By Michael Julian
Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton
Focal Passage: 1 Kings 17:7-16
This week we pick up right where we left Elijah last week. He taught us about serving God with courage. The funny thing about courage is that it may place us in even more difficult circumstances. When we find ourselves in those places, then we come to understand the need to serve God with trust.
Remember what Elijah is up against. Ahab has become king, and his wickedness exceeds his predecessors. Furthermore, Ahab married Jezebel, who is the daughter of the king of the Sidonians. The Sidonians practice the worship of Baal, the fertility and weather god, particularly the rain and the dew. Those are two critical factors in that terrain and climate for good crop production. But, we will see God’s sovereignty.
Fittingly, God raises up the prophet Elijah to combat this insidious idolatry. The miracles done by God through Elijah show God’s clear superiority over the false god Baal, which is really no god at all. Elijah is serving God with trust. [Read more…]