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A foolish woman is clamourous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. - Proverbs 9:13
! If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, let us take a moment to show you how you can make that sure. !
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Clamorous:
Simple:
I. The Works of a Foolish Woman. A. The foolish woman works mischief. Proverbs 10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. Read I Kings 21:25. This is the end of Jezebels life. The Bible gives us a glimpse into her works and we see that she single handedly stirred up her husband, Ahab to do more wickedness than any other king. Read I Kings 16:31. We see that it was light thing for Ahab to sin. I personally believe Ahab did not make any decisions without rst running them through Jezebel. Truly she wore the pants in the family! Take a moment to ask God to reveal Jezebel areas in your own life, marriage, and/or relationship with those in authority over you. Confess them and choose to forsake them! Write them out here and if need be, go to the authority in your life and make it right with them.
C. The foolish woman utters all her mind. Proverbs 29:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. Read I Kings 19:1-2. Jezebel hastily speaks all that is in her mind. The backdrop for this passage is found in the previous chapter. Elijah the prophet has just defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He specically asks Ahab to bring the prophets who sat at Jezebels table, Read I Kings 18:19. Now Elijah has killed them. In this passage we see Jezebels response to what Elijah had done. She is mad, so she makes threats to the man of God. Elijah was trying to give her a message, The prophets of Baal are nothing compared to God. Do you think Jezebels response was the right one? Why or why not?
D. The foolish woman causes strife. Proverbs 20:3 says that It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling. Read I Kings 18:18, 41-46. We see the brave prophet Elijah standing up and ghting evil. Read I Kings 19:1-4. Jezebel writes one little letter and what does it cause the man of God to do?
If you read further into I Kings 19 you nd that God does not punish Elijah for being weary and wanting to give up. Only when Elijah becomes proud of himself in I Kings 19:10 then God deals with him. Many a pastor have quit because of ill written notes causing strife. Determine to never be that kind of woman. If you have written your pastor this kind of note, go and apologize to him. E. The foolish woman despises wisdom. Proverbs 23:9 tells us to Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. Read I Kings 18:4, 13. We see that Jezebel, not her husband, despised wisdom so much that it caused her to do what to the prophets of God?
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G. The foolish woman uses loud and silly speech. Proverbs 15:2 reminds us that The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. Jezebel was the queen, and not just any queen, she had the king in her hip pocket. She inuenced him more than anyone else did. She had the opportunity to use her power aright but instead, time and time again, we see her using her mouth to pour out foolishness. What are some ways you see modern women acting the part of Jezebel?
H. The foolish woman destroys her own house. Proverbs 14:1 tells us that Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. Because of Jezebels foolishness, she, her husband, and her children all died tragic deaths. Her death was to the point that they couldnt even bury her, a kings daughter. Read II Kings 9:30-37. What are some ways you have seen a modern woman BUILD her house?
What are some ways a modern woman can destroy her house?
J. The foolish woman utters slander. Proverbs 10:18 says that He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander is a fool. Read I Kings 21:8-13. Jezebel took her hatred and turned it into slander. She deceitfully wrote a letter in her husbands name using his seal. And the deceit does not stop there! She instructs the men of the city to lie about Naboth! Jezebels hatred turned slander caused the senseless death of Naboth in verse 13 all for a vineyard! What are some dangers of slander?
L. The foolish woman trusts in her own heart. Proverbs 28:26 reveals that He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. This is very evident in the life of Jezebel. How many times do you see Jezebel going to God for direction and guidance? In I Kings 21, the entire chapter was about Jezebels plot to get rid of Naboth. Write out Proverb 3:5, 6.
M. The foolish woman lifts herself up. Proverbs 14:3 instructs us that In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. It would be a safe assumption that Jezebel lived a life of pride. What are some decisions that you have seen in her life, as you read in I Kings chapters 16-22 and II Kings 9, that were marked by pride?
II. The Worth of a Foolish Woman. A. The foolish womans way is right in her own eyes. Proverbs 12:15 says that The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. What resulted from this? Did Jezebel seek counsel in I Kings 21?
E. The foolish woman has no desire for wisdom. Proverbs 18:2 reveals to us that A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. In our disney inuenced world, we hear all the time to, Just follow your heart, it will never lead you wrong, Trust your heart, etc. We see that Jezebel followed her heart and as a result she continually rejected the truth, even embracing lies. Why should we not follow our heart?
F. The foolish woman is repeatedly silly. Proverbs 26:11 gives us a vivid word picture: As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Jezebels life was marked by this verse. It is like that saying, The denition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. Have you ever seen a woman who continually made wrong choices? What marked her life?
B. Destruction Proverbs 13:20 says that He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Explain this verse:
Proverbs 18:7 says that A fools mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. We see in the life of Jezebel that her lips were her destruction. When did God say, Enough! and tell Elijah the judgement he had for Ahab and Jezebel? (The answer is found in I Kings 21, towards the end of the chapter.)
D. Shame Proverbs 3:35 tells us that one day, The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. Read II Kings 9:34-37. Jezebel, the daughter of the king, did not even receive a proper burial. Her fate was one of shame and disgrace. Do you desire to be promoted? Human nature always desires promotion, either in the job, social circles, etc. We desire promotion and even preeminence. That is why the apostles warned against it! Promotion is not an evil thing to desire, preeminence, however, is. No one would desire to be promoted to shame. What are some things you have observed that people want to be promoted to?
E. Death Proverbs 10:21 says that The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. Ultimately Jezebel died, a tragic death, In II Kings 9:30-37. How do we see this verse fullled in her life?
F. No Honor Proverbs 26:8 says that As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool. Again in II Kings 9:34-37, we see that Jezebel died with no honor. How do you think God deals with a Jezebel Woman in our modern day?
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B. Dont be her friend! Earlier we looked at Proverbs 13:20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. A companion in this verse is just someone who happens to be in the same vicinity as another person, they dont even have to be friends or even know each other. Can you think of a time when you or someone you know got in trouble because they were in a situation they did not mean to be in? If so, what was the result?
In conclusion what can we learn from the foolish woman? How has God spoken to you?
Name one thing that is going to change in your life as a result of this study?
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