14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet...18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Thoughts: In these verses Elijah felt all alone, and knew the church had shrunk from what it was to a small minority- drifting away into a syncretism of pagan sexual pleasure and worship of Yahweh. Baal was a fertility God who encouraged extra-marital sexual practices as a way to prosper the land.
There are many countries where the church shrinks because of persecution or because of apathy or immorality. Certainly the lesson of Church history is that there are times when the Church fails as a whole to be a light. It was so in Elijah's time- to the point that he was certainly the only prophet left and all the priests and religious leader had given into the king's/government's ideas of morality. Often the church has shrunk when it has refused to give in to sexual immorality, and the people have.
In America, we too face such times. The sexual revolution has decimated the Church but also decimated people. The number one cause of homes breaking up is adultery (27% of divorces). But our culture also is plagued with rape (1 in 6 women will experience rape/sexual assault in the USA), pornography (a $97 billion industry worldwide- and a $13 billion industry in the USA), fornication (more young partners are living together than getting married in the USA- first time in our history this has happened) The number one reason people leave church is guilt, and a feeling that people will condemn them- often because of sexual sins. In the past the human community universally (beyond just Christianity or religion) has made a distinction between animal behavior and human behavior, but today that distinction is blurred. Thus sexual behavior that was once considered horribly immoral (abomination in Leviticus 18) is now considered acceptable and those who would speak against it are considered immoral or phobic. Incest, homosexuality, polygamy, even child sex are more and more considered normative. "Who we love" and "How we love" are considered none of God's or our business. But children who have their homes destroyed could tell of deep heartache. Women broken by sexual abuse may tell a different story as well. Despite appearances- there are deep emotional scars in a divorce- even when one is necessary. Free love and the old Baal worship (the fertility god) is alive and well. Baal-ze-bub is no doubt smiling at the sacrifices of homes and hearts to him.
Yet the hope of the church is found in these verses. The Lord reminds Elijah that He is God and to get up and do His work. He not only confronts the prophets of Baal, he now begins to re-build the kingdom by anointing others.
At the end of the Lord's statement is a reminder to Elijah that indeed he is not the only one. Of the hundreds of thousands in Israel there are still seven thousand (a symbolic number) who had not worshiped at the altar of sexual immorality.
Elijah could not see the others in the church. He felt alone and discouraged, and paralyzed. It is hard but important to swim against the current when the current is going over the waterfalls. It is important to know when we fight temptation that we are not alone. It is also important to know that when even the Church falls into immorality, the Lord is able to build it up again. God was reminding Elijah then, and reminds us today that we are not alone and that He is able to build the Church up from the hidden remnant.
There are many countries where the church shrinks because of persecution or because of apathy or immorality. Certainly the lesson of Church history is that there are times when the Church fails as a whole to be a light. It was so in Elijah's time- to the point that he was certainly the only prophet left and all the priests and religious leader had given into the king's/government's ideas of morality. Often the church has shrunk when it has refused to give in to sexual immorality, and the people have.
In America, we too face such times. The sexual revolution has decimated the Church but also decimated people. The number one cause of homes breaking up is adultery (27% of divorces). But our culture also is plagued with rape (1 in 6 women will experience rape/sexual assault in the USA), pornography (a $97 billion industry worldwide- and a $13 billion industry in the USA), fornication (more young partners are living together than getting married in the USA- first time in our history this has happened) The number one reason people leave church is guilt, and a feeling that people will condemn them- often because of sexual sins. In the past the human community universally (beyond just Christianity or religion) has made a distinction between animal behavior and human behavior, but today that distinction is blurred. Thus sexual behavior that was once considered horribly immoral (abomination in Leviticus 18) is now considered acceptable and those who would speak against it are considered immoral or phobic. Incest, homosexuality, polygamy, even child sex are more and more considered normative. "Who we love" and "How we love" are considered none of God's or our business. But children who have their homes destroyed could tell of deep heartache. Women broken by sexual abuse may tell a different story as well. Despite appearances- there are deep emotional scars in a divorce- even when one is necessary. Free love and the old Baal worship (the fertility god) is alive and well. Baal-ze-bub is no doubt smiling at the sacrifices of homes and hearts to him.
Yet the hope of the church is found in these verses. The Lord reminds Elijah that He is God and to get up and do His work. He not only confronts the prophets of Baal, he now begins to re-build the kingdom by anointing others.
At the end of the Lord's statement is a reminder to Elijah that indeed he is not the only one. Of the hundreds of thousands in Israel there are still seven thousand (a symbolic number) who had not worshiped at the altar of sexual immorality.
Elijah could not see the others in the church. He felt alone and discouraged, and paralyzed. It is hard but important to swim against the current when the current is going over the waterfalls. It is important to know when we fight temptation that we are not alone. It is also important to know that when even the Church falls into immorality, the Lord is able to build it up again. God was reminding Elijah then, and reminds us today that we are not alone and that He is able to build the Church up from the hidden remnant.
Prayer: Lord, help me to remember I am not alone. Not only are you with me, but your body is still alive and at work. Keep me from being paralyzed by feeling alone or in the minority.
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