Darkest Before the Dawn
“Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”—1 Kings 16:31a
Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” begins with the famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” The same could be said concerning the time of Elijah. It was the best of times because God was working through a man “with a nature like ours” (see James 5:17) to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself (see 1 Kings 18:37). But before the dawning light of Elijah’s ministry came the pervasive, stifling spiritual darkness under the wicked King Ahab. Under his reign, it truly could be considered “the worst of times.”
The nation of Israel had turned from God to the false god, Baal, with Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel leading the charge. Idolatry and immorality were rampant as darkness reigned over the land. Baal was the Canaanite fertility god whose followers engaged in a litany of sexual deviancy—including all kinds of practices that today we would consider among the most sordid and disturbing imaginable. The “worst of times” don’t seem that far from our own. It was the darkest time in Israel’s history, but, as the expression goes, it gets darkest right before the dawn. Hope was lost, zeal for the one true God was at an all-time low, immorality and idolatry were the rule (not the exception), and evil reigned.
Even the most ardent and zealous saint can get down when looking at our world today. Our time is not so different from that of Elijah—abortion, homosexuality, incest, divorce, fornication, adultery, rape, and all kinds of idolatry. What God condemns as sin, our world tries to redefine and trumpet in the name of tolerance. The headlines are rife with scandals and salacious gossip, but our world is without any moral compass to pronounce judgment. Sin is packaged as mere entertainment—meant to tease and tantalize our hearts and minds with the sordid details of a world adrift at sea, without anchor or navigation—floating, and prey to every cultural whim and wave this world can throw at it.
Like ancient Israel, we are ripe for judgment. God is patient and kind, but there is a time when He says, “No more” and judgment is passed. It was Israel’s darkest hour and judgment was looming. Even when the shadow of God’s hand is about to pass over in judgment, God gives hope. He sends a prophet to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself—boldly empowering and speaking through him. Elijah was such a man. From the backwoods of Tishbe, dressed in a garment of hair and a leather belt, he appears on the scene without fanfare, pedigree or education; he was simply a man “with a nature just like us” (James 5:17). But God used this ordinary man to do extraordinary things because He wholeheartedly followed an extraordinary God. Through Elijah, God turned the hearts of His people back to Himself, and He can still do the same today. God still uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve come from; God can use you to transform the world for Christ. Amen.
Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” begins with the famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” The same could be said concerning the time of Elijah. It was the best of times because God was working through a man “with a nature like ours” (see James 5:17) to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself (see 1 Kings 18:37). But before the dawning light of Elijah’s ministry came the pervasive, stifling spiritual darkness under the wicked King Ahab. Under his reign, it truly could be considered “the worst of times.”
The nation of Israel had turned from God to the false god, Baal, with Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel leading the charge. Idolatry and immorality were rampant as darkness reigned over the land. Baal was the Canaanite fertility god whose followers engaged in a litany of sexual deviancy—including all kinds of practices that today we would consider among the most sordid and disturbing imaginable. The “worst of times” don’t seem that far from our own. It was the darkest time in Israel’s history, but, as the expression goes, it gets darkest right before the dawn. Hope was lost, zeal for the one true God was at an all-time low, immorality and idolatry were the rule (not the exception), and evil reigned.
Even the most ardent and zealous saint can get down when looking at our world today. Our time is not so different from that of Elijah—abortion, homosexuality, incest, divorce, fornication, adultery, rape, and all kinds of idolatry. What God condemns as sin, our world tries to redefine and trumpet in the name of tolerance. The headlines are rife with scandals and salacious gossip, but our world is without any moral compass to pronounce judgment. Sin is packaged as mere entertainment—meant to tease and tantalize our hearts and minds with the sordid details of a world adrift at sea, without anchor or navigation—floating, and prey to every cultural whim and wave this world can throw at it.
Like ancient Israel, we are ripe for judgment. God is patient and kind, but there is a time when He says, “No more” and judgment is passed. It was Israel’s darkest hour and judgment was looming. Even when the shadow of God’s hand is about to pass over in judgment, God gives hope. He sends a prophet to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself—boldly empowering and speaking through him. Elijah was such a man. From the backwoods of Tishbe, dressed in a garment of hair and a leather belt, he appears on the scene without fanfare, pedigree or education; he was simply a man “with a nature just like us” (James 5:17). But God used this ordinary man to do extraordinary things because He wholeheartedly followed an extraordinary God. Through Elijah, God turned the hearts of His people back to Himself, and He can still do the same today. God still uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve come from; God can use you to transform the world for Christ. Amen.
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