Posts tagged ‘elijah’
Ahab’s Evil Politics
But in spite of all the terribly godless things Ahab did during his 20-year reign, probably the thing that most disturbs me is Ahab’s tacit approval of the murder of Naboth (1 Kings 21), to take Naboth’s vineyard/land. Here was a godly man of Israel simply trying to live in obedience to God because he obviously feared God, which enabled him to stand up to the king. How else could he have stood up to Ahab? Obeying God was far more important to Naboth.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 7
There was not only no national salvation for Israel on its way as a result of God’s victory at Mt. Carmel. Elijah now faced a new problem, one that he probably did not expect. In this case, as we read, Jezebel wasted no time. She quickly sent a message to Elijah saying that he would be dead by that time on the next day. No sign of repentance on her part! Imagine watching or seeing 450 prophets of the god you worship get cut down by the sword after losing a very decisive and clear battle between the false god of Baal and the only true God, Jehovah. I get the feeling Ahab was hoping for such a response from her because he wasn’t man enough to do it himself. Yep, he wanted Jezebel to fight this battle for him.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 6
Elijah’s was a prayer to God and a mini-sermon to the people of Israel. The saddest part is that this entire scene should not have been necessary, but the people had fallen out of favor where God was concerned because of their penchant for idolatry and wanting to “fit in” with the people around them. Because of this, they literally cast the God of Abraham away from them and then wondered why trouble seemed to dog their footsteps. Gideon had this same problem in Judges 6. It’s because the people took their eyes off of God and slowly began to incorporate false gods into the mix, eventually fully pushing out Jehovah. It didn’t happen overnight. It took a bit of time. Because of that, the people could kid themselves into thinking that they were clueless as to why God seemed so silent and distant.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 5
During the event at Mt. Carmel, Elijah allows himself a moment or two to even poke fun at the prophets. On one hand, we can understand his sarcasm (v. 27; where Elijah “mocks” the prophets), yet on the other hand, this may have ultimately caused problems for Elijah within himself. Sarcasm at its root, is a form of arrogance. I must admit that I myself have had to deal with this within. In times past, I have been cutting to the bone and have gone for the proverbial jugular during a disagreement. I have been guilty of doing the exact opposite of what the Scriptures in many places tell us how to respond, where a soft answer would have turned away anger, my sarcasm simply made things worse. I’ve had to apologize to people because of it.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 4
Several years later – into the third year of the famine due to lack of rain and dew (1 Kings 18:1), God told Elijah to make an appearance before King Ahab. One would think that by this point, King Ahab would have come to understand that it was not Elijah, but God Himself who caused the rain and dew to cease. He was sending a very strong message to King Ahab. Let’s not forget that King Ahab was the king over Israel, not some other nation. Israel had been created for the express purpose of being a light to all other nations on earth and to fulfill its destiny by bringing forth the Messiah/Savior. The latter eventually happened in spite of the less than stellar performance of Israel, the nation, which only goes to prove that in spite of humanity’s propensity toward evil, God gets things done His way.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 3
Imagine being Elijah. Jezebel’s domineering demeanor and King Ahab’s cowardice toward Jezebel (whom he began to treat and run to as if she were his mother), and hatred toward God, brought about Baal worship in Israel big time. Jehovah’s prophets were scared for their lives, with some compromising their faith in God by kowtowing to Ahab in order to retain their positions. Others withdrew and hid in caves to be out of harm’s way.
King Ahab and Jezebel, Part 2
Such was King Ahab, who possibly without realizing it (but being just as culpable), ended up sided with Satan, and because of the overbearing personality of Jezebel and the fact that Ahab had little to no fight in him, Ahab continually opposed God’s purposes. Because of this and as is usually the case, Jezebel didn’t stop at simply ensuring that the worship of Baal was established throughout Israel. Eventually, she wanted to completely stamp out the worship of Jehovah.
Study - Grow - Know 
Recent Comments