When
reading the Bible we can see many situations where witchcraft was being used
but it was not called witchcraft. Any
time there is a spinning or twisting of words to control someone or to control
their thinking it is witchcraft. We have
to look at the definitions for manipulation, intimidation and domination;
because in them we will see where the understanding of those things being
witchcraft comes from. The Bible tells
us about different ways for someone to attempt to control others, such as
divination or soothsaying; which is using spirit beings to tell about someone,
or the usage of rods or cups or crystal balls to tell someone’s future. There is magic, which is sleight of hand, or trickery
that you cannot see with your eye but gives an illusion that you may think is
real. Sometimes these practices go
along with worshipping of evil spirits or worshipping the devil and sometimes
they don’t. We have to understand that
not everyone who practices these things are non Christians, but may in fact be
Christians who do not know what they are doing.
The devil is very interested in the church acting like the rest of the
world, because if the church people act this way then it is alright for the non
church people to do the same. Because
this behavior happens in the church no one thinks twice about it. That leads to
problems. To mistakenly manipulate
someone is one thing but to intentionally manipulate someone is another matter
altogether. Therefore if we look at some
of the examples the Bible gives, we will better understand what not to do as
well as how to not be taken in by one who practices witchcraft.
Manipulation
3.control somebody or something to control or influence somebody or
something in an ingenious or devious way 4.Falsify something to change or
present something in a way that is false but personally advantageous Encarta
Dictionary
Intimidation 1. Persuade of dissuade
by frightening to frighten somebody into doing or not doing something, e.g. by
means of violence or blackmail 2.daunt to create a feeling of fear, awe, or
inadequacy in another person Encarta Dictionary
Domination 1. Controlling power control, power, or
authority over others or another Encarta Dictionary
One
of my favorite examples of someone using witchcraft to get their way is in the
story of Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab wanted
this piece of land for an herb garden. What a mess of spinning and twisting to
get the land that Naboth did not want to sell.
1
Kings 21:1-29 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the
Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab
king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard,
that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and
I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee,
I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord
forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
When
the children of Israel came into the land, the land was partitioned according
to tribe. At that time there was only
one kingdom. But after Solomon, the kingdom split into two kingdoms, northern,
10 tribes, and southern, 2 tribes. Ahab
was king in the northern kingdom. Originally there wasn’t a palace in Samaria but
Ahab had a summer palace there. Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard which was next to
the palace. There is nothing wrong with wanting to buy a piece of land but what
he does to get it is wrong.
4
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which
Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee
the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned
away his face, and would eat no bread.
Ahab
goes home and sulks. While being
disappointed is not wrong, using those emotions to get someone to do something
for you is wrong. Much like a child that
throws a tantrum when they don’t get what they want, Ahab does the same. The intent is, that by acting out, someone
will give him what he wants. That is manipulation. Children do it and either learn that it works
or doesn’t work at a very young age. It
is up to the parents to allow that behavior to work or not work; but when an
adult does it, it would seem that the adult learned as a child that
manipulation does work.
5
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad,
that thou eatest no bread? 6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth
the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if
it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I
will not give thee my vineyard.
Jezebel asks Ahab what is wrong. There is nothing wrong with asking someone
what is going on when they are sad, but what she does next is wrong. Notice Ahab never asks Jezebel to handle the
situation. Ahab could have said “Honey
can you do something about this for me, I don’t feel right bullying little old
Naboth. Can you take care of this?” But Ahab never says anything, he instead
lets her come up with an idea herself. Technically Ahab has never once had to
give her any direction yet God holds him responsible in the end.
7
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel?
arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the
vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Ahab
effectively manipulated Jezebel.
Jezebel, probably having her own control issues, stepped right into the
situation and took on the problem.
8
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent
the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling
with Naboth.
She
wrote letters, not in her own name but in Ahab’s name. She used his seal as well. Ahab probably knew
she was using his name and seal but stayed out of it as this way he looked
innocent.
9
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high
among the people 10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear
witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then
carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
We
see Jezebel was first going to exalt Naboth, then have men accuse him. Here is something we overlook, the phrase
“sons of Belial”. This was not the name of a couple of men who were children of
a man named Belial. There is no man
named Belial. The phrase “sons of
Belial” means sons of evil; today we would say children of the devil or we
might refer to them as Illuminati or Bilderbergs. The
translation of Douay-Rheims translates this phrase as sons of the devil.
Belial
OT:1100 beliya`al (bel-e-yah'-al); from OT:1097 and OT:3276; without profit,
worthlessness; by extension, destruction, wickedness (often in connection with
OT:376, OT:802, OT:1121, etc.):KJV - Belial, evil, naughty, ungodly (men),
wicked.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Jezebel called on the local witch coven
members to accuse Naboth of blasphemy against God and Ahab. Interesting that Jezebel had a relationship
with the local evil doers. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal King of Sidon, a
heathen nation, with descendants from the Nephilim, who worshipped Baal.
Jezebel’s roots in
evil practices ran deep.
11
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the
inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was
written in the letters which she had sent unto them. 12 They proclaimed a fast,
and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 And there came in two men, children
of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him,
even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did
blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned
him with stones, that he died.
After
being accused by the local coven members, the people of the city who didn’t know
what was going on behind the scenes (or we could say who were bewitched) followed
the law by killing Naboth. They were
manipulated into keeping the law under false information. Neither Ahab nor
Jezebel were actually seen in the forefront of the whole situation, they used
others to work for them.
14
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15 And it
came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that
Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive,
but dead.
Jezebel
was manipulated by Ahab to handle the situation, then Jezebel manipulated the
people to fast, while sending two evil people to accuse Naboth. In turn the accusations caused the people to
be manipulated into thinking that Naboth was a blasphemer. The people then had been manipulated into
carrying out the law and stoning Naboth, which in turn made the vineyard free
to Ahab.
16
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to
go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
God
knows what people do, whether they are his children or children of the devil.
God sent Elijah to tell Ahab of the judgment against him for this situation.
17
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 Arise, go down
to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard
of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto
him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where
dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.20 And
Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have
found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the
Lord.
Elijah
tells him that he (Ahab) sold himself to work evil. People sell themselves to
do evil because they think the reward in this life is greater than
eternity. Sons of Belial sell themselves
to intentionally work evil, believing the reward the devil will give them is
better than the reward God Almighty will give His sons. Personally I don’t believe those who sell
themselves to the devil’s work are particularly smart. Everything from the beginning
to the end is written in the Bible and nowhere is there an eternal reward for
evil, only a small token for now. It is
the manipulation of the devil that convinces sons of Belial to believe they can
prosper following the devil without consequence. This is exactly what the devil
decided to do from the beginning, he wanted to show God how stupid man is, and
he uses men to dominate other men, manipulating with false promises. Therefore God sends prophets to confront the
sold out workers of the devil, just like he sent Elijah.
21
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will
cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall [boy children], and him that is shut up and left in Israel,22 And
will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the
house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast
provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.23 And of Jezebel also spake the
Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.24 Him that
dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field
shall the fowls of the air eat.
God
reiterates a second time that Ahab sold himself to do wickedness. The prophecy is not very nice, and that seems
to inflict a bit of remorse in Ahab.
25
But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in
the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very
abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites,
whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
Amazingly,
Ahab repented. This tells us that some can do evil yet get pierced by the words
of a prophet and repent. Yet as in my
story last week, there are times when some do not repent when the prophet
speaks.
27
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and
put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went
softly.28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,29 Seest
thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before
me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring
the evil upon his house.KJV
Ahab
didn’t live a blessed life after this but he did escape the harsh judgment for
now. Yet someone later would pay the
price for his and Jezebel’s sins.
To
sum up; Ahab manipulated Jezebel, Jezebel manipulated the people of the city
while sending some evil men to accuse Naboth, which further manipulated the
people of the city to carry out the law against Naboth. In the end Ahab got what he wanted without
getting his hands dirty, yet God still held him responsible. Therefore what we should understand is that
although someone else may be doing the dirty work, God still holds the original
manipulator responsible.
Can
you imagine what it would be like to be Naboth?
What a horrible thing to have to go through. Someone set him up to be killed for a piece
of land, the land given to his family.
How can such a thing happen to a son of God? And not only Naboth but his
sons were also killed. Why is witchcraft
allowed to work against the children of God?
I think we find the answer in the way that we are to be overcomers
instead of living on easy street in this life; we are to overcome the works of
evil. Yet sometimes the works of evil
overtake the children of God, but we have a reward in heaven. We find in later
years Elijah’s prophecy coming to pass on Ahab’s family. But as the story continues we see more
manipulations.
In
summation, Jehoshaphat talks Ahab into going to war at Ramoth-gilead. Ahab got so used to hearing what he wanted,
he asked all the false prophets if he should go and they told him to go. But Jehoshaphat asked if there wasn’t a
prophet of God in the entire land. Ahab
said there was but Michaiah hated him because he only spoke against him. So Jehoshaphat and Ahab went to Michaiah and
Michaiah told them that he saw all the sheep of Israel scattered and the people
told to go home in peace. Then Michaiah
tells him that he saw God asking who would entice Ahab to war at Ramoth-gilead
so that he would fall there. A spirit
came forward and said he would be a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab’s
prophets and they would persuade him to go to war. One of Ahab’s prophets got mad and smote
Michaiah, and Ahab put Michaiah in prison saying he wouldn’t get out until he
came back from Ramoth –gilead. Michaiah
said to Ahab, if you return the Lord has not spoken by me. Ahab was so used to the false prophets that
he got mad when the true man of God told him the truth. And as you might have guessed Ahab dies in this
battle. But the rest of his family is
still alive. Jehu was anointed and sent
to get rid of the house of Ahab.
1
Kings 22:29-38 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up
to Ramoth-gilead.30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will
disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the
king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
Ahab
decided to disguise himself but told Jehoshaphat to wear his robes. Ahab is attempting to deceive, or manipulate
the enemy into thinking he was a common man.
31
But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over
his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the
king of Israel.32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw
Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned
aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it came to pass,
when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel,
that they turned back from pursuing him.
While
they were only looking for Ahab, they let Jehoshaphat go. But quite by accident Ahab was killed. If he
had been wearing his kingly attire they would have known it was the king of
Israel and maybe he would not have been accidently shot. Either way, whether he wore his robes or not
he was going to be killed as it seemed this was the will of God. So while his attempt to hide as king in
regular clothes was a manipulation, Ahab died anyway. Something to remember is that we can’t
manipulate God.
34
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture [at
random], and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness:
wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me
out of the host; for I am wounded.35 And the battle increased that day: and the
king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and
the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.36 And there went
a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying,
Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.37 So the king died,
and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.38 And one
washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood;
and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.
KJV
Now
for the judgment against the rest of the house of Ahab the story goes on and is
quite colorful. Ahaziah becomes king for two years and dies; it’s a great story
of how after an accident he wants to inquire from the god of Ekron if he will
live or die but Elijah meets his men along the way and says he’s going to
die. Then Elijah burns up about 100
soldiers who Ahaziah sent out to get him.
Elijah goes down to Ahaziah when God tells him to and says that because
he wanted to hear from the God of Ekron instead of the prophet of Israel he was
never getting out of his bed. He died.
Then Jehu is anointed king by Elisha and he takes care of the rest of Ahab’s
family.
2
Kings 9:22-37 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it
peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy
mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 23 And Joram turned his hands,
and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. 24 And Jehu drew
a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow
went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 25 Then said Jehu to
Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth
the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab
his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him; 26 Surely I have seen yesterday
the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and I will
requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into
the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord.
Remember
Ahab repented but the punishment was passed on to his sons. Joram died in the same piece of ground that
Ahab had wanted for himself. The king of
Judah at this time is also named Ahaziah, just like Ahab’s son who previously
died. Two Ahaziah’s makes the story confusing.
27
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden
house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot.
And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to
Megiddo, and died there.28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of
David.29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, began Ahaziah to
reign over Judah.
After
killing Joram Jezebel heard Jehu was coming for her and tried to manipulate
him. She put on makeup and fixed her
hair. I’m sure she was trying to seduce
him rather than getting dressed up for her death. Logically one would think that if someone was
coming to kill the queen that there would be an army or at least a group of
people to fight off the aggressors. One
would think of getting dressed in armor and getting ready to fight instead of
getting prettied up for the arrival of Jehu.
30
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her
face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.31 And as Jehu entered in
at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
Jezebel
sounds like she’s asking if he’s content now that her son Joram the king is
dead. But Jehu doesn’t even answer her.
Instead he talks to the men around her.
32
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.
Eunuchs
were to protect the female members of the king’s household. They were body guards, but in this case the
two or three eunuchs must not have liked Jezebel .
33
And 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 trode her under foot.
The
eunuchs threw her out the window and then Jehu rode over the top of her. A lot
of good her attempt at manipulation was, she would have been better off
fleeing.
34
And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this
cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.
Then
Jehu went inside and ate lunch. After
lunch he told the servants to bury her.
35
And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and
the feet, and the palms of her hands.36 Wherefore they came again, and told
him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant
Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh
of Jezebel:37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is
Jezebel.KJV
There
was no fancy funeral for Jezebel; that is exactly how Elijah prophesied it. We
have looked at some of the twisting and turning of the people in this
story. If we read it from the Bible
slowly we will see even more manipulations that took place in the lives of Ahab
and Jezebel. They were schemers who
didn’t mind trying to exterminate the prophets of God. It would seem that that is common practice
even today. No one wants to hear bad
news from people representing God when they are scheming to do things on their
own. If the prophets speak today will we
listen?
v Have you ever known
anyone to use sulking to get their way?
v Have you ever known
anyone to communicate in someone else’s name, maybe by letter, e-mail, text, or
even verbally?
v Have you ever known
anyone to plan a lie to hurt or accuse someone?
v Have you ever known
anyone to enlist in the help of other evil people to propagate a lie?
v Have you ever known
anyone to try and change their normal appearance to promote themselves differently?
v Have you ever seen
someone try to use sexual enticement to get their way?
If
you have done these things or continue to do these things after being saved you
need to repent. If you know someone who
uses these things against you, to force you to do what they want you to do, you
now have to stand against it. The best
way to stand against it is to not play along.
Confront people who are trying to get you to what you don’t want to do.
Be strong and stay in control of your life. The Holy Spirit always has the
right words for you are the right time.
That
is just one way to not get sucked in by a manipulator. Here is another way to
resist. If someone starts to pout, whine
or cry about something, tell them too bad, period. Whether a child or an adult, tell them the
truth, things don’t always go your way, deal with it. If someone bats their
eyelashes at you, tell them you are sorry they must have something in their
eye. Do you understand what I am
saying? Confront it immediately,
strongly, and with a clear mind. Do not
get sucked into their games. If a situation happens where you find yourself
among a group of people who start to talk about how they will explain what
happened, and what they are saying is not the truth; stand against it no matter
what, or you might be counted among them for lying before God. Do not make an
agreement with someone planning a lie.
It is never beneficial to lie. It
is up to us to come to the knowledge and understanding of witchcraft. We will continue to look at a few more
stories about witchcraft next week.
