farmland during golden hour

Elijah Before Ahab

farmland during golden hour

1.Kings 18:1-20

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. [1.Kings 18:18]

Through the long years of drought and famine, Elijah prayed earnestly that the hearts of Israel might be turned from idolatry to allegiance to God. Patiently the prophet waited, while the hand of the Lord rested heavily on the stricken land…

At last, “after many days,” the word of the Lord came to Elijah, “Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” …

The king and the prophet stand face to face. Though Ahab is filled with passionate hatred, yet in the presence of Elijah he seems unmanned, powerless. In his first faltering words, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” he unconsciously reveals the inmost feelings of his heart. Ahab knew that it was by the word of God that the heavens had become as brass, yet he sought to cast upon the prophet the blame for the heavy judgments resting on the land…

Standing in conscious innocence before Ahab, Elijah makes no attempt to excuse himself or to flatter the king. Nor does he seek to evade the king’s wrath by the good news that the drought is almost over. He has no apology to offer. Indignant, and jealous for the honor of God, he casts back the imputation of Ahab, fearlessly declaring to the king that it is his sins, and the sins of his fathers, that have brought upon Israel this terrible calamity…

Today there is need of the voice of stern rebuke; for grievous sins have separated the people from God… The smooth sermons so often preached make no lasting impression; the trumpet does not give a certain sound. Men are not cut to the heart by the plain, sharp truths of God’s word…

God calls for men like Elijah, Nathan, and John the Baptist – men who will bear His message with faithfulness, regardless of the consequences; men who will speak the truth bravely, though it call for the sacrifice of all they have.

Similar Posts

“I Cannot Come Down”

“I Cannot Come Down”

[Nehemiah 6:3] I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

He Failed His Brother

He Failed His Brother

[Exodus 32:21] And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

To Caesar

To Caesar

[Acts 25:10,11] I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged… For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not do die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

Eden

Eden

[Genesis 2:15] And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

As It Was in the Days of Noah

As It Was in the Days of Noah

[Luke 17:26, 27] And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.