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We Didn’t Start the Fire

Words of Wisdom We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel
Sacred Words 1 Kings 18:21-39

Our scripture is set during the reign of Ahab in the northern  kingdom that came into being as the unified kingdom fell apart in our reading last week. Thirty-eight years later Ahab begins his reign as the seventh king of the northern kingdom, of Israel.Elijah-the-prophet (1)

Israel has been plagued with one king right after another since the time of Jeroboam and now they have Ahab. Ahab is not a good king. He marries Jezebel, a worshiper of the storm god Baal, and together the monarchy moves away from YHWH. (YHWH refers to the one we call God. YHWH is translated in English as “the Lord.”)

As Ahab moves the kingdom further and further away from YHWH, many people kind’ve follow YHWH and kind’ve follow Baal. God calls Elijah to the prophetic life in this troubling time.

In our scripture lesson this week the prophet Elijah challenges the followers of the god Baal to a contest to determine who is the one God. The Baalists go first calling upon their god to start the fire over the bulls being sacrificed. Elijah mocks them as morning becomes afternoon and evening.

In the end, Elijah calls upon YHWH whose fire lights the sacrifice even after being drenched in water.

This scripture raises multiple questions for us:

  • Do we really follow God and Jesus or are we just kind’ve Christians and kind’ve secularists and kind’ve something else?
  • Do we, like the Baalist priests dancing around their altar believe that if we just put on the right show, God will fix everything? Do we somehow think we can start the fire?
  • Though tolerance and understanding are consistent with the arc of the biblical witness, do we risk losing our own faith when we pull in too many ideas from other faiths? Is there a line and, if so, where is it?

Please read 1 Kings 18:21-39 prayerfully before Sunday in your favorite translation or in the Common English Bible included in this email. (If you’d like to participate in a Bible Study about this passage, please go click here. )

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