Jeremiah's insight into the Father's heart.

“I myself said, ‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation’. I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 3:19-20)

This is another lament expressing the grief in God’s heart as he reflects on the history of the people of Israel, from the time he made a covenant with Moses, drawing together the tribes of Israel into a special relationship with himself.

That special relationship was, “I will be your God and you will be my people”, and from that time they became a family created by God, with a beautiful land in which to live together with a rich inheritance. Every true family has a father to whom they look for love, protection and provision. In the same way, God expected the people of Israel, his family, to regard him as their Father, so that he could treat them like sons.

Sadly, they had turned away from the truth that he had presented to Moses for their health and security, and to enable them to follow him so that he could work out his purposes for the world through them. Israel had never been faithful: they had never fully put their trust in God and, like an adulterous marriage partner, they had been unfaithful to him, causing untold grief in God’s heart.

Idolatrous, Unfaithful Israel

This is what Jeremiah discerned in his times of entering into the council of the Lord and he broke entirely new theological ground in daring to put words into God’s mouth, “I thought you would call me ‘Father’” (v19).

None of Jeremiah’s forebears – the 8^th-Century-BC writing prophets such as Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Nahum – would have dared to make such a statement. Priests and prophets alike in pre-exilic Israel/Judah all avoided the word ‘Father’ in relation to God, because of their fear of idolatry. The Canaanites had introduced Israel to the Baals (local gods who supposedly owned the land) as the fathers of the people, who had to be worshipped in order to produce the fruits of the soil upon which the people depended for their sustenance.

Jeremiah broke new theological ground in daring to put words into God’s mouth, “I thought you would call me ‘Father’”.

Many of the local shrines, under groups of trees or on high places in the countryside, were occupied by altars to Baal. For the sake of peace and harmony, many of the priests of Israel and Judah practised at these shrines, offering thanksgiving to the God of Israel but also paying respect to the local Baal. It was against this practice that Amos was sent to protest at Bethel, where Amaziah ordered him to leave:

Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don’t prophesy any more at Bethel, because this is the King’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom. (Amos 7:12-13)

Jeremiah saw exactly the same thing happening in the countryside of Judah that had been denounced by Amos: the mixing of Baal worship with the worship of the God of Israel. He spelt out his complaint in one of his earliest statements: “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced – they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, ‘You are my father’, and to stone, ‘you gave me birth'” (Jer 2:27).

The Abomination of Syncretism

Jeremiah continued this theme when explaining why there was a drought covering the land of Judah in the late 7^th Century BC (this has enabled us to date this pronouncement to early in Jeremiah’s ministry): “You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen” (Jer 3:3).

In the next verse he spelled out the theological error that was being encouraged by priests and prophets: “Have you not just called me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue for ever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can”.

In these words, you can feel the horror that Jeremiah was experiencing, perhaps reflecting his own suffering at the hands of his father, brothers and sisters, who had publicly denounced him and were even threatening his life. He saw the people, and probably some priests from his own family, officiating at the shrines on the high places where they were actually offering sacrifices to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, on an altar dedicated to Baal.

Jeremiah’s horror at what God was experiencing was reflected in his own suffering at the hands of his family.

It was the abomination of people publicly acknowledging a pagan god as the father of the nation that Jeremiah found almost beyond description. It caused him so much grief because he himself had come into such an intimate relationship with God, the Creator of the universe, who was the true Father of the nation of Israel and his own precious Heavenly Father.

Our Father in Heaven

Jeremiah was the first in the history of Israel to recognise the Fatherhood of God. None of the pre-exilic writings in the history of Israel mention it; the other references are all post-exilic, such as Isaiah 63:16 and 64:7, and Malachi 2:10.

This is why Jeremiah was such a theological giant. Not only was he the first to recognise the Fatherhood of God, he was also the first to hear God’s plan to create a new covenant relationship with the houses of Israel and Judah (Jer 31:31) that would one day be extended to people of all nations through Messiah Jesus.

This is why there is such affinity between the ministry of Jeremiah and the ministry of Jesus, who sometimes quoted Jeremiah word for word, such as when he said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest your souls” (Matthew 11:29, from Jeremiah 6:16). Much of John’s Gospel is about the Fatherhood of God, first revealed to Jeremiah, especially Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper (John 13-17), which centres around his statement, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Jeremiah’s Personal Anguish

It may have been because of Jeremiah’s own experience of rejection by his own family, and the intense sorrow that this brought to him, that he was able to perceive the depth of suffering in God’s heart at his own ‘covenant people’ being so unfaithful to him. Jeremiah’s personal anguish came tumbling out of his mouth a number of times when, in mid-flow, he was describing the terrible consequences to the people of Israel of deliberately turning away from God and forfeiting his covering of protection.

Not only was Jeremiah the first to recognise the Fatherhood of God, he was also the first to hear God’s plan to create a new covenant with Israel, and with all nations.

A good example of this is Jeremiah 15:10 where, in the midst of describing what was going to happen to Jerusalem, he suddenly broke off and proclaimed, “Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed yet everyone curses me.” In the very next verse, Jeremiah returned to the theme of declaring God’s willingness to protect his people from disaster and drive out their enemies, if they would only repent and return to him.

It is Jeremiah’s own close relationship with God, reflected in his affliction even more than in his bold and fearless declarations of the word of God, which makes his teaching of such value for us today. He reflects to us the grief in God’s heart at those who have his truth but deliberately reject his word, thereby forfeiting the wonderful benefits of God’s loving intention to treat us as precious sons and daughters in his own special family.

This article is part of a series. Click here to read other instalments.

The conspiracy.

“Then the Lord said to me, there is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.” (Jeremiah 11:9-11)

Strong words! Not an easy message for the young prophet from the country town of Anathoth to bring to the sophisticated city-dwellers of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was still in his late teens: it was the year 621 BC, there was great excitement in the air following the discovery of the Book of the Covenant during the repairs to the Temple initiated by King Josiah.

Two-fold Deception

Once he had read the Deuteronomic penalties for breaking the Covenant, the King had called a great assembly in Jerusalem where he renewed the Covenant on behalf of the nation and then enforced the destruction of the shrines on the high places throughout Judah. But the ‘Great Reform’ had not reached the hearts of the people, who still longed for the exciting ceremonies of the local gods at the village shrines.

They crept back secretly to these places in the countryside, while the people in the town built little shrines on the rooftops of their houses so that they could continue their idolatrous practices. They thought their ways were hidden from the King (and also from God), particularly if they only went onto the rooftop by night, when the darkness would cover them from detection.

But they did not reckon with the observant young Jeremiah, who not only kept his eyes open but had learned to get into the presence of God, where a two-part conspiracy was revealed to him. One part was designed to deceive the King and the other part was directed against Jeremiah himself – and it was coming from his own family.

Josiah’s ‘Great Reform’ had not reached the hearts of the people, who still longed for the exciting ceremonies of the local gods.

Betrayal and Treachery

Jeremiah’s own family and friends in Anathoth, his home-town, were plotting against him. He said he felt “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Jer 11:19). His own flesh and blood were plotting to assassinate him; “Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more” they said.

How could Jeremiah’s own family be so cruel and so treacherous? But this is what happens when men feel their livelihoods to be threatened and their whole way of life to be endangered. Jeremiah was publicly supporting Josiah’s Reform, which would effectively have put his own family out of work – certainly out of the prosperity they were presently enjoying!

They were ministering at the high places in the countryside – supposedly in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. But these were pagan shrines where the priests were practising a form of syncretism, mixing the worship of Yahweh on altars set up to offer worship to the local Baals, supposedly ‘gods of the land’ who required various forms of fertility rites. These practices were popular with the people in the countryside where their livelihoods depended upon the productivity of the land.

Renegade Priests

Jeremiah’s family had been regarded as renegade priests for some 300 years. They were descendants of Eli, whose sons had behaved disgracefully. During King David’s lifetime there were two chief priests, Zadok and Abiathar. Zadok backed Solomon to succeed David, but Abiathar favoured David’s eldest son, Adonijah. In order to secure the throne, Solomon assassinated his older brother and promptly dismissed Abiathar, telling him to go back to his fields in Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26) and his family line was reduced to a minor priestly role from that day.

It is very possible that Jeremiah was unhappy with the priestly activities of his family at the country shrines. In order to fulfil the prophetic calling upon his life, he distanced himself from their activities and went to Jerusalem, where he would almost certainly have been in the great assembly called by Josiah.

Josiah’s Reform required the destruction of all local shrines at the high places. It further required the centralisation of all worship at the Temple. This effectively reduced Jeremiah’s family of priests to a minor role of serving in the Temple on a rota that would give them occasional service, while cutting them off from practising at the countryside shrines on the high places. This no doubt drastically reduced their income.

Jeremiah was publicly supporting Josiah’s Reform, which would effectively have put his own family out of work.

Hated for Putting God First

Jeremiah suddenly found himself the most hated person in Judah. He had publicly backed the King and now he was speaking in the streets of Jerusalem and railing against the people burning incense to foreign gods. He said there were as many shrines in Jerusalem as there were streets in the city.

Jeremiah not only prophesied disaster upon the whole land and upon the city of Jerusalem, but he actually told the people that God had instructed him not to offer any plea or petition for the city, because God would no longer listen. God would refuse to listen to the people in the time of distress which was coming upon the land.

“The Lord Almighty”, he said, “who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal” (Jer 11:17). Jeremiah’s family had been supportive of these practices and to them he must have seemed a traitor who had to be removed. They were saying “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands” (Jer 11:21).

Jeremiah was now discovering that being a prophet was a lonely task. It is very sad when families are divided, but for Jeremiah his primary loyalty was to the Lord. Jesus recognised this principle and he even went so far as to say “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37).

This article is part of a series. Click here to read other instalments.

Adultery, idolatry and spiritual brinkmanship.

“‘You have lived as a prostitute with many lovers – would you now return to me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore, the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.’” (Jeremiah 3:1-3)

All the prophets used the term ‘prostitution’ to mean ‘idolatry’. They saw running after other gods as a form of spiritual adultery. The reasoning behind this was that Israel had entered into a covenant with God at the time of Moses which demanded absolute loyalty to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

It was equivalent to a marriage relationship in which a man and a woman made promises of exclusive faithfulness to each other. To forsake God and engage in intercourse with pagan gods was spiritual adultery. It was breaking the covenant vows taken by the nation.

Worldly Temptations

Jeremiah 3:1-3 is a key passage providing understanding of the situation in Judah in the late 7^th Century BC. It was by no means a new situation. Ever since the settlement of Canaan under Joshua, when the Israelite tribes set up their villages and rural settlements among the Canaanites, they had been tempted to worship the local Baals.

The Canaanites were an agricultural people, whereas the Israelites had no such skills in the use of the land beyond herding sheep and goats. They had much to learn from the Canaanites who, of course, told them that for best results they had to pay tribute to the local Baal who owned the land. Ploughing and tilling the soil were totally new to the Israelites and they were dependent upon the Philistines, who were evidently more industrialised than the Canaanites.

All the prophets used the term ‘prostitution’ to mean ‘idolatry’.

There is a revealing little piece of social history in 1 Samuel 13:19: “Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, ‘Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords and spears!’ So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their ploughshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening ploughshares and mattocks, and one third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.”

Idolatry a Way of Life

From the earliest days the people had been warned against the temptations to idolatry; but remaining faithful to the God of Israel could never have been easy as there was no tangible evidence of his presence.

They had no bits of wood and stone to worship and no altar upon which to present their gifts. For the first few centuries in the land there was no one common meeting-place. This would be the case until the time of King David who, first at Hebron and then in Jerusalem, set up a tent of meeting for large assemblies for offering worship to God and seeking his blessing upon the nation.

Out in the rural areas the people got used to using local shrines, which was the despair of all the prophets. In Jeremiah’s day the Temple services offered daily prayers on behalf of the nation and was open for worshippers to come from all parts of Judah. But for most people, a visit to Jerusalem was probably no more than an annual festival event and for some it would only have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The local shrines were handy and satisfied most people’s need for giving an expression to their spiritual concerns.

So idolatry became a way of life for most people in Judah in times of stress. Even in the city altars to other gods appeared at street corners.

Idolatry became a way of life for most people in times of stress.

Cries for Help, Not Forgiveness

Jeremiah was noting two major factors in the pronouncement we are considering today.

One was the increasing number of people coming into Jerusalem to pray at the Temple from the towns and villages across Judah, where there was increasing anxiety as rumours of the oncoming Babylonian army spread across the nation. So Jeremiah hears God saying, “Would you now return to me?” After being unfaithful for so many years, indulging in spiritual adultery with the Canaanite gods, now because you are afraid, are you coming running back to the God of Israel?

The second major factor was that the spring rains had failed. There was drought right across the land that was affecting the harvest and threatening everyone’s livelihood. Jeremiah saw this as a direct action from God in response to the nation’s spiritual prostitution.

The people were crying out for rain; but nowhere did he hear prayers of confession, people crying out for God’s forgiveness. Surely that was what should be heard right the way through all the towns and villages of Judah.

Danger of Spiritual Brinkmanship

If the people were to come humbly before the Lord in confession of their sinfulness, that would resolve both the major issues: the restoration of the spring rains and ensuring the protection of the nation against Babylonian invasion.

Jeremiah, as always, went to the heart of the spiritual problems of the nation. God had already sent them warning signs which had been ignored: “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction” (Jer 2:30). How much longer, he wondered, would God continue sending warning signs and holding out his hands of forgiveness to a nation that did not respond?

Even if we are right in assuming that God is infinitely forgiving, the threat to the nation from the Babylonians was in real time and the nation was in grave danger of not responding to appeals, even at the 11^th hour.

This is the great danger of spiritual brinkmanship. The prophetic task is always to assess the danger and the time-scale. When the nation treats all warning signs with apathy, the danger of out-running the clock becomes real and the results can only be national disaster. This was what Jeremiah feared most, which made his appeals increasingly sharp.

This article is part of a series. Click here to read other instalments.

23 June brings a major decision point for the UK. But what lies ahead after that?

Even if we vote to come out of the EU, will the blessings and protection of God be fully and immediately restored to our nation? Surely there is more to it than that.

An Unforeseen Opportunity

The referendum is a major opportunity to regroup as a nation; at Prophecy Today we are viewing it as an opportunity offered by God to begin the process of turning to him with all our heart. It is an opportunity that many of us did not foresee as, over the years, integration with the EU has felt like a non-return valve, with ever-deepening commitment drawing us in.

We have long had prophetic warnings about God's displeasure with the EU, even warnings that this system was moving ever nearer to the anti-Christian international government described in the Book of Revelation. On account of Britain's Christian heritage and our commitment to God in the Coronation Oath, we have been warned to withdraw - lest we come under the wrath of God.

For years, integration with the EU has felt like a non-return valve – so the referendum is an opportunity to regroup that many of us did not foresee.

Therefore, on the one hand is the danger of the Remain campaign keeping us in this vulnerable position and, on the other hand, the question as to our position before God if the Leave campaign prevails. One step at a time, of course, but let's begin to look at the future of the UK beyond the referendum with some sense of real possibility.

Living in Babylon

Shortly, Clifford and Monica Hill will publish a book and workbook on the theme 'Living in Babylon'. That illustrates where we are at Prophecy Today: our view is that it is useful to compare the situation of modern believers in Jesus the Messiah with that of Israelites living among the Babylonians during the captivity of Judah, under Nebuchadnezzar. Both represent holy remnants trying to work out how to live faithfully in the midst of an unfaithful, even pagan culture.

The cry to "come out of her, my people" of Revelation 18:4 is for the Lord's people to come out of the latter-day world system, likened to Babylon of old. However, whether or not the EU does represent this end-time Babylon, it is shallow to think that a vote Leave would fulfil this command of Revelation 18:4. Much more would be necessary for the UK as a whole to be considered a nation belonging to God once again, so we can't rest on the laurels of our historic blessings from God, profound though they have been.

The situation of modern believers can be compared with that of the Israelites in captivity in Babylon, trying to live faithfully in a pagan culture.

Paganism EnduresPalmyra Monumental Arch in 2010, prior to damage by Islamic State. A replica arch will be erected in Trafalgar Square from 19 April. See Photo Credits.

Much of the Christian world is abuzz at the moment with the news that a replica of an ancient monument in Palmyra in Syria is to be erected in Trafalgar Square this month. The ancient arch has survived attempts to demolish it by Islamic State. Replicas are to be erected in London and New York to celebrate World Heritage Week 2016.¹

With the tide of world affairs being driven by the need to defeat terrorism, this seems to be a symbol of victory – but there is something subtler here. The arch, originally constructed in AD 32, was an entrance to a temple that was consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel. It formed the centre of religious life in Palmyra. So, whilst many in the UK are campaigning to come out of the EU, simultaneously some of our prominent leaders are opening the door to the very god of Babylon that the God of Israel warns us about!²

This is an illustration of the confused times in which we live - and a prompt to dig deeper. Despite our Christian heritage, one only needs to walk around the centre of London and other of our cities to see the extent to which we have never really cleansed ourselves of the images of ancient ungodly empires. Take another poignant example: statues of the pagan gods Gog and Magog on London's Guildhall, traditionally associated with Britain through the times of the Roman occupation, were destroyed by the Blitz of the Second World War. In a strange British ritual, they have been considered as the guardians of the City of London, brought out annually to lead the Lord Mayor's parade.

While many Brits campaign to come out of the EU, some of our leaders are opening the door to the god of Babylon in other respects.

Ironically, in 1953, the very year of the Queen's Coronation, the statues on the Guildhall were replaced.² Whilst at the Coronation the Monarch was celebrating the Bible as our Book for guidance in all things, some of her prominent subjects were ignoring the references to Gog and Magog in the book of Ezekiel, where their connection to end time spiritual battles is emphasised.

Idolatry, Inside and Out

Yet that is not all: the centres of our cities abound with statues and images that could be likened to what typified ancient Greece and Rome – as well as modern equivalents like billboards which glorify sensuality and vanity. The philosophy of our age – humanism – ultimately leads to replacing worship of the One True God with worship of idols and false gods. No wonder that one dictionary definition of humanism is the seeking after the philosophies of Greece and Rome.

So there is more to deal with in our nation than simply coming out of the EU. Coming out might provide opportunity for recovery – and perhaps even make a good start - but we also need to reflect on other matters that displease the God of Israel.

Images and idols to false gods is one thing. But these external images point to an inner problem that must also be cleansed. We have highlighted in previous Prophecy Today articles, for example, the many laws that are on our statute books which are an offence to God and a betrayal of our constitution based on the Coronation Oath - laws which have made legal many things that are not legal in God's eyes, hence leading us into individual and corporate sin.

The philosophy of our age – humanism – ultimately leads to replacing worship of the One True God with worship of idols.

Awake, Believers

For the UK as a whole to truly 'come out of Babylon' in every respect, much needs to be done after we leave the EU. Otherwise the UK may remain an outpost of a modern-day 'Babylonian Empire'. The call to "come out of her, my people" will then be for the Christian remnant within to brace up to withdraw from the ungodly nation that the UK may yet become – in or out of Europe.

Now is the time for us to go beyond the current events and look prophetically into the future. There is yet hope while our Queen lives, whose 90^th birthday we celebrate this month. The Coronation Oath still stands as our rallying point and the Lord's promise of Jeremiah 18:7-8 is still valid:

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.

For Christians, the challenge is to commit the future to God in deepening intercessory prayer while the signs of his judgment are relatively mild and, firmly but lovingly, call people in Britain to repentance. This will be a deeply emotional process, as we begin to sense the Lord's sadness over our nation - recall Jesus's weeping over Jerusalem prior to his sacrificial death on the Cross, and Jeremiah's weeping over fallen Jerusalem when the Babylonians took Judah to captivity.

For the UK as a whole to truly 'come out of Babylon', much more needs to be done than leave the EU.

Meanwhile, the arguments concerning the EU referendum should not be primarily led by financial considerations or the nation's love of football (even that has entered into the debate!), but by our standing before God. Whether in or out, the Lord can shake all our institutions. If he does bring further shaking to our nation, it will be as a sign calling us back to him.

References

1 See, for example, Gayle, D. Palmyra arch that survived Isis to be replicated in London and New York. The Guardian, 28 December 2015. See also the Institute for Digital Archaeology, which is carrying out the project.

2 Voice for Justice are currently running a petition against the replica arch planned for Trafalgar Square. Click here for more information.

3 Gog and Magog Back in London 1953. British Pathé.

Edmund Heddle continues his series on prophecy by looking in depth at the ministry of Elijah.

The religious life of Israel reached an all time low during the reign of Ahab (873-851 BC) and the Bible's verdict on him reads, "he did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that went before him" (1 Kings 16:30).

Prosperous Times

Politically, Ahab was one of Israel's strongest kings. Whilst he reigned, Israel was at peace with Judah, Moab paid large sums of tribute money regularly and he twice defeated Benhadad, King of Syria. Internally, it was a time when prosperity and materialism flourished. In the excavation of the site of Ahab's palace archaeologists unearthed items of furniture made of ivory encrusted with gold.

Disastrous Marriage

Bur while in these ways his reign was successful, from the point of view of the worship of Yahweh, it was a time of unmitigated disaster. Ahab's father, Omri, had arranged that he would marry a heathen princess, Jezebel, daughter of the Zidonian king. No sooner had Ahab come to power than Jezebel, with the help of 450 heathen prophets, set about introducing into Israel the idolatrous worship of the Phoenician god Melkart, better known to us as 'Baal'.

Ahab was one of Israel's strongest and most prosperous kings. But in God's eyes, his reign was disastrous."

And as if this was not enough, she also brought over from Sidon four hundred more prophets to perform in Israel the licentious orgies of the goddess Ashtoreth. In her determination to establish this heathen religion she persecuted the followers of Yahweh and did not hesitate to kill numbers of his true prophets.

Wicked Queen

"Everything we know about Jezebel shows her to have been a woman born to dominate, a very fountain of burning energy, passionate, self-willed, determined, stopping at nothing to effect her ends. To all this was added a religious devotion bordering on fanaticism".¹ She was determined to promote the worship of Baal and took advantage of the fact that in an agricultural country like Israel, a god who was said to bring good harvests would have a special attraction.

An 8th Century BC carving from Syria depicts Baal as a weather-god holding an axe and a thunderbolt.

Crisis Prophet

To deal with such a situation, God brought on to the scene the prophet Elijah, considered by many to be the greatest of the prophets. Very little is known about his antecedents. He is introduced in Scripture as "Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbeh in Gilead" (1 Kings 17:1). We have no exact date for his birth, his appearance in Israel or his translation to heaven, but he must have prophesied for at least twenty years in the reign of King Ahab.

This man who emerged from the rough pasture lands bordering the wilderness came to be recognised by his garment of hair with a leather girdle (2 Kings 1:8). He spent much time in solitude with only occasional visits to the peopled cities. He appeared and disappeared with such startling suddenness that no one knew where to find him at any particular time (1 Kings 18:10, 12).

Elijah spent much time in solitude, appearing and disappearing very suddenly according to the leading of the Spirit of God."

However, when Ahab's steward, Obadiah, expressed his exasperation at Elijah's sudden disappearances, his words reveal that Elijah's movements were to be traced to his direction by the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit's direction that ensured that at every critical juncture Elijah was always at hand, ready to go into action as the conscience of the nation.

False Religion

With a name like Elijah (meaning Yahweh is God!), it was inevitable that he would find himself on a collision course with Jezebel, Baal and his false prophets. In fact he precipitated this by praying that God would fulfil his threat to withhold rain from the land of Israel, seeing his people had turned to idolatry (Deut l l:16, 17).

Prayer for Disaster

If we had only the Old Testament record, we would assume that when Elijah told Ahab that there would be no rain on Israel for three years he was merely passing on a direct revelation from God. It is the New Testament which reveals that this situation had come about in answer to Elijah's prayer (James 5:17).

In one sense, Ahab was right when he referred to Elijah as the 'troubler of Israel' (1 Kings 18:17), though Elijah rightly pointed out that the real cause of the drought was the disobedience of Israel's kings and their idolatry in Baal worship. Elijah is not the only prophet who has been blamed for an event because he prophesied it would happen!

Elijah actually prayed for disaster to befall Israel because of her disobedience."

Carmel Confrontation

Elijah then proposed that a public demonstration be staged on Mount Carmel to prove whether Baal, the Zidonian weather-god or Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the real god. By challenging Ahab and the prophets of Baal to such a confrontation, Elijah joined the ranks of prophets like Samuel, Nathan, Gad and Shemaiah who had the courage to confront kings who were acting contrary to God's will. But Elijah did so in such a way as to instigate the classic encounter for all time between Yahweh and all idol gods.

Carmel, meaning 'garden', or 'park', is proverbial in Scripture for its natural beauty and majesty (Isa 35:2). It was on its wooded headland that rose high above the Mediterranean Sea that Elijah challenged the people to choose once and for all between Yahweh and Baal. The nature of the challenge focussed on the preparation of two bulls for sacrifice with the understanding that no fire should be kindled by the worshippers. Elijah gave first place to Baal's prophets and they cried out to their weather-god to ignite the fire by "fire from heaven"- i.e. lightning (Gen 19:24; 1 Chron 21:26).

Elijah instigated a classic encounter between Yahweh and idol gods, challenging the prophets of Baal to prove his existence."

Religious HysteriaStatue of Elijah / see Photo Credits

Although they cried from early morning till noon there was no response. At this point Elijah began to mock them for their failure to get any response from Baal. "Pray louder!" he suggested: "Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone on a journey! Or maybe he's sleeping and you've got to wake him up!" (1 Kings 18:27 TEV).

This provoked them to a continuous ranting and raving which went on until the middle of the afternoon; meanwhile they cut themselves with their lances and tried to appease their god with the shedding of their own blood. But all to no avail as the Scripture states pathetically: "no-one answered, no-one heeded" (1 Kings 18:29).

Prayer Answered

Then came the turn of Elijah, but first he ordered that the sacrifice and wood were to be soaked with water. All eyes must have keen riveted on the lone prophet as he quietly prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel and offered three reasons why he should answer by fire.

These were that all present might know (i) that Yahweh was God in Israel, (ii) that Elijah was his servant and had acted in obedience to his instructions, (iii) that God had turned their hearts back to their true God. In striking contrast to the day-long screaming of Baal's prophets, Elijah prayed quietly and at once the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice...the wood...the stones...and the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said: Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!

Courage Rewarded

What Elijah accomplished on Mount Carmel must never be underestimated."

After such an exposure of the futility of idolatry, the false prophets were put to the sword. For Elijah there could be no compromise. To him, the spiritual life of the nation was at stake and he, to his eternal credit, had been willing to stand alone as the only effective opposition to the evil religious policies of the royal court. What might have happened if Jezebel had been allowed to go on unchallenged, no one can say.

What Elijah accomplished on Mount Carmel must never be underestimated. It was at the risk of his own life that he stood up for the true God. If he had failed that day on Carmel, his fate would have been the same as that meted out to Baal's discredited prophets.

A Man Like Us

Whatever may be our reaction to Elijah's subsequent panic-stricken running away to escape the threats of Jezebel, we must not let it for one moment detract from our admiration of his courage on Carmel. Rather, we must let the fact that Scripture tells us that he was a "man with human frailties like our own" (James 5:17 NEB) deepen our appreciation of both his outstanding courage and his temporary lapse into gripping fear.

Elijah was 'a man just like us', with weaknesses as well as strengths, moments of failure as well as moments of success."

Naboth's Vineyard

Having seen how Elijah dealt with the false religion of Baal, we turn to see how he dealt with the evil acts of Jezebel and Ahab in the matter of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21). In Jezreel there was a vineyard owned by a citizen named Naboth. Because it was so close to the palace, King Ahab wanted it and planned to make it his herb garden. He approached the owner with a fair offer of purchase or exchange, but Naboth refused and Ahab went back to the palace in a fit of the sulks. Jezebel found him sulking and soon discovered why.

It is important to notice that Naboth was not just being awkward. From the law of Moses it is clear that Israel was considered to be God's land. The Israelites were his tenants and one of the conditions of their tenancy was that their allocation of land must remain in the possession of their family. In cases of extreme necessity they might have to part with it temporarily, but even then only until the year of Jubilee. Naboth knew that once the King got hold of it, he would never see it back and so he refused the king's offer.

Wicked Frame-Up

When Jezebel discovered the reason for Ahab's sulking, she scornfully asked him who was ruling Israel and before he could reply she had arranged a frame-up which resulted in the execution of Naboth and the confiscation of all his property, on a trumped up charge.

Flushed with success, she bade Ahab go and take possession of the vineyard he so much wanted. As he didn't go he was confronted by a well-known figure and Elijah quickly pointed out that Jezebel's action had outraged the principles of justice laid down by Moses for Israel. He said that such a crime had sealed their doom and Jezebel and Ahab would die along with all their posterity - a threat that was carried out to the letter (1 Kings 21:21-22; 2 Kings 10:1-11).

In the matter of Naboth's vineyard, Elijah was responsible for prophesying the doom of both Jezebel and Ahab."

Yahweh's Council

Elijah was distinguished from the rest of men by his special relationship with Yahweh. He stood before him as a trusted official (1 Kings 17:1) listening to what he was going to do and discovering what his part in carrying it out might be. This is the picture behind the frequent mention in the Elijah stories that the word of the Lord had come to him (1 Kings 17:1-2, 8; 1 Kings: 1; 1 Kings 21:17, 28-29). Both his movements and his messages were dictated by Yahweh.

Elijah to Come

The closing words of the Old Testament promise that Elijah was to come again to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Gospels show that this promise was a frequent topic of conversation during the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 17, 10-13). Zechariah had been told that his son, John the Baptist, would minister in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).

Although Jesus regarded John the Baptist as a fulfilment of Malachi's prophecy, his words seem to leave open the likelihood that there will be other Elijahs in the future. If ever there was a day when an Elijah witness was needed in the nations of the world it is surely today!

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2 No 2, March/April 1986

References

1 Fleming, J,1950. Personalities of the Old Testament, Charles Scribner's Sons, p171.