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Elijah Triumphs with God
INTRODUCTIONThe ongoing struggle between the forces of good and the forces evil took a dramatic turn in the days of Elisha the prophet and that confrontation is the focus of our lesson. This was combat designed to show that God is supreme and that the forces of evil are no match for God. The power of God shows the impotence of Baal. We will see that God is so gracious, that despite the utter iniquity and disobedience of His people, He is still concerned about them and is prepared to use his control over nature, as well as the efforts of his Servant to reveal himself and his plan of redemption. We see also that even when the people of God are in a degraded state, God still expects his saints to be the ‘salt’ of the earth. Their individual situations might be very difficult and the forces of evil might try to destroy them physically, but they are still expected to stand up for God and show his loving character, as well as his discipline. God clearly places his holy people to slow down and reverse the decay which is constantly occurring among His people and in the world around them. Now this is often a difficult task, for people have a natural tendency to avoid confrontation and conflict. More often we prefer to swim downstream or as one writer said, ‘to float with the tide’ rather than to confront issues and problems and the things which offend God and go contrary to His commandments. We must realize that confrontation is never painless, easy, or without risks. It is commanded and illustrated by Scripture, for without challenging sin, there would be no godliness, biblically required change, or spiritual growth. The prophets were often confrontational, facing people who lived independent of God and who were in sin. They frequently faced those who were trying to serve God and mammon at the same time. As a result they regularly had to deal with the sin, rebellion, independent ways, self- centeredness and the stiff-necked attitudes of the people. Note however, that with the confrontation comes the offer of reconciliation and grace and the many blessings that come with forgiveness. In chapter eighteen we see the two approaches of God. In one case we see the prophet refocusing, encouraging and assuring a faithful servant of God, who was prepared to obey God despite the difficulties. In the other case we see confrontation and conflict, for here the prophet faced someone captured in the idolatry of Baal. This person needed to be confronted with his sin. His excuses and rationalizations had to be pointedly and bluntly rejected and the blame for the sad state of affairs placed squarely on his shoulders. Today as at all other times, we find similar situations requiring the attitude displayed by the prophet of God. It should be carefully noted however that at the conclusion of this story we find this powerful warrior, a real prophet and saint of God depressed, discouraged and all alone. He had done magnificent work for God, but the people had remained almost as bad as before, allowing their evil rulers to continue to rule over them, saying nothing, taking the easy way, swimming downstream, floating with the tide and not fighting for the truth. Our lesson is set in the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes. The nation had split and the apostasy and moral decay which Solomon had begun with his marriages to idolatrous, pagan women, his imposition of very high taxes and oppressive labor levies on the people, was bearing full fruit. The first leader of the northern kingdom, Jeroboam, had cut off spiritual contact with Temple worship in Jerusalem and had instead set up idol worship in the official worship centers. The godly people moved out of the northern kingdom into Judah and those remaining continued with the evil idolatrous form of worship. There were no good Kings in the northern kingdom and all of the descendents of and successors to Jeroboam ‘made Israel to sin’. The next King was always worse than the previous. When Ahab ascended the throne, fifty eight years and seven Kings after the kingdom was divided, things had reached the lowest possible point. Ahab married Jezebel, the notorious princess from Tyre, who added the satanic cult of Baal-Melqart into the already idolatrous Israel. Baal in his many and varying local interpretations, was regarded as a God who had power over the rain, the winds, cloud and therefore over fertility. He was believed to the one who gave life to humans, animals and the crops. He brought prosperity and wealth and the good life depended on him. In his worship, burnt offerings, including human sacrifice, were offered. All kinds of gross sexual activity including homosexuality was part of the practice. The moral climate in Israel was totally degraded and corrupt. The leaders were corrupt and the people followed along. Those who believed in God felt powerless in the face of official hostility. They either had to seek refuge in Judah or be quiet, suffering in silence. As Psalm 11:3 asks- “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” In this situation God calls Elijah, a premier example of faith and service to God, in a time of intolerable adversity. There were relatively few in Israel that had not worshipped Baal. In fact, God disclosed that there were seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Baal. These were righteous people and they were a tiny percentage of an estimated three to four million living in the northern kingdom. Elijah comes out of relative obscurity and probably lived in a town called Tishe in Upper Galilee. This area in Gilead was a rocky, mountainous and sparsely inhabited region. The terrain made the people hardened, disciplined, physically strong, rugged and stern. People from that area were men of the desert, uninterested in the comforts of society and accustomed to inconveniences and hardships. We are told however that Elijah was a man just like us with similar passions, fears, weaknesses and doubts. He clearly rose above his weaknesses because of the strength of his faith in God. As a result he became a man of courage and faith, available and ready to do the work of God when called. God could count on him when the foundations of the nation and the spiritual life of the people had crumbled. Elijah will teach us that those religious systems that do not worship the true God Yahweh, are false and lifeless. Their adherents will often show a lot of zeal and energy, but they have no real life or any light to offer. Elijah had been sent out of nowhere to announce to King Ahab that because of his iniquity, he had done more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger, than all the kings of Israel that had lived before him, it would not rain in Israel until Elijah spoke the word to bring rain(1Kings 16:30-17:1). This would spell disaster, since the words and cursings of Deuteronomy eleven would now be totally fulfilled. Israel would see that Baal had no power to help them and that he was not the God of the weather or fertility. God then instructed Elijah to go out of harm's way and hide himself in a place that God chose. Elijah was put in seclusion. Nobody could find him, no matter how hard they searched. In the three years from Elijah's announcement severe drought covered Israel. The prophets of God were viciously attacked and Jezebel went after all those that worshipped Yahweh. If it were not for Obadiah, a right hand man to Ahab, the prophets of God would have been wiped out, but he took a hundred prophets, hid them in caves and fed them. All the animals in Israel were dying, for there was no water. The crops were poor or nonexistent and it was so bad that Ahab himself and his trusted servant Obadiah had to personally go and search for pastureland. One can imagine the overwhelming rage in the courts of Ahab and in the priests, priestesses and loyal followers of Baal who had long been trumpeting the power of their God. There was no cure for their frustrations and no lettings up of the sweltering heat, crippling thirst and the smell of death. It was during this search that Obadiah met Elijah and Elijah gave him instructions to announce to Ahab that he Elijah was now back in Israel and was ready to meet him. Obadiah knew well of Jezebel's strategy to eliminate the prophets of God and he had undertaken the very dangerous and difficult task of hiding and feeding one hundred prophets of the Lord. Finding food and water for this group must have been very, very difficult. This devout believer gives us an insight into the extent of the rage and hostility to the people of God and to Elijah. He knew that the King had been looking both inside and outside of Israel for Elijah to kill him. Ahab was so enraged and vexed that when his allies told him that Elijah was not hiding in their territory, he insisted that they take an oath to prove that they were telling the truth. Obadiah knew that if he as much as told Ahab that he had met Elijah, and then Ahab would not find Elijah at the place Elijah had said he would be, Obadiah would be a dead man. Elijah assured Obadiah that he would meet Ahab and this devout believer’s heart was calmed. So at this eventful meeting Elijah corrected Ahab’s accusation that he was troubling Israel, pointing out to Ahab that it was he Ahab and his house that had turned away from God and had turned the people away from God. That was the source of the trouble in Israel. Note that Elijah confronted the King with the issues. People sometimes seem to avoid dealing with issues. Elijah said that there was an evil root and it bore evil fruit. There was a cause that led to the effect. Ahab and his house had forsaken the Commandments of God and rejected His word. Turning away from the ‘word’ had led to idolatry, materialism occultism, ritualism and serious national problems. This ended in total self-deception. Incidentally, this led to Ahab's death as recorded in 1 Kings 22. One commentator on this passage states: “One
of the signs of decay in a church or in a nation is when the leadership
acts as capricious children governed by their own whims and fancies.” Elijah had no guilt on his conscience and in the power of God ordered a challenge to Ahab, to bring the four hundred and fifty male priests of Baal, the alleged “God of rain” and the four hundred female priests of Asherah, the female wife of Baal, along with the people of Israel, to meet him on Mount Carmel. Ahab knew that it was now three years and six months since Elijah had spoken to him that there would be no rain until he spoke again. Ahab knew that during that time all the crops failed and the rivers had dried up. He had personally searched for water and had found none. The priests of the false god of rain had done all they could, but the drought and suffering simply got worse. Ahab knew enough about God to know that God was real, but he was evil and preferred darkness to light. So we will now look at this confrontation, the showdown at Mount Carmen, where Ahab and Israel were shown that they were to have no other gods beside Yahweh. THE
TEXT Verse
20. Ahab
was no fool. He knew that
the life-saving rain was in the hands of Elijah.
He really admitted this when he met Elijah and accused him: “Art
thou he that troubleth Israel?” Ahab was right in one sense. God and his prophet Elijah was indeed troubling Israel and disciplining them with an iron hand, so that they would repent, reform and turn to God. Ahab knew that the power of God was in the hands of Elijah. It is not really hard to know why Ahab sent for the children of Israel and ordered the prophets of Baal to assemble together on Mount Carmel. This was the only hope for rain. Ahab would have known God's promise in Deuteronomy 28:23-24 to fulfill the curse to withhold rain in order to bring the people back to him. He knew that if there was some sign of repentance, God would ease up the pressure. This was what God did during the period of the judges. He might also have hoped that the people would come to face Elijah with hostility. He might also have been cynical enough to think that no matter what happened the people would never take Elijah's side. The prophets of Baal had to come since they had no choice. They clearly hated Elijah and might have thought that here was an occasion to openly take on this prophet. It could be an opportunity to remove the tremendous humiliation they must have suffered in the previous three and a half years, when nothing they did brought rain. They would have felt comfortable having a contest on Mount Carmel, for this was regarded as a sacred dwelling place of Baal, something that would give them a definite advantage. This mountain stronghold of Baal overlooked the coast of Israel and Lebanon. To the west was the Mediterranean Sea where storms began and from which rain originated to bring prosperity and fertility to the region. So the false prophets would be happy to be close to their “storm god”. In times past an altar to Yahweh had been located there, but now it had been destroyed and an altar to Baal had been erected. It's difficult to know why the people came to Mount Carmel, whether it was because they were desperate, or whether they just wanted to see a big fight and a spectacle. There is no indication that they were taking sides with Elijah or openly siding with Ahab. Maybe they simply thought that it was possible that Elijah could pray for rain and end the drought. Verse 21. When the people had gathered, Elijah took charge of the occasion and immediately got to the issue at hand. The issue was that like unfaithful marriage partners, they wanted to worship both Yahweh and Baal at the same time. They were violating the command of God given to Israel in the Ten Commandments. Elijah had to first bring the people to repentance. Remember that Ahab was watching on the sidelines while Elijah addressed the vacillating Israelites, who were straddling the fence. First the heart of the people had to be prepared, then there would be a turning to God and then God would bless the land. Note that Elijah was standing alone and if he had not had full confidence that God was working through him, he would have been afraid. So Elijah challenged the people to make a decision on whether they would serve Yahweh or not. He was not afraid of the people but came to them and indicted them for faltering or dancing between two opinions. The word “falter” means “to limp, halt, hop, dance, or leap.” They were worshiping Baal to please Jezebel and Ahab, get favors from the King, enjoy the free sexual activity. On the other hand they were worshiping Jehovah for insurance purposes, in case Baal did not give them what they wanted. Elijah was telling Israel that there was a difference between serving Yahweh and serving Baal. It was not simply a matter of worshiping something, following where your heart led. Elijah was telling them that they either served Yahweh, or they were serving Baal. Elijah also indicted them because they were vacillating between Baal and Yahweh for much too long a time. It would be like asking a disobedient modern congregation how many sermons they wanted to hear, before they started behaving properly. How much suffering did they want before they did right. Elijah put the people on the spot. They were given the choice. If they felt that following God was best, then follow God. If they felt that following Baal was best, they were to follow Baal. There was no repentance, no objection. They were weak and had no courage and didn’t want to change their position or defend their position. They suffered from low conviction.
Verse
22-23. So
Elijah proposed a test to stir some response from the people.
If something dramatic was not done, the people would continue to
‘halt’ between two
opinions. He presented himself as being the only prophet of God, standing alone, ready to take on the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred priestesses of Baal's wife. Elijah was setting up everything as an apparent one-sided struggle, with the appearance of giving all the advantages to the worshipers of Baal. So when Baal lost the fight there could be no argument about Baal’s utter impotence. Elijah did not seem to care about the importance of home-field advantage. He was only one man facing an opposing squad of four hundred and fifty plus four hundred. They also had the mass of people who certainly could not side with Elijah. They would take no chances offending Ahab, given the armed soldiers that would be right there at the king’s side. The confident Elijah proposed that the prophets of Baal pick two bulls. They should then choose the one that they wanted. Giving them first choice meant that they would be picking the one that Elijah would be sacrificing. Elijah then proposed that the prophets of Baal be ‘first on the field’, preparing their sacrifice first, assembling the wood and making everything ready. No fire was to be lit under the sacrifice. Elijah would afterwards also prepare to sacrifice with no fire. Verse 24. This was to be a trial by fire. The God who set fire to consume the sacrifice would be the winner and accepted as the true God. The God that failed to ignite the fire and burn the sacrifice would be considered false and rejected by the people. Note that the fire would have to be from a supernatural source. The fire would not come from the prophets of Baal, nor would it come from Elijah. The God who heard the prayers would be the correct God. It is important to remember here that Baal was also the sky god, the lord of the weather, the lord of fire, and the lord of the sun. He was often pictured with a lightning bolt in his hand, for he was regarded as the god who sent lightning or fire from the sky. In the ancient archaeological writings, Baal was described as “the one who hurls the lightning to the earth.” It was thought that the thunder was his voice and the lightning was his spear. When the clouds appeared one would hear his voice, for he controlled all the things that indicated that rain was coming. So the priests of Baal believed that putting fire to the sacrifice was no big deal for Baal, for that was what he normally did being the god of fire. It should be noted that Baal worship had a seasonal cycle to it. The Canaanites thought that Baal was a god who brought rain in autumn, but in summer he would die and go down into the underworld or the netherworld, and Mot, the god of famine and drought, would prevail. Baal would be in a combat with Mot, and by the time fall came Baal would always prevail which earned him the title “Baal the Overcomer”. Baal would then emerge and bring the storm. The priests of Baal thought that they had mastered all the rituals to manipulate Baal and all the other gods to do as they wished and so when Elijah offered them these advantages, they jumped at the chance, feeling that they could not lose the contest. These old pagan beliefs have resurrected themselves today. Many modern so-called Christian religionists teach that once you know the formulas, say the right words over and over again, do the rituals of worship in a particular way (and of course they can teach you the secrets), have “faith” as described in their peculiar and often unbiblical way, you will get what you want. This approach was false then and it remains false now. God is in control. He does what he wishes in heaven and in earth. He is the one who decides whether to give or to withhold. We are simply told to pray without ceasing and if He doesn't give, we thank him and keep on worshiping in gratitude, for all that he has done for us. Faced with Elijah giving the priests of Baal all the advantages in this contest, so that all possible excuses for the failure of Baal and the demonstration that the faith of Baal worship was completely futile, the people of Israel could say nothing else but: “It is well spoken”. They agreed that Elijah's approach was more than fair. Everyone accepted the test. Strangely nowadays some people do not want to examine the authenticity of their spiritual lives and what it is they are really worshiping. If anyone suggests that we even compare and contrast the requirements of the Commandments of God to the every day lives of people, many would raise their hand in horror. They would say that should not be done, because we would be “judging people”. It is better to test people now, so that they know where they are going wrong and have a chance to change. Leaving them to live out the charade and life of pretence and having their sins ‘go after them to judgment’, without any possibility of repentance, is not the way of love. Verses 25-29. Elijah emphasized to the priests of Baal that they should take first choice of the animals and since they were many of them, they should go first in calling on the name of their god, asking him to accept their sacrifice. He again stressed that they themselves should not light the fire. So the priests of Baal chose the bull they wanted, prepared it for sacrifice and then called out to their god from morning until noon saying:“O Baal, hear us.” Just imagine four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred priestesses of his wife shouting and screaming, jumping up and down on that mountain top, shouting and screaming. Interestingly, they did everything but actually build an altar, for the altar of Baal was already there in good shape. They called on their God in every which way, danced around and leaped up and down and all over the altar. They eventually began to cut themselves until blood flowed. All to no avail, their activity was a total waste of time. Note that all the ingredients of false religion was present: priests, a sacrifice, an altar, religious ritual, religious zeal, long and loud activity. Note also that all of it was futile. It was not directed to the real God. Satan and the demons can do nothing if God does not allow it. Much noise in worship, loud prayers, long prayers, displays of religious zeal, do not of themselves constitute true worship. To know what true worship is we have to look to the true God. We have to look at what the Scriptures teach about true worship and how it is to be done. Baal remained silent no matter what his priests did, there was no voice and no answer from him / her. Elijah then decided to have some fun mocking the false priests. He began to taunt them, saying that Baal was only acting like any other human. Maybe he was deep in thought, gone somewhere to answer the call of nature (literally he must have gone to the men's room) or maybe he was in some deep conversation probably with his wife, or maybe he had dozed off or was sleeping, or gone on some important errand. Elijah was very forceful and brutal in his attack. This was not the time for subtlety, for either Baal was a god who was concerned about his people, who could be counted on to be available at critical times, or he was not a true god. Just imagine what effect this mocking had on these tired, bleeding priests. The more Elijah ridiculed, the more they worked. It even tells us that they “prophesied” until the evening time. Obviously not all prophecies or prophesying are worth anything. It was not a pretty sight. They were spending all their energy for naught. They faithfully carried on until the time of the evening sacrifice, shouting, screaming, jumping up and down, crying out, pleading, desperately trying to arouse their God. What a tragedy. But “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.” One writer notes: “This
is the sad result of worshiping an imaginary god or the god of our own
making. We may dedicate
great sincerity, great sacrifice, and devotion to such gods but it means
nothing. There is no one
there to answer”. Verse 30-31. At the time of the evening sacrifice Elijah called the people to come near and the people responded by coming near to him. They gathered before the altar that Elijah had prepared or literally repaired. Elijah wanted their attention to what he was doing, so that they would see that Yahweh was the true God. The altar of the Lord which had existed on Mount Carmel had obviously been broken down, most likely by Jezebel, for she would not have tolerated sacrifices to Yahweh. Now they saw Elijah fearlessly go around collecting twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Elijah was stressing that the twelve tribes were one by reason of the covenant that God had made with their fathers and even though the ten tribes had gone over to the side of Baal, they still belonged to God. God expected that they would come back into communion with him. God had never accepted that the division of Israel into two parts was to be permanent. The covenant had been made with all the sons of Jacob and they were one family, belonged to one kingdom and were under one covenant. Elijah reminded them that the evening sacrifice was important to God and that they should return and obey the instructions of God, to repair the things that had broken down in the lives. The evening sacrifice was still being carried on in the Temple in Jerusalem according to God's commandments. This was what God wanted. They should observe His Commandments. He wanted the people to revive the faith of their fathers. He wanted them to pay attention to the altar of God, to follow what God had instructed, to be served by priests of God and to offer sacrifices acceptable to God. Above all, they were to remember the Covenant and the terms of the Covenant. They were to remember and consider that the suffering they were experiencing, had occurred because they and their King had violated the terms of the Covenant. The name of “Israel” meant something. The name of their father had been changed from Jacob ‘the supplanter’ to Israel, because he had found favor with God. It was an important consideration and should move them to loyalty to their God. Verse 32-35. Elijah used the twelve stones and repaired something that was once strong but was now broken down. I am sure all Elijah’s actions were deliberate, measured and dramatic, for he had to make a deep impression on the people. They were to understand that the altar of God was different from every other altar, for it was built in the name of the Lord. They should not be worshiping or sacrificing on the altar of Baal. At this stage it appears that some of the people were ‘turned in heart’ and they decided to help Elijah in his tasks with the altar. Elijah prepared the animal and placed the pieces on the repaired altar. He was no priest. Carmel was not a Temple, but a defiled place. Still God was ready to accept Elijah’s sacrifice and was sanctifying the sacrifice. Elijah then did the unbelievable, for during this period of drought, he asked the people to help him dig a trench around the altar of sacrifice and then had them pour water all over the sacrifice until the trench was filled with water. Three times he ordered that water be poured on the sacrifice. Much water was poured out to make the coming miracle seem more astounding. Even more unheard of, Elijah then poured additional water into the trenches, so that they were filled with water. There could be no suspicion that Elijah was rigging the contest. Verse 36-37. At the time of the evening sacrifice, the proper time according to the commandments, Elijah approached the altar. He had made the necessary preparations for prayer. He prayed to the God of the Covenant. It was short and to the point, not a long, pretentious, ostentatious, prayer. It consisted of only two verses and sixty three words in the English Bible. In the Hebrew it was much less words. The prayer addressed the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He proclaimed that the God to whom he prayed was the God of the covenants, who had made great promises to the nation. He was praying to the God of Israel. He made it clear that he knew who God was, that his God was the God of Israel and that Elijah was his obedient servant, who had done all the things that God had commanded of him. He was confident in this God of Israel who had made promises to the Fathers and whose activity was tied to them. He was confessing in his prayer, acknowledging that there was only one way to the true God. He wanted God to pay attention to his people in a special way and to change their hearts, so they would turn to him in repentance. He prayed that God would speak to them and teach them, so that they would know that he was the true God. Elijah was interceding for the people. He was concerned for the people, because he loved them. Verse 38-39. Immediately there was a crash of thunder, lightning exploded with such astounding power, that all of the animal sacrifice, all of the wood, all of the stones which made up the altar, the very dust around it and the water that was in the trench were all consumed. Absolutely nothing was left. The people certainly heard the voice of God. In answer to Elijah’s prayer, God made the people know who He was. The power of God was manifested and it was clear that Elijah's actions were taken through the power of God. The results were spectacular and beyond expectations and God was glorified. The people saw it, understood it all and fell on their faces. They were completely persuaded that God was indeed the only true God. Baal was nothing, empty, zero, a futile thing. There was really no choice for them between God and Baal. CONCLUSION The fervent prayer of the righteous can lead to many great things and the prayers of the righteous are very necessary in these days of apostasy. We need people who are prepared to refuse to go along with the world, the schemes and practices of the world that are so clearly contrary to Scripture. God wants a bold witness, not people who disobey His Commandments. The prophets of Baal were slain, lost everything and this warns us that a similar fate awaits those who disobey Him and are lost. God is sovereign and those that go contrary to the terms of the covenant should be warned by this lesson. It is to be noted that those that are against God often accuse the people of God that they are ‘troubling’ the people of God, but God knows what is the real source of problems. We are wrestling against principalities and powers which seduce men. The fight is not against ‘flesh and blood’ and that is what makes the fight difficult and painful. Remember that the Lake of Fire was not made for men, but for the devil and his angels. Our task is to witness to men and to snatch those who profess to believe as brands from the burning. It would be nice to say that Elijah’s victory on Carmel had a long lasting effect and changed the behavior of the people who had just fallen down on their faces and said, “the Lord, He is God.” Tragically this persuasion only lasted for a moment. The people were persuaded, but they were not changed. The revival in Israel did not last. The people helped Elijah execute the prophets of Baal and they might have enjoyed the rain that God sent but they were not really interested in God, despite the convincing victory. The power of sin over people is really a mystery. It seems to have such a deep and lasting effect that it really blinds the eyes, dulls the senses, cripples the intellect and makes a mockery of human reason. People seem to be able to do things that are so obviously wrong. They seem to like evil so much, even when they see undeniably evidence that that is not the right path. So we feel obliged to repeat this passage from Isaiah the prophet which points us to our only hope, the promise of God that he will send a deliverer that will reverse all our iniquity one day and remove the curse from the earth. Isaiah speaks to Israel and to us in Isaiah 28:14-18 “Wherefore
hear the word of the Lord, his scornful men, that a rule this people
which is in Jerusalem. Because
ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we are
at agreement; when thee overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood
have we hid ourselves: Therefore
thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that
believeth shall not make haste. Judgment
also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the
hail shall sweep away the refuge of lives, and the waters shall overflow
the hiding place. And
your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with
hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
then you shall be trodden down by it.” The tribes of Israel did not heed the warning. They did not appreciate the fact that there is no real alternative to obeying the Commandments of God. So let us be very careful and never stray. If we do stray, let us remember and listen to the pleading of a loving, merciful and kind God: “Come
now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. If
ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1).
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