Response to "Adopting the Sins of Jezebel."

       This blog, written not by Lori but by "Anonymous", perpetuates one of the most egregious myths pushed by people like Lori: the "spirit" of Jezebel. Jezebel, for those who don't know, was the wife of King Ahab in the book of 1 Kings. To make a long story short, she was a wicked influence on her husband, instituted the worship of false gods, and drove the prophets of God out of Israel. In modern times, those who desire to oppress women throw her name around so much they have probably forgotten what the actual Jezebel did (and did not) do. For anything a woman does such as working outside the home, not "obeying" her husband, being a feminist, or speaking in church, she is called a "Jezebel" or said to have the "spirit of Jezebel." This is despite the fact that none of these actions have anything to do with the real Jezebel. It is simply a bullying tactic, meant to shame and control women. But, of course, it is not remotely biblical. "The spirit of Jezebel" is found nowhere in the Bible; it is completely made up by opportunistic people. 

       With that out of the way, we can get into what "Anonymous" wrote: 

Fundamentally, the primary premise of God’s Word is about building the family of God. Would you agree?

Yes, I would agree, except that Anonymous goes on to define the "family of God" differently from what you may think: 

God made man and woman and asked that they join together as one to create the next generation of godly offspring. In doing so, we have a choice in who we marry, but once married, we are to join together as a family unit to achieve God’s primary purpose which is to give Him children who will love Him and who He will love and care for an eternity.

When I hear "building the family of God", I think of the Great Commission, the command from Jesus to go make disciples of all nations. Anonymous, rather, has making babies in mind. They elevate the command to Adam of Eve over the command of Jesus, and twist the message of the Bible to be primarily about reproduction instead of evangelism. And this is no accident! People in what is known as the "Quiverfull" movement (with which Lori seems to be somewhat affiliated) believe that the primary way in which Christians will make an impact in the world is by out-breeding everyone else. Instead of going out into the world and preaching the good news, they hide away and reproduce as much as possible, intending to eventually become such a huge percentage of the population and government that they will be able to institute "biblical" laws (though most of their ideas are anything but biblical!). Of course, this idolization of reproduction is unbiblical and a complete misunderstanding of the Gospel. Nevertheless, clearly it appeals to many. 

Far too many women, even Christian women, have adopted the sins of Jezebel. They play at being a wife and mother, but their true desires and purposes lie elsewhere. The easiest to see this in is the true feminist who throws off God’s design and desire for her life to go do her own thing, whatever that may be. The harder one to identify is the one who “plays” at being wife and mother, but in reality her heart is self-seeking.

Again, we can see that what Anonymous labels the "sins of Jezebel" have nothing to do with what the actual Jezebel did. Perhaps Anonymous should go read their Bible before speaking on such matters? Beyond this, though, a false dichotomy is being presented. Anonymous is suggesting that for a woman to do anything besides being a wife and mother (which is not a command found in the Bible!) is self-seeking. In reality, it is people like Anonymous who are self-seeking, making up rules for women with which God had nothing to do in order to secure for men a servant and house-keeper. In reality, God has called many women (there are plenty of examples in the Bible) to tasks other than being a wife and mother. But Anonymous cannot be bothered by what God actually says, so they ignore it (or perhaps they never bothered to check in the first place). 

If she is married, is she first and foremost committed to her marriage and to raising the next generation of godly offspring? This is not an optional issue for any Christian family, except those who have bought the lies of feminism and placed a woman’s own need for “success” above what God desires and asks of her.

Again, here is the idea that Christian couples exist primarily to have children. Unless Anonymous can show us in the Bible where this is taught (it's not!), we'll have to reject it as false teaching. Also, there is another false dichotomy: women who decide not to have children or do something other than serve their families may be serving God in whatever way He has uniquely called them. It is not necessarily a "selfish" need for personal success. And, it should be said, there is nothing wrong with striving for personal success, as this is not necessarily selfish and will quite possibly benefit other people as well. I notice Anonymous, Lori, and others like them certainly don't see any problem with men striving for personal success!

God’s design for marriage is that a husband would be head and leader of the home and his wife a willing submissive follower. No matter what success she is achieving outside the home, or the success she is having as a spiritual teacher, is she following God’s desire, or have her ambitions left her husband behind?

Please read your Bible, Anonymous. The Bible never tells men to lead their homes or their wives, and it never tells wives to obey their husbands. These "teachers" who push the subordination of women capitalize on the fact that their followers don't know the Bible themselves but are dependent on the "teachers" to explain it to them. If only they would look into it themselves!

No, evangelism is not their focus. To build the body of Christ by teaching the Word? Well, that is what they think they are doing, all the while modeling for these women exactly the opposite of what God has asked them to prioritize: husband, children, and home.

Such hypocrisy! It is Anonymous who does not care about evangelism. God has called many women to preach the Gospel, and yet people like Anonymous and Lori pass judgement on God for this and decide they know better. It is not God who has said all women must prioritize nothing except husband, children, and home; it is these people, who usurp the authority of God and blaspheme His name by invoking it in order to give weight to their own opinions. 

       The moral of the story, I suppose, is that if Lori's followers read the Bible for themselves (and did not feel bullied into blindly accepting someone else's understanding and terrified of forming their own opinion), Lori would have far fewer followers! Most of the remainder would be the men who think so highly of themselves and are seeking servants rather than spouses, while all the women would have found freedom and left Lori behind. Let us pray for that day to come!

Link to the original blog: https://thetransformedwife.com/adopting-the-sins-of-jezebel/