Theme:
WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE?
Text: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.” – 1 Kings 18:17, 18.
Comment: In the third year of famine, following the proclamation of Elijah that there would be no rain except by his word, God sent him to meet Ahab and announce to him that rain would return to the land. In order to reach Ahab, the man of God made contact with a godly man who was a senior officer of the king, called Obadiah. He had shown himself to be on the Lord’s side by hiding 100 prophets of God from Jezebel’s killing squads, feeding them in a cave with bread and water. At the time, Obadiah and his master, Ahab, had divided themselves to different directions to search for grass to save some animals alive, Elijah met Obadiah and instructed him to arrange a meeting with the king. When Ahab and Elijah met there was a hot exchange of words between them as in the text for today. (1 Kings 18:17, 18) The truth was that the hunger in the land was God’s punishment on the king and the people for their idolatry. Elijah’s part was merely to pronounce the inevitable judgment of God which is a natural consequence of sin. St. Paul declares, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” – 1 Corinthians 11:31, 32.