A Long Pause
Notes
Transcript
The Sins of the Father
The Sins of the Father
1kings 16:
But Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
The entire narrative surrounding Elijah’s ministry fascinates me. Here is a man, by all accounts an ordinary man, at the center of a national controversary. If we were to look back just a bit in our Bibles, we’d see the how we find ourselves on Mt. Carmel this morning.
Perhaps the best way to bring this to full context is to take just a brief look at some of the characters, because people’s stories are important for context.
King Ahab inherited the Kingdom of Israel from his father, Omri. He was his successor. By all human accounts, Omri was a good king who had accomplished a great deal. He was a military man. We learn from Assyrian records that Omri was an impressive leader as they referred to Israel as the land of Omri. He expanded the borders of Israel’s kingdom and made allies of those who were once enemies. In his quest to continue his political conquest, he offered his son Ahab to be joined in marriage to the Phoenician princess, Jezebel, which brought Baal worship to the land. This is why despite all of Omri’s accomplishments, and they were many, scripture tells us that Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord, more than any of the kings before him.
The Sins of The Son
The Sins of The Son
Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.
1 kings 16:29-
We find Omri was bad, really bad and then in an awful game of one-upsmanship, we learn that Ahab his son is even worse. He did all the wicked things his father did, but then he began to worship Baal. In fact he built Baal a temple and set up an altar there for sacrifices. According to
Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
A Word About Baal
A Word About Baal
I think its critically important that we understand something about Baal and Baal worship because there is a principal here, a concept that is relevant today and its critical that we catch what was happening historically and spiritually. Worshipping an idol in this era might not be as we picture it. It wasn’t as if the people were frustrated with their denomination or local church and decided to start attending another one. Idol worship always required some sort of sacrifice, brutal and costly all on the foundation of empty promises and lies. Baal worship promised abundance and fertility. Plentiful crops and healthy livestock, this is what Baal worship promised. The cost for such abundance?
I want to pause here, because while I think its important for you to know the weight of the truth of scripture, it can be jarring and upsetting. I do think though that its important to know because whatever you worship outside of the Lord, weather it be money, power, convenience, whatever it is, what it will require of you will eventually be brutal and cost you your soul.
So the ultimate cost for Baals empty promises? The altar of Baal was made of metal, bronze or some other type that could be easily fashioned. The structure was hollow so that fire could be built underneath and inside of it. Baals arms were outstretched to demonstrate that he wanted something from those who would ask his favor. As the image of Baal grew red hot from the fire, people would approach with their sacrifices… various types of animals, but in times of intense crisis, their children and their babies. The priests of Baal would help put them on the red hot altar ensuring they remained there in the process.
Consider:
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft,
Deut 18:
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.
You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
A Word About The Lord
A Word About The Lord
So the very thing the Lord had warned the people about, the thing He said He detested, the thing that He said He hated, these are the things, the practices that the people engaged in. The Lord had seen enough. He sent Elijah to tell Ahab that there wouldn’t be any rain for three years except at his word. This was a direct confrontation initiated by the Lord for the heart and soul of the people. To demonstrate that Baal, this supposed fertility god, was powerless and his promises empty. Water sources dried up, crops and livestock died as the people were forced to face the awful truth: they had sacrificed everything in the name of convenience, comfort, and wealth and were left with nothing.
A Word About Delusion
A Word About Delusion
About three years had gone by and the word of the Lord had come to Elijah to present himself to Ahab. When Ahab meets him, he utters this delusional question:
When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.
1 kings 18:
Rather than see the bigger spiritual picture, Ahab was fixated on the lack of rain. Rather than take any kind of responsibility for what had happened, Ahab tried to give Elijah the weight of the responsibility.
Elijah set the record straight:
“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.
1 kings 18:
Consider carefully Elijah’s words here:
Ahab had abandoned the Lord’s commands
Did the Lord cause a shortage of food? Yes.
Ahab followed the Baals
Did the Lord allow hardship? Yes.
When we reject the Lord, when we abandon His commands, when we stop worshipping Him and start worshipping something, anything else, there is trouble and serious consequence.
*Perhaps we should take a moment to think about this. As Salvationists we believe that God is the only proper object of religious worship. It seems almost obscene to think that we would ever consider doing anything other than that. But I think a word of caution is in order here. I cannot imagine the people in Israel ever thought that they would worship anyone other than the Lord after He freed them from Egyptian slavery, or after any of the other times He gave them victory over oppressive enemies. Certainly they would never have thought they would do the detestable things they did in the name of wealth, prosperity, and convenience.
Yet here they were on Mount Carmel, called out by Elijah, not uttering a word.
A Word About the People
A Word About the People
The people of Israel that were gathered on the mountain were not a happy bunch. They were broken. They were angry. They were likely hungry and spiritually empty. When Elijah asked them
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.
1 kings 18:
They said nothing. There was this long awkward pause. Surely a word in anger! A word of complaint.
Nothing. Just this long awkward pause.
Remember when I said that there were at least two reasons why I might not give an answer to someone when questioned?
If I’m in trouble
If I don’t know
In my opinion this is what was happening on Mount Carmel. The people knew they were in trouble. They knew they had abandoned the Lord and knew they had done detestable things for Baal’s favor. They had been brutal and were brutalized in the pursuit of earthly gain. They knew they were in trouble and they also knew they didn’t know what was right anymore.
They didn’t have answers.
They were broken.
This is the result, this is always the result of worshipping anything or anyone other than the Lord.
A Word About the Grace of God
A Word About the Grace of God
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
1 Kings 18:22-
The position of the people was one of guilt. They stood on that mountain guilty, rightly deserving the unrestrained wrath of God. Once the contest took place and the prophets of Baal failed, the fire that fell from heaven that consumed the sacrifice Elijah had prepared could just as easily consumed each of them.
It didn’t .
Instead, God demonstrated His unimaginable grace by consuming the sacrifice instead.
Why?
The key is in Elijah’s prayer. He didn’t pray that God would destroy them, but rather that God would turn their hearts back to Him again.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I think this morning there are a number of things that could be taken away from the message.
At the end of it all there is a message of grace.