We are more sensitive to the pain of losing we already have than we are to the joy of acquiring something new, a condition known as loss aversion. Joram was repaid for his stubbornness, and Ahaziah was repaid for his refusal to abandon his family idols. For the sake of holiness, we must cast down the sinful things in us. Today, lets take a look at what you can do to cast down your own Jezebel.

First, we need to discern the fancy packaging.

Jezebel has been given many opportunities to repent through the greatest prophets of all time, Elijah and Elisha, but she hasnt listened. She hasnt repented even though her husband, oldest son, younger son, and only grandson have died. Suffering doesnt lead to repentance, which is why what Jezebel did while waiting for the prognosis is a fancy way of saying. Its normal to be afraid of the valley of the shadow of death because were all 100% sinners, but when its coming to kill you, a normal person would be afraid and hide or beg to be spared, but Jezebel turns to Jehu and asks, 'Are you at peace, Shimei?' She sarcastically curses Jehu, saying, 'You think youre at peace now that youve succeeded in your rebellion, but its only going to last seven days, dont like it!' So God uses Jehu as a blood purge in the evil day to judge the wicked. Jezebel had one last chance to repent when Jehu opened the door and came in, but she didnt turn around and kept up the pretense until the end, when Jehu said, 'Throw it down!' and she fell and was judged. The final proof of human depravity is unrepentance and lack of fear of God even in the face of death. Jezebel, who has no fear of God, keeps up the pretense until the end. The problem is that we are easily fooled by these embellishments and wrappings. It is characteristic of the people of the world who have not solved the problem of death that they like to decorate themselves with flashy things to wrap themselves in. When is the culmination of your life? For Christians, the culmination is death, when we cease to labor on this earth and meet our beloved Lord of eternal life. The event that strips away all our glamor and exposes our shame is not a curse, but God helping us to discern the Jezebel in us.

Second, we must be on the side of the Word.

Jezebel is the daughter of Satan, a woman of unbelief, idolatry, murder, extortion, and all sorts of other wickedness, and she is completely of the world. We have all kinds of Jezebels in our lives, idolatrous Jezebels who will follow and serve anything that seems to satisfy our desires. The problem is that we want to be like Jezebel, even though we know its evil. Jehu doesnt respond to Jezebel, who is acting like a royal princess and provoking him, but he shouts out the window at her, 'Who will be on my side, who will be on my side?' twice, aiming at the eunuchs. When the eunuchs hear this, they look at Jehu, and Jehu says, 'Throw her down.' To the eunuchs, Jezebel is their master, but they side with Jehu and throw her down. We need to be on the side of Gods Word, which says to cast down Jezebel. To be on the side of the Word is to cutie with the Word that day, to find the Jezebel in me, to write it in my cutie book, to decorate it, to call out my wickedness behind the window with the Word. This is a concrete way to cast down the Jezebel in me.

Third, God wont let me find it again.

Ahab is called the king of unfaithful marriages because his wife, Jezebel, impelled him and his sons to unfaithfulness. She is called the accursed woman, and she reigned for three generations before finally coming to an end, so there is an end to evil. Jezebels doom is typical of idolaters and persecutors .Jehu says that Jezebel should be buried because she is still the daughter of the king, but her end is not only cursed by being thrown out of the window, but her entire life is cursed by sin. And so she cannot be buried, and all that is left of her is her skull, her feet, and her hands. What is not left of her is what the Lord says through Elijah: her body will be in the field like manure, which is a gentle translation, and the original meaning is dung. We think we have a life that everyone in the world is envious of and wants to emulate, but when we take the wrapper off the package, the reality is that its shit. The things we cry about and try to get are worth shit, because we have a short life thats cut short and nothing is eternal except the Lord and His Word. Its so hard to let go of the things we love. Its hard enough to let go of small habits, so how can I let go of my addiction to stimuli and preferences, so I believe that as I do the little things, as I do the little applications every day, I will be able to let go of the big things. I trust that as we practice this daily obedience of casting down the Jezebels in our lives, the Lord will make them so that we will never find them again.

This is the testimony of a deacon whose husband has been in a nursing home since he was a young man, leaving her to take care of the household alone. I married my husband because I liked his good manners, but one day while he was working, he fell down, and because I took it lightly, I missed the time to treat him, and his frontal lobe was damaged by more than 90%, making him a grade 6 brain lesion patient. Since then, my husband has been in the hospital for 17 years. After the accident, I became a completely different person with impulsive and rash behavior, and now I am graced to hear that my husband is laboring for my salvation as a redeemer. A few years ago, I went to the receiving room with my husband as prescribed by the community, and he received the Lord like a lamb, and on his birthday recently, instead of being angry, he looked at me and said, 'You are so hardworking, you have a hard husband, you have lost all your youth, and you are suffering.' I was so grateful, as if the Lord had visited me, called Mary, and wiped away my tears. What a miracle, everyone, how one husbands repentance can change his life and change everyones life.

To cast down Jezebel, you have to discern the fancy packaging, get on the Words side, not mine, and never find it again with all those little applications Ive thrown at it. All we need is Jesus, and I pray that He will be the one who casts down the Jezebel in me through daily reading, prayer, and praise.