Elijah In The Conflict Series

C Look at Elijah’s answer. There’s no defense just a statement. This is all your fault. You forsook the law. You ignored the law of God and you followed idols. You don’t violate the law and get away with it any more than you violate the law of gravity. As someone said, “”We don’t break the law, the law breaks us.” In Ephesians chapter five we have guidelines for our family and work relationships. When we violate these guidelines we don’t fail a test in heaven. Our families fall apart.

D Elijah had said enough. Now, it was time for a confrontation. And here we have Elijah inviting Ahab to gather together the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal with the four hundred prophets of Asherah and meet him on Mount Carmel. When he says Mt. Carmel one might almost get the impression that he make a mistake. I mean Mt. Carmel would be the most likely place for the prophets of Baal to choose for a showdown. Anywhere down below would have been desert area and more so because of the drought. If there was greenery anywhere it would be on Mt. Carmel. So, everything was in their favor up there. But this is the place where Elijah says, “God will choose.” And we’ll look at this confrontation the next day.

As we’ve seen this devastating drought in the land of Israel I think the lack of rain in the land illustrated for them that there was also a spiritual drought in their souls. There had been no rain for the last three and a half years and I think there had been no spiritual refreshing from the Lord for a lot longer than that. The problem is, people are more conscious of what’s happening in the physical realm than they are in the spiritual. And so it’s no wonder that God has to allow things to come into their lives to get their attention.

As we wrap up this morning I think we have to ask ourselves the simple question. “So what.” What does it matter that a couple of thousand years ago a righteous prophet confronted a wicked king and rebuked a compromising middle man. I think we have to see that there are the same kinds of people in our world today. I think we can identify with Elijah because as I said the scripture tells us he was a man of like passions or someone just like ourselves. And around us there are always those who are like Ahab, people who are more committed to their own comforts then they are to the needs of those around them. And sad to say there are plenty of those like Obadiah around us as well. The Ahabs are easy to deal with. They know they’re lost and for the most part they don’t seem to care. We still need to attempt to reach them with the news of both the love and also the impending judgement of God. The Obadiah’s are much more difficult to deal with. They’re the people who seem to be religious and seem to care about the needs of those around them. They’re involved in helping children in the third world, they are the volunteers at the hospital, they staff the food banks and do many wonderful works but for the most part they will tell you that they don’t know the Lord and don’t care. The problem is that many of these will come to Jesus on the last day and say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” And these I’m afraid are the most difficult to reach because they fall into the category of the Obadiahs.