Supremacy of God (2)

Greetings guys, this is the part 2. Enjoy while reading!

Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah when she heard that Elijah had not only won the contest on Mount Carmel but had also ordered the killing of her prophets. Elijah became afraid and fled to Beersheba. He then came to the wilderness and sat down under a broom tree and asked God to take away his life. He was fed by an angel of the Lord. He then left for Mount of Horeb. Elijah came to a cave on the mount and lodged there. Then, God asked him what he was doing there and he said: "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy convenant, thrown down thy altars and slain thy prophets with thy swords and I, even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away."

Elijah was then instructed to go and stand upon the mount. After this, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind shock the mountains and broke, in pieces, the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. There was an earthquake after the wind, but the Lord was not in it. Then came a fire, and after the fire a still small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. The Lord repeated the question he asked Elijah and the latter replied in the same fashion. God then commanded Elijah and the latter replied in the same fashion. God then commanded Elijah to return to Israel. On the way, he should pass through Damascus and anoint Hazael to be king of Syria. He was also to anoint Jehu, king over Isreal. Lastly, he was to appoint Elisha as his successor.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ELIJAH'S EXPERIENCE ON MOUNT HOREB:

Elijah encountered God in a still small voice and this shows that God listens to us in the stillness of our minds and not in strong winds, earthquakes or fire. Elijah wanted God to take away his life because of the opposition that he faced. His encounter with God in His supremacy, meant that a prophet is not to run away from the task to which he had Committed himself. Thus, Elijah was given the immediate taks of anointing Hazael as king of Syria and Jehu as king over Isreal. Both assignments testify to the supremacy of God.

The charge to change the leadership in Syria meant that the rule of God extended beyond the boundaries of Isreal. He is the universal God in charge of the whole world. The command to anoint Jehu as the next king of Israel meant that where the kings of Israel failed to uphold the supremacy of God, by promoting the pure worship of Yahweh in the land, they had to be replaced.

The supremacy of God in Elijah's experience on mount Horeb teaches us to try and do the work God has assigned to us, no matter the opposition or threat to our lives. He is always there to protect us. Secondly, if we fail to preform, especially as rulers of our people, God will always replace us. Thus, we must learn to perform our duties at all times.

ELIJAH AT MOUNT CARMEL

In the third year of the famine, God asked Elijah to go and show himself to Ahab. Through the help of Obadiah, the two of them met. When Ahab saw Elijah, he accused him of being responsible for the drought. But, Elijah blamed it on Ahab for encouraging the worship of Baal in Israel. Elijah then ordered Ahab to assemble all the people on Mount Carmel, together with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who are at Jezebel table. The purpose of this ws to find out whose God was supreme.

The prophets of Baal renewed their efforts by crying aloud and cutting themselves with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. By midday, there was no response and they stopped.

It came to Elijah's turn. He repaired the altar and took 12 stones according to the 12 tribes of Isreal to build an altar. He dug a trench around the altar and put the wood together. He then cut the bull into pieces and asked the people to pour water on the burnt offering. This was done three times. At the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah prayed to God to send fire from heaven to consume the offering. Immediately, fire came down from heaven and consumed everything. When the people saw what had happened, they fell on their faces and shouted; "The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God." Elijah then ordered them to kill all the prophets of Baal and Asherah. The people took them to the brook of Kishon and killed them there.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ELIJAH'S EXPERIENCE AT MOUNT CARMEL

The results of the contest on Mount Carmel asserted the authority of God BB as the supreme Ruler and absolute controller of the world which he had made. It proved that Yahweh, the supreme God, was more powerful than Baal. The supreme God could intervene while Baal the non-god was incapable of doing anything. The prophets of Baal and Asherah were killed to demonstrate that the supremacy of God would not tolerate any rival god. The contest also put back on course the pure worship of God BVN and the rejection of Baal worship.

In prophet Elijah, we see a man of God, putting his faith in God to assert His sovereignty in times of crisis. The supreme God is always ready to assert His authority in all the problem areas of our lives if only we have the faith Elijah had. We must learn to have faith Elijah had, so that God can also answer our prayers in times of difficulties.

See you in my next article. Bye.