! (See RePresent Jesus.)
Deborah and Barak are Not Born, They’re Made
If I’ve said it before, I’ve said it a hundred times: Jezebel is not born, she is made. Therefore, if Jezebel can be made, so can Deborah. Imagine if someone had gotten to the young Jezebel and countered her wicked father’s influence? Imagine if she had been exposed to the one true God instead of His counterfeit, Baal? Then what kind of queen would Ahab and Israel have had? Ahab would have still been flimsy, like Barak, but imagine if Ahab had turned out like Barak? One was killed in battle and died with the label of the most wicked king of all Israel as his epitaph while the other shares an entire chapter with his female counterpart being praised in a song! Deborah, like Abigail, creates a backbone where there is none in her male counterpart. She doesn’t manipulate him, but she influences him for good and not evil, for God and not godlessness.
It’s kinda like what I call the “Michelle Obama Effect”: we all know that she is the real power behind the “throne.” And as she is rumoured to have said,
Imagine if every weak, strong, or intermediate-strength man had a Deborah beside him? Imagine if every pastor, every CEO, every husband, was surrounded by Deborahs? (Only one please if we’re talking about husband and wife. *wink, wink*)
And similarly, imagine if the Deborahs that already exist weren’t reviled for being Jezzy’s or Jezzys-in-Training and were celebrated and embraced? Imagine if they were actually being heard by the men around them? Imagine if they were truly appreciated and their advice implemented and their “help on two legs” was given space to work and flourish?
Why, Jezebel would have no place at all because even though we have no record of Deborah ever having met a Jezebel, we know that spirit was around long before the queen. And we can imagine with certainty that she put that spirit right where it belonged: high-tailing it back to Hell!
DEBORAHS, ARISE!!!
