Tag team wrestling
June 20, 2007
While I did not mean to make this a study in Elijah, God seems to be leading me in a different path. Elijah, however, is one of my favorite old testament people, maybe because at times i feel a lot of the same emotions that he did.
Today, Elijah tells a great truth and then a big lie.
To set our scene, King Ahab, one of the split kingdom of Israel's worst kings, has survived the drought talked about the last two days. He and his servant Obadiah go looking for land that has water so that they can graze what is left of their animals. Obadiah does not find water but he does find Elijah who tells him to go get the king. Obadiah knows that if he goes, Elijah will disappear and the king will kill him so he asks Elijah why, after all he was working for God:
1Ki 18:13 KJV
(13) Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
Elijah reassures him that will not happen, the king comes, and Elijah challenges him to a battle of the gods.
1Ki 18:21 KJV
(21) And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
We can read those verses and say to ourselves, well we all know that God is God and those gods are not. But what in our lives keeps us from God. We could say, 'if the TV is god then follow him,' or 'if money is god follow it.' Maybe even 'if my church is god, follow it.' Now am I saying that any of those things are bad. Not on your life. What I as saying is that if anything, computer, TV, church, etc., get in the way of your time with God, they you are following it and you stand between two opinions. Jesus in the book of Revelation, says of one of the churches, you are neither hot or cold for me so I will spit you out of my mouth. It is possible to be a good Christian and follow other gods you see. Even Elijah can be that way:
1Ki 18:22 KJV
(22) Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
In order to make his challenge that is coming up seem even more powerful, he tells a lie. How do we know it is a lie? Obadiah had told him that he had put 100 prophets in two caves to him just a little bit earlier. He was trying to make it like a huge tag team wrestling match.
"In this corner, wearing the royal purple tights.. Elijah, prophet of God. And in this corner, wearing their Baal t-shirts, 450 people who follow the mighty god Baal!. Let's get ready to rummmmmmbbbbbblllllleeeee. "
And in doing that, he makes one big mistake. He starts to follow a god that he should not. He starts to follow himself. We will see in the next few days, though he has a great victory for God right after this, these events are the start of his downfall.
So, what gods to we follow? Do you follow the god of doing things in your own power?
