Bring the Fire

Over the next two weeks at The River, we'll focus on a portion of the prophet Elijah's story found in 1 Kings 17-18 (TM).  Elijah was a man of extreme faith, and he walked with God in an incredibly powerful way.

The moment Ahab saw Elijah he said, "So it's you, old troublemaker!" "It's not I who has caused trouble in Israel," said Elijah, "but you and your government—you've dumped God's ways and commands and run off after the local gods, the Baals."    -1 Kings 18:17-18

Okay, here's the deal: Ahab was an evil king... a very evil king in the northern kingdom of Israel who led his people into worshipping Ba'al, representing the false gods of the people who previously dwelled in Israel's promised land. Ahab also supported worship of the "whore goddess" Asherah, yet another false deity, glibly and stubbornly embraced by the Israelite people.


The sin of Ahab and the whole Israelite community was so bad that Elijah, as God's messenger, confronted Ahab and told him there was going to be a severe drought in the land for the next several years. Then, being the smart man that he was, Elijah hightailed it out of Ahab's presence, and hid a cave until God told him to come out.  :-)


Eventually, Elijah confronted Ahab again... prompting the quote referred to above in 18:17-18. By this time, it had been 3 1/2 years since it had rained on the land, and people were desperate for water - both for themselves and for their livestock. So, in a bold act of faith, Elijah challenged Ahab to see who was the true god of Israel, Ba'al, or Yahweh. He told the king to assemble the people of Israel, especially the 450 prophets of Ba'al, and the 400 prophets of Asherah - and challenged them meet him on top of Mt. Carmel for a dramatic contest between deities.


I particularly love what Elijah had to say to the Israelite people just before the contest began... he definitely wasn't a man who minced his words!

How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it's Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!

How long indeed! If you want to know the details of what happens in the contest, you'll have to read about it in 1 Kings 18... but suffice to say Yahweh rather graphically demonstrates that He alone is the One True God in Israel!


Wow... it's a good thing we're not like the Israelites, huh? I mean, how stupid could they be bowing down to objects they had made with their own hands. How primitive to erect a pole on their property dedicated to a supposedly fertile goddess named Asherah! How stupid that God had done so much for them... had proven Himself over and over again, and yet they turned away from Him at the drop of a hat! How crazy is that? Why in the world would people not worship the One who made them... the One who gave them the gift breath and life... the One who watched over them... the One who rescued them from their enemies... the One who fed them, and kept them clothed, and gave them water to drink (that is, except when Elijah prayed for the drought)??? How could anyone... ANY group of people be that hard-hearted and stubborn in rejecting their Father in heaven? Utterly insane, huh? Geez, I'm glad we're not so dumb.


Anyway... gotta go now. ABC's Wipeout will be on in awhile, and I absolutely can't miss an episode! Then, after that I have to update my Twitter account, and check on my friends' activities on Facebook... after that I need to get to the store to buy a lotto ticket... then, oh, I gotta check out the latest Castle eipsode on Hulu, then finish the night off by watching Hawaii Five-O on our DVR then playing a few hands of poker on my smart phone. Busy, busy, busy...! (Hmmm, what book in the Bible were we supposed to be reading this week again?)