Limping Between Opinions
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Limping Between Opinions
Limping Between Opinions
As we pick up our Casket Empty series again, we have journeyed to the point where the Kingdoms are divided. 10 tribes have separated from the other 2, to form a Northern and Southern Kingdom. These numbers might sound familiar as when the 12 spies went and scouted the promised land. Ten spies thought, “No, there are giants there!” and only two, Caleb and Joshua though Israel should go.
So here we are the Kingdom is divided and in the North, God has raised up Jeoboam (a military leader) to be king. He’s concerned that the people will go back to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, so he makes two idols in the form of golden calves placing one at Dan and the other at Bethel to whom the people could worship and offer sacrifices.
Such acts are in direct defiance of the covenant relationship established at Sinai. Most of us remember the 10 Commandments:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.
You might be thinking this whole calf thing sounds familiar as well. It was Aaron who had the people of Israel bring him Gold to which he fashioned a golden calf. It’s interesting to see how sins of the past continue to repeat themselves and haunt the people of Israel, in this case the Northern Kingdom.
During this time the worship of Baal, a Canaanite god also becomes characteristic of the period. Thus the people of Israel, God’s chosen people - or at least 10 tribes of them are caught between worshiping Baal and worshiping their Creator God. And so Elijah refers to them as “limping along.”
Listen to God’s Word from 1 Kings 18:20-39
So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
A reading from God’s Holy Word,
Thanks Be to God.
I read or listen to this story and it is so powerful. Imagine, being out numbered 450 to one, and still so sure of God’s call and that God will act that you can openly mock the others as they try and call upon their gods to take their offering. Then when asked to bring a sacrifice you actually have it doused with 12 jars of water. These are the jars we might use for canning, no, these jars are large pots. They could have been as small as carried by a single person, or they could have been as large as 20 gallons. The larger amount is doubtful given the context of a drought. Still, the water poured over the offering and filled the trench around the altar. That’s a significant amount of water. Surely enough to make the fire danger low for the sacrifice and the offering.
Still Elijah calls on God, 1 Kings 18:36
1 Kings 18:36 (ESV)
“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
Elijah recognized himself as God’s servant. His will was submitted to that of the Creator God. And it is significant that he did not pray that the people would know that he was right. He did not pray that the prophets of Baal would be humiliated. He prayed, 1 Kings 18:37
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
Elijah wanted the people, the people of Israel to know, to remember that their Creator Lord the true God of Israel was knowable and that their hearts had been turned back to the Lord by God.
And what was the result?
Elijah prayed and 1 Kings 18:38
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Whereas the prophets of Baal couldn’t even get a spark out of their gods, Elijah’s God sent fire that not only consumed the offering, but the wood and the stones, and the dust, and the water that was in the trench. That’s intense!
And the people responded: 1 Kings 18:39
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
Falling on their faces is a position of utter humility; and they proclaim the LORD is God, not once, but twice. Whenever something is repeated it is done for emphasis. The people who had turned from God are now proclaiming the Lord is God.
As I have studied this passage there and think about the Northern Kingdom, there are several things that stand out.
The majority of tribes went to the North.
Why? Well, they obviously thought they were doing the right thing. And yet, they were so easily swayed and followed a leader that set up for them alternative gods for them to worship, which they seemingly did willingly.
The majority of tribes went to the North.
Elijah was severely outnumbered as well.
Elijah, clearly had a strong connection with God. Yet he is called to be severely in the minority in his context. Not only is he a prophet for the Creator God battling the prophets worshipping Baal, but he is in direct contrast to the culture around him. The people had forgotten their heritage and whose they were.
The majority of tribes went to the North.
Elijah was severely outnumbered as well.
How often God works in the minority instead of the majority.
Think back in Scripture how often we see God working through the minority instead of the majority.
We’ve already mentioned
2 vs. 10 spies who surveyed the promised land.
Gideon’s army to fight the Midianites numbered 22,000 and God pared it down to just 300.
Elijah vs. 450 prophets of Baal.
Clearly God can work through small numbers. Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes, like you’re in the minority? Do we as a church at times feel like we’re overwhelmed by the size of other churches? Our weekly attendance is not what some churches are.
Yet, I’m reminded again and again that though we are small, we are strong. But our strength cannot come from our confidence in who we are, but instead in who God is. As a church, we must continue to lean into God.
Are you
Limping Between Opinions
Limping Between Opinions
When you consider our church in the midst of our community and our culture, do you see it as small and insignificant? Or, Do you see our church following a great God, Sovereign over all that is?
Do you see our actions dependent upon the strength of our numbers or dependent upon the strength of our God?
Is our faith dependent upon who we are or upon who God is?
I want to close with a story that came from a friend. It’s attributed to Jentezen Franklin. It goes like this:
“A pastor of a small church would occasionally call on one gentleman to pray, and every time this one particular guy would pray, he would end with the strangest statement, “And, oh Lord, prop us up on our leaning side.”
Finally, the pastor pulled him aside, and he said, “I love the way you pray, but I don’t understand your little closing phrase. What are you talking about – prop us up on our leaning side?” He responded, “Well, Pastor, I’m a farmer. I live out on the farm and, you know, I live in the country. I’ve got an old barn, and it’s been there a long time. It’s been through a lot of weather, and a lot of storms, and a lot of bugs have eaten at it.”
He said, “I got to looking at it one day when I was riding on my tractor, and I noticed that it was leaning to one side. So I thought to myself, oh my goodness! The barn is leaning, and it’s a matter of time before the whole thing falls.
He continued, “So, you know what I did? I went and got some pine beams, and I propped it up on its leaning side.” He said, “It still leans, and probably always will. But I propped it up on its leaning side. And it’s not going to fall down because I propped it up on its leaning side. And I got to thinking about it.
When I was on the tractor, Pastor, and I was riding in the field, I thought about the kind of year I’ve had, and some of the storms I’ve been through, and some of the people that are bugging me, and eating away at my joy and eating away at my spirit. And I just got to thinking, you know, I’m still here! I’m still standing after all that stuff I’ve been through. The storms, and the howling winds – they couldn’t topple me. I’m still standing by the grace of God.”
He concluded, “From time to time, I find myself leaning. Leaning toward my old desires, leaning toward anger, leaning toward becoming bitter or hateful at the people who are bugging me, or leaning toward going back to the old habits and the old life I used to have. And when I feel myself start to lean toward that tendency, I just remember that old barn, and I pray out loud - "Lord, thank you for propping me up on the leaning side."
There’s truth there. Let us all continue to lean strongly on our Lord, and may he prop us up on our leaning side. To the praise of His glorious grace. AMEN.