Reading from Thursday, June 17

Yes, I know - I'm extremely behind. Here's hoping for motivation to catch up at least a little tonight.

Reading for June 17
1 Kings 18:1-46

Showdown time. Elijah returns to the kingdom of Ahab in Israel and basically challenges Ahab and his followers to what ca only be described as a "God-off". Ahab and his people followed Baal and Elijah obviously followed God. They set up only one event which was the 100-meter-which-God-will-set-fire-to-the-burnt-offering-first hurdles. So here's what they did. They went to a mountain and set up two slaughtered bulls as burnt offerings. They agreed that the challenge was to pray to their respective god and whichever god set the burnt offering ablaze would win the 'my god exists and yours doesn't' trophy.

So Ahab and his followers begin praying loudly to Baal for fire to rain down on their bull. Nothing happens. So they begin to pray louder and wail. Still nothing happens. Then they begin to cut and stab themselves with swords and spears and still no fire. They had done this for almost the entire day with no result. Meanwhile, Elijah is sitting there taunting them saying "Maybe Baal is on vacation" or "yell louder I don't think he can hear you." Kinda mean if you ask me, but he knew he was right.

After the Baalians had given up, Elijah ordered that his bull be doused with water three times. There was so much water that it filled up a trench that was dug around the slaughtered bull. Here's what happens:

³⁶ At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
 ³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
 ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"

So the people believed in God! Yay! That's good for them, right?...R-right?

⁴⁰ Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

Oh dear...

Acts 11:1-30
There's not too much going on here. After Peter returns to the other disciples, they accuse him of soliciting with Gentiles, but Peter explains the vision he had about accepting everyone into the faith.

The second part of this reading focuses on the church in a town called Antioch where Saul and someone named Barnabas taught for a year. The significant thing here is that Antioch was the first place where this group of people were called Christians.

Psalm 135:1-21
This psalm is one of very high praise for God. And yet, I find it strange for what the psalmist is praising him for...he praises him for the killing of the first born in Egypt and the murder of kings and nations. Now I know that was beneficial to the Israelites, but it's just strange to give someone such praise for such audacious acts.

Playing my own devil's advocate and looking at it from the other side, God could have easily given up on humanity at the first sign of sin, but he chose to stick with them. He chose to protect and defend one small group of people, and keep them and them alone safe from harm. To mold and shape them into the people who would eventually bear his ultimate message of love and kindness. The molding and shaping didn't really seem to stick. The people were constantly led astray by other gods and various temptations and things. So even after centuries of punishment and correction and patience, it never stuck for the Israelites, much less the rest of the world. So the only thing left to do was to die for them.

You know that quote from Jesus "There is no other way to the father except through me"? I think what Jesus meant there was not what we commonly take at surface level and say we have to believe in Jesus or we won't go to heaven. What JC is saying there is "God has tried everything else. Punishment, patience, kindness, forgiveness, and nothing has worked. The only way that you will ever be reunited with the God who loves you is if I die for you. And all you have to do is accept that."

Wow. That's pretty powerful...

Proverbs 17:12-13
 ¹² Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
       than a fool in his folly.
 ¹³ If a man pays back evil for good,
       evil will never leave his house.

Done. Let's do another!