Saturday, September 11, 2010

God always has a remnant

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:18
After the climax of 1 Kings 18, where Elijah confronted the 450 prophets of Baal and the Lord answered his prayer by burning up the offering with fire from heaven, comes 1 Kings 19. Jezebel, the manipulative queen of the northern kingdom, threatens to kill Elijah, and he flees to the wilderness and wishes he was dead (1 Kin. 19:4). God spoke to him in a still small voice as he was hiding in the cave at Mount Horeb, and re-commissioned him.
It’s safe to say that Elijah was suffering from considerable depression at this time. Despite being told by Obadiah that a hundred of the Lord’s prophets had been hidden away so they would not be killed by Jezebel (1 Kin. 18:13), he laments that “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kin. 19:14). But God gently reminds him that he is not alone – there are seven thousand believers in Israel who are loyal to Him.
We too can sometimes feel isolated, and like we are the only true believer left in the world. So it is comforting to know that God always has a remnant, somewhere.

No comments:

Post a Comment