Motivated by the family service on Elijah and Elisha, Dave spoke on Sunday night from the life of Elijah. Israel was in a bad way at this time, with Ahab king and Jezebel queen. The name of Jezebel will forever be linked with evil. She is regarded as the epitome of a shameless impudent scheming woman. But more than that, she introduced into Israel the worship of Baal with all the immoral and vile practises that this entailed. Baal was the Canaanite god responsible for rain, thunder, lightning, and dew.
Jezebel was a very strong woman and she was the power behind the throne. Ahab may have been the king but Jezebel was the one with the power. The tide of evil was so strong in the land that it appeared as though the knowledge of God would be wiped from the face of the earth… but in fact this did not happen, because God raised up the prophet Elijah to save his people, a prophet so great he is talked of in both Old and New Testaments (see Mal 4:5-6, Matt 16:14).
God used Elijah to prophesy drought to Ahab. He used him to challenge Israel to stop wavering and sitting on the fence (1 Ki 18:21) and to choose God. Tolerance is a great buzz word these days, but God is not tolerant of sin, nor does He want us to be. Jesus warned us too that we cannot serve two masters (Matt 6:24) and Elijah challenged the people to choose between God and Baal. We too need to choose. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and we need to follow the narrow path if we are to find salvation. We also need to return to this path if we have strayed from it.
Revival doesn’t mean religious hysteria, like the prophets of Baal displayed. It means coming back to our first love, taking up our cross and following Jesus. It means flourishing again after decline. It means making a decision, not wavering, and following the Way. The way of obedience is the only way to God.
