Dear Friend,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus. I really want to encourage you to stay focused on what God our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have to say about our lives. Amen. We do have the greatest, most loving God there is.

There are so many distractions today that sometimes we might not catch what our enemy is up to. One of the examples of this that has always amazed me is Ahab who was married to Jezebel. In the Old Testament, Ahab was the seventh king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and he ruled for 22 years. Now you would think that being a king, he would be a strong fellow; instead, he was a greedy, whiny man who pouted when he didn’t get what he wanted.

One particular time, Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard and acted sad and downcast because Naboth wouldn’t give up his inheritance to the king. Jezebel went to Ahab and asked him why he was so sad. (I’m trying not to laugh because nowadays it would’ve sounded like this: “It’s okay, babykins. Jezebel will take care of that mean ol’ Naboth.”)

Jezebel assured her husband that everything would be fine; that she would get the vineyard for him. The sad part was that Ahab allowed it. So Jezebel started her quest to destroy Naboth. She wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sent them to the elders and nobles using the king’s seal of authority.

One of Jezebel’s tactics was character assassination through false accusations. (Unfortunately, the enemy is still using lies and slander to try to destroy people’s lives today.) Jezebel convinced the people that Naboth had blasphemed God and the king, and she had him stoned to death all so Ahab could have his vineyard (First Kings 21:1-16).

Jezebel was a terrible force for Satan, and she absolutely controlled Ahab. In First Kings 21:17-26, we see that a word of the Lord came to the prophet Elijah as a dire warning of what would happen to Ahab and Jezebel. However, after Ahab heard the Lord’s words, verses 27-29 say:

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.

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days . . . .

 The Lord is good, and He is merciful. I believe if we humble ourselves, He will make a way for us. Amen.

Vashti was another Old Testament queen who brought shame to her kingdom. She was a vain woman, and her downfall came as a result of her being influenced by arrogance and pride. When King Ahasuerus summoned Vashti, she refused to come to him. Her public refusal brought great shame, wronging the king and all the princes. Her behavior cost her dearly, and she was removed from being queen.

Nevertheless, God remained faithful. Vashti was replaced as queen by Esther; the latter being used mightily by God to redeem the Jewish people.

We must never allow Satan’s influence to rob us of God’s blessings. Our King gave up His life so that we can spend eternity with Him. He is faithful, and we need to be faithful to our loving Father, Jesus, and the precious Holy Spirit. Amen.

In His love,

Donner Roberson