WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.280 Well, today we uh we begin a brand new series called Elijah Shah, which is really hard to say, and it's even harder to spell. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.119 So uh that's okay though, because it's not a real word, it's just a word that we sort of invented. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.919 What we're gonna be doing over the course of the next several months, I really don't know how long this series will last. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.079 We'll just sort of you know play it by ear. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.079 Um we're studying the lives of Elijah and Elisha. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:28.000 And they're these two prophets from the Old Testament that do some amazing things, and God does incredible things through them. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:40.880 And honestly, if you look at, if you look at the Bible, if you look at Scripture, some of the most incredible, unbelievable, perplexing, awe-inspiring stories in the entirety of Scripture happen in the lives of Elijah and Elisha. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.399 And so we're gonna spend a few months studying their lives, their stories. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:49.679 We just smushed their names together and made up Elijah Shah, because their stories actually run into each other's. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:55.920 Elisha was Elijah's understudy, and that had to be so confusing for all the people that lived at that time. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:10.719 And so there will be times, I'm just promising, I'm gonna say this now, disclaimer, there will be several times over the next few months where I say Elijah, but I mean Elisha, or where I say Elisha, but I mean Elijah on accident, because I'm just getting tripped up in my head, but that had to happen back then too, so it's it's okay. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:16.879 All right, so forgive me in advance if I say Elijah, I mean Elisha like 400 times over the next three months. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:19.680 I've been really excited about this series for several months. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:26.879 I don't think there's ever been a series that uh that has been kind of in on the back burner in the back of my mind, something I've been working on for this long. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:28.799 And I'm excited about it for several reasons. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.120 Number one, like I just mentioned, their stories are just cool. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.519 These are really amazing stories, they're they're fun. 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:38.480 Number two, we actually have a lot in common with Elijah and Elisha, believe it or not. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.560 Even though they lived almost 3,000 years ago in a completely different culture, we have so much in common with them. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:52.079 Elijah and Elisha are two people committed to God in a culture that is rapidly, rapidly moving away from God. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:02:04.640 And so we we learn a lot from Elijah and Elisha about how to how to be bold in our faith and how to stand strong in our faith, even if the world around us doesn't value that at all. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:19.280 I'm really excited for us just to dive into Scripture, just to open up the Bible and study the Bible together because it's so important for us that we're not just excited about Jesus, but that we're equipped to actually live the life that Jesus has called us to live. 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.879 We can't stop at excitement. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:29.039 We come together on Sunday mornings and we we often get excited about who God is and what God is doing in our lives and what God is doing in this world, and it is exciting. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.879 Excitement is a good thing, it's important, but we need to be equipped. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:44.000 Because if we're excited but we're not equipped, we'll walk out of here on Sundays with a lot of enthusiasm, but it's gonna quickly fade as we go about our week, as we go about our lives, because we don't have what we need. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:49.280 We don't have the maturity that we need to actually follow through with that excitement. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.960 And there's very few things that add to that maturity. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:03:02.800 There's very few things that equip us, like studying God's word, knowing what God has done, because what God has done greatly informs what God is currently doing, what God will do. 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.360 So I'm excited for us to grow and to be mature. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:09.199 By the way, if you're here and you're not a Jesus follower, that's something you're still figuring out. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:10.639 We are so glad that you're here. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.960 We want you to get something out of every message that you can take home and apply to your life. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:16.560 We want it to be practical. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:28.719 But we also want you to know that if you do decide to follow Jesus, and we hope that that happens like, I don't know, now, if you decide that, like if you do, we don't just want to invite you into a shallow faith. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:34.960 We want to invite you into a depth of faith with Jesus because there's this endless depth when it comes to Him. 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.199 And all of us here, we're all at different points in our journey. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.960 None of us have arrived, none of us really even believe that you can arrive. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:45.280 But we're all trying to go deeper, we're all trying to go further than we've been. 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:48.879 And we want to make sure that together as a family we help each other grow. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.159 We help each other have that depth of faith that every single one of us can have. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:53.039 That's important. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:56.400 So let's just go ahead and jump into the story of Elijah. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:03.199 He's first, and we're gonna look at Elijah as he's first introduced in the Bible in 1 Kings chapter 17, verse 1. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:04.719 So here we go. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:16.240 Now, Elijah, who was from Tishbi and Gilead, told King Ahab, As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, the God I serve, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:18.079 We'll go ahead and pause there. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:22.959 Uh, that's the first verse that Elijah is introduced in the Bible, and that's as far as we're gonna get today. 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:27.360 And so if you're going, wow, how long is this series going to be? 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.199 Potentially long. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:37.199 Um we'll definitely go more than one verse a week, but but there's there's actually a lot, a lot in this verse, believe it or not. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:41.279 This is the first moment that we're introduced to Elijah in the story of the Bible. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:42.879 He kind of arrives out of nowhere. 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:50.959 There's no backstory given of him, he just shows up, but there is so much going on just in this one verse that it's it's more than enough for us to talk about today. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:58.879 In fact, in fact, there's this huge practical, personal, powerful lesson for every single one of us just in this verse. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.079 And I'll go ahead and tell you what that lesson is, and then we'll circle back around here in a few minutes and we'll actually delve into that. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:08.480 The lesson, the takeaway for us today is simply this little g, big T. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.439 Little G, big T. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.480 And we'll we'll talk about what that means here in just a minute. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.040 But first, we we've got to have some context. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:24.959 Because sometimes, sometimes you open up your Bible, or someone gets on a stage and starts talking about the Bible, and we're all from different places, we all have different levels of experience. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:30.160 Some of us are like, yeah, I know the story well, I know the context, I know what's happened before this, I know what's going on in the world. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:32.560 Some of us are like, I lost. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:37.680 Lost, clueless, and we have no context, and it's hard to understand what's happening here. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:42.160 It's really hard to understand what God is doing here if we don't know that context. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:49.279 Because this is one of those verses that we oftentimes encounter in the Old Testament, especially, where God kind of seems like a jerk. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:50.240 You know? 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:56.319 It's a verse where this person is saying, hey, God's gonna make it, you know, go several years without rain. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:04.959 It makes it seem like God is really angry, God's really upset, and he's just losing his temper, and he's he's using his godness to spike people or something like that. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:06.720 That's not what's happening here. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:08.000 Not at all. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:12.319 But for us to understand what is actually happening and the the takeaway for us, we've got to know the context. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.560 And so I want to make sure we understand a few different things together before we can get the most out of this. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.399 Number one, we have to understand the nation of Israel really quick. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:30.720 The story of God interacting with humanity in the Bible is really the story of the nation of Israel, because what God did very early on was he chose this man named Abraham. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:39.600 And he told Abraham that he was going to bless the entire earth, the entire world, all the people in the world, he was going to bless through Abraham and his family. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:55.040 And when God made that promise to Abraham, he was talking about Jesus, that God would bring Jesus, God in the flesh, to the world through the lineage of Abraham, that he was going to use this group of people to be his representatives, his vehicle, so to speak, into the world. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:10.879 And so when you read the Old Testament, for example, what you're really reading is God working with this one group of people, this one nation, and he is slowly, bit by bit, kind of layer by layer, revealing who he really is, who he actually is until it all culminates with Jesus. 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:15.279 That's why sometimes you might read something in the Old Testament and be like, whoa, that's, I don't understand that. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:16.800 That doesn't seem like Jesus. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.879 Well, it's God slowly over time revealing who he is. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:22.639 He doesn't give it to us all at once. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:24.879 We couldn't handle it like that if he did. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:42.959 And so the nation of Israel is a very special, special nation to God because at this point in history, Elijah's point in history, this is the group of people that God is working with in the world to reveal to the entire world, because he loves the entire world, but he's working through this one group of people to show the world who he is and what he's all about. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:46.480 But the nation of Israel wasn't very good at that. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:51.839 It wasn't something that they naturally did well, and so God had these people called prophets. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.680 Elijah is a prophet, and so we have to understand who prophets are. 00:07:56.480 --> 00:07:59.920 See, originally, when it came to this nation, they were led by prophets. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:01.920 So a prophet was someone who would hear from God. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.079 We're blessed to live on this side of Jesus. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:10.319 Because if you have a relationship with Jesus, that means that you have access to the Holy Spirit, to all of God. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:17.439 If you have a relationship with Jesus, you have the capacity in you to experience everything that God can have for you in this world. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:22.079 You can hear from God, you can hear him speak, you can know what it's like to be led by God. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.920 But at this point in history, you know, Jesus hadn't died yet. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:40.720 He hadn't paved the way for all of us, and so God would choose specific people, and the Bible would say that the Holy Spirit would come upon those people, and they would be able to hear from God, they would be able to see history, to see what was going on in their world through the eyes of God, so to speak. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:42.320 They would have God's perspective. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.879 And God's intention was that his people, the nation of Israel, would be led by these prophets. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:51.039 But eventually, the people of Israel said, No, we'll we'll take a king. 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:55.360 We would just much rather have a king like all the other nations in the world. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.960 And God was like, You do not want a king, you know. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:06.639 Most of history in the last several hundred years, five hundred years has been all the people on the earth deciding we don't want a king, right? 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:07.679 We'd rather have a democracy. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:12.559 And God's like, You have a king, you don't want a king, but the people said, No, we want a king, and he said, Okay. 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:14.960 And God let them have what they wanted. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:26.080 But even though Israel is at this point in time led by a king, not a prophet, prophets still existed, and in God's eyes, the prophets were more powerful, had greater authority from God than even kings. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:36.480 For example, Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament, and when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, this is Jeremiah chapter 1, verse 9, he says, Look, I've put my words in your mouth. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:39.679 Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.960 Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:45.440 Others you must build up and plant. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:53.440 So in God's eyes, prophets were over even kings and kingdoms, and that meant that oftentimes prophets would have to challenge kings. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:00.960 Prophets would be told by God, hey, go tell the king something he does not want to hear. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:10.240 Like some of us have bosses where the idea of having to deliver bad news to our bosses, you know, is is terrifying. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.879 Because maybe, worst case scenario, the boss flips out and says you're fired. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:20.879 But worst case scenario, if you make an ancient king, like this is this is barbaric times in history. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.519 Like you make an ancient king mad, they're like, kill him. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.799 And someone right there on the spot would be like, all right, and they would kill you. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.159 Like, this is a terrifying thing. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.960 But God would speak to prophets and he would often tell his prophets, Hey, I want you to go challenge the king. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:34.720 And that's what's happening in this verse. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.519 Elijah is challenging King Ahab. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.600 So let's talk about Ahab for a second, because we need to know some things about Ahab. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.000 Ahab, at this point in history, is the king of Israel. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:50.480 Now, this is about 870 BC, that's when Ahab's reign started. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:55.039 About 60 years before this, the nation of Israel actually divided into two separate nations. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:59.360 You had Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:14.799 And they divided really because this king named Jeroboam decided that Israel was not going to worship God anymore, and instead he introduced idol worship into Israel officially, and a couple of the different tribes of Israel revolted and they broke off and they formed their own nation. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.159 They called it Judah. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:21.600 And so Judah holds out a little bit longer, that they stay sovereign a little bit longer than Israel does. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:24.080 Both end up getting conquered by other nations. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.600 Judah stays faithful to God a little longer, so they last a little bit longer. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:28.879 Israel, not so much. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:32.480 Israel's a terrible, wicked place at this point in time. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:33.919 They do not care about God. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:35.759 They've really abandoned God. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:37.679 And Ahab is the king. 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:41.039 And this has happened about 60 years before Ahab began his reign. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:42.639 Ahab's father was also the king. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:43.919 He was a man named Omri. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:48.320 And in 1 Kings chapter 16, verse 25, we learn a little bit about Omri. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:54.080 It says, but Omri did what was evil in the Lord's sight even more than any of the kings before him. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:59.519 So Ahab's dad, King Omri, is the worst king in the history of Israel. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:01.039 He's the worst. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:02.879 And Ahab gets to succeed him. 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:04.799 Ahab has a chance to write the ship. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:06.879 Ahab has a chance to course correct. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:08.480 But that's not what happens. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:10.399 1 Kings 16, 29. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:15.919 Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the 38th year of King Asa's reign in Judah. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:16.960 He reigned in Samaria. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.799 Samaria was the capital city of Israel at this point in time. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:22.080 For 22 years. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.799 But Ahab, son of Omri, did what was evil in the Lord's sight even more than any of the kings before him. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:29.519 So it's the same language we have with his father Omri. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:31.600 Omri's the worst king Israel's ever had. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:38.879 Ahab shows up and he basically says, hey guys, hold my beer, because I'm not gonna let, like, I'm not gonna let my dad outdo me, you know? 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.279 I'm not gonna let my father outdo me when it comes to ruining this nation. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.320 And so he's the worst. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.720 He's the worst of the worst, literally. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:54.799 And then it says, as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, that's the one who introduced idol worship to Israel, caused the nation to split in the first place. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.960 He married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:05.840 First, Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria, and then he set up an Asherah pole. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.720 Asherah was a female goddess counterpart to Baal. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:17.279 And it says he did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any other of the kings before him. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.000 So, not a good guy, this Ahab. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:24.799 And it says that Ahab is just terrible, but as if that weren't bad enough, he marries Jezebel. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.440 So let's talk about Jezebel for a second. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:34.399 Because chances are, if you don't know much about Jezebel in the Bible, you still associate the name Jezebel with something bad. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:35.360 Right? 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:40.080 Like I said, I said last week that Megan and I are expecting our fourth child. 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:44.480 Um yeah. 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:51.360 Very different reaction than when I said we were expecting our first child several years ago from the crowd. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:52.879 You know, very, very different. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.840 And uh and it's you know, here's the thing it's totally my fault. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.919 I take full responsibility for my actions 100%, you know. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:00.879 I don't know. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:07.039 Um do pray for us though, because there's the baby at this point is is due on March 24th. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:15.679 Rarely does the baby come on the due date, but if if that were to play out, we would have in our four children's birthdays February 3rd, February 23rd, March 24th, April 6th. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.799 It's just like a machine gun of birthdays. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:25.679 And uh, you know, I'm one of those people, I'm not like big on birthday parties and stuff like that, and so it's just hard for me. 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:26.159 Pray for me. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:26.879 This is hard. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:29.279 Um pray for me a lot. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:34.639 But uh, but here's the thing our our first two children are Liam and Lily, and I tell a lot of stories about them. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.440 When Judah was born, we went with a different, you know, name. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:48.240 We we didn't want to go with another L name because we're thinking, oh man, if we go with an L name for Judah, then if we end up having a fourth child one day, which let me just be clear, we were not planning on doing. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:54.159 Um, but if we ever do have a fourth child, then we'll kind of be stuck having to go with another L name. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:58.480 And maybe by then we were scraping the bottom of the barrel for L names that we we like. 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:02.720 So we said, let's let Judah be his own and let's name him something with a different letter. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:11.919 So he's Judah, and it kind of makes sense, since we have two L named children, now we've got Judah, it kind of makes sense to have another J. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:20.480 Two L's, two J's, we can like pit them against each other, we can see, you know, which pair turns out the best and and vote the other off the island. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.559 Like there's all kinds of options if we want to. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:35.120 And so so we haven't decided whether or not we're going to go with a J name, but if we do, and if we happen to have a girl, I can tell you one name that we will not name her. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.080 Right? 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:37.919 And that is Jezebel. 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:44.799 Like, if we have a boy, Judas is off the table, because A sounds a lot like Judah. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.360 B, the guy who stabbed Jesus in the back. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.039 Just it's just it's a bad name. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:16:01.840 And so, not Judas, not Jezebel, if by chance you are named Jezebel, because it's possible, it was the 7,517th most popular girl's name last year. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:03.120 I looked it up. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:04.799 Not very popular. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:20.720 Ironically, the name Elijah is a more popular girl's name than Jezebel, but it's possible that you or someone you know is Jezebel, and if that's the case, you know, you got a lot of work cut out for you, but you got to change the reputation of your name, so go for it, do it. 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:22.639 We're with you, we're praying for you, we support you. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:23.039 Okay? 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:24.080 Just know that. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:28.320 But but what is it about Jezebel that makes her so bad? 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.799 Because when you when you read this, you can just hear like the disdain in the author's voice. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.600 They're like, as if Ahab weren't bad enough, he went off and married Jezebel. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.960 Like, it's something is is obviously bad about this woman. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:39.919 What is it? 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.000 Well, well, here's what we know. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:47.279 The Bible says that she was a Sidonian, and what that means is that she was from ancient Phoenicia. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:53.039 It's very normal for the kings to marry into the royal families of other nations to form alliances. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:54.639 That's what's happening with King Ahab. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.000 He marries the princess of a city-state called Sidon. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:04.799 Phoenicia was this group of city-states, and the two most powerful city-states in Phoenicia were Tyre and Sidon. 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:11.680 They were very, very wicked places, and in fact, Jesus references them in Matthew, or rather, Luke chapter 10. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.039 He says, What sorrow awaits you, Khorazan and Beth Seda. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:18.720 Those were two cities in Jesus' day that rejected Jesus completely. 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:29.839 He says, For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.960 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:43.200 Now, for Jesus to look at these two Jewish cities that he's teaching in and saying, Hey, you're worse off than Tyre and Sidon, like that that is bad. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:46.240 This would have been a huge slap in the face. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:50.559 A huge slap in the face to all of the people who heard that. 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.160 Like these were almost like rivals to them. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.480 Anyone here a Tennessee fan, for example? 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:55.359 Anyone? 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.759 So just imagine, like a Florida fan, right? 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:03.839 And if you happen to watch that game last night, wow. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:07.200 Uh pray for all of our Tennessee fans here. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:10.480 And pray that they they learn why you shouldn't root for Tennessee. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:13.119 Like, just you know, there's all kinds of different teams. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.640 It's just like, no, I'm teasing. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:18.000 But but it's like there's there's there's this, it's like a rivalry. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:25.359 It's like it's like someone telling you that your worst enemy, someone that you sort of despise and whatever, is better off than you. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:28.640 You you would instantly be like, no, no way, that's not possible. 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.920 That's what Jesus is doing here, and he's comparing them to Tyre and Sidon. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.359 It just so happens that Jezebel is from Sidon. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.240 So, what is it about about Jezebel? 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:42.079 Maybe we could say, what is it about Sidon where she's from that's so bad? 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.880 And it all has to do with Baal. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.359 It all has to do with Baal. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:50.400 We read a little bit earlier, and I'm gonna read it again. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:59.119 It says that Jezebel was the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and once Ahab marries her, he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:02.160 He built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:09.440 Okay, so what that means is this it means that Jezebel brings a passionate worship of Baal with her to Israel. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:10.799 She worships Baal. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:12.000 Baal was a Phoenician god. 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:16.559 We'll talk about him a little bit more here in just a second, but but she brings this worship of Baal with her. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:19.440 Ahab is very influenced by Jezebel. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:28.240 He starts to worship Baal himself, and as the king, he builds an altar and a temple to Baal in Israel. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:42.880 And when the king, when the king builds an altar and a temple to a god in your nation's capital, what that means is that your king is establishing the worship of that particular god as the official religion for your area. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:48.480 So Ahab is is declaring that from this point on in Israel we worship Baal. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:53.839 We worship this false god from Phoenicia. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:20:00.960 And this is kind of what prompts Elijah to go and have this confrontation with King Ahab. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:02.799 Now, here's what's really interesting about Baal. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:07.119 In Phoenician culture, Baal was called the storm deity. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.160 Baal was the one who made it rain. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.799 So Baal was referenced as the rider on the clouds. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.279 The Phoenicians believed that thunder was the voice of Baal. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:25.440 And this is an ancient agricultural society, and so there's nothing that's more important to them than harvest time. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:27.839 There's nothing that's more important to them than rain. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:38.000 I'll never forget when I was in high school, I was on a basketball team and we traveled and we played in this tournament in like the middle of nowhere, Georgia. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:38.480 Okay? 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.119 And very, very, very rural area. 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:48.000 And most of my life, I've I've lived in a lot of different places, but most of them have not been extremely rural, like farming communities, but that's what this was. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:56.000 And before this basketball game, this guy came out and prayed, and I remember so clearly that he was like thanking God profusely for the rain. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:06.799 And I was sitting there as this 17-year-old, like, man, I mean, I guess I'm glad it rained too, but I feel like we're kind of going overboard with all this, you know, thank you, God, for the rain and thank you for the crops. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.119 And I'm sitting there going, like, what's this about? 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:20.640 And it had never occurred to me that if you are a farmer, if you're someone who depends on something growing in the ground for your very livelihood and survival, you are extremely, extremely grateful for rain. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.000 When we look at the forecast and we see rain and we go, oh, come on. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:24.960 You know? 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:30.559 Like you guys know, if you've been in his hands for a while, our roof has opportunities, and so when it rains, we get lots of leaks. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.680 And so when I see that it's raining, I'm like, oh, here we go. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:42.079 But if you're a farmer and it rains, you're sitting there going, thank God, and the Phoenicians believed that Baal was the one who made it rain. 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:54.400 The storm deity, the rider on the clouds, thunder is his voice, and this is the false God that Ahab has established as the God of Israel. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:59.759 Okay, so so knowing all of that, now that we have all that context, because I know that's a lot, let's go back and let's look once more. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.680 Again at 1 Kings 17:1 and understand what's going on here a little bit better. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:12.000 It says, Now Elijah, who is from Tishbi in Gilead, told King Ahab, As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, the God I serve, see what he's saying there? 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:19.279 Not the God you serve, but the God that I serve, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:26.720 So essentially, what Elijah is saying is, Hey, Ahab, your majesty. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:47.839 You know, God and I were talking, and uh, and he wants you to know that he has noticed that you've built a temple to Baal, and he's noticed that you and Jezebel are very passionate in your worship of Baal, and he's noticed that you have set up Baal worship as the worship in Israel, and all the Israelites are now worshiping Baal and rejecting God. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:48.720 He's noticed that. 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:52.319 He's noticed that you are now praying to Baal for rain. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.559 He's heard your prayers. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:58.960 He's noticed that all of Israel now is praying and asking Baal to make it rain. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:03.200 And so God wants you to know, King Ahab, that he's going to give you exactly what you're asking for. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:05.200 Great news, God is answering your prayer. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:08.720 He's gonna let Baal handle the rain duties for a while. 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:14.799 So keep praying to Baal, keep asking Baal for rain. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:16.880 God is happy to take a little bit of a break. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:22.400 I mean, he works so hard, and he's gonna let Baal handle the rain for a while, so keep doing your thing. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:28.559 The only problem with this, King Ahab, is that it's not gonna rain. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:29.599 Like at all. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.799 Because Baal is not the one who makes it rain. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:44.160 And so keep praying to Baal, keep asking Baal, and over the course of the next few years, you're gonna learn just how powerful Baal really is. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:47.599 And you're gonna learn how powerful God really is. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:52.000 See, this is not this is not God being angry and spiteful. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:58.480 This is actually this moment in scripture that shows us this characteristic of God that's that's amazing, one that we very, very easily forget. 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:00.720 Our God is faithful. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:01.359 Okay? 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.480 The Bible says that he never abandons us. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:05.680 Our God does not abandon us. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:08.160 At the same time, he does not hold us against our will. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.079 God has never forced anyone to worship him. 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:16.559 God has never made people stay true to him. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:22.319 It's just like what happened with Israel in the king situation, when they're like, hey, we want a king, and God's like, No, you don't. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:23.599 We want a king. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.400 Essentially, they were firing God, they were rejecting God. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:34.160 In fact, God spoke to a prophet Samuel, who was the prophet, the judge of Israel at that time, whenever the people said, We don't want you or God anymore, we we want a king. 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:37.359 And God spoke to Samuel and said, Hey, don't get dejected, Samuel. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:39.119 They're rejecting me, not you. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:45.039 And when they decided to reject God, God gave them what they wanted. 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:47.359 God does not force us to follow him. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:54.640 And so he's telling Ahab and all of Israel, hey, if you want to pray to Baal, if Baal is who you want, I'll let you have Baal. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:57.519 But it's not gonna work out. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:00.640 In fact, it's gonna be a disaster. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.880 This is kind of a spoiler alert, but we'll fast forward a few years and we'll talk about this in the coming weeks. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:07.359 Like Baal doesn't come through for Israel. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:09.519 Because he's not real. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:12.720 Baal does not make it rain. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.279 And this is a huge problem for Israel. 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:21.440 I mean, again, agricultural society completely dependent on crops for survival. 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.839 No rain for a few months is a problem. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.559 No rain for a few years, we're talking a huge problem. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.640 They are in big trouble. 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:34.240 They are in big time trouble because they have put their faith and their trust in a little g god. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.880 And that's what we talked about earlier, the takeaway, little g, big T. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:49.359 If we put our faith and our trust in little g gods, we are in for big T trouble. 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:51.279 Like little G, big T. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:58.400 Now, I say that, and it's funny because it doesn't sound super practical as far as our everyday experience. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:02.799 Like I didn't pass any bail churches on my way here this morning, you know? 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:05.839 And it's funny, sometimes, you know, we'll we'll read about this. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:14.079 By the way, one of the reasons I'm so glad that we're going through the scriptures together with these stories is that we just get to study whatever's next. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:20.319 And this particular verse, this particular opening is all about idol worship and the effect that it has on a culture. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:24.559 And sometimes it's really easy for us as Christians, you know, we're in church on a Sunday morning. 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:33.440 Many of us, most of us, have professed the faith in Jesus to say, yeah, idol worship, definitely past that, not really relevant to me, and we sort of move on to something else that is. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:41.200 But I'll say that at least in my life, maybe I'm alone, idol worship is like a constant temptation. 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:51.279 When God first spoke to Moses and gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the very first commandment, and this is Exodus chapter 20, verse 3, was you shall have no other gods but me. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.799 You will have no other gods but me. 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.480 That's the very first commandment that God gives. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:58.400 And you would think that that's just like a throwaway, like, obviously, don't worship a false God. 00:26:58.720 --> 00:26:59.039 Okay? 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:04.640 And then he moves on, he's like, don't kill each other, don't steal each other's stuff, don't take each other's wives, don't lie. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:05.839 You know, good human behavior. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:11.279 But the first one, the whole don't worship another God, it just sounds like such a throwaway, such an obvious thing. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:24.240 But is it possible that God put that first because of how absolutely practical, how absolutely constant our need to remember that actually is. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:28.480 Because the reality is we live in a world full of little g gods. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:31.839 They're just not as obvious as an ancient Phoenician guy named Baal. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:42.400 But we live in a world that is full of little g gods, and we are constantly tempted to bow down in worship of little g gods. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:46.960 See, the reality is, practically speaking, I'm not talking about your thoughts and your mind. 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:49.839 I'm talking about practically how we live. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:28:00.640 Practically speaking, and how we live, whatever you're putting your hope in, whatever you're putting your trust in, whatever you're depending on for your success, that is your God. 00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:02.319 Practically speaking. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:17.279 So it's completely possible to be a Christian, to be a person of faith and having professed faith in Jesus, but but live in such a way where you're actually putting your hope and your trust, you're making your actual day-by-day God something that isn't Jesus. 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:19.920 Like it happens, it happens all the time. 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:22.160 We see it happen during political cycles. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:36.640 Every time there's an election, there's this tendency to get fixated on politics and to start to put our trust and our hope in a candidate or a party or some political movement, and we think, oh, this is going to be the thing. 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:39.599 This is going to be the person who fixes things, who makes things better. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.440 This is the person with the answers. 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:53.920 And we get so passionate about this person or this party or whatever, and we put our trust and our hope in this, and and you know, by our rule of law, I think you should never put your hope or trust in a donkey or an elephant. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:56.960 Like, just don't do that at all, you know. 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:59.920 Uh a blue donkey, red elephant, I don't, whatever. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.200 Don't do that. 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:05.759 Because government begins with a little g because it's not God. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:09.599 And so government, look, government's the cause of most problems. 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.880 Why would it be the solution? 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:11.359 Okay? 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:12.960 It's just the truth. 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:14.720 But it's not just things like that. 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:16.160 Like, think about money, for example. 00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:21.759 Jesus actually equated money with this kind of rivalry with God in Matthew chapter 6, verse 24. 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:25.599 Jesus says, No one can serve two masters, for you will hate one and love the other. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.680 You'll be devoted to one and despise the other. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:31.119 You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.720 I was having breakfast with uh with Ken Kington. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:37.039 It was so awesome to have Ken with us the last few weeks. 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:41.599 I was having breakfast with Ken a couple weeks back at uh at Cracker Barrel on Chastain. 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:42.559 That's our spot. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:44.640 It's me and Ken's spot. 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:54.480 Uh I also have breakfast there a lot with uh with Steve Craig, but don't tell Ken that or Steve that, because I don't think I don't want them to feel like I'm cheating. 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:58.799 You know, like it's they both think it's it's our spot, but it's not. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:03.200 Um and so I'm having breakfast with Ken, and we're talking about idol worship. 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:08.319 We're talking about this, just a just your normal everyday conversation about idol worship at Cracker Barrel. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:09.519 You all y'all know what I'm talking about. 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:10.160 You've been there. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:13.519 So Ken and I are talking, and he starts talking about money as an idol. 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:15.920 And the way Ken phrased it was so perfect. 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:22.000 He said, you know, if uh if you ever hear someone say that if they had a million dollars, it would solve all their problems. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:27.680 Or if we ever think, man, if I just had$100,000, if I had a million dollars, that would fix all my problems. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:32.079 If you hear someone say that, or if you think that, that means that to some degree you believe money is God. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.759 Because if you're saying that this would solve all my problems, you're saying that this is my God. 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:40.160 This is what I'm depending on, this is what I'm hoping in. 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:48.319 And by the way, look up the personal stories of people who have won the lottery and find out how good of a God a million dollars is. 00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:50.400 It's not. 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:55.519 You know, suicide rate is much higher among millionaires than people who make less money than that. 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:57.359 Money is a bad God. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:01.759 You can worship money, but it's a it's a bad God. 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:06.480 It's a bad master, it is adulterous, it leaves you, it goes to other people all the time. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.359 And so put your faith in a God that's faithful. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.759 Like be faithful to the one who's faithful. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:12.799