1 Kings 18:41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." ... 44(b)-45 "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.'" 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

  ELIJAH in the power of God and with the help of Israel's citizens had just administered God's justice with the execution of 450 prophets of Baal. God had delivered Elijah from the evil Ahab's murderous intent against his own life. He knows God is about to send a heavy rain to end the drought. Elijah has the power of God to deal with his enemies as he desires. Why, then, does he say to Ahab, "Go eat and drink for there is the sound of heavy rain...go down lest the rain stop you"?. Why does Elijah, God's true prophet, care for Ahab, the idolatrous king who has led God's people astray? Shouldn't Ahab be judged and destroyed as the Baal prophets? In short, the question is, "Why did God show mercy to Ahab?"

           We must always understand the truth that it  is God's prerogative to extend mercy to judge. The Apostle Paul explains the question well in Romans 9:15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 

           Through Elijah, the sovereign Lord acted to awaken Israel to his power first through judgment. Now he is demonstrating through the prophet's words his gracious power to save Israel from drought and people from their sin. God is offering to Ahab and Israel an opportunity for a new beginning. Mercifully, God has saved Ahab from the sword. Elijah spoke to save Ahab from heavy rains. How will Ahab respond to God's saving mercy?  

           How do you respond to God's saving mercy to deliver you from evil, to hold off his righteous sword of justice and to offer you Jesus' cross of salvation? Do you live right with God? Do you lead others to know him? Are you thankful? Do you worship your gracious God with a loving heart?

Prayer: Lord God, may we live in deep gratitude of your mercy to save us into your presence. Give us counsel to oppose evil and to be leaders for you. In Jesus' name, amen. 

          

September 4

Judgment

1 Kings 18:39-40 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord-he is God! The Lord-he is God!" 40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

THE judgment on Baal's prophets likely seem severe to us. The Baal prophets were misinformed, lost men whose hearts were misdirected. They had grievously sinned against God's basic commandments, especially as they sacrificed children in fiery worship. These depraved men had helped turn Israel's heart from God. But do they deserve death? Where is God's forgiveness?

    In God's law they do deserve death. Two of the Ten commandments forbid idolatrous worship and murder. Even more, after the Great Flood, centuries before the Ten Commandments came from his hand, the Lord established capital punishment as a means of swift justice against people who murdered. Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." And further, in Deuteronomy 13:12-15 God's law gave specific instructions to destroy those who committed such sin.

    But surely God forgives us our sins, doesn't he? Did even the false prophets deserve time to pray as David did in Psalms 79:8-9 "Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. 9  Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake!"

    In effect, these men had had a lifetime to repent. They knew of God before they turned to Baal. As Paul writes in Romans 1:21-22 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools." ... 25 they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Rejecting God resulted in great depravity.

    The Baal prophets had had their opportunity. They knew of God and had said, "No." to the Lord's Word many, many times. Now it was God's time to judge them.

    This is the picture of God's plan of judgment and salvation over all of mankind as Paul also wrote in Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

    On that final Day of the Lord, some will ask, "Why didn't God give the condemned time to repent?" The answer will simply and finally be, "He already has."

Prayer: Holy Spirit, stir hearts to listen to your word that the unrighteous will become saved through their repentance of their sins and your forgiveness. In Jesus' name, amen.

1 Kings 18:36-38 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

GOD had arranged this contest between evil idolatry and himself. His purpose, of course, was to show Israel he and he alone is the God of all things seen and unseen. In the fiery demonstration he shows his people he is the same God who came to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3). He is the same God whose fiery countenance on Mt. Sinai: Exodus 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.  

    Centuries later God would demonstrate his power in the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. On that day God began a movement from Jerusalem that would extend into all the world, even to your doorstep and to your heart. His Spirit would come upon countles numbes of people to consume their hearts with his holy fire of repentance and to deliver them from evil. His Spirit would awaken minds to know of the Father's will to save, the Son's death to save and the Spirit's power to save.

    Remember that Jesus taught us to often pray for God's power to come. We say in the Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from evil for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever." With these words, we confess we need protection. We acknowledge God can protect us. And we praise him that his kingdom power is above all powers.

    Decidedly the Holy God has shown to us through the Bible and through our lives that in his glory he comes with a fiery power to save us from evil. Worship such a god as this. Destroy the idols in your life that keep you from him.

Prayer: Lord God, you are mighty to save. Come with fiery power against the evil in our hearts and in our nations. Deliver from evil those in my family who have yet to receive you as Lord and King. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

  September 2

Preparing the Way

1 Kings 18:33-35 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood." 34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

MANY of you are familiar with the praise and worship song, "Days of Elijah". The first words are

"These are the days of Elijah

Declaring the word of the Lord,

And these are the days of Your servant, Moses

Righteousness being restored

These are the days of great trials

Of famine and darkness and sword

Still we are the voice in the desert crying

Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

Behold He comes, riding on the clouds

Shining like the sun, at the trumpet's call

Lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee

Out of Zion's hill, salvation comes."

The words are a general understanding of Scripture's teachings. They point to the prophetic word being spoken through the ages in order to prepare mankind for the Day of the Lord, when Jesus will come in final judgment and salvation upon the earth.

    What God is about to do through Elijah on Mt. Hermon in Israel is a very small illustration of that final Day of the Lord. Elijah has prepared Israel for a grand demonstration of God's salvation. Out of the "hills" of Zion - of Israel - on that day God came to judge idolatry and to deliver his people from evil. From the hills will come the terrifying and good news that God judges evil and saves the righteous.

    The Word of God is the source of your preparation for the day you will stand before Jesus. Are you hearing the Word of the Lord? Do you know salvation in Jesus Christ as come from Zion's hills? Or are you wondering, "Who do I follow?"

Prayer: Holy Spirit, prepare me for the Day of the Lord. Teach me to be your teacher to help others prepare. In Jesus' name, amen.
 

 

1 Kings 18:30-32 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

ELIJAH has allowed the Baal priests to call on the name of their idol. Now he prepares to call on the name of the Living God. As "call on the name of the Lord" means worship, Elijah begins to worship God with a proper preparation of a twelve-stone altar. This is to obey God's worship command found in Exodus 28:21.

    The altar is so constructed of 12 stones because it is Israel's reminder that they are the people God purposefully formed from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From Jacob came 12 sons - the fathers of Israel's 12 tribes. As Elijah invites the Israeli people to come around him, their attention would move from the "no god" Baal to the Creator God who had formed them to be his people. The altar is a reminder of God's power from the past, and it is where God will show he is still sovereign over all events.

    On this day, God will come to stir Israel's emotions. They will see stirring evidence of who the true God is at this place of reckoning between sinful Israel and the holy God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the altar of the cross. May it always remind me of your gracious call to save me.  In Jesus' precious name, amen.  

August 31

No Response

1 Kings 18:26-29 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

IT is easy to mock the Baal priests, isn't it? They called out to nothing. No god or person heard their great noise; nor did any living supernatural being see their perverted actions. Elijah makes fun of them and their "no god". This was especially mocking to the Baal prophets. Baal was considered Master and Lord of the universe. To them Baal possessed special power over the sun. They would see the three-year drought as punishment from Baal.

    But let me ask you this: What do you do when God is silent? What if you legitimately call on the name of the Lord (See our previous day's study.) with a heart submissive to God's authority? What if you worship God in truth and in spirit, but there is only silence from Heaven?

    This can be a "mocking point" for many unbelievers. To them, a silent God is no God. How do we respond?

    We'll consider this more in a few days as we see what happens with Elijah after this contest. But for now, when we hear only silence from God, the Bible tells us to keep seeking him and to remain with him. We don't need to go to extravagant measures to wake him up or to call him back from lunch. True worship toward God is an expression that we are faithful to wait on his reply. His silence can be a reminder that he is sovereign, and you are not. In addition, silence sometimes is God's tool for helping us see and hear he is speaking in ways we don't anticipate. A silent God can be a voice of strength to draw you even nearer to him. This happened with Job. It happened with David. And it happened with Jesus. See this cry to God from David:

    Psalms 22:1 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. 4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed."

    From there the psalm goes on to prophesy Jesus' tortuous death and our Lord's loneliness on the cross. David in his despair and Jesus from the cross both cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus, your Savior, knows about the Father's silence. He knew in the silence the Father's will was being accomplished. Job, David and Jesus remained faithful to God, and God rewarded them.

    If God is silent toward you now, continue to seek him. Remember his promises. Remember the cross. Know he is the Living God. He will act in his time to personally speak his tender love to care abundantly for you.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your silence. Help me to faithfully pursue you when I don't hear what I want to hear from you. Tune my ears to your voice. Amen.