1 Kings 17-19
As I took time to ponder all that's in today's three Old Testament chapters, it struck me what a blessing it is to have an unshakable belief in one of the foundational truths of the New Testament: the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ.
It would be nice if life were so simple that we could say God's people will experience nothing but joy and that only non-believers will have to deal with unpleasantness, particularly death and the fear of it. But 1 Kings 17-19 illustrates that death -- sometimes swift, sudden death -- is a reality on both sides of the spiritual line.
As chapter 17 begins, the worship of Baal in Israel has reached the point that the prophet Elijah (whose name means "Yahweh is God'') confronts King Ahab by telling him drought, which will lead to famine, is coming. Elijah then makes himself scarce for a couple years, and we learn that many prophets of the Lord are eventually killed under the authority of Ahab and his wife Jezebel (18:4, 18:13, 19:10, 19:14).
After Elijah later is told by the Lord to show himself to Ahab, one of the great Biblical showdowns occurs (18:17-40). With the people of Israel gathered at Mount Carmel, Elijah, alone as a prophet of the Lord, issues a challenge to 450 prophets of Baal. Basically, he says to arrange some wood and let the prophets of Baal call on Baal to set it afire. Elijah, in turn will call on the name of the Lord, and "the God who answers by fire, He is God.'' The people see this as a good idea, and as you might guess, the cries to Baal go unanswered, while Elijah's cry to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob) gets results. Elijah then tells the people to seize Baal's prophets, whom he proceeds to slay.
So now it has come to pass that prophets of God and prophets of Baal have met with death. And the truth is, in 2010, not a day goes by when Christians and non-Christians don't die. And in countless cases, they had no inkling their time was at hand. Which leads to the question posed by Elijah in 1 Kings 18:21: "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.''
I maintain that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, those who believe in Him have no need to worry about death or its timing. Because we, too, will conquer the grave and partake in eternal life with imperishable bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15:42).
(And note that God didn't suddenly acquire the ability to revive the dead at the Garden Tomb. In chapter 17 of 1 Kings, we read how the Lord returned life to a child in whose household Elijah had been residing. Our unchanging God's traits are eternal.)
The key to such peace of mind is making an actual decision for Christ. I can't imagine how non-Christians wouldn't find the prospect of death at least a little unsettling, particularly if they've heard the gospel message. Can they really believe there are no eternal consequences for unforgiven sin? Do they sincerely think all roads lead to heaven? And do they honestly suppose they can start following Jesus at any time in the future? (Certainly, it's quite possible a person could come to Christ after years, even decades, of rejecting the truth. But because no life span is guaranteed, such an approach is, to be sure, a gamble.)
It is my prayer that if you have hesitated in following God and accepting Jesus as Lord, you will hesitate no more. Then you too can say, "O Death, where is your sting?''
Today's guest post was submitted by Steve Schaeffer
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