Jezebel and Masculinity
The most commonly recognized attribute of Jezebel today is her spirit of usurpation. To usurp means “to take a position of power or authority illegally or by force.” In the Old Testament we read of Jezebel taking the authority of her husband, the king of Israel, to herself, and ruling in his place. In one of many sordid events recorded about the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, we find Jezebel engaging in lies, deception, perversion of justice, and murder, to wrest a vineyard from the hands of an Israelite that her husband might have it.
In the Biblical account, we find Jezebel chiding Ahab for not using his authority to gain what he desires. She then tells Ahab that she will deliver to him what he wants. She proceeds to do so by acting in his stead. Jezebel takes upon herself the authority of her husband, stepping into the role of ruler of her household, and sovereign of Israel.
I Kings 21:7-8
Jezebel his wife said to him, "Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city.
Thinking her husband was a bit of a Milquetoast, having no spine, Jezebel stepped in to do that which he would not. Such actions never strengthen a man. They have quite the opposite effect. A man learns to be compliant, while allowing his wife to manifest strength and project authority in his place. The Jezebel spirit unmans men, while taking to itself those masculine characteristics and roles that Yahweh gave to the male.
A revelatory detail emerges from an account at the end of Jezebel’s life. I have quoted this passage previously, but I want to draw your attention to the highlighted words at the end of this section of Scripture.
II Kings 9:30-32
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and adorned her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? 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.
Jezebel was surrounded by eunuchs, men who had been sexually emasculated. These were men who could no longer function as men. A eunuch is a castrated male. One of the visible signs that a man has been physically emasculated relates back to the previous chapter. Due to an absence of the male hormone testosterone, the eunuch is unable to grow facial hair. Eunuchs were often recognized by their smooth faces. In a society where men wore full beards, the eunuch was easily recognized by the absence of a beard.
Consider the passage above. When Jehu called up to the tower where Jezebel was, we are told “there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.” How was it known these were eunuchs, since only their faces would have been seen from the window? It was evident that the men did not have beards, therefore they were identified readily as emasculated males, or eunuchs.
Woman was created to be man’s helper, to be subordinate to the man. In the third chapter of Genesis God declares to the woman, “Your desire shall be toward your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
This is a declaration of Yahweh’s governmental order. Paul states in I Corinthians chapter eleven, “Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of woman.” Jezebel is in rebellion against this order.
She does not want man to rule over her. She wants to rule over men. This is what Jezebel did. By acting in her husband’s stead, writing letters in his name, and using his seal (the symbol of authority), commanding his elders and nobles, and by surrounding herself with emasculated males, she turned men into effeminate drones, compliant to her wishes, willing to serve her.
The woman who acts in this manner, seeking to command men, desiring them to fulfill her will and desires, will find that her actions bear many grievous results. Although Jezebel was successful in turning emasculated men into compliant servants, these men held no love in their hearts for her. When Jehu asked who was on his side, it was these emasculated men who showed their faces. They required no persuading to cast Jezebel down to her death. A deep resentment of what she had done to them made them eager to see her fall. It took a man who was not cowed by Jezebel, to embolden them to act, but act they did. They cast Jezebel down from the exalted position she had taken unto herself. Her body was dashed on the ground and trampled by horses.
A very revelatory experience was shared with me recently, and I believe God made it known to me at this time to give me insight into this subject that I have been led of the Spirit to write about. Many years ago, a sister in Christ married a man whom she had been dating for a couple of years. After they were wed, this man manifested no desire to be sexually intimate with her, though he did father one child with her. This man was ruled by his mother, and his mother hated the young woman he was married to. The mother sought to control everything he did, and told her son how to run his marriage.
This man was very compliant to his mother. He always did what she said, even to leaving his wife for periods of time, and taking their child with them, when his mother told him to do so. This man had no enmity toward his wife. He never acted as if he were personally angry with her. He was simply fulfilling the demands of his controlling mother.
One day, the young woman was told by a spiritual mentor about spirits that influence others to act certain ways. The mentor suggested that perhaps her husband’s lack of desire toward her was due to the influence of an unclean spirit. Afterwards, this young woman began to pray for her husband. By the leading of the Holy Spirit she prayed “I rebuke you, you spirit of homosexuality.” This woman’s husband was in another room, and she was praying quietly so that her husband would not hear her. As she spoke these words, her husband burst through the door, picked her up, slammed her against the wall and said, “Why are you rebuking me? Why are you rebuking me?”
This man was cowed into letting his mother rule his life, and one unanticipated result was a lack of desire in this man’s heart to be intimate with women. The offense caused by his mother’s domineering actions opened him up to a spirit of homosexuality. Many women today who act to coerce, or control their husbands, find that their husbands have little desire to be sexually intimate with them. This result is unexpected for many women. They do not realize that in failing to show honor and respect to their husband, refusing to submit to their husband’s headship, they are quenching the man’s desire to be intimate with them.
Many men begin to look elsewhere for the honor and respect that their wives do not provide. One of the reasons so many male bosses have affairs with their secretaries and the female employees under their authority, is that these employees are in the habit of showing deference and honor to them. They submit where the man’s wife does not. The submissive woman appears very attractive to the man. A deep longing in the man’s heart is fulfilled as her receives honor from a woman. A desire for further intimacy with the submissive woman at work, coupled with an absence of desire to be intimate with his wife, often leads to marital unfaithfulness.
When these things occur, most men and women fail to identify the forces that set things in motion. Wives do not realize they are quenching their husband’s desire to be intimate with them when they are resisting his leadership. Consider, for a moment, the spiritual parable in these things. The Jezebel spirit which seeks to rule over men, emasculates them. A physical eunuch loses desire for sexual intimacy with a woman. So too does the male whose wife manifests the spirit of Jezebel lose desire to be intimate with her, both physically and at deeper levels of the soul and spirit. The woman might be successful in getting her husband to bend to her will, but he will not love her for having done so.
Women, if you want your husbands to desire intimacy with you, then don’t emasculate them by resisting their headship and authority. A man need not consciously reason, “My wife does not honor me as a man and the leader of my home, so I am going to hold myself aloof from her.” Without giving it any conscious thought, or realizing why it is occurring, the man will find his desire to be intimate with a shrewish wife to have diminished, or to have fled altogether.
In many marriages, the woman sensing that her husband’s desire is waning will seek to stimulate his desire through sexual enticement. The wife may begin wearing sexually alluring clothes, things purchased from Victoria’s Secret, or some other venue that encourages women to dress themselves as sexual temptresses. Women are often successful in stirring up sexual desire in their husbands through such means, but this should not be misconstrued as the man desiring to be intimate with his wife. Many men will have sexual relations with their wives even as they are envisioning in their minds some other woman whom they imagine to be submissive and manifesting honor to them.
The Scriptures reveal that the needs of a man differ from those of a woman. Women need men to love them, but men need women to honor them.
Ephesians 5:33
Each individual among you is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she honors her husband.
There is an observable relationship between a woman who seeks to usurp authority over men, and the woman dressing provocatively. Jezebel exhibited both of these traits. They go hand in glove. Man has an inner need to be honored by the woman. He will find a natural repulsion in his soul to the woman who seeks to rule him. The soul of man interprets the resistance of the woman to his leadership as dishonor. Consequently, the woman has to overcome this resistance by enticing the man to desire her through an even stronger sexual desire. The woman begins to dress, speak, and act in a manner that incites the man to lust after her. The woman may succeed in stirring up sexual desire in the man, but she has not caused him to love her. The attraction is shallow, and superficial. The man is not attracted to the beauty of the woman’s inner life. She has become a physical body to fulfill his sexual desire. She has not become his soul-mate.
As one looks at society today, it is evident that this is the pattern being played out almost universally. Women have become adept at enticing men through external dress and adornment. Adultery and fornication is rampant. Yet there is a corresponding decrease of true intimacy and commitment among sexual partners. Many are falling into a pattern of sexual engagement that is devoid of any spiritual intimacy, or commitment to one another. The person may not know, or even like the person with whom they are being sexually active. It seems a small thing to leave one partner behind, and go find another.
This is the fruit of the Jezebel spirit. I would mention another realm in which this emasculating Jezebel spirit displays herself. This spirit is observed in false religious practices. In the Roman Catholic Church we see the elevation of the woman over the man. Catholics are taught to pray to Mary. Mary is depicted as the queen of heaven. Images of the Madonna with the infant Jesus in her arms reveal the hierarchy of the woman holding a higher office than the man.
Roman Catholic dogma leads those under its influence to view Christ as distant, or angry with mankind. The saints are exhorted to pray to Mary, hoping that she will persuade her Son to answer their prayers.
The mother becomes the channel through which the male figure of Christ can be manipulated, controlled, or influenced. Prayers to God the Father are absent among the Catholic Church, yet it is the Father to whom the Scriptures instruct the body of Christ to pray. When Christ’s disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them the following pattern.
Matthew 6:9-13
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”
Yahshua told His disciples that after He ascended they would ask Him nothing. They would pray directly to the Father. They would not even ask the Son of God to petition the Father for them. It is the Father who is the ruler of heaven and earth. It is He to whom Christians are to pray.
John 16:23-27
"And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full... In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me...
This is the teaching of Christ. The church is to pray directly to the Father. Mankind, coming in the name of the Son, will be received by the Father. The Father will give the body of Christ that which they request. There is no need to pray to the Son as an intermediary who will relay requests to the Father.
Yahshua said “I do not say to you that I shall pray to the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you.” Those who are in Christ have been given direct access to the throne of God.
Matthew 7:11
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
There is no admonition, or pattern anywhere in the Scriptures, where the saints are instructed to pray to Mary. In the Roman Catholic Church we find a religion where the Jezebel spirit reigns even in the heavens. Mary is elevated to the role of God the Father. She becomes the one to whom all men and women make supplication. Prayers to God the Father are replaced with prayers to Mary, which is an act of usurpation.
It should be no surprise that the emasculating effects the Jezebel spirit has upon men are on prominent display in the Roman Catholic Church. This false religion insists that her priests remain celibate. They are forbidden to marry, or procreate. Without physically castrating the men, the Roman Catholic Church has forced them to live as eunuchs. Thus we see that a religion that elevates the woman to a position Yahweh did not assign to her will unman men. The repression these men experience in turn leads many to open themselves up to homosexual spirits. In the recent spate of scandals that have been exposed among the Roman Catholic Church, the prevailing transgression (which was very widespread) was male priests having sexual relations with boys. The Spirit of Jezebel drives men away from the natural desire to be intimate with the woman.
The depiction of Mystery Babylon, the Great Harlot of the book of Revelation, provides an apt description of the Roman Catholic Church. She is pictured as a woman who rules, and who slays the people of Yahweh. This is what Jezebel did.
Revelation 17:3-6
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Yahshua.
The Roman Catholic Church is all about appearances. Observe the glorious manner in which the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, and other church functionaries adorn themselves. They are clothed in purple and scarlet, and many precious things. Yet inwardly, they are full of uncleanness. The abominations and the filthiness of her fornication cannot remain hidden. The transgressions of the Roman Catholic Church continue to be exposed in these days as scandal after scandal comes to light revealing a historical pattern of cruel, vile, and immoral behavior. This is what follows when the Jezebel spirit rules over men.
Sisters in Christ, please meditate on these things. It is very important that you understand the consequences of taking to yourself the leadership role God has given to man. Do not let the spirit of Jezebel inspire and direct your actions. Humble yourself. Accept that position of service Yahweh has appointed to you. Yahweh gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud. The judgment of the Great Harlot is as severe as the judgment of Jezebel millennia ago. The Harlot is described as sitting on a scarlet beast. Yet, it will be this beast that is the instrument of her judgment.
Revelation 17:16-17
And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
What kind of beast do people ride upon? The most common animal used for transportation is the horse. Does not the life of Jezebel provide a great parallel to the harlot of Revelation in that Jezebel was trampled by horses?
II Kings 9:33
So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot.
Yet, there is a connection to another type of beast in the deaths of Jezebel and the Great Harlot. These beasts are dogs. John writes that the beast will make the harlot “desolate and naked, and eat her flesh.” After Jezebel was cast down and trampled by horses, the dogs came and consumed her flesh. Certainly Yahweh seeks to convey something through these details. Both dogs and horses are considered unclean animals by God for they do not meet the dual criteria of chewing the cud and having a split hoof. Yet man has trained both of these unclean animals and made them his servants.
So too has the Jezebel spirit sought to take that which is unclean and cause it to submit to her service. The Jezebel spirit seeks to make the flesh the instrument for fulfilling all desires. The flesh, however, is not to be trusted. It can be wielded to some effect, but never truly tamed. It is inherently unclean. It will rise up at the end and destroy the one who looks to the flesh to accomplish their purposes.
This is a note of caution for all women who seek to use the flesh to get what they desire. Sisters in Christ, do not resort to fleshly methods to get your way in your marriage, or any other realm of life. Though you may have success for a season, in the end the beast nature will bite you. Do not usurp authority that belongs to another. Humble yourself that God might exalt you in due time. Those who exalt themselves will be cast down by the power of God.
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