Sermon(1 Kings 18:30-40): Jehovah is God

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025252545

 

 

 

>> ... 32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill your jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran round about the altar, and filled the trench also with water. 36 ... “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. .... (1 Kings 18:30-40) <<

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Ahab and Jezebel were the king and queen of (the North) Israel. Jezebel was a daughter of the king of a gentile kingdom Sidon. This woman brought her religion into Israel and seduced her husband, king Ahab, into the worship of Baal and Asherah. Ahab built the temple of Baal and the altar for Asherah. There were 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah in Israel. They were well off thanks to the wicked woman Jezebel. Israel fell into idolatry. Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord. The religion of Yahweh was a candle flickering in the wind.

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My brethren, a leader is such an important person in the society. Especially people will be in trouble if the leader having power does not have a good mentality. It is a disaster for the people if the leader loves bribes, hates righteousness, and is in the sin of idolatry and superstition. Look at Ahab. He was the king of Israel who should be a good religious model for the people, but he took as his wife Jezebel, a daughter of the king of a heathen kingdom, whose heart was full of idolatry. He gave her the power to kill the servants of Jehovah, and permitted her to introduce heathen gods to Israelites and to cause them to worship them. Those who love money and honor must not be elected as a leader in the churches or in the denominations, because they will corrupt the churches and the denominations. What God is Jehovah? He loves his people and judges the wicked.

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Let's see how God turned the heart of his people who had left him back to himself. First, God sent his servant Elijah to Ahab, and Elijah prophesied to him. >Now Elijah the Tihbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." (1 Kings 17:1)< God tells Ahab and Israel what will happen in the future and accomplishes it, by which the people of Israel come to know Jehovah is the true living God. But why is it drought?

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Baal and Asherah Jezebel brought in Israel are gods of fertility. Baal was a male god, and Jezebel his wife was a female god. Two rains, early and late rains, are required for farming in Israel. The same was required for the neighboring heathen countries. The heathen people thought that Baal and Asherah were the gods who gave them a lot of produce. The rainy season must come after a few months of the dry season, so that they may not suffer hunger. People thought that it would rain when Baal and Asherah had a sexual intercourse. So they built the temples of Baal and Asherah, and had group sex on behalf of Baal and Asherah. The priests of Baal and Asherah, the temple prostitutes, and the participants of the religious assembly had promiscuous group sex, expecting it would rain if they did so on behalf of Baal and Asherah. What a foolish religion!

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In that religious system, you can enjoy money, honor and sex as well if you become a priest of Baal and Asherah - a very good job at that time. Of course if you are a heathen. Jezebel, the most wicked woman in the world, brought this dirty religion in Israel and propagated it. If a man became a priest of Baal and Asherah then, he could enjoy the queen's favor and support, live without fear of hunger, and sometimes could have lawful and holy(?) sex with pretty girls who became the temple prostitutes thanks to their beauty. Therefore he who would sell his soul to the Devil in order to enjoy the delights of the world willingly served Baal and Asherah as Jezebel taught. You can estimate the scale of the idolatry from the fact that there were 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah in those days. Never forget: he who loves money, honor, power and sex is liable to betray God. Be careful! At that time, the servants of God were hated by the king and queen, and didn't receive any support from them, so they often starved. And they must be satisfied with only one wife, whether she was pretty or not. The way to heaven is hard, but it's God's grace for it is the way of the eternal life. Amen!

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God begins to prove to his people that Baal and Asherah Jezebel brought in Israel are false gods. First, God caused severe drought throughout all Israel to prove that Baal and Asherah who were thought to give rain at a proper time were false gods. A severe drought plagued Israel for as many as three years. It was a vital crisis for the worshippers of Baal and Asherah, gods of rain. Baalism will be rejected by the people if the drought is not stopped as soon as possible. Emergency was announced to the key members of Baalism, including Jezebel. The crisis of drought was not solved, no matter how much they prayed to Baal. So the cunning wicked Jezebel made a trick. She began to kill the servants of God. They were guilty of treason for they served not Baal but Jehovah, so that Baal got angry and didn't give rain. When the servants of Jehovah were suffering the trial, Obadiah, a servant of Ahab, gave them food and saved them. "Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? (1 Kings 18:13)" As the drought grew worse, more prophets of Jehovah were caught and killed unjustly by Jezebel. Israelites didn't reject Baalism even until then because they thought that Baal, the god of fertility, could be mad at the servants of God, so didn't give rain.

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My brethren, do not think that the trial caused by your sins has come to you because of others' sins. If you persecute others, thinking the punishment of God you're suffering is due to their faults; you are another Jezebel. I beseech the senior pastors of the churches. Please do not harass curates or evangelists because your church does not prosper. If one of the divisions of your church is depressed while other divisions are prosperous, please comfort the curate or the evangelist who is in charge of the division, instead of bothering him. You are a hypocrite if you persecute such a man; you are a good shepherd like Jesus if you comfort him. Do not be a Jezebel-like husband who, committing all kinds of dissipation, puts the blame for the ruin of the family on his wife. The foolish king Ahab, not remembering the manifest prophetic warning of Elijah that there would be drought, connived at Jezebel's killing the servants of Jehovah, thinking the wicked woman was right.

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The wicked woman Jezebel's persecution of the prophets of Jehovah was in the worst. And God knew Ahab was not a man who could understand the truth. So he decided to give Ahab and Israelites a chance to understand the truth. The truth is not only in the words. It is in the power as well. My brethren, let's say the most delicious meal in the world is prepared in front of a wax human doll. Can the doll eat it? No, it can't! Therefore the doll is a fake human. A real human seeks food and eat it when he gets hungry. The food will be eaten immediately if it is placed before a hungry man, for the man in front of the food is a real living man. A fake human can't eat the meal even if it is the most delicious food in the world, while a real man eats everything when hungry. My brethren, a god who can't accept worship of humans is a false god, while a god who can accept worship of humans is a true god.

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God sends Elijah to Ahab. Elijah asks Ahab to summon the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a showdown with Elijah himself. "My king, please call all Israelites, and all the prophets of Baal and Asherah to Mt. Carmel. And let us see who is the real God - Jehovah or Baal and Asherah. Ahab summoned the prophets of Baal to Carmel, and many Israelites went there. Now Elijah says. >And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word. ... "Let two bulls be given to us; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire on it. And you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken." (1 Kings 18:21-24)<

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450 Baal prophets first built an altar, and laid a sacrifice of a bull on it. They shouted Baal for a long time with all their strength, but got no answer. Baal didn't answer even though they hurt their bodies when praying. My brethren, if Baal was, if not a powerful God like Jehovah, a kind of a living god, he ought not to keep silent then. It's a matter of his pride. If he keeps silent, all people will desert him. Furthermore the game is not so difficult. Is it difficult for a god to send fire on the sacrifice and to consume it? So, if Baal is a real living god, he need not keep silent so at all. Baal couldn't answer their prayer and send fire because he was but a man-made idol. (A man-made god can send neither rain nor fire!)

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But Elijah was brave and confident. He dug a trench around the altar, poured water on the wood and the sacrifice, and filled the trench with water. He said just a word of prayer. "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back. (v. 37)" At that moment, the fire of God came down from heaven, burned the wood, the sacrifice and the soil, and evaporated all the water of the trench. People, after witnessing the living God who accepted the sacrifice of humans, understood that Baal is a false god while Jehovah, God of Elijah, is the true God. Elijah ordered the people to seize and kill 450 prophets of Baal. The false god Baal even could not express his sorrow over the death of his prophets. Right after that, Elijah prayed to God, and clouds appeared, and it rained. The God says beforehand and accomplishes as he said. Because he is a living God.

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My brethren, do not be deceived. A rich life does not come from Baal or Asherah, but is a gift of living God who loves you so much. If you have the foolishness to leave God, he makes you return to him because he loves you. Sometimes the motive of your return is the drought. Look back on your life when the drought befalls you. Do not ascribe the cause of the drought to others. only the wicked woman Jezebel can do such a thing. Humbly acknowledge your sins and turn your heart to God. God will receive you gladly as the father of a prodigal son received him. My brethren, God is one who receives all your sacrifices, because he is a living God. He gladly accepts all your praises, thanks, offerings and works of devotion.

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May God accept all your offerings and give you the rich blessings of the ground and the holy blessings of heaven. May your devout life be like a green pasture of peace by a stream, without drought.

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Chong Tack Kim

                                     - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -

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