The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-26

Elijah meeting Ahab. .---.--......I Kings xviii 11s
The Blessings of Obedience Deut, xviii, LA
Elijah Type of John the Baptist Matt Ill l. ~
! Seeking tor vengence -----.-..-.I sam XIX 80
Cautioned to Fear Not Luke xii, 81 40
Wickedness of Forsaking God .Jer. IL liz
| For three years and half the land had suf-
fered for the drought had caused famine and
all the woes. The great question at issue was:
| Who is God, Baal or Jehovahf Who controls
the seasons and the harvests, who answers
prayer, the God of Jezebel aud her priests or
the God of Elijahl There are issues that need
| to be followed SO far that there can be no doubt
as to the truth. 1t needed these three years and
half to show the people the folly and wicked
ness of their Baal worship. and their neglect of
the God of their fathers.
l. We may attribute the bad weather of one
year to peculiar and unusual conditions, but
when year follows year, then men see the hand
of Jehovah. And they need to feel it as men
feel hunger and despair.
| The LORD that the time had come when
the hearts of the people could once more be
brought back from their idolatry, He sends
| word to Elija in the third year of his stay ut
| Zarephath that he was to go and show himself to
| Ahab, and to declare that he would send
| rain upon the earth. All the priests OF Baal had
| failed to bring it, and now it would come at the
word of Elijah. The famine sore one IN
Samaria, and the hate of the king was unmeas-
ured toward Elijah. but he went courageously
| forth to show himself unto Ahab
| H. AS the famine grew sore, Ahab sent after
| Elijah In every land and nation. He believed
| himself that the prophet could end the evils of
the drought, as they began at his word. The
| short sighted, wicked Ahab blamed Elijah
| ignoring the fact that Elijah was only servant
| and messenger of the Lord, and that the real
thing to be cured was his own dolatry. He
sent after Eli jah as after personal enemy into
| every nation and kingdom and required them to
take an oath that the prophet was not hid IN
their land. In the same way the wicked blame
to-day temperance men and reformers as the
great cause of our evils, because they stir
| the popular mind. These Ahabs forget that
there IS a God IN heaven, and that these Ehj abs
are only the messengers of the great King!
| III. There are great many good men in high
places. Men of the world appreciate character
The religion of Joseph. and Daniel and Obadiah
was all in their favor Each of them better
| servant of his king because they were all serv
ants or God. The great ma Orlty of men in high
places of trust to day will be found TO be Chris
| tians. There is a careless habit Of talking I'M
! truthfully of men though all had their price,
|
| every rich man were bad Obadiah lived in evil
| times; he served under a wicked king but he
| preserved his own integrity and religion. We
find him doing good by stealth. and hiding a
hundred of the Lords prophets in caves and
feeding them with bread and water. These large
caves are common in the land, and it would be
| easy to care for them and keep them in comfort
| The large number of these men who were to be
the religious teachers of the people shows Gods
| future purpose for Israel They We're to be
| N
| Sam. x, TO-
The times must have been fearful, indeed,
| when the King and his chief Governor divide
| the country between them and 60 in search of
/ water for the horses and mules. 1t was during
| this expedition that Obadiah met with Elijah,
| probably on the slope of Mount Carmel. What
seems an accidental meeting of God, as these
| two men need to be brought together. And he at
| once knew him by his dress and fell on his face
| and said Art thou that very Lord. Elijah" or
| rather Art thou here? The man whom Ahab
| has everywhere sought-art thou herel" And
| ne answered, Il am. Go tell thy Lord Behold,
! Elijah is here" Obadiah suddenly becomes
timid. He fears the anger of the King if he
| were to confess he had seen Elijah and had not
captured him. And he thinks that the prophet
| may, in some strange way disappear and then
| ne shall slay me. Then he recOunts his services
to the Lords prophets, showing that he cannot
be fairly charged with any lack of personal faith
| fulness to God.
| But Ehiah's promise that he wond surely show
H.,
he went and told the king. They came together
| and the first words of Ahab were in the form of
! an exclamation of complaint. Art thou here, 0
troubler of Israeli not Art thou he that troublest
Israeli he would In sentence lay all the blame
! of the famine on the prophet. He was the cause
| OF lSraeis trouble. SO men ignore their own
! guilt and how greatly they have offended the
God of heaven.
| But the prophet, in clear. strong words indi-
| Gates their sin, and thus the reason of their
| calamities Every jew was instructed in Gods
| hatred OF idol worship 1t was placed in the law
| (Deut. xviii BOZ, and was emphasized in the
| decaogue. Elijah makes Ahab and his fathers
house specially responsible because of their high
position, and because they did not use their power
| to turn away the minds of the people from idol
airy.
APPLICATION.
| /. Every command mas its promise. The
| command was, Go show myself unto Ahab' a
I difficult, dangerous duty but the Lords promise,
Il will send rain upon the earth, promise that
| made the duty safe and pleasant Nothing
| could be more welcome to Ahab than rain
| Every duty mas its promise and the Lord never
sends us out to work for Him that He does no give
US strength for the task. If the duty is clear we
may 60 ahead with confidence and the help will
come in the time of need. 1t will be pleasant
| thing to go over the scripture illus rations of
| this principle The children will call up many
| ofthem. Ourfailures come when we follow out our
| own choices, when we seek the pleasant ways
rather than the safe and narrow~paths We
| prefer 10 20 with tuS HulLIluu6 TdbUer IMAM 10
| be alone with God We had rather have an
| abundance of this worlds good than to trust in
| the riches of grace. If you hear the Lords word
| to GO, you may be sure he will go with you
| 2 God sends punishment for moral
| ends.-There is a weak sentimentalism in our
| age against the idea of God causing pain, as
| though it were somehow against his FatherhOod.
| But the government of God is full of penalty for
! the disobedient In way is this made more
clear than in the fact that Christ suffered for us,
! and that ''by his stripes are healed" Modern
! family government often weakness because
I there are nosevere penalties. The Bible abounds
| in penalty for SIM not that God loves pain, but
| because pain leads 10 penitence and that to
| reform. Three years of famine were awful
but the results gained in moral good far out
| weighed the physical pain. Gods hand works
to-day in great national calamities for moral
| ends.
| Serving God from Youth makes strnnn