THE FEMININE INFLUENCE

“But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, BECAUSE JEZEBEL HIS WIFE STIRRED HIM UP [incited him]."
1 Kings 21:25 (NKJV)

"No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD’s sight AS AHAB DID UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HIS WIFE JEZEBEL.”
1 Kings 21:25 (NLT)

• Men are believed to have authority, the power to give order, but women are influential, they have the power to make their husbands behave in certain ways.

• A woman can influence her husband either positively or negatively, that is, to do good or evil.
• In the above Bible passage, Jezebel influences her husband, King Ahab, to do wickedness, evil in the sight of the LORD.
  IT means influence can be stronger than authority.
• Some women misled their husbands to make wrong decisions about issues of life (Genesis 3:1-7; 16:1-4).

1. "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
2. So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps l shall obtain children by her." AND ABRAM HEEDED THE VOICE OF SARAI.,"
   Genesis 16:1,2 (NKJV)

• What kind of influence are you on your spouse—your husband?
  IF you are influencing your husband to do evil, do contrary to God’s will, you will eventually reap it (Galatians 6:7).
• Whatever you influence your husband to do, evil or good, you will eventually reap it—either to do contrary to God’s will Or to do God’s will (Galatians 6:7; 1 Peter 3:1,2).

"He [Abram] went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, SHE [Hagar] LOOKED WITH CONTEMPT ON HER MISTRESS [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]."
Genesis 16:4 (Amp.)

• Sarah reaped the fruit of the wrong counsel she gave to her husband.

• Husband, let God make your wife, build and shape her to be whatever He wants.

• If you as a husband do allow God to work on your wife, she would turn to be a good influence on you, and help or encourage you in whatever God instructed you to do.
• I have seen men who dissuaded or discouraged their wives to serve God, saying, they would not want their wives to be religious.
  IF your wife is saved and wants to be all out, be sold on God, you should be happy with the development, because it would be a plus to you and your family.

• Admonishment:

• Encourage your wife in order to grow in the knowledge of God.
• Expose her to the good things you know, Kingdom principles that builds up.
• Pray for her in your private time of prayer: that God gives her the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that her eyes of understanding be enlightened, in order to be more intimate with God (Ephesians 1:17,18).
  ALSO, ask God to make the changes that are necessary in her characters.
• It is unwholesome and unwell spiritually to concentrate on your own spiritual growth without paying attention to that of your wife and children.
• If your spouse, wife, grows in the Lord, she would be of help and benefit to you, in doing God’s will and fulfilling purpose.
• Raise and build your wife to your level of knowledge and growth in God.
  ATTEND teaching programmes together, whatever programme that builds up should be attended together.
• A man who is the husband and father in a family is the priest of that home.
  YOU have a responsibility to give what it takes to foster or promote the spiritual growth of you wife and that of the children.
• IF you failed or allowed laxity in your spiritual responsibility at home, it will eventually show at the time when your spouse should be there for you, to help and encourage you to do God’s will.
  YOUR spouse cannot give what she does not have.

• Take note:

• If there is any biblical truth you want your wife to imbibe, pray and tell God to open her heart, that her eyes of understanding be opened to see it and practice it (Ephesians 1:17,18; Colossians 1:9).
• Your prayers for her and the sharing of the Word together with the children would build them up, and lead to their spiritual maturity.
  THE love and fear of God will build up in their hearts.
• A wife who is not steadfast in the Lord can easily be moved by the devil to influence her husband negatively, to do contrary to God’s will.

• Jezebel did influence her husband to do evil, because she was an idolater, she had no relationship with the God of Israel (1 Kings 18:4,19).

• If your wife does not know your God nor serve Him, you can easily be swayed by the devil through her.
  ALL the devil needed to do against you is to move her to influence you contrary to God’s will, that is, to do contrary to the instructions given you by God (Genesis 3:1-8).

1. "For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
2. AND ADAM WAS NOT DECEIVED BUT THE WOMAN BEING DECEIVED FELL INTO TRANSGRESSION."
   1 Timothy 2:13,14 (NKJV)

• If I may ask, Is your wife born again?
  DOES she have a good relationship with God?
  HOW is her steadfastness in God?

• If you are yet married, marry someone who will help you, stand by you to do God’s will.

• Marry someone who believe in the God you serve (1 King 16:30-33).
• Ahab married Jezebel from Sidon, and she came with idols from her father’s house.
  SHE brought the worship of Baal from Sidon where her father Ethbaal was King (1 Kings 16:31-33).
• Solomon also did a similar thing, he married women from the nations which God had instructed the Israelites not to intermarry with, and they turn his heart against God in his old age (1 Kings 11:1-10).

• Do something about the spiritual state of your wife and children.

• If a man failed on his spouse, it may affect the children also negatively.

• You will not fail in Jesus’ name.
Peace!