1 Kings 18:16-22 | Kathryn Alban
Kathryn Alban
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Opening:
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So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Passing the Blame:
Ezra has gotten into the bad habit of not listening the first time she is told to do something. Just the other day I ask her to get on her shoes and I was packing up her lunch to take...She continued to play with her toys...again, Ezra put on your shoes....she comes running in but get’s distracted by ornaments on the Christmas Tree (yes my tree is still up) so again I look 👀 and still no shoes 👟.… “Ezra you will get in trouble if you don’t get those shoes on”....she says ok mommy, another 2 minutes pass, no shoes… At this point gentle parenting is long gone. I look at those feet...still only with socks on and march right over, grab her up by the arm take away what she was playing with, through it into her play room, and sternly say, “You Better GET ON your shoes right NOW”.
Now Ezra does not like when I have to talk to her like this.
As she cries she gets on her shoes, we finally get out the door as she says to me, “Mom you made me sad, cause you said....then she copied the exact way I said, “Get on your shoes”.
To this I said, “Ezra if you listened the first time I would not have to get harsh with you”.
See even little Ezra tried to pass blame for the result of her disobedience .
In our scripture we see Ahab (King of Israel) pass blame on Elijah.
During this time the Israelites were suffering a drought. 3 years prior Elijah had announced that there would be a drought in the land.
Now Elijah ... said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
Because of this Elijah was blamed for the suffering that the people now endured due to the devastating drought.
When Ahab says, “Is that you troubler of Israel”? He is saying that the people’s current situation was Elijah’s fault because he said that it was only at his word that rain would come.
App: Do you ever pass the blame? We face suffering, we face difficulties and turn to God, asking how he could do such a thing...when it was actually our sin that led us there?
-God why are you allowing conflict in my relationship, when it’s really because you aren’t allowing God to be at the center of that relationship.
-God why are you causing these money trouble to come on me, when really you haven’t trusted God in your finances.
-God why do you allow torment to come on me, when he’s been tell you to lay your worries at his feet and HE will give you peace.
We could go on and on....the truth is that sometimes we want the benefit of God without letting go of the sin that separates us from HIM.
Now I am not saying every bad thing that comes to you means you sinned, we live in a broken world 🌎 , one broken by sin, and we do not belong to this broken world.
BUT what I am saying that we need to evaluate our situations.
There are times we shake our fists at God...or blame others, when really our situation is the result of our own decisions.
Transition:
Devotional by Francis Chan gave characteristics of a look warm Christian, the that really stuck out to me was, “Don’t really want to be saved from their sin: they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin”.
2. Wavering with Sin
Let’s get some context of where the state of Israel was before this drought that Elijah spoke into existence through God’s power...
At this time Ahab and his wife Jezebel, ruled over Israel. Ahab and Jezebel led Israel into one of its darkest spiritual seasons. Jezebel actively promoted the worship of Baal, a Canaanite storm and fertility god believed to control rain, crops, and prosperity. She even funded hundreds of Baal’s prophets and persecuted the prophets of the Lord.
We see earlier in chapter 18 that Obadiah (the palace administrator) had to hide some of God’s prophets due to Jezebel’s persecution of them.
and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)
Because of this the Israelites were wavering from God...
Israel began mixing Baal worship with worship of the Lord, breaking their commitment to serve God alone.
This is why Elijah responds to Ahab, when called the troubler with, 1 Kings 18:17-18
And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.
Here Elijah is calling out Ahab. (It was not Elijah that brought devastation, but the decisions made by Ahab and his family that led God’s people into the worship of another god.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Yeast is made of small cells, so small you can’t see them individually. When you mix yeast into warm water and flour, it “wakes up” and starts to eat the sugar in the dough.
It then expands more and more.
Yeast is like a quiet worker in the dough. You don’t see it moving, you don’t hear it, but over time it changes the whole lump from the inside out.
Imagine this, you are at a friends house and see a cookie 🍪 on the kitchen counter. You walk over...it’s chocolate chip...your favorite.
No one else is in the kitchen and what would just eating one cookie hurt?
You eat the chocolate chip cookie. And leave the kitchen.
Your friend then asks around those in the house asking if anyone saw the chocolate chip cookie...it was her daughter’s reward for getting her homework done and was the only one left.
You quickly look up and say, “I didn’t see anything”..…
One thing leads to another and you blame their family dog.
“Temptation is seeing the cookie. Desire is wanting the cookie. Sin is taking the cookie. And the result is realizing it cost you more than you expected.”
I know that’s a silly, But that’s how sin works.
App: -We see the temptation, we might ignore it first. Then we might think (it’s not that bad), then we go from tempted, to acting on desires, to lies, deceit, passing blame. And while all of this is going on we grow further and further way from God...and then death comes. Not always physical but spiritual. Sin separates us from God and when we are separated from God we are not truly living.
Transition: Elijah is approaching a people who have wavered from God and into sin (worshiping another god/Baal. Trusting in Baal instead of God.)
So Elijah asks a question:
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
3. True Commitment
Now let’s look at Elijah...this a prophet, not liked by a large group because He has remained faithful to the one true God and prophesied about the drought. He’s come back to spread some light on what needs to change in Israel. And he does this through the story that follows our scripture...
After Elijah asks the people how long they will waver, the famous story of the two sacrifices takes place.
The many false prophets make an altar to Baal. They shouted, danced, and even cut themselves to try to get Baal to bring fire 🔥 down to burn up the offering on the altar...but nothing.
Then Elijah...God’s prophet. Repairs an altar to the One true God that had been torn down. He gets water to be poured on and around the altar. He steps forward and prays that the Lord would reveal himself so His people would turn back...The altar went up in flames🔥
What I find interesting is Elijah’s words right after he asks the people how long they will waver between two God’s and the two altars.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
This makes me thing of one of my favorite hyms:
I have decided to follow Jesus;I have decided to follow Jesus;I have decided to follow Jesus;No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me;The world behind me, the cross before me;The world behind me, the cross before me;No turning back, no turning back.
Many stop singing there, but there is a 3rd verse...
Though none go with me, still I will follow;Though none go with me, still I will follow;Though none go with me, still I will follow;No turning back, no turning back.
Before Elijah knew the result of this altar battle...
He stood ALONE committed to God.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Elijah was ready to loose his life.
He denied any comfort of this world and trusted in God.
It is easy to commit to God when everyone around you is.
It is easy to commit to God when it’s comfortable.
It is easy to commit to God when everything makes sense.
But what happens when
-You are the only one.
-When following God means getting really uncomfortable.
-When nothing makes sense and trusting in God seems irrational.
Will you stay committed to God?
Conclusion:
You know after this encounter we see the Israelites turn to God...but we also see Elijah having to run for his life and hide in a cave.
In this world following God is NOT easy and might never be comfortable.
—-When Miguel and I visited his family in Tampa, their pastor preached a sermon about being ALL IN for God. And he used an illustration (a true story) about two young mothers during the beginning of christianity. These mothers were arrested for their faith...one just had a baby, the other gave birth while in prison. Everyone pleaded with them to deny God so that they could be let go...they did not deny God and were brutally killed for their faith.
I really appreciated it because that’s not a nice fluffy illustration that has a happy ending.
These women died.
Guess what...we might not feel comfortable with this thought BUT that’s what getting serious about our faith looks like. Being willing to give anything because we know God’s truth.
Getting serious about our faith means:
Stop passing blame and owning up to our sins.
It means, stop wavering between the world and God.
It means committing, really committing to God. With all that we are.
What do you need to do to get serious about your faith?
It is time to make those changes and to stop wavering.
-Stop acting out of lust and commit to God’s will
-Stop chasing approval from others and seek approval from God
-Stop trusting how much money is in your bank account and trust in the creator of everything
-Stop making excuses of why you can’t follow God...
Why you can’t share your faith.
Why you can’t let go of sin.
Why you can’t tithe what God has given you.
Why you can’t wake up 5 minutes early to read your bible and pray.
Get serious about your faith..
