The heathen rages and the ethical atheist stand on a (supposed) moral
\nhigh ground showing how the God of the Bible is the cause of some of
\nthe worse evils imaginable. They stand there pointing their fingers
\nsaying that there is no God, there is no Christ, your faith is in vain.
\nYou want us to believe? In the light of all this evil around us, fine,
\nshow us your God. Show us then we’ll believe. Does the Lord have to
\nanswer? Has He answered or how will He?<\/p>\n
A fall through a lattice in his upper chamber is the cause of Ahaziah’s
\ninquiry for help. This one hundred something pound of flesh, normally
\nproud, now found himself injured, ill and useless as Moab rebelled
\nagainst his land. Bad time to be out of commission and he knew it—and
\nquickly sends messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,
\nwhether he would get better (2 Ki 1:1-2).<\/p>\n
How dare he? The man knew the history in the Land, how Elijah had shut
\nup heaven for three and a half years. He knew how God had poured fire
\ndown on an altar and consumed the sacrifice. He knew how his father had
\ndied and his mother, no doubt, always complained about the thorn in her
\nside—Elijah, the Man of God. If anyone should have known better it was
\nhim, yet he didn’t care. He served and worshipped Baal just as his
\nfather Ahab had done (1 Ki 22:51-53) and now ignored the Lord of Hosts
\nby sending a runner up to Ekron.<\/p>\n
The angel of the Lord speaks to Elijah with the charge against the
\nman’s outrageous action. The Living God sending His own message to
\nthose en route Baal-inquirers: “Are you going to Baal because there’s
\nno God in Israel? Now, you will never get up from that bed. You will
\ndie.” (2 Ki 1:3, 4)<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the message Ahaziah sends his men to go gather up this
\nhairy Tishbite, this so-called prophet. The prophet is stupid enough to
\nstand up against Ahaziah? The King of Israel? Does he not know that I
\nhave power in this land?<\/p>\n
\nFifty men and their captain, heading up a hill towards Elijah, calling
\nby evoking his title “Man of God” and to whom he must submit “the king
\nsays ‘Come down.’”. The audacity is astounding and God’s response was
\nfiery. Fire from heaven poured down and consumed those fifty one men.
\nThe king, not learning his lesson, sent another fifty one—who God
\ndispatched immediately. (2 Ki 1:5-12)<\/p>\n
True God may not answer the dares of men—but God may do so and in that
\nthere should be much fear and trembling. He is the living God…not some
\nblind idol representing weather features or the seasons. This God can
\n(and eventually will) send down fiery wrath proving who He is and men
\nwill continue to blaspheme Him through set jaws and gritted teeth (Rev
\n9:20; 16:21).<\/p>\n
Oh Pilate, how close were you that day when you stood before the Lord
\nof Hosts incarnate and questioned him? How close when in your pride and
\nself-aggrandizement you claimed to have the authority to release the
\nKing of Heaven from the place He sought to be? (John 19:10-12)<\/p>\n
What of us who believe? We are no better than Pilate or Ahaziah, former
\nenemies in our minds and proud in our thinking. Some of us may have
\neven been blasphemers against the Living God and would have willingly
\npinned His Son against the tree ourselves. The outrage of humanity and
\nwhat we dare—God answered our sin by pouring out fiery indignation…but
\nto what level?<\/p>\n
\nCan you hear the ringing of the hammer against nail? That ringing is
\nmore than just Mankind in his ultimate effrontery; it is the God of
\nheaven nailing our condemnation to the tree so that men can be saved
\n(Col 2:14). So that men, seeing the poured out wrath could bow down and
\nbeg saying “O God! Please let my life be precious in your sight! Behold
\nthe fiery indignation of wrath came down upon your son in my place, so
\nnow, please, let my life be wholly yours and precious in your sight!”
\n(2 Ki 1:13-14 re-applied)<\/p>\n
Ahaziah ignored the testimony of even his soldiers and received God’s
\nwords again—finally perishing in his bed (2 Ki 1:15-17). See the wrath
\npoured out sinful humanity and note how God has taken it upon Himself.
\nNow the decision is left before you, how long will you stay there
\nmorally superior or raging against God? Your condemnation will
\nultimately be the way you respond to the sacrifice on the cross, God’s
\nultimate demonstration of love.<\/p>\n
-r-<\/em><\/p>\n Elijah: The Place<\/a> The heathen rages and the ethical atheist stand on a (supposed) moral high ground showing how the God of the Bible is the cause of some of the worse evils imaginable. They stand there pointing their fingers saying that there is no God, there is no Christ, your faith is in vain. You want us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nElijah: The Proclamation<\/a>
\nElijah: The Performance<\/a>
\nElijah: The Pronouncement<\/a>
\nElijah: Ahab’s Problem<\/a>
\nGod of the Mountains and Plains<\/a>
\nElijah:Pretty Cool Patterns<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"