Elijah has been hiding from the evil King Ahab for more than 3 years while a drought has ravaged Israel. Now God instructs Elijah to confront Ahab at Mt. Carmel. Elijah challenges Ahab and his god, Baal, to a bit of a duel. He invites Ahab to bring 850 priests of Baal and Asherah and they will see who truly is God. All of Israel gathers to see what happens. The false priests prepare their sacrifice and then they dance and sing and shoot pleading with Baal to send fire to consume their sacrifice. Nothing happens! Imagine that! Then Elijah steps forward and asks Israel, "how long will you jump back and forth between Yahweh and these false gods? When will you decide who you will serve?" Remember back to the days when Joshua asked Israel the same question on the banks of the Jordan. The had emphatically declared, "We will serve the Lord!" Time has past and they have forgotten what it means to be devoted to God.
Elijah prepares the altar and the offering and then he prays to God "to send down fire!" God answers and the offering and the altar and the ground around are consumed by the fire of God. Then Elijah calls on Israel to destroy those who have led them in worshipping false gods and all of the 850 false priests are killed.
Would that God's fire would descend on us and consume all that is not holy in us. Could we withstand such a fire? Would we welcome such a holy cleansing or have we become so accustomed and enamored of the world and the flesh that we would be unwilling to give those things to God?
God ends the drought and the rain comes. this is often true after we have battled evil and overcome, there will be a season of refreshing accompanied by fruitful growth.
False prophets have a number of characteristics that should warn us about them. They seek the favor of those who are powerful. They seek to say things that will be pleasing to others. They seek personal benefit from their ministry. True profits seek only to honor God. Their speech will often alienate and accuse those in power or position. They often live in poverty or very frugally.
Despite the great victory over evil, Elijah suffers a season of depression. He goes into the wilderness and asks God to deliver him from this lonely quest for righteousness. He cries out that there is no other who bears this burden with him. God nourishes Elijah and sends him on a journey to Mt. Horeb (Sinai, the same Mt. of the 10 commandments). There he hides him in a cave. Could this be the cleft in the rock where Moses stood while the glory of God passed? God tells Elijah to prepare himself, he is coming.....not in the storm, not in the earthquake, but in a whisper (give us ears to hear, O Lord!). God tells him that he is not alone, there are 7000 more who have bent a knee to Ahab & Jezebel and the evil that they represent. We must know that God promises to always preserve a remnant. The world may be in a downward spiral but God preserves sufficient yeast to cause the loaf to rise! May we always remember that we are the yeast and we are not alone.
God also commissions Elijah to do three anointings, perhaps the most important to Elijah is the anointing of Elisha who will become his companion and eventually his successor. While we journey and do our work for the Lord, we, too, should be mentoring and preparing future leadership for the church and for the work that is yet to be done. We are intended to multiply this ministry that like a budding young vine we might spread and yield fruit 40 or 60 or 80 or even 100 fold.
Enjoy the sunlight and the promise of God's refreshing spring. Hope you have a most blessed day.
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