Dueling Prophets

1 Kings 18

“And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said The Lord He is the God; The Lord He is the God.” 1 Kings 18:39

Elijah, having just raised the widow’s son back to life, and having fulfilled his mission with her; The Word of The Lord came again to him. This time however, Elijah was to inform the wicked king Ahab of the rain that was headed for Israel. Again, the whole reason there was this drought in the first place was Ahab had initiated a kingdom of tolerance for heathen religions, and where Baal worshiped reigned supreme. Baal, the god of storms had failed his followers miserably these last three years and it was time for a showdown of the gods. Israel had not repented yet, and it was time to force a battle between the powers of evil and the righteous power of God.

Jezebel, the queen of Israel, had succeeded in killing many of the followers of Yahweh in an effort to create this tolerant society toward her favored religion, and to appease her own god (the god Baal).

We now have an interesting character come into the story, and his name is Obadiah. Obadiah is a fervent worshipper of Yahweh, and has used his connections as king’s steward to hide 100 of the prophets of God by 50’s in caves. The study today takes him out across the land looking for water as the drought had dried up all available resources for quite a ways. It is on this venture that Obadiah meets Elijah as he comes out of hiding for the first time since the drought began.

Elijah tells Obadiah to let Ahab know that he is in the area and would like to see him. Obadiah trembled at the thought of delivering that message, (1) because Elijah was a prophet of God and Jezebel wanted his head, (and 2) because Elijah had a knack for disappearing into nowhere only to be found when the time was right.

Obadiah’s words were, “I will tell Ahab that you are here and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you and carry you away to a place that I know not of”.

Only when Elijah promised that he would see Ahab, did Obadiah consent to giving Ahab the message.

Ahab couldn’t stand Elijah’s presence due to the righteousness of Elijah condemning the unrighteousness of Ahab. Also look at 1 John 3:12 1 Peter 3:16 2 Timothy 3:12 Cain was infuriated by Abel’s righteousness.

Ahab knew Elijah was a prophet of God, yet he blamed him for the trouble that had befallen Israel. Ahab’s kingdom was built around tolerance of the Zidonian god Baal and goddess Ashteroth and he assumed that as god/goddess they would take care of him, yet these last three years they had failed him as this “trouble” had fallen upon Israel. He assumed this “trouble” was brought on by Elijah’s insistence in worshipping the One True God, and his own gods had removed their blessing. We could say that Ahab was a spiritual man, even that Jezebel was a spiritual woman; but their spirituality resulted in idolatry, which is rebellion of God’s ways, which is witchcraft. Behind every idol is a demon receiving the worship that is given it.

Our children are those in our little domain, just like Ahab as king of Israel had his kingdom of people who were looking to him for guidance. If we as parents are not an example of serving God, whether it’s by losing our temper, disrespect of our leaders, or fellow church members, or whether we are halting between two religions; these could all give rise to a generation of people who are disillusioned having a tainted view of who God is. If we as parents are super concerned with things pertaining to us, be it our hurts, our gifts, or how we expect that men should treat us; then we are selfishly expecting to have our rights upheld. The Bible says offences will come and “Woe to whoever shall give them”. Our children will see who we respond to situations that are less than ideal, and we will make or break their view of God and His ways! Their blood will surely be on our hands if they lose out spiritually due to our lack of spiritual discernment. Matthew 18:6

During the reign of Ahab, many Israelites tried to worship both God and Baal in order to please the prophets and the rulers. This is a compromise of faith and it is clear through the Word of God that compromise of faith will always be sin and will be judged. Revelation 2:14 - Joshua 24:15

So, who really was troubling Israel? When God said in Deuteronomy 11:16-17, “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.”; He made it clear that certain requirements need to be met or they would be judged along with their land being cursed for their sake. God was not just “troubling” Israel, but was wanting them to see the futility of their worship in an inanimate god. This trouble was self-inflicted because of their rebellious heart.

Today, Do you feel like God is inflicting you? Before you blame God for it, take a look at your life. Are you in whole obedience to God and what he has revealed to you? Also understand that if you are walking in complete obedience to God, Satan would love to sift you as wheat. Further still, Recognize that this may not be a personal struggle, rather this earth is cursed generally, not to make it hard for you, but because of the sin of the world that men and women may realize their need of surrendering to God.

When we forsake the commandments of the Lord, it is clear we will bring “trouble” on ourselves.

What does it mean, “Thou hast followed Baalim”? Is this just a variant of the name Baal? Baalim, according to the Strong’s Concordance is the plural form of Baal.

As Elijah meets with Ahab, he gives this call to worship. It is a contest of worship to see which (G)god is going to come through for their prophets(s). It is time for the showdown. Israel had not repented from following Baal, but they were going to be forced to see that God/Jehovah is the True God and that Elijah is His messenger.

Elijah called them to this contest on Mt Carmel. Now Mt. Carmel was a beautiful Mountain that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. It was believed to have been the home of the god Baal. Baal was in a sense challenged to a duel on his “home turf”. Elijah was outnumbered 850/1 by the prophets of Baal, plus if you would count the rest of the worshippers of Baal, that number would have risen tremendously.

Israel has been trying to have a tolerant stance toward this false religion, and as anybody can guess true tolerance of anything whether it is a false god or an ideology always end up biting you in the end. There is no such thing as true complete tolerance.

Elijah built the altar with 12 stones to remind the Israelites they were part of the 12 tribes of Israel and that God has chosen them as His people. This symbolized a return to the worship of the true God as the altar had been in disrepair until now.

The Israelites needed to acknowledge that Jehovah is God (the only God) before the drought could end. Leviticus 26:40-45 by the same token, our spiritual drought can be reversed by recognizing that God alone is God and by following in obedience.

The Strategies of Two Kings

Shechem played a pivotal role in the history of the Jews that is often overlooked by Bible Commentaries.  Shechem was a city where Abraham was living nearby when he received one of God’s promises. Genesis 12:6,7  By the time Jacob came on the scene 200 years later had become a thriving city.  Now the word city in Hebrew means that this settlement was a walled settlement, and Genesis 34:20, 24 report that it had a gate.  

Shechem was home to Abraham, Jacob, it is where Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, Joshua was to read the law from the side of one of the mountains nearby once they had made the conquest into that region Joshua 7,8. and Jesus talked to the woman at the well there.  The city of Shechem was situated between two mountains and had a natural acoustic effect so one could be speaking on the mountain and be heard in the valley.  The source I got this information from also indicated that he had been on top of one of the mountains and could hear the children playing in the city, so the acoustic nature worked both ways.

You remember from our last study that Solomon had started out well as a leader, but then his heart wandered,and he became a self-serving king.  In other words, it was more of a tyranny as he pressed his very own people into slavery to him and his family.  Toward the end of Solomon’s reign the heart of the people had already started to shift, and when he died, Jeroboam, one of his well respected men had fled to Egypt after have to seek asylum there.

Now Rehoboam, who was Solomon’s son that should take on the kingdom, went to Shechem for his coronation.  The story that goes on from here expands yet again the history of the city of Shechem as this event takes on another pivotal role in the history of the Israelites.

We start out our Lesson with one of Israel’s well respected men in exile.

1 Samuel 8:11-18

11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

13 And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

We do not know that Solomon knew of the interchange between Ahijah, the prophet of God and Jeroboam, but he certainly must have suspected something. Jeroboam was an industrious individual who was a natural born leader. The Bible calls him a valiant warrior.  As Solomon was losing his grip on his people it seemed natural that someone as powerful militarily as Jeroboam would be a threat to Solomon's throne, and he moved to get him out of the way. Jeroboam sought asylum in Egypt.

1 Timothy 6:6-11

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

The presence of Jeroboam, a returned exile, by the invitation of the people should have been threat enough to this new king, and then to have him as the spokesman for the entire camp of Israel who was offering bargaining chips to the king really should have left no question in Rehoboam’s mind as to the danger of not hearing their request.

Any leader who is self-serving is headed for disaster.  The old men advised Rehoboam to be compassionate to the people of Israel and they would serve him forever.  A good leader would have heard his followers and would have consulted his advisers, not from a selfish standpoint, but one that would seek to serve his own people.  This was the downfall of Solomon and Rehoboam.

When there is a group of people who either won’t hear the advice of the older generation or isn’t surrounded with the wisdom of the older generation, where will that take them.  In Rehoboam’s case, he consulted with his peers, who were self-serving just like himself.  

Today as individuals, families, and the church we do have access to the Holy Spirit speaking directly into our lives so in one sense it is different, but should we be seeking advice for our lives corporately and/or individually?

God had given Jeroboam the greater portion of the kingdom of Israel and protected him from being killed from Solomon.  He had forgotten that God could preserve the kingdom as well as give it to him.

Jeroboam, as well as Solomon and Rehoboam, had proved that their heart cared more for their positions than the people.  You remember in our last study we talked about Israel worshipping God in high places, and it was in such a place that Solomon met God and got the promise of wisdom.  Though these high places were forbidden through the Law that was given by God,  it was something He winked at as they were still giving him lip service.  These same high places caused Israel to compromise their beliefs in God, because they weren’t entirely following His directives.

When Jeroboam lead the revolt against Rehoboam, only Judah remained with Rehoboam.  So now that Jeroboam had eleven tribes with him he didn’t wish to lose that power that all those people gave him.  This why he set up the golden calves in the high places of Dan and Bethel.  

Do we as leaders become so power hungry that we set up some kind of idolatry so we do not lose the power, the authority that we have gotten?  This could be true of us as fathers, or as leaders in the church.

Jeroboam’s quest for power began with hearing the voice of God and being appointed by God to lead the 10 tribes of Israel.  Jeroboam got the lowest of the people to be his new priests at the high places in the worship of the golden calves.  He tried to brainwash the people that these calves that he made were representations of God who led them out of Egypt.  He was playing on their need to worship something physical and trying to keep them out of Jerusalem.  He knew that Jerusalem was the place God had set up through David and Solomon as the place where His presence would be felt and where the voice of God would be heard, but he chose to withhold any real experience of worship from them so he could maintain his own kingdom.

There were a total of eleven tribes that went with him, but when the tribe of Levi discovered they weren’t needed for worship, they went back and joined up with Rehoboam and Judah.  

Solomon’s wives lead him astray as they became more important to him than God. 1 Kings 11:3,4

Rehoboam’s friends lead him astray by giving him poor advice.

Jeroboam wanted to keep the hearts of the people, and though there was no immediate threat to losing them, he took counsel and built idols so the Israelites would not go back to Jerusalem to worship. 1 Kings 12:28

The Sword of The Lord ~ The Armor of God

    -Hebrews 4:12

   -Ephesians 6:17

   -John 1:1

   -Psalm 119:105

   Stand Strong.

   With  Stand.

   Take up the Sword of the Lord

   Why has God given us the Sword of the Lord?

   The enemy of our souls has launched an attack on Mankind.  Satan is not content to just pick at us...he is going for blood (spiritual).  Satan is going for death (ours), and the sooner we realize that, the closer we can be to understanding the gravity of the situation.  “Quit ye like men, be strong”

   The Word of God is alive, it is Spirit breathed, it is full of enlightenment, it is a revelation of who God is.  The Word of God is able to divide out the darkness in our soul and produce life where there was none.  The God of Creation (which is the only God there is) has the power to speak and produce results.  Genesis 1 displays the reality of the power of God through the work of Creation.  God has given mankind the power to choose whether they want to obey Him or not but all other venues must immediately spring into action at His voice.

   As Christians, when we are under attack from Satan (at least as far as an attack on our minds); when we speak the Words of God, Satan has no choice but to leave the threshold of our minds.  The folly of the battle is, we often try to battle Satan in our own strength, which really only amounts to reformation without change of heart, and without a change of heart we are only trying to gain a personal advantage or physical advantage over Satan.  The idea that we can gain an advantage over Satan through our own strength is one of Satan’s tricks that he uses to gain an even stronger hold on our lives.  This can be broken by the Word of God.

   Standing on the rock of our Salvation through faith in our Savior and Lord, we take up the Sword of the Lord and brandish it toward the foe of darkness.  The Sword of Enlightenment (Truth, and Light) will dispel the the enveloping darkness in which Satan tries to envelope us.  God has seen to it that we are properly equipped to fight, not just to protect ourselves but to counter-attack.  The Sword of the Lord is light for our feet, Truth to stand on, and Life to live on.  You can not truly drive the devil away without using the Sword of the Lord.  Satan will not be driven back unless we resist him and to do that we must get aggressive using the Word of God as a Sword to divide the Light from the darkness, Truth from a lie, and Victory from defeat.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

2 Timothy 3:16-17

   When was the last time you studied the Word of God with the thought in mind that you were studying for a clearer battle plan?  We cannot just be familiar with the Word of God (our sword) just because we heard someone else talk about it, but we must be familiar with it because we have practiced with it, studied it and know full well how to use it.  A man or woman who is not used to his/her sword will end up hurting himself/herself with it.  Being in tune with God will allow you to fight the devil using His equipment and His Strength.  The Sword of the Lord is also to be used in any battle described as “in service of the King”.  This may indicate that we are not necessarily protecting ourselves with it but maybe a fellow brother or sister.

   Quite possibly, we may need to stand in for a new convert.  Satan, having lost a subject, will not give up without a fight, and as a new convert; he/she may not have mastered the art of wielding the Sword of the Lord. I propose that we as fellow Christians stand in for them, seeing to the strength of their armor and ability to fight Satan, thus protecting them from spiritual ruin before they get established.

   We need to become experts at handling the Word of God, being able to divide/interpret it bringing it into relevancy for our everyday lives.  The idea is not to become superheroes (they rely on their strength), but Godly men/women who know how to use what God has given them in Spiritual Warfare.

   Do not feel as if you are alone, Satan has gone for every person on the planet trying to destroy eternally the soul that our Creator made in His image.  Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was also a target of Satanic temptation; and Jesus, though He is God and had all weapons at His disposal, chose to use the Word of God (the revelation of Himself to mankind) which really is the most effective weapon anyway.  This using of the Word of God is so effective, pricks so thoroughly, that Satan will often use it in rebuttal to an attack; hoping to align truth with a lie so as to cause us to become sleepy and therefore no threat to his dominion.

John 14:25-27

   The declaration of Jesus to His disciples was that He would send a Comforter, or one to stand beside them; and this would be the Holy Spirit which would declare to all disciples the things that Jesus had taught them while He was yet here.

Revelation 1-5

   The Holy Spirit is seen as Spirit with seven facets and when He works as such, there will be a change.  These various aspects of the Holy Spirit are: Creator, Sustainer, Comforter, Warrior, Compeller, Protector, and Instructor.  The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives compels us to be more like Himself changing our humanity into a holy, godlike image which is seen as in the mirror of The Word of God.  This does not mean, however, that we will become a ‘god’, but that we will exhibit His Character.

   We need to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of others. Judges 7:14 Gideon had been called by God to lead the fight against a wicked nation who was gathered against the Children of Israel.  As a means of verifying the call, Gideon snuck down to the camp of the opposing warriors and spied on them when he heard the discourse between two enemy soldiers that gave him the courage to fight.  When Gideon addressed his men later on, he gave recognition to the Holy Spirit in the battle.  Though this piece of history occurs in the Bible, it is found in the Old Testament.  The New Testament Teaches, however, that Christians, God’s people of the new covenant live peaceful lives, by not seeking to take another human being’s life.  Every time another person is formed, he/she is created in God’s image with an eternal soul, and all recognition should be given to the life of God within that person.

   There are times that Satan attacks us through other people. Satan will use friends, relatives, pastors, or whoever he can get his hands on to destroy them and you.  This does not mean that they intended to be a part of hurting you, but because of who Satan is, and their lack of spiritual discipline, they have become an attacking machine for Satan.  Many times these people mean well and do not realize the damage their words carry.  Cases like these, often become a battle in our mind, while Satan plays out his treacherous intentions in our mind.  Satan will subtly give birth to the idea in your mind that you are no good, not worth anything, nobody likes you; but these are all lies and need to be fended off with Truth (the Word of God).

   God has declared; you are precious, you are loved, and  I have given my life for you!

   Something we need to think about is; we need to recognize what we are compare ourselves with.  The Bible refers to itself as a mirror and says that man will look into it to see his reflection and then when he walks away will immediately forget what the mirror showed about himself.  It seems as though Satan has great ability to pull a veil over our eyes.

   The Sword of the Lord is really our only hope for victory over Satan.  Our armor will only do so much if we cannot fight, and God has designed the sword to be double edged (full of truth and light).  The enemy will try to knock the truth out of our grasp so we will not realize when he gives us a half-truth.  We need to be like the man in the bible who fought so hard that his hands cramped around his sword and could not be gotten loose.