Second Sunday Meditation: Before Whom Shall You Stand?

"Elijah the Tishbite, of the temporary residents of Gilead, said

to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand,

there shall not be dew or rain these years according to My word."

1 Kings 17:1

The prophet, Elijah, whose name means, "Yahweh is my God" warns

King Ahab of impending drought and famine throughout the land

due to the abomination of Baal worship.

Elijah came near to all the people and said,  "How long will you halt

and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him!

But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer one word.

Then Elijah said to the people, I only remain a prophet of the Lord,

but Baal's prophets are 450 men

Let two bulls be given us; let them choose one bull for themselves

and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it.

I will dress the other bull, lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it.

Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name

of the Lord; and the One Who answers by fire, let Him be God.

And all the people answered, It is well spoken.

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bull for yourselves

and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god,

but put no fire under it.

So they took the bull given them, dressed it, and called on the name

of  Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear and answer us!

But there was no voice; no one answered. And they leaped upon or limped

about the altar they made.

At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is god; either

he is musing or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he

is asleep and must be awakened.

After they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with

knives and lances until the blood gushed out upon them.

Midday passed, and they played the part of prophets until the time

for offering the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no answer,

no one who paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near me, And all the people

came near him. And he repaired the old altar of the Lord that had been

broken down by (Queen) Jezebel.

(see 1 Kings 18:13; 19:10)

Then Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the

tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying,

Israel shall be your name.

(see Genesis 32:28)

And with the stones Elijah built an altar in the name and self-revelation

of the Lord.  He made a trench about the altar as great as would contain

two measures of seed.

He put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on

the wood and said, Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering

and the wood.  And he said, Do it a second time.  And he said, Do it

the third time. And they did it the third time.

The water ran round about the altar, and he filled the trench also with water.

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet 

came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and  Israel,

let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am

Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word.

Hear me, O Lord, hear me,  that this people may know that You,

the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back to You.

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice

and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up

the water that was in the trench.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said,

"The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!

And Elijah said, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one escape.

They seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon,

and as God's law required slew them there.

This story is taken from the 18th chapter of 1 Kings.

Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal did not go unanswered!

"The Lord He is God!  The Lord He is God!"

In a rather grim footnote to this story, despite the clear

warnings King Ahab received from God through the prophet, Elijah,

he would again fall under the influence of his wicked Queen Jezebel

and Baal worship would recover from the blow dealt to it by Elijah.

It was only after Jehu, the 10th King of Israel seized the throne

from a weakened Ahab, that the worshipers of Baal were once again

dealt with, as Jehu was not only a fierce opponent of

this abomination in the sight of God, but also

a ruthless warrior who fiercely defended his kingdom.

 Meanwhile, the prophet, Elijah would appoint his own successor,

 the steadfast and determine Elisha, who under Jehu, could be relied 
 upon to carry on exposing and purging Baal worship from throughout the land.

The Scriptures remind us that our God is a jealous God. 

He clearly states in the Ten Commandments:

"You shall have no other gods before me."

A teaching for such a time as this!

The Elijah Paradigm

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn

(2017)

BELIEVERS ARISE FROM THE DUST.

THROW OFF THE CONTEMPT OF THE ENEMIES OF CHRIST.

SHAKE OFF FEAR.  STAND UNDAUNTED FOR THE TRUTH.

FOR THE TIME IS NOW.

Days of Elijah
Paul Wilbur