Broken Kingdoms: WK3 - TUE
Two many kings - 1 Kings 17:1
1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “there are too many cooks in the kitchen.” Well I lived it one holiday, a few years back.
Though everyone in that kitchen had good intentions, everyone also had a different way of doing things and no one could agree on anything. It started off with a sarcastic comment here and there, then a verbal jab under the breath, then before the men in the room really knew what was going on, the voices of the cooks in the kitchen became so high and so loud that dogs in neighboring towns began barking.
Today’s one verse sets us up for a coming showdown. We mentioned yesterday that King Ahab had divided allegiances, seemingly giving more attention to Baal and other foreign gods, than to Yahweh. Well now, God sends a prophet to remind Israel who really is God, and who is not; who has the power and is the maker of all things, including man, and who is made up by man and therefore not only powerless, but imaginary.
Baal was believed to be the god who controlled the rain and agriculture, and since this was an agrarian society, Baal ultimately controlled life. So for Elijah to show up and say that Yahweh was going to stop the rain for a few years, was a challenge to see who really had the power. Who was the only real cook in the kitchen, to complete that metaphor.
This challenge seems to take us back to the plagues in Egypt when the Israelites were enslaved there. Every plague was a challenge to one of the Egyptian gods. If those gods were real, and powerful, as the Egyptians claimed, then surely they could stop the God of the Israelites from sending those plagues. We know how that story turned out, and tomorrow we’ll see what happened in this one.
For today, it does cause me to wonder why we need to be continually reminded about who is the real King in our lives? Why do we forget so easily? I don’t know about you, but every time I think I’m in charge, that the outcome of my life is solely up to me, every time, something goes horribly wrong. Turns out, I was never meant to be in charge, but to simply surrender my life to the lifegiver, even when that’s really hard to do.
Solomon once wrote, after years of experience doing the wrong thing, 5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) Notice he doesn’t say your paths will become easy, just straight.
Oh that we wouldn’t have to keep relearning that God is God, and we are not, but until that day comes, I invite you to keep verses like this Proverb close to your heart. Maybe we learn the lesson once and for all…some day.
1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “there are too many cooks in the kitchen.” Well I lived it one holiday, a few years back.
Though everyone in that kitchen had good intentions, everyone also had a different way of doing things and no one could agree on anything. It started off with a sarcastic comment here and there, then a verbal jab under the breath, then before the men in the room really knew what was going on, the voices of the cooks in the kitchen became so high and so loud that dogs in neighboring towns began barking.
Today’s one verse sets us up for a coming showdown. We mentioned yesterday that King Ahab had divided allegiances, seemingly giving more attention to Baal and other foreign gods, than to Yahweh. Well now, God sends a prophet to remind Israel who really is God, and who is not; who has the power and is the maker of all things, including man, and who is made up by man and therefore not only powerless, but imaginary.
Baal was believed to be the god who controlled the rain and agriculture, and since this was an agrarian society, Baal ultimately controlled life. So for Elijah to show up and say that Yahweh was going to stop the rain for a few years, was a challenge to see who really had the power. Who was the only real cook in the kitchen, to complete that metaphor.
This challenge seems to take us back to the plagues in Egypt when the Israelites were enslaved there. Every plague was a challenge to one of the Egyptian gods. If those gods were real, and powerful, as the Egyptians claimed, then surely they could stop the God of the Israelites from sending those plagues. We know how that story turned out, and tomorrow we’ll see what happened in this one.
For today, it does cause me to wonder why we need to be continually reminded about who is the real King in our lives? Why do we forget so easily? I don’t know about you, but every time I think I’m in charge, that the outcome of my life is solely up to me, every time, something goes horribly wrong. Turns out, I was never meant to be in charge, but to simply surrender my life to the lifegiver, even when that’s really hard to do.
Solomon once wrote, after years of experience doing the wrong thing, 5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) Notice he doesn’t say your paths will become easy, just straight.
Oh that we wouldn’t have to keep relearning that God is God, and we are not, but until that day comes, I invite you to keep verses like this Proverb close to your heart. Maybe we learn the lesson once and for all…some day.
- What lessons in this life, spiritual and otherwise, do you seem to have to keep learning?
- Are there verses and other words of wisdom and insight that help remind you or keep you grounded?
- What area(s) in your life today do you need to hand over to God, and recognize that God is God, and you are not?
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