Chapter 15 of The Story January 11, 2015

Chapter 15: God’s Messengers

I know it’s overused and very familiar, but when it comes to parables about seeing the big picture, nothing comes close to the story of The Blind Men and the Elephant.

• Felt the leg, like a tree
• Felt the trunk, like a snake
• Felt the ear, like a fan
• Felt the side, like a wall
• Felt the tail, like a rope
• Felt the tusk, like a spear

You can draw many lessons from this, but the one we need to concentrate on this morning is understanding the broad view. Each blind man only examined part of the elephant, and drew conclusions based on limited data, when in fact the reality was more than the sum of all the parts.

As we come to Chapter 15 of The Story, Israel was much like these blind men. To use our imagery from last week, they were flying along, uninformed, untrained, and unaware that they were low on fuel. Somebody needed to wake everyone up. Somebody needed to break through this empty-headedness and help Israel see that they were steadily proceeding to the crash site.

But how to break through? How big of a 2x4 was going to be needed to get their attention? Israel needed to be sobered up, and fast. So in Chapter 15 of The Story, God sent messengers—prophets—to jolt them out of their stupor.

These prophets, from Elijah to Elisha to Amos to Hosea, all said and did startling things to get through to the people. But as we go through these events, I want you to watch them not just from ground level, but also from blimp level. Listen to these individual stories, but also see what happens as if you’re watching a parade from a hot-air balloon. Because what we’ll see isn’t just the trees, but more importantly, the forest. Not just the Lower Story, but the all-encompassing Upper Story of God.

 


Chapter 15 of The Story starts with a challenge from one of God’s messengers. God’s people had continued to go back and forth between following Him and chasing after foreign gods. This issue would plague them all of their days. So God sends the prophet Elijah to call the people to make a choice.

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. 1 Kings 18:21

Chapter 15

Key Question

How can we listen to God better?

Elijah on Mount Carmel: Pages 203–206

A little over fifty years after the northern tribes split from Judah, Ahab became king of Israel. Influenced by his wife Jezebel, he made Baal worship the national religion.

God sent prophets to call His people back to Him, but Jezebel killed as many as she could find. It seemed Baal was stronger than the Israelite God, Yahweh. The people wavered: Who was the real God?

God answered that question through the prophet Elijah.

1. What did Elijah tell King Ahab in 1 Kings 17:1? The Canaanites believed Baal was a storm god who controlled rain, gave life through rain, spoke through thunder, and used lightening as a weapon. What was Elijah’s message designed to prove?

After three years of drought drove home the point, God sent Elijah to Ahab. Elijah, Ahab, 450 Baal prophets, 400 Asherah prophets, and onlookers gathered on Mount Carmel.

2. What did Elijah ask the people (1 Kings 18:21)? Considering the people’s beliefs about Baal, why do you think Elijah proposed calling for an answer by fire (18:23–24)?

From morning to evening the Baal prophets called for their god to answer, to no avail. Finally, Elijah stepped forward. It was time to call on the God who had named their forefather Israel, the very name by which they now called themselves.

3. What was this contest designed to let the people know (1 Kings 18:36–37)? What happened when Elijah prayed (18:38)? How did the people respond (18:39)? What long-lasting results should this have brought in Israel?

God acted miraculously so the people would know He was the one true God. Miracles are temporary suspensions of the laws of nature designed to prove that God is God and to confirm messengers and messages as being sent from Him. The miraculous birth of Isaac to the barren elderly Sarah confirmed God’s promise that He was building a nation through Isaac. The miraculous deliverance from Egypt through Moses proved that God called the Israelites, gave the covenant, and sanctioned Moses as leader and prophet.

And now, the miraculous fire from heaven proved the Lord God was God and He was the provider of rain, not Baal.

4. We communicate with God through prayer. Compare the Baal prophets’ prayers in 1 Kings 18:26–29 with Elijah’s prayer in 1 Kings 18:36–37. What can we learn about prayer from these passages?

Elijah on Mount Horeb: Pages 206–209

The contest on Mt. Carmel showed decisively that the Lord is God. But Jezebel didn’t buy it: When King Ahab told her what happened; she sent a message to Elijah that she planned to kill him. Frightened, Elijah fled south. Leaving his servant in Judah, he continued alone into the wilderness beyond. There, convinced that the events on Mt. Carmel had failed to turn Israel back to God, he asked God to let him die.

5. How did God provide for the exhausted and discouraged prophet’s needs (1 Kings 19:5–8)? What can we learn about God’s character from this?

Elijah traveled to Mt. Horeb, the place where God had called to Moses from the burning bush, established His covenant with the Israelites, and passed by Moses to show him His glory.

6. What reason did Elijah give for going to Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:9–10)? What other reasons might Elijah have had?

The Lord told Elijah He was about to pass by.

7. In what phenomena did Elijah not find the Lord (19:11–12)? Elijah may have thought that the Israelites’ rejection of God’s covenant would bring immediate destruction through one of these phenomena, but that was not so. What form did God take to reveal Himself to Elijah (19:12–13)? What can we learn from this?

Elijah may have felt like a failure with no purpose for living, but God assured him otherwise. He sent Elijah back to continue his work, but not alone. He told Elijah to anoint a successor, Elisha, who would travel with him and serve him. He assured Elijah that Israel had 7,000 other faithful followers. Other prophets came out of hiding and Elijah mentored them. Elijah was no longer alone: He had fellowship and support. God met his every need.

God continued reaching out to Israel through more messengers. Jehoshaphat king of Judah encouraged Ahab to follow God, to ignore the false prophets who only told him whatever he wanted to hear, and to respect God’s true prophets. After Ahab died, Jehoshaphat sent Levites into Israel to teach Scripture.

Elisha: Pages 209–213

Elisha eventually inherited Elijah’s ministry, and God did miracles through him too. Ordinary people spread the word throughout Israel, Judah, and other nations.

8. We’re God’s messengers when we tell others about what God has done, even when it’s not miraculous. Briefly describe something God has done for you.

Sometimes God grants special glimpses into the spiritual realm. That’s what He did for Elisha’s scared servant when an Aramean army approached.

9. What did Elisha tell his servant (2 Kings 6:15–16)? After Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened, what did the servant see (6:17)? What can we learn about the spiritual realm from this?

Amos: Pages 213–215

Kings and prophets came and went. About forty years after Elisha’s death, Amos prophesied in Israel. A wealthy class now lived in luxury and pleasure seeking, but ignored God’s laws to protect the needy. They oppressed the poor and sold them into slavery over paltry debts. The courts denied justice to the weak. Cheating, lying, drunkenness, and immorality abounded. Leaders silenced God’s prophets and forced godly people to break vows. Idolatry was everywhere.

10. According to Amos 3:1–2, why would God punish Israel’s sins? What does God’s decision to punish the unrepentant tell us about His care for the oppressed? What does it tell us about God’s justice?

11. When the people refused to listen to the Provider of all good things, how did he communicate they were heading for danger (Amos 4:6 and 4:10)? The New Testament tells Christians to “endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” What does this tell us about how God uses hardship?

A prophet’s life was hard, for few people like being told their actions are wrong. A priest accused Amos of conspiring against the king and ordered him to get out.

12. According to Amos 5:6 and 5:14–15, what could the people do to avert disaster? What does this tell us about the purpose behind godly exhortation? Who was doing what was truly best for the people: Amos with his unwelcome message, or the priest who ordered him to stop prophesying? Why?

Hosea: Pages 215–217

After Amos, God sent Hosea to Israel. Conditions had worsened. Political assassinations divided the nation. Worse, the Israelites were sacrificing children to Canaanite gods.

13. In Hosea 4:1, what did Hosea say the people lacked? What did they have instead (4:2)? Hosea said people were mourning and wasting away because of this (4:3). Describe how you imagine it was like to live in Israel then. What does God’s concern about these things tell us about Him?

Israel as a nation no longer served her purpose, and her oppression of the helpless had to be stopped.

14. What was inevitable now for the northern kingdom of Israel (Hosea 9:7)?

Israel’s people could not stay in the land; they were going to Assyria. By this God would heal their waywardness so one day, the Israelites might seek God and again be under David their king.

15. We’ve seen God speak to people through dramatic miracles, gentle whispers, loving provision, godly teachers, inspired Scripture, everyday people, spiritual glimpses, caring discipline, and stern exhortations. What are two steps you can take this week to listen to God better?

Different messengers; same message – return to God. Yet for years and years this message went ignored. In the next chapters of The Story we’ll find out the consequences for continued disobedience.

You don’t need to continue to live at odds with God. Once and for all, you can choose to follow Him in all things. Will there be times of uncertainty? Yes. Moments of doubt? Yes. But what you will have is the absolute assurance of the presence of God; your relationship with Him will be very real.

AS YOU READ CHAPTER 15

Journal your answers to these questions as you read through the chapter this week. You may wish to read one day and journal the next, or spread the questions over the whole week.

1. God sent Elijah to the Kerith Ravine, where he was fed by ravens. How has God provided for you in unlikely or surprising ways? 

2. Elijah experienced a great miracle – defeating the prophets of Baal – but then he began to fear for his life. Why do you think this miracle was not enough for him?

3. What role did prayer play in Elijah’s life? Read James 5:16-18. What made Elijah’s prayer honorable before God? How do you experience prayer in your life? (See 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Galatians 3:6 for further insight.) 

4. When Elijah fled from Jezebel, he prayed, “I have had enough, LORD. Take my life.” Who do you know that could be experiencing similar despair? What can you do to help? Or what can you do to seek help if it is you?

5. After a dramatic series of events, God revealed Himself to Elijah in an undramatic way. Why would God choose to dwell in the whisper? When have you experienced God’s whisper in your life? 

6. According to the prophecies of Amos and Hosea, what does God warn is coming? What is His ultimate purpose in Israel’s judgment? What does this tell you about God?

Chapter 15: God’s Messengers

This session covers: 1 Kings 17-19; 2 Kings 2, 4, 6; Hosea; Amos

Have you ever noticed how many warning signs and warning labels there are these days?

We see them on food products and personal hygiene items. We hear them on advertisements for prescription drugs. They’re everywhere and in my opinion many of them go a bit overboard. There is an anti-lawsuit organization in Michigan that keeps track of warning labels that they deem to be unnecessary to help show the negative impact these warnings can have on businesses. This group has even compiled a list of what they think of as the silliest. Here are a few examples:

• They found an ad for a tractor that came with this warning: “Caution: Avoid death.”

• You may have heard of this next one. They found a stroller with a warning label on it that said, “Warning: remove infant before folding stroller for storage.”

• They found a Batman costume that said, “Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly.” This one was silly because everyone knows Batman can’t fly, that’s Superman!

• One more and this is my favorite. They found a sign on an electric fence that said, “Touching wires causes instant death. Two hundred dollar fine.”

Some warning signs are too funny to take seriously but there are others we should heed. There are times in life when we NEED to be warned that we are in a dangerous situation, and that we need to listen up or face some pretty devastating consequences.

Who has been to the Grand Canyon before?

The views are spectacular. The problem was that people would not watch where they were going so they had signs warning people to be careful not to get too close to the edge. Since they started keeping records over 700 people have been killed in the Grand Canyon and most of them died because they got too close to the canyon edge and fell to their deaths. They didn’t heed the warning signs. They were so busy looking OUT that they didn’t look DOWN.

Our study of The Story this week looks at a special group of people; special MESSENGERS that God gave the job of WARNING the Hebrews. Their task was to warn them that if they didn’t change their behavior destruction was coming. In 2nd Chronicles 35:15 it says, “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them (the Hebrews) through His messengers again and again because He had pity on His people…” God sent these messengers, also known as “prophets” BEFORE the Hebrews “fell off the edge,” before tragedy struck, before there was devastation, before sin took root so as to warn His people in time for them to make some changes.

Last week we studied how the nation of Israel split into 2 nations: Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

And, the years that followed that split were a chapter in the history of God’s chosen people when things went from bad to worse. These were years of spiritual decline and unprecedented immorality, 208 years to be exact. To give you an idea of how bad the decline was according to the Biblical record during these 208 years the combined kingdoms had 38 different kings and only 5 were good. The rest were described as evil and they led the Hebrews to do evil things. Now, try to imagine what that would be like. In the U.S.A. we’ve had 44 presidents over a period slightly longer than the divided kingdom’s 208 years. A few of these leaders were less than stellar, but I don’t know of anyone who would describe any of our presidents as being outright EVIL. In fact, in my lifetime, I can think of only a handful of WORLD rulers whom we would describe as evil, Hitler, Stalin, Idi Ammin, etc.

But Israel, God’s chosen nation, the people through whom God would reveal Himself to the rest of the world as part of His plan to create a perfect community in just 208 years they had 33 rulers that God’s book judges as being EVIL. This is because these kings allowed and even encouraged abominable practices to go on, making this a sad time indeed in this part of God’s story. Over and over we read about God using tragic words like these to describe these evil rulers: “You followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused My people to sin.” (1 Kings 16:2)

What was the main sin of these rulers?

The main sin of these rulers, the root of all their decadence was IDOLATRY and you should remember that it started with the “Boam brothers.” King Jeroboam in the northern kingdom became afraid that his people would go south to worship in the temple so he had two golden calves made and invented his own substitute religion. He told the people, “Don’t go south to worship. Just stay here and worship these idols.” King Rehoboam in the south led his people to worship false gods as well and, over the years the idolatry in both kingdoms got worse and worse. It got so bad that you would have thought that God would have started over again, but as you remember from Noah’s part of The Story, God did that once and promised never to do it again and God never breaks His promises. Besides, as Frazee puts it, “God loves His chosen people, even if they don’t reciprocate. It’s the part of the Upper Story that is so difficult for us to comprehend: God loves us no matter what, and despite our rebellion, He wants nothing more than to call us back to Him so He can live with us.”

For 208 years God patiently waited for His children to heed His call, give up their idols, and return to Him but He didn’t wait passively.

• No, He sent these special MESSENGERS or PROPHETS to warn the people and to call them back to His ways. They were the voice of God to His people. In fact, they always introduced their speeches with these words, “Thus says the Lord.” These messengers came in all kinds. Some were noblemen in the courts of kings; others were priests; still others were farmers, herdsmen, and plain, humble working folk but they all spoke the same basic message: “Return to the Lord, and His law, beware of His judgment, and above all things, look for the glorious future day of the Messiah.”
• In the Northern kingdom alone, God raised up 9 prophets during this 208-year period to try and convince the people to turn from their sin. Perhaps the best-known prophet during this period was Elijah, a man who served God during the reign of a wicked northern-kingdom ruler named Ahab and his infamous wife, Queen Jezebel. Be sure you understand, this queen was not LIKE a “Jezebel.” She was the ORIGINAL Jezebel. She led her husband to promote the worship of false gods named Baal and Asherah and, with his full support, she had several prophets of God executed. 

King Ahab / Queen Jezebel

In the 38th year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel 22 years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16:29-33)

I. Elijah’s Calling (What do you know about Elijah?)  
A little over fifty years after the northern tribes split from Judah, Ahab became king of Israel. Influenced by his wife Jezebel, he made Baal worship the national religion. God sent prophets to call His people back to Him, but Jezebel killed as many as she could find. It seemed Baal was stronger than the Israelite God, Yahweh. The people wavered: Who was the real God? God answered that question through the prophet Elijah. 

God sent Elijah to confront this evil duo and to call Israel back to worshiping the one true God. Elijah’s name actually reflected his assignment. The second part of his name, “jah” is from “Yahweh” and the first part, “Eli” comes from “Elohim.” Put them together and it means, “The Lord is God.” That was Elijah’s job, to remind Israel that The Lord, not Baal, THE LORD is God. As punishment for the idolatry of Ahab and Jezebel and to get the people’s attention, Elijah announced that there would be no more rain until he said so. No rain fell for 3.5 years. This caused a terrible famine during that time in Israel which shows that God takes idolatry seriously.
 

Why is idolatry such a big deal?

God put more than a thousand verses in the Bible that speak against this sin. The first two of the Ten Commandments deal with idolatry and it’s one of only four commandments that have the death penalty attached to it. The 10 plaques on Egypt were directed at their specific idols. God takes idolatry seriously.

We have talked before about idolatry of today. It’s more subtle, we don’t see any golden calves these days but many people still push God off His throne and worship modern day idols. Our lesson this week says that there is a “tool” that we can use to determine our own personal “idols” and believe it or not it was invented back in the 17th century by a Puritan preacher named David Clarkson. Clarkson came up with several questions that can help people identify the idols in their hearts and Kyle Idleman of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville has updated them and made them into excellent “idol diagnostic tools” for us to use. Here they are.

1. What are you most disappointed with right now?

Maybe it’s your career or your financial status or whatever but this is a good question for us to consider because the thing we are most disappointed with points to something we have put our hope in. We must remember that only God can give us TRUE hope, a hope that is steadfast and sure.

2. What do you sacrifice your time and money for?

The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is.” Our checkbooks and our credit card bills can reveal the “god” within our hearts, the “god” we truly worship.

3. What do you worry about? What scares you?

The answer can show who or what we revere or fear the most. Elizabeth Elliot addressed this one and said, “The love of God has wrapped us round from before the foundations of the world. If we fear Him–that is, if we are brought to our knees before Him, reverence and worship Him in absolute assurance of His sovereignty, we cannot possibly be afraid of anything else. To love God is to destroy all other fear. To love the world is to be afraid of everything–what it may think of me, what it may do to me, what may happen today or tomorrow for which I am not prepared.” Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 RSV). Fearing anything but God is elevating it to idol status. It also reduces God to a being, Who either does not care about our needs or is not able to meet them.

4. Where do you go when you get hurt or when life is hard? Where do you go to find comfort?

If we go to anyone or anything other than God there’s a good chance that thing or person has become an idol.

5. Whose applause do you long for? Who do you most want to please in life?

If the answer is not GOD you could have a problem.

Whatever these questions lead you to discover don’t be surprised if there is a drought in your life that matches up with the thing that has become equal to God in your heart.

God is not going to bless His primary competition.

• If your career has reached idol status if it becomes more important than God don’t be surprised by that pink slip.
• If finances are number one, if your security is linked to the size of your bank account, don’t be surprised if your balances shrink.

God won’t bless His competition because He wants us to realize Who He really is - that He is the one TRUE God. And the opposite is also true. When we put God first, when we put Him in the right place, we shouldn’t be surprised if He showers us with blessings. People who put God first in their careers, people who work with integrity as unto the Lord, are often elevated to jobs of high status just as Joseph was! People who honor God with their finances, people who tithe and are good stewards of their money, people God can trust with material blessings tend to have an abundance of them!



II. Elijah’s Mountain Top Experience
After three years of drought drove home the point, God sent Elijah to Ahab. Elijah, Ahab, 450 Baal prophets, 400 Asherah prophets, and onlookers gathered on Mount Carmel. God acted miraculously so the people would know he was the one true God. Miracles are temporary suspensions of the laws of nature designed to prove that God is God and to confirm messengers and messages as being sent from him. The miraculous birth of Isaac to the barren elderly Sarah confirmed God’s promise that he was building a nation through Isaac. The miraculous deliverance from Egypt through Moses proved that God called the Israelites, gave the covenant, and sanctioned Moses as leader and prophet. And now, the miraculous fire from heaven proved the Lord God was God and he was the provider of rain, not Baal.

What was this contest designed to let the people know (1 Kings 18:36–37)? What happened when Elijah prayed (18:38)? How did the people respond (18:39)? What long-lasting results should this have brought in Israel?

When Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal, at one point he turned to all the people of Israel and asked, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

What can it look like in our day when Christians “waver between two opinions,” trying to keep one foot in the world while still trying to walk with Jesus?

How does such a lifestyle keep us from really experiencing intimate friendship with God?

III. Elijah’s Valley of Depression

The contest on Mt. Carmel showed decisively that the Lord is God. But Jezebel didn’t buy it: When King Ahab told her what happened; she sent a message to Elijah that she planned to kill him. Frightened, Elijah fled south. Leaving his servant in Judah, he continued alone into the wilderness beyond. There, convinced that the events on Mt. Carmel had failed to turn Israel back to God, he asked God to let him die. God said, “Elijah, what has brought you to this point? Why are you so depressed? Why are you hiding in a cave?” Why was Elijah hiding and why was he so depressed? 

I think that would be a good question for us to look at this morning because, we all deal with discouraging times. We all have our “cave times.” So what brought Elijah to this point? What did he do wrong? How did he get in this depression in the first place?

Our lesson gives us 3 reasons for Elijah’s depression:

1. He forgot that he was human.

Elijah had just spent an exhausting day in the hot sun in his duel with the prophets of Baal. Plus he had just run well over 100 miles, most of it through the dessert. No wonder he FELT down! God’s messenger was human and humans need food and rest which is why the first thing God did was get Elijah to sleep and eat. Some people act like it is spiritually mature to go and go and go, as an indication that you have a close walk with God. But that is just not true. The Bible commands us to take care of our bodies so sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap so you can get the strength to do more for God. After all, we are only human! There’s an old Greek saying that goes like this: “You will break the bow if you keep it always bent.” In other words, if you’re living under constant, relentless physical stress, you will eventually break under the pressure. You have to give yourself some time for rest and refreshment. Elijah forgot this and that’s one thing that brought him to this depression.

2. He forgot the victory and thought he was a failure.
Remember? He said, “I’m no better than my ancestors.” In other words, “I’m done.” The first time I read this I thought, “How could Elijah believe this? Look what he just did!” But I read something else this week, something that helped me to understand. I read that part of being human is that our brains tend to remember failures much better than we do victories. Psychologist Les Parrot tells us that, “…failures tend to take on a life of their own because the brain remembers incomplete tasks or failures longer than any successes or completed activity.” It’s referred to as the Zeigarnik effect. When a project or a thought is completed, the brain places it in a special memory. Since it is completed, the brain no longer gives that project priority or active working status and the bits and pieces of the achieved situation begin to decay. But failures in the human brain have no such closure. The brain continues to spin the memory of the failure trying to come up with way to fix the mess and move it from active to inactive status. This is why we tend to remember some of our failures so long, remember them better than we do our successes. And this is what happened to Elijah. The memory of his failure to fix the problem of Ahab and Jezebel eclipsed the memory of his victory on Mt. Carmel. He wasn’t a failure, far from it. Plus, there were other victories ahead. In fact, to help him see this, after Elijah got some food and rest God gave him assignments. He told him that two kings needed crowning. He also had his prophetic successor, Elisha, to appoint.

Another thing we should remember when we feel like failures is that we will never know all our “successes,” all the ways God used us to further His kingdom until we get to Heaven. Only then will we be able to look back and see the “harvest” that was reaped from the “seeds” we sowed. Only then will we realize how God used our faithfulness. We must remember that success for the Christian is defined as simply being obedient.

3. He forgot to practice what he preached.

When Elijah realized that his victory on Mt. Carmel had NOT changed Ahab, when he heard that Jezebel was out to get him, when he heard she had pledged to kill him within 24 hours, he forgot that Yahweh alone, not Jezebel—Yahweh is God, and he ran for the hills. This fearful prophet took his eyes off God and focused instead on Jezebel and her soldiers and despair was the consequence. This should help us to realize that when life’s inevitable problems approach WE dare not take our eyes off of our loving Heavenly Father because when we focus our life’s gaze on our problems and difficulties we lose the proper perspective and the spiritual power that comes with it. Then we in essence open the door of our hearts and minds so depression can come in and make itself at home. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON THEE.” So when our own times of depression come, we must keep our eyes on God. We must dwell on God’s greatness and power. We must remember all the ways He has been faithful to us!

I love how God responded to His pouting prophet. He told Elijah to go out and stand on the mountain and that He would pass by. “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings 19) Then God tenderly said to him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” In essence, God said, “Elijah, why have you been thinking all these wrong thoughts? I am infinitely bigger than Jezebel. I gave you a victory on Mt. Carmel and will give you others. I am not done with you yet. And you are not alone. I have 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down to Baal. You need not run. You need not fear.”

Remember when your children use to wake up in the middle of the night? How did you respond? Did you yell from your bed and say, “quiet down, its OK, go back to sleep?” Or did you bang on their door and make the sounds of an earthquake to let them know who was boss? No, you went in and picked them up and rocked them in your arms and whispered in their ear and told them everything would be alright. You probably sang to them quietly. And in a minute they stopped crying and went back to sleep.


One of our Key Questions: How can we listen to God better? 

What do you need to hear God whisper in your ear today? What is causing you fear? What has you feeling down? What burden are you trying to bear on your own? What thing in your life looks bigger than God?

• Perhaps it’s the sin in your life. You want to know God but you think your sin is too big to forgive, well, if you did your reading this week you know that is not true. God used another of His messengers, a prophet named Hosea, to help us see that no sin keeps Him from loving us and wanting us back. So I’ll ask again, what do you need your Heavenly Father to whisper in your ear today?

Elijah may have felt like a failure with no purpose for living, but God assured him otherwise. He sent Elijah back to continue his work, but not alone. He told Elijah to anoint a successor, Elisha, who would travel with him and serve him. He assured Elijah that Israel had 7,000 other faithful followers. Other prophets came out of hiding and Elijah mentored them. Elijah was no longer alone: He had fellowship and support. God met his every need.

PRAYER

God, thank You for the messenger prophets You have placed in my life who always point me back to You and Your ways of grace and truth. Thank you for being a God who is faithful to never let us go, but always correct us and call us back home. Help us see how we rebel against You, and give us courage to trust nothing but You. Amen.


See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan