God was Elijah’s Authority
I King 17:1
“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
wasn’t King Ahab to whom Elijah was subject. He was not Elijah’s master. God was. Ahab could make all the rules and laws that he wanted, but Elijah was the servant of King Yahweh. The Lord was the one before whom he stood accountable. Elijah grasped an idea that is important. We must all stand before the Lord. We can do it now as our master or later as our judge.
It is difficult to go against the opinions of King Ahab and the majority. It is hard to be an individual when it means rejection and danger. However, for Elijah, he knew whom he would serve whether or not it was popular. He knew to whom he belonged even if standing for God meant his life.
A conscience cannot agree with what is wrong if that conscience is committed to Jesus and He reigns in your life. It was a Bobby Dylan’s song in “Slow Train Coming” album -“You’ve got to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’ve got to serve somebody.”
Years ago when I went to a conference a German pastor, Klaus, president of the Baptist World Alliance spoke. He was in communication with church leaders in East Germany under communist rule. He had friends there who were not allowed to preach. No children were allowed to go to Sunday School. Parents could be arrested for teaching their children about Jesus. Baptisms were something done in the middle of the night to avoid arrest. Hundreds passed around handwritten Bibles because it was illegal to buy then or print them.
Pastor Klaus told about an underground Baptist church that was literally under ground. They built a place that would seat over 2,000 in East Germany. They believed with all their heart that God was the only they served.
There are rules and regulations whereby we as a nation must be governed and it is right to obey those rules. Scriptures often tell us to do so. But when God’s truth conflicts with government we are to serve the Lord. That was Daniel’s decision which led him into the lion’s den. That was the decision of the Hebrew young men willing to go into the fiery furnace. Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed because they preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many who made God their authority against the commands of Ahab and Jezebel were killed in Elijah”s day.
raised up Elijah to bring judgment on Israel and its leadership. God must be sovereign. He must be your master. If this is true, then He has ownership of our money, our entertainment, our pleasures, our hobbies, our work, our homes and our lives.
When Elijah obeyed God, he found a renewed strength through faith. He found courage. He found purpose. He found peace in the midst of national turmoil.
Where is God in your priorities and decisions of your life today?
