Embrace the Light

1 Kings 18:40-46

“40 Elijah said to them (the people), “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there. 41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go again seven times.” 44 At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 45 In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel. 46 But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

Elijah killed 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah.  The reason for their deaths was that they were proven to be false prophets (Deut. 18:20-22).  Since the prophets of Baal and Asherah were not prophets of the one true God and had led the people of God astray, they had to be killed so that they would no longer be able to deceive the people.

Since the people of Israel were now praising God, Elijah told Ahab through a messenger that the rains would fall.  Instead of dealing with Elijah himself, Ahab fled to Jezreel, where his Queen, Jezebel, was.

When Ahab saw the power of the God of Israel and the impotence of Baal and Asherah, his response was not to embrace the God of Israel, but to embrace Jezebel, the Queen who was, in reality, the king’s false god.  Ahab chose to embrace  darkness rather than the light of God.

The power and the presence of God surround us, yet we continue to embrace the false gods and false truths of this world.

Jesus said, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

Embrace the light.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)