The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning. When He calls, I wake up to a voice in the darkness of the early hours just before dawn. His voice comes as a comfort over the doom that can flood a mind trying to process the events of our world in crisis.
Today He tells me to remember Elijah on Mt Carmel and how he brought down fire from Heaven as proof to the depressed Children of Israel that Yahoveh is still their God. A drought and subsequent famine for 3 years was about to be cancelled by Yahoveh, but first Elijah is called to expose and take Divine vengeance against the evil priests of Baal who led the people into idolatry in the first place.
Polytheism was the challenge to Adonai's people in the promised land. Over and over the Children of Israel capitulated to the pagan rituals and worship of the foreign gods of their neighbors. They did not stop worshipping Adonai, they just added other gods I cannot help asking: are we, Adonai's Beloved, any different today?
Even the King of Israel, Ahab, took as his wife a woman called Jezebel, the daughter of a pagan king and went and served Baal and worshipped him. Then King Ahab erected an altar for Baal, in the house of Baal, causing the people to bow down and worship Baal too.
In I Kings 17, we read that Elijah the prophet was a man called by Adonai, the God of Israel, to indict his people for their sin and proclaim a drought on the land for an unknown period of time. Elijah was hidden and cared for by Adonai for the next 3 years while the king sent his men to search the land to find him. Jezebel then orchestrated her power play and vicious agenda, murdering all of Adonai's prophets.
The account continues in I Kings 18 where we are told that Adonai, after three years, again sent Elijah the "word" to go and show himself to the people because Adonai was about to bring rain to the dry land. We can debate just how that happened or what that might have sounded like to Elijah, but it's my belief that Adonai operates the same way with His people today. A "Prophet" might get a "word' of exhortation from Adonai to speak to His people. Elijah was listening, Elijah heard....and Elijah obeyed. Some parts of the story suggest that Elijah was able to use his own creative way to enhance the message and bring great glory to Adonai, like calling down fire from Heaven.
The Word of the Lord was to be given to King Ahab that Adonai was going to send rain to the land but the great contest and fire from Heaven seemed like it was Elijah's unique method and delivery of the message that brought a great demonstration of Adonai's undeniable and Sovereign power.
Elijah called out Ahab for abandoning the Lord's commands and following the Baalim. Elijah told the King to assemble all of Israel and the 450 prophets of Baal together for a contest and display of Divine authority. This Baal they were worshipping was believed to be the god of rain and fertility. Ironically the priests of the cult directing the sacrifices and worship of this baal, god of rain, accused Elijah of causing the "trouble" and consequently the drought. This begs the question of the power of this Baal if a man could counter its power or authority. Such are the issues of the false gods even in our day when they suggest or promise a resolution to a threat over which they have no power.
The contest was called; the "gods" were challenged to produce a supernatural fire on the altar to receive the sacrificed animal and thereby prove their authority over the land and the people. The people were challenged to stop wavering between the two positions and follow Adonai or follow the Baals but not both.
The prophets of Baal were told to call on the name of their god and Elijah would call on the name of Yahoveh and "the God who answers with fire, let Him be God". It is also interesting to note that Elijah called for the contest to be executed out in the open where these false prophets and priests could not hide their assistance by torching the altar humanly as they were said to have done in their temple. The true power of God needs no human assistance and yet just like in Egypt, people will try to use magic arts or human power to duplicate the acts of the One true God Yahoveh.
Fast forward to today. There are many other "gods" to choose from in various forms of religion or ideology. The sad part is that we tend to expect nothing from the "gods" who vie for our loyalty. At least back in the day, these false gods were thought to be helpful if and when they were "pleased". Many of the people did not understand they could not worship Baal and Adonai together. Elijah called them to choose.
Most of us know the end of this account when Yahoveh did answer with fire and that fire consumed the sacrifice and even "licked up the water poured over the sacrifice and the altar. When the people saw it, "they fell on their faces and said, "Adonai is God, Adonai is God!"
The false prophets were exposed, the idolatry was defined, the hearts of Adonai's people were turned back to Him and the drought (a consequence of their apostacy) was ended.
This account represents so much hope for us in our nation today. As Adonai suffers with our ignorance and even betrayal, He will not leave us in a place of drought forever. When our hearts are desperate and we realize that there are no other gods that can stop the drought, the famine, the plague, the earthquake or the storm; when we finally cry out for relief and rescue, I trust Adonai will yet again deliver and show us His great and Sovereign power over all the false gods out there, for He says of Himself, "I AM the Lord, I do not change". Mal 3:6
Are we living with the great expectation of His Divine manifestation in our world today? I pray that we are and that soon something akin to fire from Heaven will fall as evidence to the world that Yahoveh is still our God.
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
