“How much longer will you waver, between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!”
1 Kings 18:21
The famine had become so severe in Samaria, because of the drought Elijah had prophesied, that King Ahab was forced to scour every hill and valley in hopes of finding enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.
In the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and tell King Ahab that I will soon send rain!”
Obadiah, a devoted follower of the Lord, saw Elijah coming toward him while he was out searching for provisions. He recognized Elijah and bowed before him. Elijah said. “Go and tell your master, Elijah is here.”
When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
“I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead.Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”
So Ahab summoned everyone to Mount Carmel. Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!”
But the people were completely silent...they were genuinely torn between the two choices.
Elijah said, “bring two bulls.” The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!”
And all the people agreed...
The prophets of Baal prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. They called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply.
So they shouted louder, and cut themselves until they bled. They raved until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no response.
Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” He took twelve stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar, piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he had the people pour water over the offering and the wood Until it ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
Elijah walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! When all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”
And...then it rained.
How often do we endure spiritual drought and famine in our lives because we are stuck in the middle...between the God of heaven and the god of this world? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will send spiritual rain upon our lives if we will simply get off the fence. He will even go to great lengths to make the decision crystal clear for us.
We are told in John’s first epistle, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (2:15-17). There is a reason why churches in many cities across our nation named themselves “Mount Carmel ______Church”. They are saying...at least by name...they have made a decision.
How long will it take us to decide between what will last and what will perish? It just doesn’t seem that complicated but...there are hundreds of false prophets out there encouraging us to make the wrong choice. Let’s be careful who we listen to.
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment