I’ve been immersed in Old Testament stories of late…
…and one of the stories I read recently has caused me pause.
Ahab (along with his better known wife, Jezebel), one of Israel’s most evil kings has passed away, and a new king has come to the throne, Ahaziah.
Sadly, as the king did, so went the country…
…and, Ahaziah represented God’s people.
Even knowing what’s going to happen, I am glad Ahab is out of the picture, and find myself hoping for Israel’s sake that this is a fresh start for the country…and, most of all, a return to the Lord.
(Side note: No doubt, this is because I so wish for that opportunity for our country, as well…I pray daily for a return to the Lord who shed His grace on this land so many years ago…)
One has to wonder what precipitated this event, but all we know is that Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper chamber window, and was gravely ill.
As he lay upon his bed, Ahaziah began to wonder what the prognosis for his condition might be, and he called for messengers to come to his bedchamber.
Their job was to go to Baal-zebub (the Lord of the Flies, a Philistine God, who was worshipped at the city of Ekron).
Now, why this idol? Interestingly enough, flies were thought to cause sickness, and so by going to the god who was built for the sole purpose of expelling flies, perhaps Ahaziah hoped to appease Baal-zebub enough that this god would exert special power over his disease, bringing a cure.
But…Israel had a more powerful God.
Israel’s God is Yahweh.
The I AM….who can do all things…
The I AM….who is all we need!
They say it every morning…
They repeat it every evening…
“Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God. Adonai is One… And you shall love the Lord, Your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might….”
Deut 6:4
However, Israel, under Ahab had started down a path of unbelief.
Ahaziah picked up right where Ahab ended his journey.
Enter Elijah, the prophet.
A wild hairy man, who lived in the wilderness, and caused no small measure of antagonism to the kings of Israel.
The Lord told Elijah to meet the messengers on the road to Ekron with this message:
‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’
That was it.
Elijah spoke the message of truth…and, walked away….
Ahaziah’s messengers were shell shocked.
They just let him go.
Elijah’s words were in no way a pleasant message to take back to the king.
(I can only imagine the fear of the messengers as they headed back to the King Ahaziah. Others were killed for less unfavorable words…)
However, Elijah’s message was not his, but God’s, and when a prophet got a Word from the Lord, they couldn’t keep from speaking.
Good or bad…the words rushed forth with power and confidence.
Have you forgotten you have a GOD…
Have you forgotten His name?
Do you not remember WHO HE IS? WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR YOU?
Don’t you remember your covenant with Him…
Obviously, not…and because you haven’t…..
DESTRUCTION.
Ahaziah sealed his death…and, by default, Israel’s forced exile into Assyria.
We live in a new era.
We are under a new covenant.
But, I wonder…where are the prophets?
Wanted:
VOICES of TRUTH
Modern-day-Elijahs
Not fortune tellers; but, those God raises up to remind us with strong words about the path we are headed down if we don’t return to the Lord?
I’ve heard a few voices.
I’m beyond grateful for them!
Yet, the world needs more Elijah’s.
Men who grab our attention with truth.
Men who remind us of God’s power and might.
Men who point us to the cross…and the covenant of love that God the Father broke with us through the breaking of His son.
Men compelled to pass on to future generations the WORD OF THE LORD.
Men (& women, I’m not leaving them out) who pass on a passion of belief.
Not men and women who give us a political agenda.
Not men and women who say what the popular belief system is…or jump on the most recent band wagon that reacts out of strong emotion, but responds cautiously out of listening, learning, leading, and loving….
THE WORLD needs men and women of passion, willing to stand alone, if alone means they speak TRUTH…
If not…
I fear for what could be.
Raise up voices of truth, Lord… And, give Your people, courage….
Amen!