Faltering Between Two Opinions
Posted on February 1, 2011
Filed Under For Further Thought..., OT History | 3 Comments
This evening in our Old Testament class, we will be studying what has become one of my favorite passages: I Kings 18:17-40. In 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah challenged the children of Israel. He asked them how long they would falter between two opinions. What “two opinions” where they faltering between? Serving Jehovah God, or serving the helpless, useless idols. While this seems like an easy choice, the people of Israel had struggled with it for many years. Elijah was going to show this generation once and for all who was the true God. He directly challenged the prophets of Baal to provide proof for their gods, and he would provide evidence of the existence of Jehovah. The challenge consisted the prophets of Baal preparing a sacrifice, and calling upon the name of Baal to burn it up. Elijah would do likewise, calling on the name of Jehovah.
The prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice, and then called upon Baal with all of their typical ritualistic actions, including cutting on themselves. The inspired writer records that while they did this, “there was no voice; no one answered” and “there was no voice; no one answered an no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:26, 30). Of course there was no response, as Baal was the creation of the human mind! There was no one to hear them, and no one to answer them! In contrast, Elijah prepared his sacrifice and then dug a trench around the altar. He poured water over the sacrifice, so much so that it filled the trench around the sacrifice! When Elijah called upon Jehovah, he gave Him all of the glory, and asked Him to provide the fire for the sacrifice. 1 Kings 18:38 reveals that God sent fire that completely consumed all of the offering, the dirt, the the stones and the water. This was a sacrifice that was truly “wholly dedicated to God.” There was no doubt that Jehovah was real, and that Elijah was His prophet!
When Elijah and Jehovah were done on this occasion, there was no excuse for the people to “falter between two opinions.” Baal had been completely disgraced, and Jehovah had proven Himself clearly. They should have chosen Jehovah, and that is indeed what happened. Elijah used the opportunity to destroy the prophets of Baal, and attempt to set the people back on the right track of service to God.
As I read this account, I cannot help but think of the applications that could (and should) be made today. Where do people falter between two opinions, even when there is plenty of evidence to support the truth? Here are just a few of the ones that I have thought of:
Belief and Unbelief in God… There are many people around us that can’t seem to decide whether they believe there is a God or not. There is a whole group of people called “Agnostics” that claim that there simply is not enough information available to determine whether there is a God or not. It is impossible for me to comprehend how a person can look out a window at the natural world and come to any other conclusion than that there is a God. God has revealed Himself in the creation. The intricacy of all that we see around us, and in our own physical bodies, argues for a designer, rather than mere chance or happenstance. It takes more faith to believe in the theory of Evolution than it does to believe in God! See Romans 1:18-21.
Between Faithfulness and Worldliness… This is a great challenge, even for Christians. While people today usually are not trying to serve God and an idol (like the Israelites), they are trying to serve God and the world. They are trying to act as if they are faithful to God, and then continue on in the same kind of sin that they have always participated in. How many people want to claim to be Christians and yet participate in worldly things like: dressing immodestly, using profanity and taking the Lord’s name in vain, continue in adultery or fornication? The list could certainly go on and on. Men often try to walk the moral line, staying as close to worldliness as possible. It is not surprising that those who have such an attitude often step over the line and end up in worldliness, and separated from God! Instead, we need to stay as far from the line as possible, making sure that we are serving God, and not the world (Matthew 6:24)!
Between Standing for Truth and Wavering in the Wind… Many people want to be Christians when everything is easy, and everyone agrees on principles. But, sometimes we are called upon by God to stand up for what is right, and eschew evil and/or false teaching. We need to have the strength and resolve to stand for what we know the Bible teaches, and not be swayed by every “wind of doctrine” that happens to blow by (Ephesians 4:11-15). Far too many have the attitude that they don’t need to take a stand. They are willing to be on “both sides” of any given issue. I once heard it said, “I have friends on both sides of this issue; I stand with my friends.” While this was said in jest, in practice there are many people who exhibit the characteristic! We need to be strong, willing to stand for truth regardless of the consequences!
It is certain that we have opportunity to “falter between two opinions” but we need to learn that this type of action is not approved of by God. We should strive to take a stand, and make sure that we are taking our stand with God. If we take our stand anywhere else, we will most surely fall, just as the prophets of Baal fell to Elijah. In the end, they lost their lives because of their choices. We will lose our souls if we make the wrong choices. Don’t falter. Stand on Truth!
Popularity: 7% [?]
Related Posts:
Comments
3 Responses to “Faltering Between Two Opinions”
Leave a Reply
Subscribe Here
While reading this article, I was reminded of Psalm 135 and how the writer of that psalm also shows a stark contrast of the powerful, mighty Jehovah and the idols of the surrounding nations. The psalmist writes: “For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places.” (Psalm 135:5-6) The psalmist continues to record some of the wonders and mighty acts of Jehovah, then writes: ” The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.” (Psalm 135:15-18) I pray that with every opportunity to choose between serving God or the world, that we will choose to “…fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The psalmist points out that the people who put their trust in false idols will be just as lifeless as they are! Let’s put our trust in the right place….our Lord who is great!
Great thoughts, Machella! Thanks for reading and for the good ideas!
Kris,
You have reminded us of one of the many good examples from the Old Testament that show how wicked it is to depart from the one true God. The Hebrew writer said, “Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God.” (Heb. 3:12)
When man will not accept the God of the universe, he turns to serving his own worldly desires. Many pretend that they really love God but refuse to obey Him. Making the commitment to serve God is a hard choice for many people to make. Elijah made fun of the foolishness of the people in serving idols. He did that in order to show how silly they were being in putting the idols of their day ahead of their service to the God of Heaven. How foolish not to be able to take a stand for God but instead follow the doctrines of men. This is truly sad and fatal!