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ELIJAH & the FAMINE
by Dale Garris
"And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all
the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the
Lord that was broken down." - 1 Kings 18:30
Just a few years before this showdown on Mount Carmel, Israel
had been lush with prosperity and wealth. King Ahab had led the
Israelites on a path that led farther away from the old, established
worship of God than any before him, and had brought them to a life
of riches, prosperity, and licentiousness.
The gods that he and his wife Jezebel had enticed the people of
God with appealed to their earthly and fleshly desires. No longer
did they have to be constricted with an old religion that demanded
holiness and the fear of the Lord. No longer did they have to lead a
life of separation from the things of the world that other, more
prosperous nations enjoyed. They could enjoy the prosperity and
fullness of riches without the constraints of a religion that had
become outmoded and old-fashioned.
Life was good. So when Elijah pronounced the judgments of God
upon Israel, they laughed him out of the king's court. The true
prophets of God had been eradicated from the public place and
were no longer a thorn in the side of everyone who wanted the
rewards of love, peace, and prosperity. You were no longer allowed
to mention the name of Jehovah, much less pray to him in a public
place. They now had priests and prophets of Baal that had
replaced those old critical and judgmental men who had caused
such consternation in the land.
Elijah had stood as the one, lone voice who cried for a return to
righteousness.
And who was this hairy old man? He didn't seem to be of any real
consequence. He had no credentials, no theological bearing, and
no consequential importance. Even his dress revealed his lack of
social prominence and his irrelevance in such a modern,
sophisticated time as this.
Ahab's ears may have been deaf to Elijah's pronouncement, but
when Elijah spoke, God listened. The Ahab's court may have
derided him with laughter as he stood before the king, but 3 years
later, no one was laughing.
NOTE from Lou: I would say instead, when God spoke Elijah listened. No move of God starts with any man. But God inspires men to seek Him and pray to Him and speak for Him.
We have followed a course similar to the one that Ahab had led
Israel down. The Gospel we listen to is far different than the Gospel
our grandfathers believed in. We decry the old brush arbor
revivalists as hard, judgmental men who did not understand the
love of God, and we have traded their message of repentance and
holiness for one that is a kinder, gentler approach which promises
love and peace and prosperity.
But the love, peace, and prosperity that our modern prophets have
promised us are but a worldly shadow of that which God offers us
through a walk of righteousness in the fear of the Lord.
We have been like the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai - we
feared and trembled at the presence of God when the mount shook
with fire and smoke, but as soon as Moses departed up the
mountain and we were left to our own devices, we made for
ourselves a golden calf to worship in God's place.
I have said for 7 years now that something is coming to America
that will be far worse than 9/11, but I never knew what form that
judgment would take. Would it be a dirty nuclear explosion in one
of our cities, or an epidemic, or some natural disaster? We would
be hurt, but it wouldn't take long to go back to our old ways. We
are the great and mighty America, and we have an innate belief
that we will always bounce back and dominate.
What if it wasn't any of those imagined disasters, but something
that struck right to the heart of that which we cherish the most?
What if we lost our prosperity and wealth? And what if it
consumed every level of our society and every part of our country?
We are living in that time of drought when the ravens fed Elijah by
the brook Cherith, right after he fled the king's court.
We look to our televangelists who promise us blessings, and
refuse to consider that our lust for those promises is what has led
us to this drought in the first place. But we still flip on the TV and
hope for a word of encouragement that will convince us to hang on
to a Gospel that has a form of godliness, but denies the power
thereof. And of course, they tell us exactly what we want to hear,
along with an encouragement to send them your money so that
God can release His blessings all over you - but never a word of
reproof or repentance.
The job of a prophet is not to tell you how beloved you are, how
many blessings God wants to bestow upon you, or how much love
is in your church. The job of a prophet is to rebuild the old broken
down altars of God and declare unto the people of God their sins
and transgressions so that they may come to a place of
repentance and, once again, return to the true God of Israel.
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked... As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." - Rev 3:17-19
by Dale Garris
"And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all
the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the
Lord that was broken down." - 1 Kings 18:30
Just a few years before this showdown on Mount Carmel, Israel
had been lush with prosperity and wealth. King Ahab had led the
Israelites on a path that led farther away from the old, established
worship of God than any before him, and had brought them to a life
of riches, prosperity, and licentiousness.
The gods that he and his wife Jezebel had enticed the people of
God with appealed to their earthly and fleshly desires. No longer
did they have to be constricted with an old religion that demanded
holiness and the fear of the Lord. No longer did they have to lead a
life of separation from the things of the world that other, more
prosperous nations enjoyed. They could enjoy the prosperity and
fullness of riches without the constraints of a religion that had
become outmoded and old-fashioned.
Life was good. So when Elijah pronounced the judgments of God
upon Israel, they laughed him out of the king's court. The true
prophets of God had been eradicated from the public place and
were no longer a thorn in the side of everyone who wanted the
rewards of love, peace, and prosperity. You were no longer allowed
to mention the name of Jehovah, much less pray to him in a public
place. They now had priests and prophets of Baal that had
replaced those old critical and judgmental men who had caused
such consternation in the land.
Elijah had stood as the one, lone voice who cried for a return to
righteousness.
And who was this hairy old man? He didn't seem to be of any real
consequence. He had no credentials, no theological bearing, and
no consequential importance. Even his dress revealed his lack of
social prominence and his irrelevance in such a modern,
sophisticated time as this.
Ahab's ears may have been deaf to Elijah's pronouncement, but
when Elijah spoke, God listened. The Ahab's court may have
derided him with laughter as he stood before the king, but 3 years
later, no one was laughing.
NOTE from Lou: I would say instead, when God spoke Elijah listened. No move of God starts with any man. But God inspires men to seek Him and pray to Him and speak for Him.
We have followed a course similar to the one that Ahab had led
Israel down. The Gospel we listen to is far different than the Gospel
our grandfathers believed in. We decry the old brush arbor
revivalists as hard, judgmental men who did not understand the
love of God, and we have traded their message of repentance and
holiness for one that is a kinder, gentler approach which promises
love and peace and prosperity.
But the love, peace, and prosperity that our modern prophets have
promised us are but a worldly shadow of that which God offers us
through a walk of righteousness in the fear of the Lord.
We have been like the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai - we
feared and trembled at the presence of God when the mount shook
with fire and smoke, but as soon as Moses departed up the
mountain and we were left to our own devices, we made for
ourselves a golden calf to worship in God's place.
I have said for 7 years now that something is coming to America
that will be far worse than 9/11, but I never knew what form that
judgment would take. Would it be a dirty nuclear explosion in one
of our cities, or an epidemic, or some natural disaster? We would
be hurt, but it wouldn't take long to go back to our old ways. We
are the great and mighty America, and we have an innate belief
that we will always bounce back and dominate.
What if it wasn't any of those imagined disasters, but something
that struck right to the heart of that which we cherish the most?
What if we lost our prosperity and wealth? And what if it
consumed every level of our society and every part of our country?
We are living in that time of drought when the ravens fed Elijah by
the brook Cherith, right after he fled the king's court.
We look to our televangelists who promise us blessings, and
refuse to consider that our lust for those promises is what has led
us to this drought in the first place. But we still flip on the TV and
hope for a word of encouragement that will convince us to hang on
to a Gospel that has a form of godliness, but denies the power
thereof. And of course, they tell us exactly what we want to hear,
along with an encouragement to send them your money so that
God can release His blessings all over you - but never a word of
reproof or repentance.
The job of a prophet is not to tell you how beloved you are, how
many blessings God wants to bestow upon you, or how much love
is in your church. The job of a prophet is to rebuild the old broken
down altars of God and declare unto the people of God their sins
and transgressions so that they may come to a place of
repentance and, once again, return to the true God of Israel.
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked... As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." - Rev 3:17-19