And he (Elijah) answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals”. (1 Kings 18:18).
Who are the troublers of Israel?
We read about Achan, the son of Carmi, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing. (1 Chronicles 2:7).
Achan’s great sin was greed and selfishness. Defying holy instructions he stole from the conquered city of Jericho a Babylonian garment, a two-pound bar of gold, and about eight pounds of silver (Josh. 6:17-19; 7:1-26).
Achan’s untamed greed caused a huge setback for Israel on their way to the promised land bringing great indignation and therefore troubling many Israelite souls.
The troublers of Israel hugely manifested in Ahab, the most wicked King in Israel’s history (1 Kings 16:30) who married an immoral and godless woman, Jezebel.
This unholy alliance led to the destruction of prophets of the Lord (1 King 18:4) but she would rather keep alive 450 prophets of Baal.
Jezebel’s actions not only confronted the worship of Jehovah in her days but continued a thousand years after her shameful death manifesting as the spirit of false teachings and doctrines, strengthening sexual immorality, and attacking those who fought for the pure teaching of the word of God in the church of Thyatira. (Revelation 2:18-29).
As the unholy spirit of Jezebel continues to manifest in our world presently, so is also the spirit of Achan, manifesting as greed and selfishness in the church of God where the love of money masquerades as prosperity preaching.
Since Ahab exhibited an unusual weakness and was unable to assert his authority as a King, his wife took advantage of his weakness and began to assert ungodly authority and influence.
Presently, in our world, the spirit of Jezebel continues to express its presence through evil manipulations, dominations, and refusal to submit to authorities.
The spirit of Jezebel also sponsors all sorts of seduction, fornication, and idolatry in the church (Rev. 2:20).
This same spirit ensures that church leaders who should be the guiding light of truth become victims of manipulation, therefore, becoming evangelists of apostasy. (Isaiah 3:12).
Whatever sin or weakness a man fails to kill will eventually grow in strength. It will not only garner more power but it will negatively impact his interaction with his community and may eventually destroy that man.
The Bible underscores this principle by saying, “As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same”. (Job 4:8).
We must prayerfully identify all weaknesses and easily besetting sins in our lives, repent of them and kill them off by forsaking them all. In doing this we would have broken the flow of the evil work of Satan in our generation.
Reading
1 King 19: 1-5.
