1 Kings 18
Pastor Mark Hudson
I Kings 18 charms with drama, ridicule, decisions, fear, prayer, ritual, and murder. This courageous act by Elijah, who challenges the prophets of Baal, almost gets him murdered by Queen Jezebel. First notice that there is not one way to serve the Lord. Elijah is confrontational while Obadiah is secretive. Elijah is more fire and brimstone, speak directly to those in authority (dare I use ‘truth to power’?) and this is his full-time efforts.
Obadiah who is ‘over the household of Ahab’ which must mean he is second (or close to it) in command in Ahab’s administration. He both serves Ahab as a government official and hides 100 prophets of the Lord. Obadiah is serving Ahab and subverting his wife, Jezebel, at the same time. I would not think this is well known. If it was, Obadiah might lose his head to Jezebel. Two different people; two different servants of God.
Almost every reader will pick up that Obadiah does not want to die. Don’t hold that against him. He has been risking his life daily for these prophets. I doubt any reader of these devotionals can appreciate the pressure Obadiah was under and how careful he had to be with his ‘double life’ as a government official and protector of prophets.
Notice the name Elijah as earned from Ahab. The king calls him the ‘troubler of Israel.’ Oh, that this nation had more ‘troublers’ like Elijah. Reminds me of Senator John Lewis who encouraged people to get in ‘good trouble, necessary trouble’ to challenge to scourge of racism in America. We need godly Christians to get into ‘good trouble, necessary trouble’ for the gospel of Jesus Christ. While that is true in every age, the need now might be even more necessary.
As you read this account with all its drama, intrigue, and bravery one has to step back and realize there should have been no need for God to work in such an extra-ordinary way. He does this great deed because God’s own people are wearied with God, uninterested, and have found someone else to meet their needs. Look at it from their viewpoint. Paganism was there first and could claim an ancient pedigree. Baal was government sponsored. Why not go with the flow? After all, one could worship Baal and Yahweh. Also, Baal worship was clearly different. To make sure the land produced crops and rain, Baal prostitutes were at the ready. One could worship Baal with all ye glands (D.R. Davis). It certainly seemed to the people of Israel that when they worshipped Baal, the crops did well, and the rain fell. Anyway, why make a big fuss about it? Do your duty to both and go your way.
This is the state of God’s people during Elijah’s time and during so many times of the entire Bible. As you read the Bible, some aspects of the Bible as so very different from our age. But the disregard for the gospel, the outright mockery of Christ, and the embrace of this age in some churches is disturbing. In the very least, we ought to be in daily prayer for renewal, revival, and an increasing interest in God’s Word for all churches in our nation as well as around the world. This is always what we want and pray for in this church. We pray for genuine piety, true Biblical worship, and godly living.
During the Mount Carmel confrontation, the narrator repeats, ‘there was no voice, and no one answered’ (v. 26) and ‘there was no voice. No one answered, no one paid attention” (v. 29). This is significant. Reminds me of Francis Schaeffer’s title of a book, He is there, and He is not silent but this is what paganism has to offer. And that is nothing. The secular, atheistic world has ‘no voice and no one’ to answer because there is no one to pay attention. What a tragic choice for a person who experiences loss or affliction. The world is not personal because atheists have chosen no one and no thing. They are all alone and at the end of their lives they will face a holy God who will judge them justly and then they will have nothing to say. As Schaeffer used to say, ‘Atheists have their feet firmly planted in midair.’
Elijah seemed to have a sense of the dramatic. After mocking the prophets of Baal, he says to the people who have been watching for hours, “Come near to me.” Then he repairs the altar that Jezebel and Ahab (in that order) had torn down. Elijah builds the altar, repairing it and then dug a trench around it. The ensuing action is Elijah creating a scenario that only God can overcome. Remember at this time, we do not know if Elijah knew if God would answer or not. But he was laying it all out, risking everything for this confrontation.
The importance of this story is not merely history but the readers of I Kings are receiving an explanation of why the 10 tribes were removed from the land. They needed to know how the nation went wrong and what they did to deserve such treatment. But they also needed to see the things that pleased God. Even in difficult times, God’s grace raises up godly men and women who courageously speak for God or act in ways that bring Him glory.
In sports, teams repeat ‘next man up’ mantra meaning if someone is injured, the team looks to the next person to take his place and keep the momentum going. Elijah was followed by Elisha who asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (II Kings 2:9) and did double the miracles. So, during the time of the writing of 1 Kings, all these lessons were needed. They might have been in exile and wondered if they would ever get back to Israel.
Dear heavenly Father, You are our Father Who loves us, cares for us, and gives us more than we deserve or would dare ask for in this life. Help us to learn the lesson the narrator wants us to know and apply. Whether we are an Elijah or an Obadiah, remind us of the gospel of Christ. Urge us by Your Spirit to go deeper into the cross and to love our Lord Jesus more consistently. We pray this for Your glory. We pray Your church around the world and here in our church would love and obey You. We pray this for the sake of and in the name of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen