STRATEGY OF ALLIANCES
(c) Morris E. Ruddick
Forty years ago, the Lord spoke a word to me from Jeremiah 51. This word defined my calling as an intercessor, while also proving to be foundational to my Joseph-Daniel calling.
“You are My battle-axe and weapon of war: for with you, I will break nations in pieces; with you, I will destroy kingdoms and strongholds; … and with you, I will break in pieces governors and rulers. And I, the Lord, will repay Babylon and Chaldea.”
Jeremiah 51:20, 23, 24
As “God’s battle-axe and weapon of war,” there is more than just a hint of going out and paving new territory. There is and has been a distinct challenge to the traditions and methods that may have had application in their time; but are falling short for the tasks ahead. God’s battle-axe and weapon of war has a distinct ring of change, of militant change.
The repeated use of the phrase “with you” in this Jeremiah 51 passage suggests that the change and territory to be taken will come as a cooperative effort, but will clearly be God-directed. There also is no question as to the extent of the results: “I will break nations in pieces; I will destroy kingdoms and strongholds; I will break in pieces governors and rulers.”
Then there was this segment stating: “And I, the Lord, will repay Babylon and Chaldea.”
After all the instances in which the scripture used “with you,” this segment does not. But it gives implication that because of the previous aligned activities between the prophet and the Lord; that the Lord Himself was then going to do something very dramatic. It bears on the judgment with which He was going “to repay Babylon and Chaldea.” The application of this “repayment” in Jeremiah’s word followed God’s people being taken into Babylonian captivity.
So as I was again meditating on this personally very pivotal word given me years ago, I began discerning additional insights applicable to those of us called as modern-day Joseph-Daniels.
Unholy Gatekeeper Alliances
What I first began seeing was the alliance operating between Babylon as the gatekeeper to the world’s business and political system and Chaldea as the source of sorcery-power that operated behind the scenes to control the business-political infrastructure.
A significant parallel to this Babylonian-Chaldean alliance was operating during the days of Elijah. Elijah was confronting a similar union in his incredible face-off with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah. These were the members of the religious community serving Israel’s King Ahab and his Baal-worshipping wife, Jezebel.
Jezebel, the wife of the king of Israel, brought the worship of Baal from Sidon, where her father Ethbaal was king. Jezebel sought to destroy all God’s prophets in Israel. Jezebel installed the prophets of Baal and Asherah as part of the royal household. Talk about the enemy penetrating seats of power!
Babylon and Chaldea; idolatry and sorcery; Jezebel and Ahab: the same forces operating against God’s earthly infrastructure in the days of Elijah and Jeremiah spiritually represent the pivotal challenge that we have before us today as modern-day Josephs and Daniels.
Yet, the scripture in Jeremiah 51 says, that “I will repay Babylon and Chaldea, says the Lord.” This insight bears uniquely on what can be expected as we stand against the same forces of darkness.
So, it was over 200 years after Elijah confronted the minions and results of the Ahab-Jezebel alliance, that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and said, “Through you, I will break nations in pieces; through you I will destroy kingdoms and strongholds … and I will repay Babylon and Chaldea.”
There should be no question as to the extent that idolatry and sorcery have permeated the seats of power of the infrastructures encasing life as we know it today. There should be no question about the operation of modern-day Ahabs and Jezebels, deep in the heart of not only our political and business systems, but our religious institutions, as well. What needs to be brought into focus is the role of today’s Kingdom business-community leaders in reclaiming what the enemy has undermined and stolen.
The Relevance for Kingdom Business-Community Leaders
In Revelations 2:20 it was in the church at Thyatira that the false prophetess undermining the efforts of the saints was labeled as “Jezebel.” The relevance to the hour we are entering begins gaining clarity for us, as leaders of the business community, when it is recognized that Thyatira was the center of a number of trade guilds, which used the natural resources of the region to make it a very profitable area.
The New Testament church at Thyatira was established by Paul through Lydia. Paul, the tentmaker-apostle, together with Lydia, a known business person, established the church in this area. So, Thyatira was a seat of power that was reclaimed by the alliance between Paul and a key business-community leader. The flip side to this equation is that Thyatira was not the only instance the apostle Paul confronted a seat of power that had manifested as an alliance between sorcery and idolatry.
Ephesus was also a commercial, political and spiritual center of the world of Paul’s day. It was Aquila and Pricilla, Jewish business people, who took Paul in. They proved very influential in Paul’s work with the Corinthians, Ephesians and other sectors of his outreach to the Gentiles. Also at Ephesus, as the work of the Lord progressed, Demetrius incited a riot directed against Paul because he feared the apostle’s preaching would threaten his business of selling silver shrines of Diana, the patron goddess of Ephesus.
Paul used a strategy of targeting and aligning himself with the local business community to pioneer significant segments of the early Church. This strategy provoked various manifestations of the idolatry-sorcery alliance. In like fashion, the Church at Thyatira was praised in John’s revelation for its works of charity, service, and faith, but was criticized for allowing the followers of Jezebel to prosper in its midst.
Moves of God and the Spirit of Jezebel
So then, who are the followers of Jezebel? Certainly it’s more than a convenient label for those we disagree with. Likewise, once identified, what needs to be done to deny them the opportunity to prosper in our midst?
A clue to their identity, tied back to this word of repaying Babylon and Chaldea, is given in Acts 6 and 7. The context is described in verses 7-10 of Acts 6:
“Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”
When the power of God is operating, and the wisdom and the Spirit are flowing, there will be those who resist.
The initial response to Stephen, when those he was interacting with couldn’t resist the truth of his words and power of the Spirit was that they used false witnesses, accused Stephen, and stirred up first the people, then the leadership.
Religious spirits resist the power of God and moves of His Spirit. The ugly, religious backlash Stephen experienced reflects the dynamic that has emerged in centuries past and still exists today when the power of God, the truth of God and Spirit of God are in evidence and are bringing change. There will be those who not only resist, but who will do everything within their power to undermine what they fail to recognize as being from God.
Sorcery: Infiltration Alliances and Tactics
The Jezebels are those who undermine the power of God and the moves of the Spirit of the Lord.
As we see the gates opening to a major move of God in the marketplace, we need to be wise and alert. The spirit of Jezebel is not limited by gender. The Jezebels are the major source of division operating against the righteous in gatekeeper functions. The Jezebels operate as sorcerers, with a power derived by age-old Chaldean divination. The Jezebels have been and continue to be found hidden in centers of fervent religious and spiritual activities.
Yet the operation of Jezebels will only be in part, until they become allied with an Ahab.
The Jezebels who envy, hate, divide and seek to destroy those who operate by the Spirit of the Lord, cannot accomplish their surreptitious tasks without seducing or beguiling the gatekeeper. The Ahabs are the gatekeepers into the seats of power within our religious, business and political institutions. They are gatekeepers, who are naively enticed and controlled by the Jezebels and their evil intentions.
So, then after identifying the Jezebels, the issue is to insure they are rendered ineffective and removed from our midst.
Unholy alliances can and will be pulled down by the power, anointing and wisdom of God. But in similar fashion to Jezebel’s removal, it is going to take divinely appointed alliances, such as reflected by Jehu and Elisha to accomplish the task.
The Jehu-Elisha alliance came only after Elijah’s incredible, supernatural encounter with the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Elijah’s role was an essential first step in the dismantling of this Ahab-Jezebel alliance. Elijah’s face-off not only removed the infrastructure of the prophets of Baal and Asherah, but it resulted in the hearts of the people being turned back to the Lord. Yet despite his incredible boldness in this divinely appointed engagement; a spiritually exhausted Elijah became overwhelmed at the prospect of encountering Jezebel and fled.
It took Elijah’s protégé Elisha and Jehu, a man of authority under Ahab, to finally pull down the heart of this unholy alliance, Jezebel herself. It was the cooperative alliance between Elisha and Jehu that accomplished this task. This alliance gives significant insight into the roles that can be expected from the alliances of today’s Josephs and Daniels and their counterparts. These are the alliances that will play into a fulfillment of God’s promise to repay Babylon and Chaldea.
Joseph’s Brothers and Chaldea
During his eloquent and anointed response to the council of accusers he faced, Stephen spoke about the necessity of God leading Abraham out of Mesopotamia, also known, as the land and sphere of the Chaldeans. THIS was a requirement and necessity for Abraham to be positioned to receive God’s promise.
Stephen also spoke of the envy the brothers of Joseph had for him. The envy operating among Joseph’s brothers and the dishonor they sowed within the land of Promise were undermining the purposes God promised to their forefather Abraham. Something had to change.
In addressing the realities of that change, God had a crucible designed to prepare Joseph for the authority required for him to effectively overcome the Jezebels of Egypt and the power associated with the envy of his brothers.
According to Psalm 105:17, the Lord sent Joseph before them to prepare the way for God’s purposes for His people. Joseph was the forerunner God used, not only to circumvent the coming disruptions, but to bring about the change needed to position God’s people to inherit His covenant promises.
Yet over the centuries, the struggle has again and again been centered on God’s people being enticed and beguiled by the flavor of Chaldea; of finding it easier to believe the supernatural that comes from the evil one than to believe in the God of miracles. The flavor of Chaldea was represented by prophets of Baal and Asherah and was established by unholy alliances. Its impact was cycles of unbelief and disobedience resulting in bondage for God’s people.
However, the scripture in Jeremiah says that: “I will repay Babylon and Chaldea, says the Lord.”
Note: Part 2 of Strategy of Alliances will include sections on The Alliance of the Ages; the Role of the Josephs and Daniels; and the Strategy of Alliances.
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