Jezebel Spirit

We may, or may not, be aware of the Jezebel spirit but I suspect that at some point we will all have been exposed to it. In this article we’ll explore what it is, what it does, the effect it has and finally what we can do about it, there is good news! One thing that makes this difficult is that we are more adept at seeing this in others than we are in ourselves, so there will be the need for us to look honestly as we consider this.

How do we feel about authority?
It seems that the prevailing mood in our day is to treat all authority with suspicion and something to actively resist. I believe this is a mistake as it also encompasses Godly authority. Yes, of course, we need to call out the abuse of power, but at the same time we need to recognise that we ourselves are under authority, most obviously under the authority of Jesus. Our starting point is the Lordship of Jesus and our surrender and submission to Him. He has authority over us. He equips His disciples to exercise godly authority. When we are fully under godly authority, we will exercise godly authority.

Jezebel is one of the major ways Satan uses to war against and subvert godly authority, to try and replace it with ungodly control. Ungodly control is fed by the lie that unless we control things they will go wrong or not work out as we want. Satan wants us to exercise ungodly control. When we do that, we exert pressure on someone to over-ride their free will choice to get our own way.

Godly authority always values free will and the ability to make a choice without pressure or coercion. God always makes sure, that in our relationship with Him, we understand what the choices are and what the consequences of those choices are. “I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God’s blessing and God’s curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.” Deuteronomy 30:19.

Jesus is invitational, He invites us to follow Him. This choice is sacrificial, costly, where we lay aside our own agenda with its self-serving, self-seeking desires to live His way. We are to pick up our cross, daily, and follow him, Luke 9:23. However, we live in a fallen world. We are in a spiritual battle between the desires of the flesh (body and soul) and the spirit, Romans 7. As a result of our fallenness, at some point in our lives, we will have either been controlled or controlling. For some of us this is a current, rather than a past, experience.

We’ll look briefly at domination, manipulation and intimidation, which are closely associated with Jezebel and then go on to look at the spirit of Jezebel. Domination is the use of force to get someone to submit or do what the other wants. Manipulation is coercive control, sometimes subtle in its approach, which can also be use of emotions to bend another to their will, or giving the silent treatment.  

Intimidation can be through the threat of violence, but also through mood swings. You don’t know how someone will react. They fly off the handle.

The problem is that these behaviours are effective. They get others to do what the controlling person wants. So, for that person, there is little incentive to change, regardless of the damage it causes to themselves and to the people they control. It masks brokenness.

So, what about Jezebel? We encounter the person Jezebel in 1 and 2 Kings. Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings:18. Ahab tells Jezebel, 1 Kings 19:1. She sends a message, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 1 Kings 19:2. Elijah runs for his life, 1 Kings 19:3.

Have you ever wondered why Elijah fled so easily from one woman having just defeated the 450 prophets of Baal? The reason is this is spiritual, demonic ungodly control, the heart of the Jezebel spirit! Elijah was reacting because a spirit of fear had landed on him. It was not the threat from Jezebel, in and of itself, but rather the demonic spirit operating in her that impacted him and caused Elijah to flee.

What does scripture reveal to us about the Jezebellic spirit? In Revelation 2 we find the spirit of Jezebel at work. “I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet.” Revelation 2:20. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but … against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” What are we to do when we are confronted by the Jezebel spirit? We are to contend with the spirit behind the person that’s in front of us. This enables us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, Matthew 5:44. We extend grace to the person but do not tolerate the spirit in operation.
It needs to be noted that the Jezebel spirit is not gender specific, men can equally exhibit this as well as women.

For Jezebel to operate it needs an Ahab, someone who is not willing to challenge, who is passive, anything for a quiet life, best not rock to boat, it’s not worth the hassle. They don’t want to confront because of what is likely to come back.

How does Jezebel become established and what causes people to behave this way? It could be abuse, trauma, generational influences, unforgiveness, bitterness, broken and wounded spirits. Rejection is a huge doorway for Jezebel. As a result of this they project their wounding away from themselves and go on the offensive to mask their own brokenness. They use guilt as a weapon. Have you ever challenged someone about something, and you are the one that ends up apologising? That’s likely to be a Jezebel spirit at work. They play the victim; they might use emotional blackmail, ‘You are rejecting me like everyone else.’ Remember, we are gracious to the person, but not to the spirit behind it.

The Jezebel spirit craves influence and will do anything to get it. They are good at blame shifting. You will rarely hear someone with the Jezebel spirit apologise. They often twist the truth, telling half-truths that have the sound of authenticity but leave out vital details that give the whole picture and completely change the narrative. Has someone ever said something, and it has got you to question something that you knew to be true? You start to doubt yourself? That’s likely to be a Jezebel spirit.

Jezebel tries to make themself indispensable. They are self-appointed “calls herself a prophet”, Revelation 2:20. They use spiritual language to manipulate situations, ‘God has told me’. However, they quench the Spirit, engineering things in their favour. Now, we absolutely believe that God speaks today, but this is not what is going on here. Has anyone ever said to you, ‘Everyone is saying’, ‘I’m sure you’ll agree….’ It may be an attempt to manipulate; it is a Jezebel spirit.

Let’s consider what happened to Elijah and see some of the effects of the Jezebel spirit. Elijah flees from Jezebel due to the demonic spirit at work in her, he has allowed a spirit of fear to land on him; notice he did not pray on receiving the message from Jezebel. Do we get fearful when we consider addressing a particular person? Does the prospect of confronting that person fill you with dread? It is not the person but rather the spirit behind that causes the fear. “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. If we are afraid, it can be a spirit. It has power because we submit to it, tolerate it. This is a constant battle. Jezebel must control circumstances and situations and those around them. Sometimes it is subtle. It wants to get close to those with authority. Wants to influence. Wants the power but not the responsibility. ‘I’ve got your back’, ‘I’m called to serve you’. On other occasions it is anything but subtle and makes people back off due to the aggression.

Have you ever wanted to get away from everything and everybody? “Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness.” There is a huge difference between solitude and isolation. In a church setting this person brings division. They aim to divide and conquer setting one person against another. They use gossip dressed up as spiritual concern. ‘Would you pray for …’. This spirit can cause leaders to back off, to withdraw and not to confront. It feels as if it’s just not worth the aggravation. This toleration is the Ahab spirit at work.

Elijah was exhausted. We can be too when we try to appease the person in front of us rather than contending with the spirit behind the behaviour. It impacts our thoughts, decisions and feelings. There is a lack of peace, and we may have difficulty sleeping. We may think we’ll get a quiet life by giving in to the person but then there’s always the next thing. It’s never enough because there is a spirit at the root. This spirit wants to dominate and keep others in bondage. As long as it is tolerated it will impact us.

Elijah felt he wanted to die. People impacted by Jezebel may even have thoughts of suicide, or at least they may have thoughts of quitting, getting away, doing something different. All of this is down to the demonic spirit of Jezebel. At one point while in church leadership I thought, ‘If I was just incapacitated for a while, nothing serious, just sufficient to keep me in bed for a while, I would get some peace.’ It was a Jezebel spirit at work.

What can we do? We should not start by saying, ‘You’ve got a Jezebel spirit!’ That would not be helpful. We are dealing with a spirit, and it needs a spiritual solution. Let the Lord deal with you before you try to deal with Jezebel in someone else. Is there an area of our lives that is not fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus? God desires you to be transformed and clean before Him. To dispel darkness, we must turn on the light. As a friend of mine said, “God will deliver you from your enemies, not your friends!” We must be prepared to surrender control to Jesus, repent of, and be delivered of, any Jezebel in us. Ask the question, have I controlled people? Is there a root of rejection, abuse, trauma or a generational influence in me? If so, confess, repent, forgive, cut ungodly influences, cast out the spirit of Jezebel, cover with the blood of Jesus and fill with the Spirit. Have I, or am I being, controlled? Have I been an Ahab? In which case confess, repent, forgive.

This may be an active situation. In which case when we meet with the person, we can bind the spirit of Jezebel in them, Matthew 18:18, forbid it to operate and pray the blood of Jesus over ourselves. This will not release the person from the Jezebel spirit, but it is effective in curtailing its influence. We must not respond according to the flesh as this is not the answer. Do not retaliate in kind; that only manipulates the evil you are trying to overcome. The truth is for someone to be set free from a Jezebel spirit they need to recognise that it is in operation in themselves, it’s difficult but not impossible! The thing that we cannot do is think that it will just go away. We must not tolerate the spirit of Jezebel, Revelation 2:20, but by the blood of Jesus it can be overcome.“ He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world!”, 1 John 4:4.

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