I Kings 18 & 19
This passage records Elijah's challenge to the priests of Baal and his running from Jezebel.
18: 24
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the Lord, and the God Who answers by fire, He is God.
And all the people answered and said [essentially], That's a good idea.
Baal was considered to be a god of fire, so this made sense to them. They thought, surely, this "god of fire" could answer with fire. Elijah said that they had been "hopping between two forks," "hesitating between two opinions" (18:21). So they tried all morning to get Baal's attention, to no avail.
Then Elijah made the offering to the Lord impossible to burn, drenching it thoroughly with water, and calmly called on the Lord. Who then answered with so much "fire" that not only was the animal consumed, but the very rocks of the altar were melted away, and all the water was sucked up.
So he had all 450 prophets of Baal executed on the spot for blasphemy and lying about God.
When Jezebel heard how Elijah had killed all her prophets, she threatened to kill him, too. He was so exhausted from the emotional high of God's consuming Fire and running the 17 miles to Jezreel, "and he was afraid and arose and ran for his life" (19:3).
I need to pay attention to my own state. If I allow myself to be hungry or overly tired, that will make me vulnerable.
Then Elijah needed a nap!
19: 5-8
As he slept under a juniper tree, an Angel came with bread and water, and woke him up twice with this Heavenly fare, to strengthen him supernaturally, "because the journey is too great for you." He was to go to Horeb, the Mountain of God, another name for Sinai, in the South-West part of the Sinai Peninsula. There God spoke to Elijah.
He just wanted to give up and die, but God had more He wanted him to do. Here we learn that, "the Lord was not in the wind (storm), ... the Lord was not in the earthquake, ... and the Lord was not in the fire."
His voice was in "a sound of a gentle blowing;" literally, "the sound of a gentle stillness." God's voice is a very quiet, gentle "knowing" deep in our spirit.
Have you ever heard His voice? I know I need to be in a quiet place to hear Him, so He won't get drowned out by all the noise the World puts around us constantly.
19: 15-17
God had Elijah begin to destroy Baal worship in Israel, and now He wanted him to anoint some people: Hazael as king of Aram (Syria), Jehu as king over Israel (the Northern Kingdom); and Elisha, to mentor him to take his own place as Prophet! V. 17 says, It shall come to pass that he who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall slay; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall slay. Possibly, to wipe out Baal worship in the Land.
God does everything to destroy lies, deception, and cruelty. But Mankind will always go back to these atrocities. That explains the persecution of Christians today.
O my Father, You are God, You can do whatever You want! You can destroy all the lies and deception and cruelty in the World--but to do that, You would have to take away the "free will" that You have given us, and make us robots. You don't want robots or puppets, You want us to freely choose to love You, because You have loved us first.
I don't know why anyone would not want to get to know You, Father, You are so good and compassionate and wise. But our enemy is still telling people the same idea he deceived Eve with: that we're smart & can make our own decisions, so we don't need God, we can be our own god. We know better.
Then we wonder why life doesn't go the way we want it to, and we experience disappointments and pain and sorrow. And even when we do know You, and You consider us worthy to go through disappointment and pain and sorrow, and still trust You in it and through it; that is how we grow in Your grace and mercy.
Help us to learn the lessons You were teaching these ancient peoples. Every generation is made up of new people, who need to be taught Who You are and what You have already done for us. Many generations have come and gone since these people who lived in these olden times, but we are all still human beings, with the same make-up and proclivities of all of Mankind in every age.
I pray for those people I know, who I love, who are my family, my friends, my acquaintances; and also those who are strangers to me who are reading this blog every day. Please, Father, may my words tell Your Truth accurately, and that they all would understand how wonderful You are in doing everything possible (and even impossible) to show us Who You are, and how righteous your Love is in this Universe, in this Earth, this World, and to every person who lives.
You are not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and accept Your provision of the Sacrificial Lamb to take our place in the death each of us deserves; so You can wash away the stain of every sin, making us pure and capable of being with You where You are. This is why You sent Your own Son, our Lord Jesus.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
