1 Reis 18

1 Reis 18

Morgan - 1K. 18:18 I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house.—1 Kings 18.18. Ahab the corrupt king of Israel met Elijah the prophet of God for the first time under strange circumstances. For over two years there had been a drought in the land according to the word of the prophet. The judgment of God had rested upon the whole land. During that period Elijah had been preserved by God, away from the court of the king. Then, by the direct command of God, Elijah appeared to Ahab. The king greeted him with the words: "Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel ?" They were a tacit confession that he knew that the judgment which had fallen upon the land was not due to natural causes, that it had come rather by the word of this strange messenger of the Divine authority. The question was one of resentment and anger. The reply of Elijah was immediate, direct, revealing: "I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house." And that was so. Apart frdm the national sins resulting from the corrupt practices of the king, there would have been no judgment. The troubler of a nation is never the man who, in loyalty to righteousness, proceeds against wrong-doing, even though he be probably an outsider. It is rather he through whose corruption the nation becomes corrupt even though he be king. The men who stand for God, and protest against iniquity, are always troublers of those who are doing evil. But that is a very different thing from troubling the nation. The destroyers of the nation are these very evil-doers, and those who trouble them are rendering the highest service to the nation, even though they are persecuted, and their message, for the time being, refused. P G Matthew —1 Kings 18:18 There are two ways in which a person can be a troublemaker. One is by sinning against the Lord. In that sense, everyone who sins joins Satan, the ultimate troublemaker. So if you are sinning, I want you to know that you are in league with Satan. You make trouble for yourself, your family, your church, and your society. But some in the church are considered troublemakers in another sense. If you are a father who leads your family in the way of the Lord, your children may look upon you as a troublemaker, because you bring trouble to their consciences. Ministers of the gospel are labeled troublemakers because they give no peace to a sinner. They declare the truth, and rebels do not like it. In truth, none of us likes to be told to repent. None of us likes to be reminded of the Holy God’s sovereign demand upon our lives. We think, “That preacher goes too far! He wants to tell me how to raise my children and how to order my life. He preaches the word and commands me to repent. I am sick of him!” King Ahab was no exception. He did not appreciate Elijah preaching against his flagrant idolatry. He called him “the troubler of Israel.” But Elijah declared to Ahab, “I am not the troubler of Israel in the sense you think I am. I am not responsible for this severe drought afflicting the nation. I have not committed a crime against the state. But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands in the Bible and have followed the Baals. For this sin, God has cursed you and your nation. Not I, King Ahab, but you, are the real troubler of Israel.” Behind all of fallen humanity, there is Satan, who is the evil troublemaker. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. He deceives us into thinking, “My father is the troublemaker, my pastor is the troublemaker, and, above all, God is the troublemaker.” No! The real troublemakers are those who follow Satan’s ways. But praise be to God, Christ has come and defeated Satan, sin, hell and death. He is the Savior. And if you believe his gospel, you will be saved. 1 Kings 18:19 “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” ELIJAH'S REQUEST FOR FALSE PROPHETS Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, Who eat at Jezebel's table - In the ancient near east, eating at one's table was a mark of close fellowship. Jezebel is fellowshipping with the ambassadors of darkness, the devil's men! 1 Kings 18:36 makes it clear that Elijah did all this at the command of God.