Influence (Part II)

When God repeats Himself in my quiet times, it means I need to pay attention. I wrote in the previous post about Jeremiah admonishing a group of men and women from Judah for worshiping the “queen of heaven.” This worship had been spear-headed by the women and then adopted by the culture at large. It reminded me of the influential ability God gave women when He created us in His image. We can use our influence in its corrupted form or we can walk in its redemptive form through Jesus.

Yesterday in my quiet time, a similar scenario surfaced again. This time the scenario is found in the book of Ezekiel. It is a little intense so buckle up.

¹⁷ “Now, son of man, speak out against the women who prophesy from their own imaginations. ¹⁸ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves? ¹⁹ You bring shame on me among my people for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live.

… ²² You have discouraged the righteous with your lies, but I didn’t want them to be sad. And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins. ²³ Because of all this, you will no longer talk of seeing visions that you never saw, nor will you make predictions. For I will rescue my people from your grasp. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 13:17-19, 22-23)

Some quick background. There are in fact legitimate female prophets in the Scriptures, a.k.a. a prophetess. For example, Miriam in Exodus 15:20, Deborah in Judges 4:4, and Huldah in II Kings 22:14. For more information on how a prophet/prophetess functioned as God’s spokes-person, watch The Bible Project video called “Prophets.” Click HERE.

The video discusses the main role the prophets played in God’s redemptive plan. 1) They made accusations to the people and Israel’s leadership (both government and religious leadership) when they violated God’s covenant; 2) They called the people and leadership to repentance; 3) They told of the consequences for not repenting: The Day of the Lord.

Back to my quiet time. A few things stuck out to me. The women prophesied out of their own imagination. The ESV translates it as “who prophesy out of their own hearts.” They were not speaking God’s Words. They were creatively conjuring up their own ideas and telling them as if God Himself had spoken them. They were spiritually manipulating God’s people. This angered God and understandably so. However, God also knew that His people were soaking up these lies, loving them. In other words, God’s people were creating a demand and these false prophetesses were creating the supply.

This spoke to be in a personal way by God reminding me that my voice is His. I do not have the liberty to go rogue and start proclaiming things about God which I have created in my mind or felt in my heart. If I do, God says I am a liar and effectively victimizing other women for my own personal gain. That’s heavy stuff.

Then I starting thinking of this collectively. Nothing is new under the sun. Peter paints a clear picture that what happened in the Old Testament concerning rising false prophets is sure to happen throughout time (see II Peter 2). He discusses that these false teachers will arise among us. They will come from within the community of believers.

So if this is true, how is this playing out among us Christian women today? What kind of demand are we creating and what type of supply is being given in response? Some food for thought: From discussing this very scenario with other women, it seems we are caught in a cycle of two messages. 1) God has a wonderful plan for your life; 2) Jesus is your knight in shining armor whose sole purpose was to rescue you like Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty.

Of course God has a plan for our lives and of course Jesus has rescued us. But what does it mean that God has a plan for our lives? What does it mean for Jesus to rescue us? From and to what has He rescued us? What else did Jesus come to do? (Hint: there are at least 20 direct “mission statements” in Scripture to communicate why Jesus came, which is way more than 2 and does not include indirect conclusions).

I hope this is piquing your desire to remain in the Scriptures. We should be women who desire to hear and speak the truth, even if that truth is tough love. We should be women who create a demand for truth and supply truth. Let’s use our influence for God’s truth. My challenge to you is to reflect on some of the questions through out this post and discuss a few of them with at least one other sister in Christ!