Prayer Journal
Wednesday, June 21, 2000
"Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord - he is God! The Lord - he is God!' " 1 Kings 18:38,39
Elijah, the prophet of God at Mount Carmel - One man of God versus 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. The odds of one man versus 850 doesn't include the number of Israelites who were not particularly eager to oppose the majority religious opinion of the day. They came to watch the show. Perhaps these "spectators" were not consumed by Baal fervor, but they nevertheless, were not on fire for Jehovah either.
You know the story: when God is on your side, the number of the enemy doesn't matter, nor the number of those individuals who refuse to stand with you. My formula for calculating supreme deity is simple: Jehovah + 0 = 100%.
While the "contest" was interesting, even more so was what immediately followed: 1 Kings 18 gives the account of the overwhelming victory of Jehovah over Baal and his prophets. Chapter 19 shows a depressed and "whiny" Elijah under a tree praying that God would take his life.
I've long believed that it was Queen Jezebel whom Elijah feared. But a closer examination reveals that Elijah's depression was really his lack of faith in, and hope for, his countrymen. "The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too!"
How true that is, even today! We may not call our idols by name, but scripture indicates that whatever has mastered us IS our God. (cp: 2 Peter 2:19) Should you choose today to stand alone on the Word of God, you'd best be prepared for resistance on two fronts: 1) the Enemy himself (who stands defeated, like Baal, even before the battle) and 2) those "countrymen" who do not share your faith and conviction.
Elijah came out of his "blue funk" when God reminded him that even though he couldn't "see" others who shared his conviction, God nevertheless had them - 7,000 Israelites: "..all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." God didn't have to show Elijah those 7,000 brothers, He simply gave him a word. The next verse shows Elijah getting back to work.
Today, are you under a broom tree whining, or are you working for God? Perhaps you need a word from God. It's called prayer. Are you listening? Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
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