Asa is King over Judah which has many kings, we think of it like governors, below Asa ruling in Israel. The time laps is from 910-841 BC. The kings were, Nadab who followed Jeroboam's wicked ways. Baasha who followed in Nadab's footsteps. Elah was a drunkard and "made Israel to sin." Zimri who was only king for seven days because he burned the city and himself, also an idolater and murder. Omri was worse than all those before him, he took over Tibri's reign and set the city of Samaria which we will hear about again through the bible and history. Ahab was the worst, he loved wickedness and married Jezebel who later will try to kill Prophet Elijah.Now that we can see the small picture of what is going on throughout these years, we understand the extreme wickedness in Judah. Through traditions of time man got more wicked, went even further away from God. As I pondered upon this my personal actions was shown in daylight. I reflected on how my actions will affect my generations to come. What am I doing today to show my future loved ones that I love God and will not curse Him? How can I show them that I wont worship this world and the things in it, but that I will focus on the eternities? I cannot decide what generations will see me as, I cannot predict the conversations they will have. I can only live my life through righteous actions that show them how I feel about my God.
Elijah confronts Ahab and curses the land with a famine because they are so wicked. Ahab was always on the look out for prophets and would kill them. Elijah was consistently on the run, reminds me of David. His devotion to the Lord is shown through his hiding and being fed by ravens. Side note: the translation of ravens has been argued with biblical scholars, we don't know if it was actually a raven or faithful servants bring Elijah food. He waits upon the Lord for years on what he should do. How many of us are that faithful to wait? Finally the Lord tells him to confront Ahab.
Through the widow of Zarepeth his is fed from her last bit of oil and flour. She is promised that her food will never run dry. How many of us can say we have that much faith? She also had faith enough to ask Elijah to bring her son back from the dead. Would I be prepared if the Lord's servant knocked on my door? Would my home be appropriate to welcome him?He continues on his journey from the Lord and tells Obadiah to make an appointment with Ahab for him. Obadiah is a God fearing man, meaning he has great faith. He serves the king but has many prophets in hiding and actually feeding them so that they don't get killed. He warns Elijah with his request that the king is out to kill him. After all, Elijah is the one to blame for the famine right?
Of course Ahab would see it that way, would we? How many of us put blame of our own consequences on others? I can clearly see where Ahab could be justified, but the Lord see's it the right way. There would have been no famine if he was righteous and worshiped the true and only God. Maybe we should look at God's teaching techniques rather than our personal justification.Elijah shows Ahab and his false prophets through a challenge that they are worshiping false gods. Their burnt offering couldn't be put on fire by their god. Their gods are silent which make them extremely frustrated. They used to actually fake the miraculous miracles of fire from their gods. To show them that Elijah's God is real he builds a mot around the alter. They are astonished when God brings fire and wipes out the water from the mot. They kill all their false prophets and begin to worship the true God again. I would hope that we don't have to see miracles to believe in Him.
I hope that after reading this you reflect on your life. How can you make your actions show your testimony for your future loved ones? Maybe it is right within your home that you need your actions to show. Stop justifying your actions and ponder upon why God would place you in this time of your life. We cannot serve two masters and keep a single mind. James 1:8, 4:8. Matt 6:24. You have the power to change future generations.
The story doesn't end there, next we will hear about Jezebel's hunt to kill Elijah.
