In 1 Kings chapter 19, fire falls from heaven to
consume the altar which Elijah erected in the sight of all Israel, while the
prophets of Baal strove all day to bring fire down. But should Elijah really
have executed all the prophets, wicked or not? What Jezebel says to him sounds
just enough: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your
life as the life of one of them…” (1 Kings 19:2, NKJV).
This is the outlook the
world might take, but for Christians it is blasphemous. The prophets of Baal
doomed themselves to death when first they sinned; they were no worse off,
spiritually at least, when Elijah executed them than they had ever been in
life—if their sinful existence can even be called life! For Elijah’s part, he
is God’s obedient servant; subject to His righteous will and judgement, and his
life, sanctified by God, should never be compared with those of Baal’s
prophets, as Jezebel so errantly did. Elijah’s life, just like ours, can never
be taken (see 1 Kings 19:10).
“So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the
strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain
of God.”
--1 Kings 19:8, NKJV
When we eat and drink the
Bread of Life and living water, we can go in the strength of that food until we
reach the mountain of God. God is always offering it, we have only to “arise
and eat, because the journey is too great for you” (1 Kings 19:7).
In 1 Kings 21, it is interesting that Jezebel, in
her scheme to kill Naboth, accused him of blaspheming God. So, to all her
innumerable wrong-doings, Jezebel must add murder and hypocrisy—for the sake of
a vineyard! It was blasphemy itself for Jezebel to accuse someone else of
blasphemy!
And yet, all too often, we
will accuse others of sins of which we ourselves are guilty—many times because
we see some selfish gain in so doing. Why should Christians ever seek gain in
sin? It is as hypocritical and blasphemous as Jezebel, and it displays an
abominable doubt of God’s ability to provide.
“…And pronounced a curse on them in the name of the
LORD.”
--2 Kings 2:24, NKJV
For the sake of His
children, the Lord will often curse the wicked—what may appear as a blessing to
us, may be a curse to them. Many perverted persons view the Cross of Christ,
and indeed Christ Himself, as a curse. Although we, as Christians and children
of the New Covenant, are commanded to bless our enemies, we should understand
that the Lord has every right to curse whom He will. We should not pray for that
outcome, or even idly wish for it (quite the contrary), but we must not be
angry with God for dealing judgement on wickedness.
Two miracles are performed in 2 Kings 4 that are
very similar to miracles performed by Jesus in the New Testament (several hundred
years later). The account of the Shunammite woman’s son reminds me of the death
and resurrection of Lazarus—a trial meant to challenge and strengthen the faith
of God’s servants and glorify God Himself.
And, in verses 42-44, when
food for one man is distributed to one hundred men with “some food leftover,”
it is so very like “Feeding the Five Thousand” in the New Testament as to be
quite stunning.
The lesson learned? “[God]
is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He uses little things to confound
the mighty, all throughout history. His character never changes, and He uses
the same methods today as He did thousands of years ago. That’s why the Bible
continues to be valid, despite its age—because it tells us of the God who never
changes. No matter how much the world may seem to shift and shake, our God
remains solid and steady. He is the Rock of Ages; the Constant in our world of
variables.
“Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out
to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand
over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in
them and be clean?”
--2 Kings 5:11-12, NKJV
We cannot pick and choose
our salvation—we must be washed in the Jordan or not at all. Christ says:
“Wash, and be clean,” knowing full well that His blood is the only river that
can cleanse us. The rivers of Damascus cannot cleanse us, nor anything else of
this world—“nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
“My father, if the prophet had told you to do
something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says
to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
--2 Kings 5:13
Wouldn’t we go to the ends
of the earth for God? We get our little human hearts pumping wildly and say: “I
will die for You, Lord!”
But we have it all mixed
up. Christ died for us, and moreover,
His burden is light—would we not do great things for Him? “How much more then,
when He says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” Yes, we should be willing to do
great things for God, but, more importantly, we should obey Him in the small
things. It is the little duties fulfilled that make all the difference.
“So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with
us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘LORD,
I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the
young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elisha.”
-2 Kings 6:16-17, NKJV
We don’t always see what
God is doing in our lives—we fuss and fume over the armies of darkness that
apparently surround us, but we do not see or acknowledge the shield which God
has placed between us and them.
We have only to ask God to
open our eyes, and we will see His protection surrounding us. “Do not fear, for
those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
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