Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

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to cooperate with her scheme; how could they refuse and live? (First Kings 21:11-16)3. after all that Jezebel has done to torture Elijah, this is the deed that caused God to wait nolonger (First Kings 21:17-19, 23-24)E. Death1. God finally carried out his vengeance on Jezebel some time later as Jehu was anointed tobecome king (Second Kings 9:1-3, 6-10)2. this gave Jehu the confidence and legitimacy he needed to conspire against the sitting king,Jezebel’s son, Joram, who was already sick (see Second Kings 8:29); the two rivals would meet in anironic setting (Second Kings 9:21-22)3. Joram tried to defend his mother’s honor, but as she had none, this was not easy (Second Kings9:25-26)4. and so Jezebel prepared to defend herself in her own meretricious way (Second Kings 9:30-37)a. she calls him Zimri, a cutting insult as Zimri was also an army commander who hadusurped the throne of Elah (see First Kings 16:9-18)b. his reign lasted only seven days and Jezebel is trying to warn him that it won’t be worth itunless he keeps her aliveII. Some ApplicationsA. Helpmeet1. we often mine the Old Testament looking for examples of New Testament ideals–faith, family,hope, charity–but in Jezebel, we see only warped versions of these thingsa. Jezebel’s faith was in an idol, her family was a tool for her own advancement, her hope wasto satisfy her greed and lust and she possessed no charity at allb. she is most significantly a failure in her role as wife, fully incapable of any kind ofsubjection or loyalty to her husband2. as bad as Ahab was on his own, the text indicates that he would not have become half as evilhad it not been for his marriage of political conveniencea. marriages, even in throne rooms, should be made on love and never convenience, money,ambition, sex, looks or the simple desire to get away from one’s parentsb. we are reluctant to apply this passage completely to marriage, and yet it stands as a cautionto any Christian who would yoke himself in marriage to an unbeliever (Second Corinthians 6:14-16)3. although it is politically incorrect and clearly old-fashioned, the biblical roles for men andwomen are unchanged even in modern times (Colossians 3:18-21)a. too many marriages are constructed on the model of Ahab and Jezebel, and many more, atthe very least, are lacking any leadership in a husband who fears to take on headshipb. Eve was created to be Adam’s helper, for he needed it, just as modern men needcompanionship and assistancec. his wife, however, is not simply an instrument to his power and happiness, but is thesubject of his adoration and attention, so that his headship is consumed with her satisfaction (Ephesians5:28-29, 33)4. it is not helpful when a wife nags her husband or disrespects him publicly or privately, or prodshim to violate his conscience or be less than he could be spirituallyB. Lust and Greed1. Jezebel cuts a pathetic form, painting her eyelids and adorning her head, as Jehu approaches;did she expect to seduce him?2. Jezebel was a woman given over to her passionate ambitions for lust and greed; she waswilling to worship idols, flirt with boys and steal poor men’s land in order to feel powerful and satisfied3. how much do lust and greed determine how we live our lives?a. probably more than we might thinkb. lust can determine whom we marry and when, what we look at on the street and in theprivacy of our living rooms and bed rooms, and how we think (Titus 1:15-16)c. greed can determine what we study and what we do, how far we extend ourselves at workand through credit, and whom we are willing to injure for our own gain (James 4:1-3)4. lust and greed are the enemies of love and God and whenever we attempt to appease the oneand cozy up to the other, we will find ourselves conflicted and doomed188
a. how do we put sensual desire and material ambition into a perspective proper enough thatwe can satisfy our needs without resorting to sinful fantasy or action?b. begin by treating others as neighbors instead of rivals, regardless of whether theyreciprocate (Philippians 2:1-4)c. follow up by chastening yourself when your mind wanders rather than accepting sinfulthoughts or overlooking your own transgressions (Second Corinthians 13:4-9)C. Influence and Legacy1. Jezebel’s legacy lasted long enough to bring about Israel’s demise at the hands of the Assyriansand to throw Judah’s court into disarray through her equally wicked daughter, Athaliah2. Jezebel’s legacy continues today as a expression meaning a duplicitous, spiteful whoringwoman3. her legacy even reaches into the book of Revelation, where her name is put for some falseprophetess troubling the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-25)a. it is the combination of sexual immorality and idolatry that conjure up memories of thefaded, painted Jezebel, calling down from her window to Jehu the next kingb. but the Lord’s letter in Revelation 2 contains as much condemnation for her cohort as forher–those who commit adultery with her and her children4. Jezebel’s legacy was a daughter, Athaliah, who would kill her own grandchildren in a bloodyhope to wear the crown on her own heada. what will your legacy be?b. what will your daughter or son do?c. what would people say of you many years later; what would your name stand for?ConclusionThere was never anyone quite like Jezebel.189
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CharacterStudiesby Jeff S. Smith
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Character StudiesThe goal of these
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2. she points backward to his defea
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2. Jesus knew he was not an oversiz
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2. when the local church is involve
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D. No Luther1. it fell to the apost
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c. is the antithesis of Diotrephes
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2. and then he rebukes him for his
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2. before gaining his victory over
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II. Practical ApplicationA. A Lesso
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a. we are all bending over so easil
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ConclusionJoseph was faithful to Go
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a. that, I think, is the great maje
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a. he had to leave his home, where
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3. when Isaac became old and blind,
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II. Man’s New BeginningA. The Old
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1. every time the gospel is preache
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4. Elijah now has his turn, once th
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a. we, like they, are strangers and
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D. Deliverer Appointed1. when God s
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. those with little would be moved
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. in one fell swoop, he takes out a
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3. it is not that some earn God's f
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C. The Pleasures of Sin Are Passing
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3. reaching our land of milk and ho
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1. he believed, but he was not yet
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1. we must know the Bible and be ab
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2. David took care to respect the p
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a. if he complains about having to
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. later in life, we see Herod Antip
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2. this Aaronic priesthood executed
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4. that more acute, more spiritual,
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D. His Defense (cf. Acts 7:1-50)1.
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A. Concern For Others, Even Servant
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II. Some ApplicationsA. Their Chara
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8. afterward, Pilate permitted Jose
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D. A Student1. the eunuch is in fac
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a. it was no more a blessing to dwe
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D. His Palace1. Nebuchadnezzar’s
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language, creating different tongue
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4. Naomi returns in deep bitterness
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. it is not hard to imagine that th
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C. Pointing at The Antichrist1. a f
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Sufficient cause for the unpopulari
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Page 232 and 233: 3. Silas begins and ends his Bible
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