The MESSAGE for September 24, 2023

The Event On Mt. Carmel

I Kings 19:1-8

Live Broadcast

Greater Concord Missionary Baptist Church

 

The Triumph for Jehovah on Mount Carmel was a great defeat for Satan. But Satan does not give up easily or quit quickly, and he does not take long to retaliate either. As soon as Ahab reached his Palace in Jezreel, he “told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.” This was the most distorted report of the day’s events. His report to Jezebel was given in such a way that it would stir up her evil nature to go after Elijah. Ahab was too spineless to take action himself; but he knew that if he stirred up Jezebel enough, she would let nothing stop her from taking action.

 

Ahab’s report not only instigated Jezebel to attack Elijah, but it also revealed his own wicked condition. Ahab’s report not only revealed his hard heart, but it also revealed that he still hated God’s man. Later on he said plainly of the Prophet Micaiah, “I hate him” (I King 22:8). It should not surprise us, because a hard heart will always have trouble having affection for God’s man. You can be sure of that! It will profit our churches much if they will be more cognizant of this fact.

 

Too often, however, most church members are too unspiritual to recognize that those who are always criticizing and opposing godly pastors are a most unsavory bunch. Their disobedient ways reveal that they have a hard heart of unbelief, and rebellion towards God, and a heart that is filled with hatred for God’s man.

 

Ahab’s tactic worked. Emphasizing the slaying of the prophets of Baal touched Jezebel to the quick, and made her want Elijah’s life to be “as the life of one of them” (verse 2). “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time” (verse 2). Why should Elijah be so vehemently attacked? Was he a curse upon the nation? Was he a peril to prosperity; to the prosperity of the country?

 

The way Jezebel and Ahab reacted, you would have thought he was the greatest problem Israel had. But not so! He was instead, Israel’s greatest asset, their greatest blessing. Yet, in spite of that fact, he was viciously persecuted. Elijah should have been honored, not harassed. But it is quite otherwise; he is neglected whom God honored; as no respect is paid to him, no care taken of him, nor any use made for him; but on the contrary, the land of Israel, to which he had been, and might have been, so great a blessing, is now made too hot for him.

 

So what is the answer to this perplexity? What is the incentive for persecuting the best person in the land? The answer is that evil ever persecutes good. The greater the good, the greater the attack upon it by evil. Elijah had given evil a devastating blow on Mount Carmel, and so he is going to be a special object of attack by evil.

 

Paul said, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12). “He that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27). Wickedness ever opposes righteousness, and will ridicule it, harass it, legislate against it, and do whatever else it can to eliminate it. The godly can expect a fight! This fact of evil ever opposing righteousness explains many things. It explains why Christianity is attacked even though it’s lifestyle and creeds are so noble and beneficial. It explains why true spiritual awakenings result in a stirring up of great animosity and antagonism to God’s workers and His work, even though it has made a number of bad people good. It explains attacks upon good morals and upright living. It explains why in church business and board meetings, good programs advocated by a godly pastor for improving the church’s ministry; and it explains why some pastors, are forced out of their churches.

 

Let us learn well this fact that evil ever opposes right. To God be the glory! What a victory on Mount Carmel! Elijah stamped out four hundred and fifty evil prophets of Jezebel. Fire came down from heaven in tremendous proof that Jehovah was God, the prophets of Baal were slaughtered.

 

Jezebel takes out a warrant on Elijah’s life. It had a profound effect upon Elijah. He became despondent, extremely pessimistic. He gave up hope and ended up under the Juniper tree. We are surprised to read of Elijah’s pessimism, because Elijah was a man of faith who was not easily discouraged. Elijah had demonstrated his undaunted faith again and again in the past. He boldly told Ahab it would not rain; he boldly walked across Israel in the famine when he was a hunted man, to a town in very dangerous territory for him; he had faced the circumstance of a dead child, and though he was only one against 450 prophets of Baal, he never let odds dampen his spirit in the least; prayed for rain and heard repeated reports from his servant that not a cloud anywhere; but it rained. But now in despair.

 

Pastor, Rev. Dr. Cullian W. Hill