“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab,
‘As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew
nor rain these years, except at my word.’”
Elijah appears in scripture at one of the worst times for
the northern kingdom. Jeroboam had so
angered God that God said Jeroboam’s lineage would cease to exist. Yet here we have Ahab, whom God said was even
more wicked than the previous kings. Add
to Ahab his severely wicked wife, Jezebel.
In their government, they supported the worship of the idol ‘Baal,’ and
openly persecuted those who worshiped the One True God.
What a bold man of God.
He stood before a vicious king and gave Ahab the news of a drought that
would only end at his word. Where did he
get this boldness? He lets us know. Even though Elijah was standing before Ahab
giving the news, he said that he stood before the LORD God of Israel. Elijah’s strength came directly from the
throne of God. This statement is similar
to one that we hear from Gabriel when he spoke to Zacharias: “And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I
am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and
bring you these glad tidings.’” (Luke 1:19)
We may be apt to think that Elijah had accomplished a
spirituality that we cannot achieve, or that we shall never be as bold as
Elijah. But the Apostle Paul corrects us
from any such excuses, saying “Elijah was
a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain;
and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave
rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:17-18) A nature like ours, meaning Elijah fought his
flesh just as we do. He fought fears and
passions. There is no reason for us not
to be as bold as Elijah.
Jesus has given us the privilege of taking everything to the
Throne in prayer. When we surrender to
Jesus and serve Him, he gives us access to stand before the throne of God. He makes intercession for us as He sits at
the right hand of God. As in the time of
Ahab and Jezebel, today we see wickedness increase, masked in the authority of
government. The news reminds us on a
daily basis that the spirit of the anti-Christ is busy at work. Pray to God that we all may be bold with the
truth, openly proclaim to be one of Christ’s, and prepare the way for the Lord.
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