How long will you hesitate between two opinions?

1 Kings 18:15-40 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸ He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. 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.”

²⁰ So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. ²³ Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. ²⁴ Then 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 said, “That is a good idea.”

²⁵ So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” ²⁶ Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. ²⁷ It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” ²⁸ So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” ³² So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. ³³ Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. ³⁴ And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 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 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

³⁶ At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” ³⁸ 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. ³⁹ When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” ⁴⁰ Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

“How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”   This is basically the question that each person must respond to. Will you follow the Lord God or will you follow something or someone else? Joshua posed the question to the nation of Israel in Joshua 24:15:     If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”   Jesus says:  “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24) Wealth or materialism is just one of the many gods people in our current society and culture serve. It seems ironic that in a culture such as ours that polarizes so firmly around ideals and philosophies, that faith in God through Jesus Christ is one thing that the culture will not polarize around. Instead when it comes to faith and spiritual matters, there is duplicity, or multiplicity. In truth our society promotes the idea that spiritually anything or everything goes. Our culture believes a lie that there is no need to choose.

In today’s text when Elijah made his statement it says:    But the people did not answer him a word.    The people would not commit. They remained in their duplicity waiting for the results of what would happen in the confrontation between Elijah the servant of God and the heavenly kingdom and the earthly powers of the king and the false gods. In the end after the gods of  Baal and Asherah were defeated and proved to be powerless the people responded:   “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”   God in His grace and mercy did not judge or condemn them for their duplicity and wavering. He was and is: patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. (2 Peter 3:9)    From the beginning of man’s time on earth the same question is asked of each person; will you follow and obey God or will you believe the deceptive voice of false gods? It may seem that there are many choices, many philosophies, many gods one can choose to serve and follow. The reality is though that either you serve the Lord God or the god of this world,  “the devil... He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)   Isaiah 14:12-14 describes the aspiration and desire of the devil:   “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.  ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”     The devil’s desire is that he would be like God and that people would worship him. He is content though if by deception he can cause people to worship anyone or anything other than God.

In today’s text the people waited until they saw the outcome, until God proved that He truly is the all powerful God. We don’t need to wait or to hesitate. What the devil thought was his greatest victory, persuading men to crucify Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, was really his final defeat. On the cross Jesus said: “It is finished” (John 19:30)   Three days later when He rose from the grave the proof that He, the Lord is God was forever evident. No other prophet or god has conquered the grave. Only Jesus:   When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross. (Colossians 2:15 Amp)

We still face the same question and God in His mercy and grace is still patient, but the evidence is in, the victory has been won, Jesus is the way. He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)   How long will you hesitate between two opinions?      If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You. Though there are many voices and many choices You have proven that You alone are the true God. Thank You for Your patience and Your lovingkindness. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Most of all thank You that: while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me. Through the cross and the resurrection I too can share in the victory over sin and death. I too, through Christ have triumphed over every enemy of God. How could I choose anything or anyone else? You are the Lord God. I choose this day and every day to serve You.    Amen