TURN, TURN, TURN
Biblical Text: 1 Kings 18: 24 and 37
“And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, ‘It is well spoken.’”
“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”
War is dirty business. As America prepares to wage war against terrorism, the media and the Internet are flooded with opinions as to whom we will be fighting and how this war will be won. But on one thing they do agree….This "war" we intend to wage will be a very costly affair in terms of human loss, both American and Afghani.
Some say that the only way to prevent the wholesale destruction of innocent Afghani’s is to send in our ground troops to root out Osama Bin Laden. And there is little we can expect in the way of help from those in Afghanistan who oppose the Taliban, for they have no weapons with which to fight. They are a poverty-stricken people still recovering from wars waged by the Soviet and Great Britain, without success. They live in mud-dried homes interspersed in the hillsides, with scarce food, no healthcare, and no organized army or infrastructure…save the Taliban. They live in a barren wasteland, clinging to life by a thread, while the Taliban feast before their eyes. It’s no wonder that the Taliban army is growing. They are the symbol of life, freedom and victory for those helpless young lives that grow up around them. The Taliban are the role models to a suffering Afghani generation.
As we watch facts unfold and flags unfurl, the Christian community….those of the household of faith….pray, not just for innocent American families and military troops, but for the innocent in Afghanistan and other Arab nations, who will also be dragged into war.
And with whom are we at war? Contrary to a sector of public opinion, this is not a war between Islam and the West. Islam is IN the west…and the east, the north and the south. No, this is definitely not a war against Islam, and we must be careful not to classify it as such. This is a war between GOOD and EVIL. And in the end, “GOOD” will prevail, because God will prevail… But at what cost?
As our news media broadcast the widespread destruction in New York and Washington, D.C., thousands fell on their knees in repentance and prayer. Prayer vigils, once thought to be the foolishness of religious zealots, have become the hope of millions, while in Afghanistan, far from our shores, the Taliban prepare for a holy war.
The stark contrast between the prayers of the masses of Americans and the street dancing, chanting Taliban of Afghanistan, parallels another old historical account of major significance, with far too many striking similarities. In this ancient confrontational account, the ruling infrastructure shows striking similarities to the ways of the Taliban. And if America is to defeat this enemy, we pray that our nation will demonstrate lasting similarities to the followers of the One True and Living God.
We read the biblical account of Elijah, the Tishbite, in the days of King Ahab’s rule in Israel, as a story of great promise. It was there that the first showdown between the gods of the world and Elijah’s God took place. Then, as now, the world was “halting between two opinions.” King Ahab had led the Israelites into idolatrous worship of false gods, constructing great monuments and altars. For 22 years, King Ahab rebelled against God and “did evil in the sight of the Lord, above all that were before him.” (1 Kings 16: 30)
The people of Israel became divided in their worship….some followed after the custom of the King, while others remained faithful to the One True and Living God. Severe drought drove animals from the land, brooks dried up, and no rain fell. Yet, the remnant of Israel remained faithful to the One True and Living God, while King Ahab continued to lead his followers in the worship of Baal.
Calamity and trying times bring out the best and the worst in humanity. On the one hand, the world is full of King Ahabs, who outwardly profess belief in God, while inwardly, they construct their own personal altars to unknown gods…gods of position…gods of power….gods of wealth…gods of influence.
On the other hand, the voice of the One True and Living God can be heard in sermons from a thousand pulpits, and on the lips of a hundred million praying Saints. Their altars are not of influence or wealth, position or power. The altars they erect are holy altars that belong only to God.
Like Ahab and Elijah, we have come to the brink of a showdown between the Baal’s of the world and Jesus Christ. The altars of Baal stand gleaming in the sunlight, while the altars of God solemnly await their vindicating hour. How long will this nation and our world straddle between two opinions?
There are two opinions in Afghanistan and indeed the Arab world. The radical Taliban would have us believe that they desire a holy war to vindicate the god of Islam. But how can a holy war be waged with unholy people? Do holy people murder innocent citizens? Do holy people feast of the fat of their land while their fellow citizens starve in the hills?
There are two opinions in America and the technologically advanced world. Monuments of wealth and power take first place in the lives of countless millions. We watched in horror and disbelief as two buildings that housed one such “altar” came tumbling down on Tuesday, Sept. 11th, 2001 taking the lives of thousands of our citizens. The Wall Street “altar” took an unprecedented blow, leaving us to question in whom we really put our trust.
The world is crying out for answers to the grave injustice of terrorism. But this is not a war against terrorism….this is a war between the altar of good and altars of evil. And as Elijah so eloquently put it thousands of years ago….”the God that answers will be God.”
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to prepare an altar to their god…to dress a sacrificial bullock and lay it upon kindling wood. Elijah did the same. Two altars, side by side, exactly the same, yet so very different. One was offered to the god of fire…the other offered to the God who made fire…and that made all the difference. The prophets of Baal called upon their god to demonstrate his power and ignite their altar …but no answer came.
Elijah taunted them.
“Cry louder!”
“Maybe he’s talking and can’t hear you!”
“Maybe he’s on a vacation and beyond reach!”
“Maybe he’s sleeping, and your loud cries will awaken him.”
And the prophets of Baal cried louder and louder, cutting themselves and offering their own flesh as sacrifice to their unresponsive deity.
In this ancient biblical account there is a message to the Taliban and to America today. Beware of the god you serve. Beware of sending soldiers into a holy war, as living sacrifices to a dead god. “Choose” first, “this day, whom ye shall serve.” Your faith, a faith in the One True and Living God, is the only fuel that will ignite your altar of sacrifice.
This war between good and evil will not be won with “altars” of wealth…Wall Street cannot reign fire down from heaven.
This war will not be won with influence…the negotiating savvy of Colin Powell and the entire State Department cannot reign fire down from heaven.
This war will not be won “by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, sayeth the Lord.” (Zechariah 4: 6b)
America cries “United we Stand!”. But in whom are we united? We dare not march off to battle bearing in our hearts the altars of a false god, or we will meet with our misfortune. This is not a war between America and Afghanistan, or Islam, or the Arab nations. This is a war between the god of evil and the One True and Living God. And the God that answers will be God.
I hear Elijah crying, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” To every thing there is a season”, so the scriptures tell us, “and a time for every purpose under heaven.” What time is it now? And old folk ballad summed it up like this:
“To every thing, turn, turn, turn;
There is a season, turn, turn, turn;
…It’s not too late.”
It’s turning time…that’s what time it is.
It’s time to turn from altars of wealth to altars of witness.
It’s time to turn from altars of power to altars of peace.
It’s time to turn from altars of carnage to altars of consolation.
It’s time to turn from altars of fear to altars of fellowship.
It’s time to turn….turn from our wicked ways…It’s time for America to turn….It’s time for all nations to turn…and seek the face of the One True and Living God.
We pray with Elijah today. “Hear us, O Lord, Hear us, that these thy people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast TURNED their heart back again.” It’s time to TURN…..TURN…..TURN.
