Prophecy

Elijah has been on my mind this week. Maybe it was in part due to my Pastor friend posting pictures from a trip where he visited the memorial that was the start of my thinking about Elijah this week

 Ah yes, The monument to the time that Sean Connery hit a dude with a hot cross bun. We shall always remember

... but truth be told I think about him a lot. I think about his homelessness and the solitude and his boldness and how he was sorta a weatherman of God. One thing that I was thinking about tonight was the part where he went up against the Prophets of Baal.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Did you notice that?  Right out the gate, Elijah, the Prophet is meeting Ahab who thinks he's the blameless one and he starts in with "is this you, you troubler of Israel?" This is generally a sign of hard hearted and self righteous men. When Moses sought to get the Israelites Pharaoh did a whole big speech about how Moses was the one who was going to endanger everyone. Elijahs response is essentially "NO U" or the equivalent of flipping the reverse card out of the Uno deck. He throws down the gauntlet and points part of the blame at Jezebel, the Self righteous Ahabs horrible advice giving wife.

So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”

I don't want to brush past that two choices bit either. We all, each of us, daily are set with two choices. We will serve God, or we will serve our flesh. The hardest part is when people start speaking out of flesh saying that they're serving God like in Ezekiel 13:6 ""They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, 'The LORD declares,' when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word."  There is what God says, and then there is speaking on your own hoping that God will do your bidding. Don't do that.  Elijah said it best, if the Lord is God, follow Him. If not, then not.

Let me make another important side note here, If you're one that is going to tell the truth... like the WHOLE truth, Like the FULL gospel that includes the "You have forsaken the commandment of the Lord" part, you can probably expect to have numbers like 850 to 1. Granted its 850 to 1 plus God, so they're outnumbered, but expect to have it look like the worlds against you... because it is. I just tonight had another BELIEVER tell me that they don't like that I talk about the Commands and the Law and stuff and that I should spend more time talking about things that matter like the Gospel. I took a moment and asked what the Gospel is, then asked what Repentance is, then asked what Sin is, and showed how everything that I have have been saying IS the Gospel. That Like Elijah here, I have been saying that God is a certain way and we are to live according to His ways, but I digress. So you've got everyone that is agreeing to a rigged game because they're so sure they're right.  They're professing numbers and got the whole team together to witness how this fool dared bring an accusation against their god.  I can picture them salivating all smuglike over proving Elijah isn't as righteous as they are and how they're the real anointed ones in a place of esteem and they're going to gleefully eat up watching this guy be humiliated as they assert dominance.

So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

We still to this day have those who's confidence is in the flesh who stand behind pulpits and they leap about and they wail, but they cannot force God to do what they demand of Him. Their confidence in the flesh is mocked. The Prophet of God is mocking their false deity. I'm embarrassed to say it but I have been a part of more than one Messianic community that when you tell someone on "staff" that they've sinned against you... they're more likely to flip the script than they are to repent. They're more likely to double down like the prophets of Baal in greater histrionics because in their mind they feel the need to always maintain the front of Holiness and control, even though when rooted in the flesh it its apparent. They crave the word from God, but the god they made is not God.

 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. 33 Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

There is a message of the redemption here. Repair God's place in the heart that has been broken down. I'm certain that there is some deep significance between the 4 +4+4= 12 pitchers of water and the 12 tribes of Israel, but I'm not picking that up this go round.

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

1 Man takes down the whole boasting, self righteous,  form of godliness but denying the power, false prophets.  This is a powerful thing, the 1 person actually walking with God  wins and is validated over the ones that proclaim holiness rooted in self and self debasement.  Surely after such an astounding rebuke this would inspire others to humble themselves lest they carry on in vain boasting right?

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
 

 If you're someone that is prone to hardness of heart, and your pride entices you to speak on behalf of God when God has not spoken like a false prophet, and God shows you that you need to stop relying on yourself and your ways and your strength, and God is continually bring people to you that are showing you something that is unacceptable and you need to repent from... DO NOT listen to your wife when she doubles down on the bad advice and continues to blame everyone else based on her own strength and power.