Women and Leadership, Lessons from Jezebel. (434)

Keith shares a topic that may be difficult for some people to take, but the truth can be hard. The ultimate goal is for repentance, and clinging to the anchor of God’s word. In considering the issue of women and leadership roles of the church, a parallel is observed in the account of Jezebel.

First some background concerning Jezebel.
Who was Jezebel? She was a princess and daughter of Ethbaal, a king of Zidon, and wife of Ahab.

1 Kings 16
31 It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him.

She was an idolatress and persecuted the prophets of God to the point of having them killed. She was also warned what her fate would become.

1 Kings 18:4,13,19;
4 for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
13 “Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, that I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?
19 “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

2 Kings 3:2,13;
2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made.
13 Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.”

2 Kings 9:7,22
7 `You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 `For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel.
9 `I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.
10 `The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.´” Then he opened the door and fled.

22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”

When her prophets were humiliated by Elijah, she vowed to kill him.

1 Kings 19:1-3
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

While much of her deeds are unknown, she was more than subtle and undermining the authority of King Ahab. She didn’t hold office of King, or had any ruling authority. Still, she was able to advance her own agenda by manipulating the weakness of the king. Here’s an example of the type of treachery she was capable of doing. Jezebel wickedly accomplishes the death of Naboth.

1 Kings 21:5-16
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?”
6 So he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, `Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.´ But he said, `I will not give you my vineyard.´”
7 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.”
8 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.
9 Now she wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;
10 and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, `You cursed God and the king.´ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them.
12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.
13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.
14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

As mentioned, her reign of terror would come to an end, and her death was foretold. Were men may offer honor, God ensures her utter destruction just as he said.

1 Kings 21:23;
23 “Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, `The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.´

2 Kings 9:10
10 `The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.´” Then he opened the door and fled.

When God speaks judgment, every word of his promise can be counted upon. The person who would do her in was even named, and her death would be at the hand of Jehu

2 Kings 9:30-37
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it well, Zimri, your master’s murderer?”
32 Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.
33 He said, “Throw her down.” 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.
34 When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”
35 They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.
36 Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, `In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;
37 and the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”´”

Other than the previous references, Jezebel is not named anywhere else in Scripture until we get to Revelation. In a figurative way she is named as a figurehead and one of the seven churches. Is it fair to compare Jezebel, the idolatrous which of Old Testament times to this church? Is it fair to extend that parallel to modern churches who allow women to hold an office of pastor?
Is a fair comparison to extend that further, and apply it to women who do not hold office, yet pulled the strings of week men to get the authority they want in a church?

Here, she is mentioned in verse 20, but let’s step back and look at the entire passage to see what is going on.

Revelation 2:18-29
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ¶The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:
19 `I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
20 `But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 `I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
22 `Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 `And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 `But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them — I place no other burden on you.
25 `Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.
26 `He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;
27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;
28 and I will give him the morning star.
29 `He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.´

Whoever these figurehead leaders are that this passage is addressing, the reference seems clear that women are involved. Are all women as evil as Jezebel? Do they act immorally while holding this position? I’m sure that often women who claim to be pastors mean well. But it opens the door to more deviations from the path that God would have us follow. All it takes is one deviation to lead to another, and to another, and yet another until we find ourselves in the situation warned of in this passage. One interesting point to note is that this church is praised and that there later deeds are greater than earlier deeds. This means there can be good church growth, but it’s not the type of overall growth that God would prefer if a man would be in charge.

The take away is that if men would own up to their responsibility, there wouldn’t be an issue where women want to take charge. It’s not always the fault of the woman in the situation, when men refuse to lead, and allow leadership to be taken away from them, the judgment will be similar to what this passage describes.

The good news is that although many will seem to be led astray under female leadership, the hope is that there will be some who refuse to follow, and will be rewarded as described.

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