Attack the Messenger
- jacarroll71
- Apr 21, 2013
- 2 min read
Today’s reading: 1 Kings 16:21-18:46
My selection: I Kings 18:5
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
My reflections:
King Ahab, whose name is synonymous with evil, rejected God’s message of judgment upon him through Elijah.God sent a drought, and Elijah went into exile. All through the drought, Ahab searched for Elijah, and, when he found him, he called him the “troubler of Israel” (v. 17). Elijah was steadfast and got his orders from God, but the pressure from Ahab was tremendous. Ahab did not accept correction nor consider that the fault was his own not Elijah’s.
Hearing truthful warnings and deserved criticism is not easy. The wise and godly man or woman, unlike Ahab, receives correction. [See Proverbs 2:1-5].
Doing and saying the right thing is often not easy or popular. The man or woman of God will be like Elijah, unwavering from the truth, steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the LORD (I Co. 15:58).
My challenge: Do you receive correction or do you blame anyone who would dare to point out your sins or weaknesses? Are you vigilant in confessing and forsaking sin? Are you a faithful witness risking rejection to proclaim the gospel to those around you?
Be faithful in hearing God’s correction or in giving it. Don’t attack the messenger. When you are the messenger, be gracious but also be willing to be attacked. Don’t be an Ahab. Be ready to be an Elijah.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Kings 19:1-21:29
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