But the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. Give him this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’” “So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight. So now the Lord says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel! I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’ “And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.’ “The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.” (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel. His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.) But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning. Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”
Ahab was King of Israel. By definition that means he was God’s servant,
charged with the responsibility to make certain God’s people were turned to
God, rather than evil. Ahab failed
miserably, because he chose to use his position of power to get what he wanted,
rather than do what God required. Some things
never change!
By contrast, Elijah, God’s faithful servant,
was always in some kind of hot water with the powers that be. That describes the life of anyone who will
speak for God. As a pastor, I learned early-on
that there are two parts to the job description:
·
Comfort the afflicted, and…
·
Afflict the comfortable.
Ahab fell in the later category,
and it was Elijah’s task to deliver the uncomfortable truth about the king’s
sin. That part of the job never includes
a pleasant afternoon tea time. I learned
that thirty years ago; it was homecoming Sunday, and the church was full. The
smell of fried chicken and homemade delights filled the air. But my thoughts on what God had spoken to my
heart about the state of a church that was long past its glory days
led me to preach a sermon on how serving self leads to destruction. It included recounting how the church dies
when it is more in love with what the church has done in its history, rather
than putting on the work gloves and serving God in the here and now. After the service, I was greeting the crowd
at the door, and one older woman approached me with a deeply furrowed brow. She growled:
Those
people didn’t need to hear all that disturbing stuff; a preacher ought to make
a homecoming crowd feel good about how we used to do stuff. With that, she huffed and stormed
off. Well…shut my mouth!
It’s an odd thing the way God
chooses preachers, particularly in my case.
I was like Moses at the burning bush, trying to get God to send anyone but
me. And this woman was proof that it was
going to be a long haul – if I lived through the confrontation God’s Word
always precipitates.
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, we’re more apt, especially when we get older and weaker, to wear the medals of what we have done for You, than to hear the marching orders. We want ease rather than the confrontation spiritual warfare requires. Forgive our selfishness, and renew us for serving you today. Help us hear Elijah, and refuse the temptation to be Ahab.
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
