It is time once again for the Weekend Sermon. I am always thankful that the Lord has provided this opportunity to share His word. I hope that you are all doing well.
Today, we are once again looking at the life and ministry of the prophet Elijah to see what we can learn. We will have a couple more messages on Elijah after this week, and then we will be moving on to a study in a book of the New Testament.
Elijah and King Ahab didn't have any encounters for awhile. During that interval, Elijah went and anointed Elisha to be his successor. Elisha would go on to become a great prophet as well. One day, I hope that we can study more about his life and ministry. Ahab had a war with the Syrians.
One day, Ahab decided that he wanted the land of his neighbor in order to build a vegetable garden. Naboth had a vineyard right next to the king's property, and Ahab wanted that parcel in the worst way. He asked Naboth if he could acquire the land. He offered him either a better parcel or monetary compensation. Naboth didn't want to sell. That property had belonged to his ancestors, and he wanted to keep it in the family. This made Ahab upset, and he went home to moan about it.
When Jezebel saw her husband, she wondered what was wrong with him. He told her he wanted the land, but Naboth wouldn't sell. She told him to cheer up. She would get the land for him. Being the evil person that she was, she devised a plan to get Naboth falsely accused of a crime and stoned to death. When this happened, Ahab was able to take possession of the property.
This action didn't sit well with the Lord, nor with Elijah. Elijah went to confront Ahab concerning his actions. When Elijah confronted Ahab, Ahab called Elijah his enemy just as he had during the encounter with the priests of Baal. Once again we see that those who commit evil don't realize that they are the ones at fault. They try to blame their problems on God or on the servants of the Lord.
Elijah told Ahab in no uncertain terms that because of the evil of murdering Naboth and stealing his vineyard, God was going to bring a terrible judgment against Ahab, Jezebel and their descendants. Ahab would die, and his entire royal line would end just as Jeroboam's line did. Jezebel would be devoured by dogs. A few years later, all of these things would come to pass. Ahab would die in battle. Ahab's son would be slain in a rebellion, and Jezebel would be devoured by dogs. The word of the Lord through His prophet was true.
The Bible says that their was no more evil king in the history of Israel than Ahab who was urged on to evil by Jezebel.
What can we learn from all of this? The first thing that I see in this passage is that God requires that leaders act in a just and not in an oppressive manner. One of the hallmarks of oppressive leadership is falsely accusing one's enemies and killing them. Evil leaders also rob and steal from their own people in order to enrich themselves and get what they want. We see this in many nations of the world. The leaders will have enormous wealth while their people languish in poverty. They will fly to foreign countries to get medical care, while their people don't even have medicines to heal treatable diseases.
In the Bible, God is quite clear in what He expects out of those who rule over others. Leaders are to look out for the best interests of their people. They are to defend the weak and the powerless. They are to help those who are poor and needy. They are to make sure that their people are secure against crime and evil. God does not approve of any leader anywhere in the world that oppresses others and does not take care of the poor and needy. The Lord wants the leader to promote true justice and fight against injustice.
Ahab was like so many leaders. He wanted to enrich himself and his family. He didn't care about anyone else. His people were a means to the end of helping himself to a lavish life.
We see throughout history what ultimately happens to leaders like Ahab. They end up on the rubbish heap of history.
We know that one day, the Lord Jesus will come and establish His kingdom and rule and reign in righteousness. The Bible says that He will judge the nations based on how they treated the least among them. As Jesus said, "When you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me."
The other thing that I wanted to point out in this passage is that God's word will come to pass. When a true prophet of the Lord like Elijah spoke in the name of the Lord, the word came to pass. Knowing this, we can have confidence in the words of the Bible. We can believe with all of our hearts the promises that the Lord has made to us. The Lord fulfilled His word in the past, He is doing that now, and His word will be totally fulfilled in the future. We can count on the Lord Jesus for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Things are going pretty well at work, and I am thankful to the Lord for that. Please pray that I will feel a little better. I am having a lot of problems with allergies.
Continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Pray that people around the world will be able to get the vaccines and the booster shots.
Let us continue to pray for peace in the world. Ukraine, Yemen and Syria really need our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Bosnia and Malaysia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our current study. I will post the verse on Monday, and I hope to have a midweek post. May God bless you all.
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