Episode 13: Jezebel - Women of the Bible Series
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On this episode, we are actually swinging to the opposite extreme from last episode's (12) conversation about the Proverbs 31 Women. Basically, for every wonderful thing that describes that women of wisdom, this month's woman is the exact opposite to an evil and murderous degree. Such extremes.
Today, we are talking about JEZEBEL.
She is not someone we want sitting at our table. She would not fit into our beautiful community of broken yet redeemed women. Although she was definitely broken, she never accepted the truth of God and his redemption. To her bitter end, she was plotting, prideful, vengeful, and contemptuous. She is everything we don't want to be.
So why talk about her? Well, there are still many things to learn from her defiance and disobedience:
- how pride can blind us to the beautiful surrender of redemption
- how idolatry defines our purpose and passion
- how our strengths can become twisted and lead us to deployable actions when used for our own selfish motives
There is much to avoid and learn from her life.
Who is she? She was:
1. driven by what her heart worshipped (Baal).
2. a fixer (at all costs).
3. stubborn.
Who was God to her?
He was the all-powerful one that she just could not accept, so much bigger than her sin and would not be manipulated or handled or out-witted, and just, dealing with her sin with justice.
Although this is a story about a really evil woman who would go to any lengths to get what she wanted, we pray that you will see how her worship determined her path and chose not to do the same.
Let's live as redeemed women.
Much love,
Amy and Jamy
SHOW NOTES:
If you would like to talk more about how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior that we mentioned in the episode, we would love to chat with you! Feel free to reach out to Amy (amyp672@gmail.com) or Jamy (jamyfisher5@gmail.com). We are praying for you!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
*See episode description in the show notes. Review I Kings 16, 18, 19, 21; 2 Kings 9 for her story.
1. What did you learn for the first time about Jezebel? What surprised you about her?
2. After listening to the podcast, how would you define worship? What did Jezebel worship?
3. What is idolatry? How do you see the struggle against idolatry in your life?
4. How do you see the need to “fix” in Jezebel’s story? Why do you think is at the core of our needs to fix things?
5. Describing Jezebel’s husband 1 Kings 21:25 says that “no one else so completely sold himself to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab under the influence of his wife Jezebel.” Review the word studies below and paraphrase the verse in your own word.
· sold here means to build, work, toil
· influence means to stir up
6. How do we use our influence to stir up the wrong things? Read Hebrews 10:24 for a reminder of what we SHOULD be stirring up.
7. Amy contrasted the Proverbs 31 Woman with Jezebel. What are the differences you see?
8. Review the three descriptions from the podcast and discuss which one resonates the most with you.
· Driven by what her heart worshipped
· A Fixer
· Stubborn
9. “She is us. Who God is to her, He is to me.” This is the primary question we seek to answer with each character study podcast. In the story of Jezebel we see a woman who refused to seek God; the warning is chilling. Who is God in this passage? What does that mean to you in your life today?
Chapters
1. Episode 13: Jezebel - Women of the Bible Series (00:00:00)
2. Women of the Bible (00:00:06)
3. Understanding Jezebel's Idolatry and Influence (00:07:18)
4. Breaking Free From Idolatry (00:18:02)
5. Parenting Reflections and Cultural Warnings (00:21:43)
6. Jezebel (00:25:41)
7. The Dangers of Fix-It Mentality (00:31:43)
8. Confronting Stubbornness and Selfishness (00:35:14)
9. Lessons From Jezebel (00:45:05)
18 episodes