“Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 1 Kings 17:1
Now, because Solomon drifted away from God in his later years as king, God took the kingdom away from his son Rehoboam and divided it. Solomon’s son maintained a small part of the kingdom...called Judah. The remaining tribes (still called “Israel”) revolted and named Jeroboam (a former leader under King Solomon) their king.
Nearly none of the kings from either kingdom pleased God...so Israel and Judah were constantly at war. Ahab, king of Israel was the worst...he “did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all the kings before him.” In part, because he was influenced by his wife Jezabel. We will recall, Jezebel was a pagan and incited King Ahab to abandon the worship of Yahweh and promote worship of the Baal and Asherah. She also persecuted the prophets of Yahweh and organized the execution of Naboth, a law-abiding landowner, after Ahab coveted his land.
Along comes Elijah...and his boldness before Ahab is stunning. He doesn’t say “this is what the Lord says...” although, his words surely were from God. Instead he says “as surely as the Lord lives...there will be no rain until I say so.” The simple caveat being I answer to God “before whom I stand” and not you.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to speak Biblical truth. The hostility is palpable and retribution is often visited upon those who dare attempt it.
Wikipedia summarizes, for, us, the incident with Masterpiece Cake Shop. In 2012, a same-sex couple from Colorado made plans to be lawfully married in Massachusetts and return to Colorado where same-sexy marriage was prohibited. The couple visited Masterpiece Cake Shop to order a wedding cake for their return celebration. Masterpiece's owner Jack Phillips, who is a Christian, declined their cake request, informing the couple that he did not create wedding cakes for marriages of gay couples owing to his Christian religious beliefs, although the couple could purchase other baked goods in the store. The couple promptly left Masterpiece without discussing with Phillips any of the details of their wedding cake.
While another bakery provided a cake to the couple, they filed a complaint to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission under the state's public accommodations law, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits businesses open to the public from discriminating against their customers on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. The case was decided in favor of the plaintiffs; the cake shop was ordered not only to provide cakes to same-sex marriages, but to "change its company policies, provide 'comprehensive staff training' regarding public accommodations discrimination, and provide quarterly reports for the next two years regarding steps it has taken to come into compliance and whether it has turned away any prospective customers."
Masterpiece appealed the decision and refused to comply with the state's orders, instead opting to remove themselves from the wedding cake business. The state's decision was upheld on the grounds that the act of making the cake was part of the expected conduct of Phillips' business, and not an expression of free speech nor free exercise of religion.
Masterpiece Cakeshop petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the following question: Does applying Colorado's public accommodations law to compel Phillips to create expression that violate his sincerely held religious beliefs violate the Free Speech or Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
The Court issued its ruling on June 4, 2018, ordering a reversal of the decision made by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The opinion stated that a State decision “in which there is religious hostility on the part of the State itself” violates the "State’s obligation of religious neutrality" under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
For six years Masterpiece created no custom cakes...at the cost of 40% of his business and the threat of losing his business entirely. As we “stand before God”, we are required to do no less...regardless the cost. We are evened warned by Jesus Himself: “No servant is greater than his master. If they hate me, they will hate you.” (John 15:20).
Mr Phillips is now hated by millions of Americans who disagree with his allegiance to Biblical truth. Had he pursued a more “accommodating’” path he could have remained virtually anonymous and been admired by all his patrons. Buckle up...it won’t be a smooth ride!
Live boldly out there today...
