Fear of the enemies of your faith, fear of what might happen if you preach against the systems of the enemy, the devil… what will happen if you destroy and expose the works of the devil? What will happen if I insult the works of the enemy, as David did? What if I disgrace the works of witchcraft? Fear of going to preach in rural areas because of fear of the witches there, fear of declaring the name of Jesus in places where there are demonic powers, etc. This kind of fear has severe spiritual consequences.

In the Bible, we learn of a man called Elijah, who was given the task of cleansing Israel and removing Baal from among the people of God. But in the end, he was overcome by fear and ran away from the mission…

If you are a student of the Bible, you are surely familiar with the story of Prophet Elijah, how he killed the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah — a total of 850 (1 Kings 18:16–40). This was a huge number that Elijah eliminated, which led to a significant reduction of Baal’s priests in Israel and, therefore, greatly reduced the evil in the land. These priests were hired by a woman named Jezebel from Lebanon to introduce foreign gods into the holy nation of God.

These Baal prophets practiced witchcraft and led all of Israel astray. Even when they were contending with Elijah to bring fire down on the sacrifice, it’s not that they didn’t have that ability — that kind of magical fire was a minor witchcraft feat for them. That’s why they had the courage to accept Elijah’s challenge. But because there is no witchcraft that can overpower the Living God’s might, they suddenly found themselves unable to produce their magical fire on the altar that day…

Something that had previously not been difficult for them to do.

So these were witches employed by Jezebel, who was then queen of Israel. (2 Kings 9:22)

But even though Elijah reduced the number of sorcerers in Israel, they were not all eliminated. Some were far away, and others remained in Samaria. Most of all, Jezebel herself, who had hired them, was still alive.

Thus, although Elijah reduced the abominations in Israel greatly, he had not yet removed the root. God intended that he uproot all of it and cleanse the whole land of Israel. But because of Jezebel’s threats to kill him, he feared and fled to save his life. Elijah ran to Horeb out of fear of Jezebel and asked God to take his life. So out of fear, he asked God to terminate his ministry. And God removed that ministry and gave it to three others to complete — HAZAEL, ELISHA, and JEHU.

1 Kings 19:15–17
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.”

Now the Word of God had to be fulfilled through Hazael, Elisha, and Jehu — that the wickedness of Baal and his priests and his founders be removed from Israel by the hands of these three men. The deeds of Elisha and Hazael are recorded in Scripture. But today, let us look closely at this last person called JEHU and how he completed God’s purpose fully.

Jehu was anointed by Elijah himself to become king over Israel. Though he was not perfect, God gave him greater courage than Elijah. Where Elijah feared Jezebel and fled, Jehu went straight to Jezebel’s royal palace and removed her from the throne so she could be executed. And not only that — he killed all the remaining prophets of Baal in one day, even more than the number Elijah killed on Mount Carmel. And he removed the god called Baal from the land of Israel, and after that, the children of Israel never worshiped Baal again.

2 Kings 10:18–28
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.
19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it.
21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came. Not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other.
22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only worshipers of Baal.”
24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal.
26 They brought out the sacred stone of the temple of Baal and burned it.
27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.

From this story, we learn that if it had not been for Elijah’s fear of Jezebel, God would have completed the entire mission through his hands… Because this Jezebel, whom Elijah feared, Jehu killed easily without even using a sword or weapon. He simply commanded people to seize her and throw her out the window. Just like that! (2 Kings 9:30–35)

And we too should not fear the enemy, the devil, and his threats in fulfilling God’s purpose. The enemies of our faith are many and they have terrifying threats… but we should not listen to their threats.

It does not require swords or clubs to bring down Jezebel — just a command! Just as Jehu did. And for us, it does not require armies or complicated strategies to remove the enemy, the devil, from before us. It only requires a command! You speak, and Jezebel falls.

So do not fear the witch doctor in your neighborhood, do not fear the witches in your village, do not fear the politician before you, do not fear anything that exalts itself before you and threatens your faith or your ministry. Just focus on fulfilling God’s purpose.

Zechariah 4:6
“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

May the Lord bless you.

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