In the history of Israel there came a time of cultural and political crisis, and the nation’s leader turned away from God who had delivered his people. The background is that through Moses and Joshua God led them from bondage in Egypt into their promised land. The Israelites learned dependence on Yahweh and he supplied all their needs.
In the new land, they found people who had other belief systems, and those were appealing. One was a fertility god with a consort, and perhaps in order to be accepted the Israelites incorporated that into their worship. Their new neighbors took advantage of their tolerance and syncretism.
King Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Tyre who was a Baal worshipper. Ahab tried to please God because he gave their sons godly names, and he continued to consult the prophets. However, in order to placate his wife he built more and more temples to her god, and many believers were forced into hiding.
The prophet Elijah predicted drought, a direct challenge to the fertility god, and for a period of time no rain fell in the land. Some time later Elijah met with King Ahab who greeted him, “’Is that you, you troubler of Israel?’” (I Kings 18:17). Prophets are not in their line of business to be popular, and Elijah stood strong in his rebuke of his king.
The amazing story of Elijah’s solitary encounter on Mount Carmel against 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah begins. “’How long will you waver between two opinions?” he cried to his people. “If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” Then followed this striking verse: “But the people said nothing” (1 Kings 18:21).
The prophets of Baal worked themselves into a frenzy that day, calling on their god to work a miracle. “Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.” But from their deity, “there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:29). No wonder his followers had nothing to say.
One point evident throughout the Old Testament is that God is a jealous God, not tolerating pluralism or divided affection. The first of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Jesus continued the command in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and ….”. We can each fill in the blank with the things that divide our attention, take our time and money, and keep us from serving God whole-heartedly.
Our nation also faces a crisis, and there’s been a lot of slippage in religious values. More importantly, as individuals we must define, “what are the loves of my life?” If God is at the top of the list we can trust him with our future, our possessions or health or anything else. The One who brought us this far hears when we call on him, and will answer with wisdom and guidance.
