I am not one to exalt the enemy’s power above the power of Jesus Christ; for all imaginations and power that try to exalt themselves above the knowledge of Jesus have been brought to the obedience of Jesus Christ. However, I think it is necessary to be aware of the enemy’s vices while we are mindful of his schemes and patterns. A good look at the book of Ezekiel chapter 13 gives us a clue of the modes of operation of the enemy. I find it interesting that for the longest time or for the number of times that I must have read this chapter, I did not catch the things I am about to share with you in this blog post. Perhaps I saw them and just can’t remember. However, the other day as I studied this chapter, it looked all brand new to me.
The book of Ezekiel shares the account of the prophet Ezekiel, his interactions with the Lord, and God’s children as directed by the Lord. This particular chapter opens up by telling us that the word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel. It is great to know and note that whenever the word of the Lord comes to a man; light comes, illumination comes, direction comes, clarity comes, strength comes, peace comes, joy comes, and the like… This peculiar interaction and the coming of God’s word to the prophet came with illumination and direction. The word of the Lord came to prophet Ezekiel to go prophecy against false prophets; prophets who spoke and ministered by their flesh and from their hearts. The Lord wanted Ezekiel to go speak against these prophets that led his children astray, prophets that gave His children false hopes, prophets that spoke on behalf of the Lord when God hadn’t spoken, prophets that make God look like a liar – For God is not a man that He should lie – Numbers 23:19. God’s judgment and word to these kinds of prophets goes thus – “Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirits and have seen nothing” – Ezekiel 13:3.
Although the lines of this chapter were written centuries ago, it is important to note that these things still hold to date. One would think that since God’s word was sent against these false prophets from years ago – they would stop their antics and tactics. Sadly, these kinds of prophets are sent by the devil who is still very much around with the sole purpose of frustrating the faith of God’s children. Many of these kinds of prophets may have come to repentance, however many of them are being birthed and trained by the devil. Therefore, let us stay aware and guarded of these kinds of prophets.
Now this is the aspect that caught my attention during my study; it is the mention of women who wrap around their wrists charms and magic with the sole aim to hunt souls. Even worse, they make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt their souls – Ezekiel 13:18. As I read this portion, all I could think about are the teachings and sermons I have listened to at my church – Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries. This is a ministry that is heavy on deliverance and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Reading this portion of the bible only reaffirmed for me all of the lessons that I have heard at my church. Although very conventional and not the typical type of sermons we may hear on a daily- it is the sad truth. Enchantment, sorcery, magic charms, and so on are real. We see good examples of the ways these things are used in the bible and even worse, they are still being used in the world we live in now. The difference between now and the ages past may be the names they are called now or how they have been repackaged. I saw one on Instagram the other day; how a woman was marketing products to women who wanted to manipulate men in their favor. These days, these magic spells are called crystals, pearls, and so on. No matter how fancy these things may seem or be called – they have one sole aim, – “to hunt the souls of men”. To you who may be utilizing one of these vices of the enemy, it may look like you are winning right now. It may look like you have the heart of your victim in your palm but the truth is you are tormenting and hunting the souls of men. What the enemy is doing through you is to capture the soul of your victim, and cause him or her to go contrary to the perfect will of God while subjecting them to evil manipulation. A person like this, the one being manipulated cannot rise or soar as the Lord intends, because their true soul and spirit have been ensnared by the enemy. Sadly, whoever ignorantly or knowingly introduced this mechanism into such a life is an accomplice of the enemy the judgment of the Lord for such a person is – Woe!
As we go further into the book of Ezekiel 13, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel about another mode of operations of these kinds of people. The Lord revealed to the prophet how these men and women utilize the weapon of lies to make the hearts of the righteous sad. In God’s word,
Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from the wicked way to save his life. - Ezekiel 13:22
As I read through these verses, my concern was and is for men and women who are not armed and hidden in the truth and light of Jesus Christ. Ignorant and unarmed men would continue to be subject to the manipulation and hunting of the enemy. In the book of Numbers 23, we see how Balak, the evil king of Moab, a prophet of the devil hired the prophet of God to curse God’s people. Chances are that Balak may have tried over and over to curse God’s people, to use sorcery and enchantment against God’s people but it all failed. Hence, he thought to himself, he could pay off a God’s general to do the work but the covenant that God has with His children is so potent that no scheme of the devil can break it. This is God’s word concerning any enchantment that may be formed against His children;
No curse can touch Jacob; no magic has any power agaisnt Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob, “What wonders God has done for Israel!”
Numbers 23:23 NLT
You might say, this is all in the Old Testament and nothing of such happened in the New Testament or can happen in this age and time. The truth is Yes! All of God; ‘s children who have become new, becoming new by the power of Jesus Christ and by His spirit are immune to sorcery and enchantment of the devil. This doesn’t mean the enemy doesn’t keep trying to break the hedge or to find loopholes for him to strike. In Galatians 3:1, Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians who I believe knew Jesus Christ. However, this chapter opens up as a lamentation to God’s children – “O foolish Galatians! who have bewitched you that you should not obey the truth”. It looks as though God’s children at this moment were under some kind of spell or sorcery and apostle Paul in his wisdom was calling them to order by the power of Jesus Christ.
Sorcery, enchantment, and lies from the pits of hell are weapons the enemy uses to disarm individuals, God’s children, and the body of Christ. My blog post today is to two categories of people: People outside the covenant of Grace with the Lord Jesus Christ and people who are already bound by the covenant of Grace with the Lord Jesus Christ.
To my dear friends who have not said Yes to Jesus Christ: I implore you to take a look at Ezekiel 13 for yourself. I hope that you see for yourself from this blog post and even more from the bible reading the things that you subject yourself to for as long as you stay outside of God’s kingdom. For as long as you stay outside, you remain susceptible to the vices of the enemy to either manipulate, enchant, or ultimately hunt your soul. Perhaps, you are already in this web of manipulation – there surely is a way out for you.
The way out is to say Yes to Jesus Christ today. Becoming friends with Jesus Christ engrafts you into the family of Jesus Christ, into the lineage of Jacob. And for everyone who becomes engrafted into the lineage of Jacob – Israel, Numbers 23:23 holds for them. No enchantment, no sorcery, no divination against the household of Jacob can ever stand. The household of Jacob symbolizes God’s chosen people, in case you are wondering…So my dear friend, stop sitting on the fence and come wholly into the household of God where you can enjoy immunity from enchantment, where your soul can find rest and can escape being hunted like a bird.
Finally, to my friends who already enjoy the love of Jesus and live through Him; I hope that you continue to keep in mind and arm yourself with God’s truth for your life. As you can see in Ezekiel 13:22, the devil deplores lies to God’s children to make us sad when God hasn’t made us sad. In Jesus’ name, I dislodge those lies and I enforce God’s truth over our lives now in Jesus name.
As much as we can pray for ourselves, I also want to encourage us to stay in God’s word, God’s truth. This way, we remain armed with God’s truth and remain immune to the lies or craftiness of the enemy. May we remain in God’s truth and stay marvelously helped by the Lord in Jesus’ name.
