Confronting Jezebel: Discerning and Defeating the Spirit of Control by Steve Sampson

Morgan le Fay by John William Waterhouse

(I'm currently  reading La Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory and Morgan is a real Jezebel although as you'll read, Jezebels can be either sex)

We’ve heard the name Jezebel- at least those of us who have studied the Chronicles and 1^st and 2^nd Kings of the Old Testament. Jezebel was King Ahab’s wife. She was the daughter of a pagan king and she brought the worship of Baal and Asherah into Jerusalem where it remained a firm fixture until the Babylonian exile.

What sort of person was Jezebel? Aside from the devastation she wrecked on Israel she was a power monger who used manipulation and intimidation to control others. She emasculated men, surrounding herself with eunuchs and worked through Ahab, who was weak, and, not only did whatever his wife wanted him to, enjoyed letting her take the reins and rule the country.

Mr. Sampson’s book Confronting Jezebel helps us to recognize the Jezebels in our lives, families, workplaces and churches today. Chapter by chapter he breaks down the common traits of a Jezebel personality and how they operate in personal relationships, at the workplace and especially in church. Of all places, churches seem to be the most vulnerable to Jezebel spirits.

Without rewriting the book I want to list a few of the character traits Jezebels exhibit in order to help others recognize these traits in people with whom they have personal or professional relationships or if they recognize these traits in themselves.

First of all, Jezebels can be either gender. They are not limited to females.

Jezebels were often victims of controlling people in their childhood which in turn made them control terrorists. They are extremely insecure. All of their existence is concentrated on putting themselves in positions of control.

In personal relationships they will dominate their partner. Women do this through manipulation and withholding sex. Men do it through intimidation: verbal and sometimes physical abuse. If you try to stand up to them, they will do everything in their power to make your life hell.

Jezebels are master manipulators. They know how to charm people and make lots of friends. In the church they can finagle their ways into positions of authority, and then use it to control the pastor or even get the pastor ousted. They have an almost magical ability to turn half a congregation against a pastor.

Sometimes the Jezebel is the pastor. He can surround himself with a crowd of “yes men” who believe he can do no wrong. This pastor will then rule the congregation through fear and intimidation, often driving the church into bankruptcy with extravagant living. When he destroys one church he moves on to the next. His ability to mesmerize entire churches allows him to do the same thing over and over again.

In the workplace this person will seem like the one who gets everything done, working long hours and arranging things so they look like the one who came up with every great idea, whether they did or not. They are able to scare fellow workers into not exposing them. They are relentless back stabbers and will often even try to get their bosses fired; their thirst for control is so insatiable.

Sampson’s book enables the reader to discern if a Jezebel is in their life and how to confront and defeat this spirit.

This is a good book for all of us to read because no one has gone through life without being assaulted by one of these control freaks. It’s good to read a book where you recognize the symptoms and then learn of the cure. It can save a lot of misery down the road or, if you find you’re already married or working with a Jezebel you can develop weapons to fight against them.

I received this book for free from Bethany Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

or buy on Kindle for 9.96

Other posts on this book:
Cheryl Cope