THE LORD, HE IS GOD


 Image result for clip art of Old Testament altar

 I love all the narratives of the Old Testament.  I am still digging into the events of 1 Kings 18 as Elijah has come to Ahab to confront him and to offer a challenge between the gods of Baal and their priests and Jehovah, the God of Israel. Present are 450 priests of Baal, 400 prophets to Jezebel, and all of Israel who had been rallied for attendance. 

The priests of Baal build an altar and put the meat of one ox on it and now must pray down fire from the god of Baal.  Ahab is close by watching.   The priests called on the name of Baal from morning until noon and there is no voice to reply to their requests, "O Baal, answer us."  By afternoon, their cries have become louder and they begin to cut themselves with swords and lances "until the blood gushed out on them".  By the time of the evening sacrifice, there is no voice, no one answered, no one pays attention, and there sits raw meat!  

Elijah finds an altar which has long been discarded in worship to God.  He takes 12 stones, one for each of the Twelve Tribes, and he builds the altar in the name of the Lord.  Elijah builds a trench around the altar and directs men to pour four pitchers of water on the wood 3 times.  Now the wood is thoroughly soaked.  Elijah prays,"O Lord, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Israel, today let it be known that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word."  He continues to beseech the Lord to answer him so that the people will know that the Lord is God.  THEN the fire of the Lord fell, consuming the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and licked up the water in the trench. THE PEOPLE SAW IT, FELL ON THEIR FACES AND SAID, "THE LORD HE IS GOD; THE LORD, HE IS GOD."

James 5 says that Elijah was a man just like you and me and he prayed "earnestly" the Greek gives the word picture of repeated prayer to God.  I do not know what God has purposed for us individually, yet I do know that it is HIS desire for us to meet with HIM in prayer.  Elijah was a man of faith and you can just bet that his faith had grown over the years as he was willing to pray and hear from God.   Growing faith and prayer are linked.  Our God is a the God of communication desirous to speak with us and us speaking to Him. Thank You, Father for hearing my prayers.  Ever learning!  In process, still!  #IHAVETHREESONS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THOSE SEEING CAN BECOME BLIND

Image
John 9 is the story of the healing of the blind beggar.  Not only is it a marvelous story of the miraculous healing of the man as he is given his sight, but a sad story of the religious of whom Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind ." The religious have seen the miracle, even though it has taken place on a Sabbath, and they interview the man and his parents for their stories and understanding. I find it so thrilling that the healed man speaks so articulately and logically with the religious in their "interview" with him.  His statement, " Now that is remarkable!  You don't know where HE comes from, yet HE opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does His will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." What truth he has spoken to the religious wh...
Read more

REHEARSALS

Image
  I wonder how much time do I give to rehearsing God's goodness and how He has intervened in my life to "save" me from myself?  How alike the Israelites I can be, complaining about what goes wrong, how it affects me, and what I lack.  As a Christ follower, I have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to give me remembrance NOT of my complaining and grumbling, but of a recall of God's faithfulness to me.  It is recorded in Psalms 78 and 106 that " They forgot what He had done, the wonder He had shown them", "They did not remember His power--the day He redeemed them from the oppressor...", "They did not remember Your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.", "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.", and "They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt...". Contrast with me, God's remembrance: Ps. 106:44-46, "But He took note of their distress...
Read more

A DONKEY SPEAKS!

Image
    Numbers has been full of repetitive accounts of the Israelites and their disobedience.  They have now made several laps around Mt. Sinai, many of the original people have died off, or been killed for their arrogant and presumptuous actions against the LORD, Moses, and Aaron. The overriding truth of the accounts is the merciful grace of the LORD! Moses is in his last days of leadership.  The forty years are coming to an end and they are moving toward a second attempt to enter the Promise Land.  They have been victorious in taking land, and they are moving further into the interior of the land of Moab.  The king and the residents of Moab are "filled with dread because of the Israelites.  The king of Moab, Balak, sends messages to Balaam, who is a sorcerer and is able to to place curses or blessings on others.  King Balak wants to know how to defeat "this horde" that is licking up everything around them.  Of course, he is desirous th...
Read more