Today's Reading - 1 Kings 17-22
Background
This reading details the battle between Elijah and evil king Ahab, and later the story of Micaiah and Ahab. Ahab is the worst of Israel's kings, embracing idolatry at the insistence of his wife Jezebel and Ahab and Micaiah are both men who stood for God against him.
Devotional - Kill the Messenger
"Don't kill the messenger."
That is exactly what Ahab wanted to do. The phrase is meant to show the absurdity of attacking the bearer of bad news. It was not uncommon in the days when kings had absolute and sometimes capricious power that they would take unjust vengeance on the person who delivered an unwanted message.
Elijah was just such a messenger. In 1 Kings 17 he delivered the message of God's judgment on sinful Israel. The blessings of heaven would be cut off as long as Ahab and his people continued 18in their sin. Look at verse 1.
“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
This was not Elijah's idea or his doing. It was the judgment of God. There would be no rain for years until repentance came. This would bring a drought and great pain and suffering. But it did not bring repentance in Ahab's hardened heart. Instead of blaming himself and getting right with God, he turned his ire at the prophet who carried the message of God.
Finally, after over three years of drought and famine, Elijah appeared before Ahab. it was clear that his heart had not softened to God, that repentance had not come. He looked at Elijah and put all the blame on him.
"Is it you, you troubler of Israel?
Ahab was blaming the messenger. You, Elijah, you are the problem. For preaching the truth. For telling people what God really said. For exposing people's sins. Ahab would not take the blame for his sins, he wanted to pin the blame on Elijah for shining a light on it.
Elijah wouldn't have it. He came back at Ahab in 1 Kings 18:18.
“I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals."He went on to challenge him to a contest on Mt. Carmel to demonstrate that Yahweh truly was the real God of Israel. But the point is this: the world will often blame us for our message. Those in sin hate the truth. In fact, sometimes we may not like the truth much ourselves. But our duty is to be messengers of the truth even if it is unpopular, even if the world hates us for our message.
Truth is defined by God's Word, not the reaction of Ahab when we proclaim what God says. Just because Ahab hates the truth and hates us for proclaiming it doesn't make the truth any less true. Remember how the story ended. At the end, Israel saw who the real God was and cried out, "Yahweh, he is God. Yahweh, he is God."
Father, may I be responsible to you, not to the opinions and reactions of those who live in sin.
Think and Pray
Are you willing to receive the rebuke of God and his word, or do you insist on only hearing "pleasant things?"
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