Mountaintops and Valleys

1 Kings 19:1-21, 2 Kings 2:1-18

“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with a sword. So Jezebel sent a message to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.’”  1 Kings 19:1

After the face off on Mt. Carmel, Elijah had the prophets of Baal put to death. Then God caused the rain to fall on Israel again.

Elijah had just experienced a tremendous victory on Mt. Carmel. He had courageously faced 850 prophets of the false gods and won. But we are often most vulnerable to Satan’s  attacks after we have had a great victory.

When Elijah received the threatening message from Jezebel, he ran for his life. He told God he had had enough, to take his life. Then he traveled to Horeb, a journey of 40 days, and spent the night in a cave. God came to Elijah and asked him, “What are you doing here?” Elijah was having a pity party. He told God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 1 Kings 19:14 God’s prophet was frightened, discouraged, and ready to resign. God assured Elijah that he was not alone. God was with him, and there were still 7,000 in Israel who had not worshiped Baal. When we are discouraged we can be sure that God is with us as well.

God sent Elijah back to Israel with an assignment. He was to anoint two kings and then anoint Elisha to be his successor. When God’s people die, God’s work goes on. God raises others up to step into their shoes. Nobody is indispensable. We have only our lifetime to serve God, and surely we want to do all we can for Him in the time He allots us.

Elijah found Elisha and threw his cloak over him as a signal that Elisha was to be the next prophet for Israel. From that time on, Elisha became Elijah’s attendant, an apprentice prophet.

When the time came for Elijah to leave this earth, God had a special plan for him. He and Elisha knew that God planned to take Elijah that day, and Elisha stayed close by Elijah’s side. When the two men came to the Jordan River, Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the river with it. The river parted, and the two men walked across on dry ground. Suddenly chariots of fire with horses of fire came down from heaven and separated the two men. Then Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind. He went so fast he dropped his cloak. Elisha picked it up and walked back to the Jordan River. He struck it with Elijah’s cloak, and it parted for him just like it had for Elijah. God had passed Elijah’s ministry to Elisha.

Had God chosen someone for you to prepare to walk in your footsteps? Or has He chosen you to walk in someone’s footsteps and become prepared to step into their shoes?

Father, may I serve You well as long as I live. May I make footsteps for others to follow that will lead them to You. Amen.

Freedom

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Jesus Christ the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."  Romans 8:1-2

Sometimes those of us who have been blessed to enjoy freedom take it for granted. We forget that freedom isn't free. It comes with a very high price extracted from those who are at the battle fronts in the world, fighting to preserve freedom for the majority of us. How grateful we should be for their sacrifices!!! And we should do whatever we can wherever we are to preserve the liberty that we enjoy.

When Jesus died on the cross, He freed us from the penalty and the power of sin. We should pay the price for all our sinful thoughts and deeds, but Jesus sacrificed His life to give us freedom from what we owe. He paid our penalty. Also, Jesus freed us from the power of sin over us. Whenever a temptation arises, we have a choice. We can choose to ignore it. God has given us the Holy Spirit within us so that we have the power to resist temptation and choose to obey God instead. The One who is in us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than the one who is in the world, Satan, the tempter. We should be eternally grateful to Christ for purchasing liberty for us with His own precious blood. And we should do everything we can wherever we are to tell others that this freedom is available to them as well.

Father, thank You for those who have made sacrifices to purchase freedom for us.  May we be grateful most of all for the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ, who died so that we can have spiritual freedom.  Amen.

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

1 Kings 18

“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’” 1 Kings 18:21

In the third year with no rain in Israel, God told Elijah to go meet with Ahab. When Ahab saw Elijah, he greeted him by saying, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” Elijah told Ahab that he and his father’s family were the ones who were making trouble for Israel by abandoning God’s commands and following false gods.  Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel had murdered all the prophets of God she could find, but not all of them had been killed. Obadiah, a worshiper of the true God, had hidden 100 of God’s prophets in a cave.

Elijah challenged Ahab to a showdown on Mt. Carmel. This is one of the most exciting and dramatic stories in the Old Testament. Picture the scene. The people from all over Israel gathered at Mt. Carmel. There were two altars. Around one altar were 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, the false gods many of the Israelites were worshiping. At the second altar stood Elijah, God’s prophet. On each altar a bull was placed and cut into pieces to be burned. Wood was piled under each bull. The challenge was to call upon each one’s gods or God to set fire to the sacrifice. The one who answered would be proven to be the true God.

The prophets of Baal went first. They prepared their bull and began to pray to their god. They called him from morning till noon. No answer. They danced around their altar. Nothing. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. He said maybe Baal was asleep or deep in thought or busy or traveling. The prophets of Baal shouted louder and cut themselves with swords and spears until they were bleeding. They continued all this until time for the evening sacrifice, but there was no response.

Then it was Elijah’s turn. He arranged his wood and laid the pieces of his bull on top. He instructed some of the people present to fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood. They did this three times. There was so much water it ran down the altar and filled the trench around the altar. Then Elijah prayed. And God sent fire which burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and licked up all the water in the trench. When the people saw this, they acknowledged, “The Lord--He is God!”

There is only one true God, one who hears and answers prayers and undertakes on our behalf. False gods can do no more than Baal did on Mt. Carmel--nothing. Choose carefully whom you will worship. The Lord--He is God.

Father, I thank You that You are the Creator and Sustainer of this world and its people, including me. You hear and answer prayer and undertake on our behalf. You are Almighty, the one and only true God. I praise You. Amen.

Fathers

"Our father in heaven..."  From Matthew 6:9

Father.  What image does the word "father" bring to your mind?

I was very fortunate to have a father who modeled his role after our Heavenly Father.  When I think of father, I think of love, provision, protection, strength, justice, correction, forgiveness, and mercy--attributes of God Himself.  If you have, or have had, such a father, it is very natural for you to love and trust your Heavenly Father, and you have been given a great gift.

If you are a father, it is very important that your children see God's characteristics in you, because they will think that their Heavenly Father is like their earthly father.  You have an incredible responsibility.

If your father has been absent from your life or abusive, and you have so longed for a loving father, rest assured that you have one. Your Heavenly Father is everything good that you have desired.  Wrap yourself in His love and thank Him that He will never leave you nor forsake you, that He will be with you always.  He loves us, provides for us, protects us, forgives us, and helps us to grow more and more like Himself.  He is a perfect Father.

Heavenly Father, thank You for earthly fathers.  Thank You for those whose qualities reflect Your attributes. Thank You that those people who have never had such a father on earth have One in heaven, that they have in You everything that anyone could ever desire in a father.  Amen.

God Provided for Elijah

1 Kings 17:1-24

“The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook.” 1 Kings 17:6

The kingdom of Israel remained divided. The ten tribes in the north were called Israel, and the one tribe comprising the southern kingdom was called Judah. Both parts of the kingdom had various kings, and then Ahab became the king of Israel. The Bible says he did more evil than any of the kings before him. He married an evil woman named Jezebel, and they led their people in idol worship.

Elijah the prophet went to Ahab and told him there would be no more rain or even dew until Elijah said the word. No rain caused a widespread famine. God told Elijah to hide in the Kerith Ravine. There he drank from the brook, and the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening.

But by and by the brook dried up. God instructed Elijah to go to Zarephath. A certain widow lived there, and God had commanded her to supply Elijah with food. When Elijah arrived at the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him a little water and a piece of bread. The widow said all she had was a handful of flour and a little oil. She was gathering the sticks to cook what she had, and then she expected that she and her son would die of starvation. Elijah instructed the widow to make him a little cake of bread and then to make cakes for herself and her son. He told her that God had promised him the jar of flour and the jug of oil would not run out until it rained again. The widow did as Elijah said, and the flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry.

Some time later, the son of the widow became sick and died. The widow blamed Elijah saying, “What have you against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

Elijah took the widow’s son and carried him to the upper room where he was staying. Then he prayed that God would restore the boy to life, and God heard and answered his prayer. When Elijah presented the boy alive to his mother, she said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

God takes care of His own. We may not have everything we want, but He gives us all that we need. We have God’s wonderful promise in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” We need to believe God’s word, to trust Him, to claim His promises. Then we can sing this chorus with conviction and gratitude:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Lyrics by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm

Music by William Marion Runyan

The Kingdom Is Divided

1 Kings 11-13

“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”  1 Kings 11:4

King Solomon had many foreign wives from nations where God had instructed the Israelites not to intermarry. Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. These wives led Solomon into the worship of false gods. Solomon had a good beginning, but he did not finish well.

God was displeased with Solomon and told him that He would give ten tribes of the kingdom to someone else and would keep only the tribe of Judah in the hands of Solomon’s descendants.

Jeroboam was one of Solomon’s officials. As he was on his way to Jerusalem one day, Ahijah, who was a prophet, met Jeroboam. Ahijah tore the new cloak he was wearing into 12 pieces and gave ten pieces to Jeroboam. He told Jeroboam that God was going to make him king over ten of the tribes of Israel.

When Solomon died, his son, Rehoboam, succeeded him as king. Jeroboam and a whole assembly of Israelites went to Rehoboam and said, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor, and we will serve you.” Solomon had taken seven years and used many laborers to build the temple. Then he spent thirteen years building himself a magnificent palace. In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon said, “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.” Ecclesiastes 2:4-6 You can imagine how labor intensive all these projects were, and Solomon’s subjects provided the labor.

Rehoboam said he would address the request of the delegation in three days. Then he asked the elder advisors of his father for advice. They told him, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” Then Rehoboam asked his buddies for advice and they said he should answer that he would make their yoke even heavier. Rehoboam chose the advice of his contemporaries. He told the assembled crowd, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 1 Kings 12:14b When they heard this, ten tribes of the Israelites rebelled and made Jeroboam king. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam.

How can we apply what we learn from this? I think we can say Rehoboam “got too big for his britches”. Lord Acton wrote this opinion in a letter, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We have seen instances where people in authority tend to mistreat those who are under their authority, but every person is accountable to God for how he treats his fellow man.

Father, may I always treat others as I want to be treated. Amen.

Do It Right!

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."  Philippians 1:27a

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry....But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips....Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."  Colossians 3:5, 8, 12-14

My daughter Weety and I are taking some knitting classes.  One day, after the instructor had shown one of our classmates the correct way to make a certain stitch, our fellow student exclaimed excitedly,  "It does better when I do it right!"  I thought to myself,  "That's so true of life."  Life goes so much better when we do the right things the right way.

A friend of mine and I have a saying we often quote to each other.  It is,  "Always take the high road."  In other words, whatever anybody else does--or sometimes, in spite of what somebody else does--we need to do the right thing, the honorable thing, the thing that pleases God.  Can you imagine Jesus acting or responding at any time in a way that would displease His Father?  If He would not, then neither should we.

It's easy enough in most instances to know what the right thing is, if we are familiar with the Bible.  This holy book is very plain spoken on many subjects.  The problem with many people who try to discredit the Bible by saying it is too hard to understand or that it contradicts itself or criticize it otherwise, is that they just are looking for an excuse not to be responsible for doing what it says.  The Biblical commands are not hard to understand, but, I grant you, it is very hard for us to carry some of them out .  Our human nature, that old sin nature, wants to do things its own way rather than God's way.  If we are going to "do it right," we must determine that we are going to choose to obey God's will in every situation.  A youth pastor used to tell his young people before they went out on a date to decide how they would act and what they would do before they ever climbed into a car together.

There is a hymn that says,  "I have decided to follow Jesus."  Everything you do goes better when you do it right, when you do it God's way.

Father, I have decided to follow Jesus.  I have determined to obey you in every situation I face.  That is my heart.  You and I both know that I do not always succeed in obeying You, but how I thank You for Your grace and forgiveness and restoration when I fail.  Amen.