The Blame Game
Most of my favorite movies are westerns. The plot line of most westerns involves some kind of showdown. Whether it is a shootout at the OK Corral, or something else of that nature, the major confrontation is one of the features that makes the western. However, before the showdown, there are are all kinds of things that happen to build suspense. In 1 Kings 17-18, we find one epic showdown. There’s a showdown between God and Baal and between evil King Ahab and God’s prophet, Elijah. 1 Kings 18:1-19 is the backstory that helps build the suspense. We might be tempted to rush past this passage to the miracle of Elijah calling down fire later in the chapter. However, if we did that we’d miss some important truths about God.
In 1 Kings 18:1, after three years of hiding Elijah in the wilderness, God calls Elijah to go and show himself to King Ahab. God had sent His judgment on the land because of Ahab’s rebellion and worship of Baal. The draught years had demonstrated that Baal was powerless to send rain upon the land; now was the time God was going to send rain at Elijah’s word. Elijah follows the Lord’s command and meets a man named Obadiah.
Obadiah is a godly man who fears the Lord and serves Him even though he works under the leadership of an evil king. Elijah tells Obadiah to deliver the message to King Ahab that after three years of searching, Elijah has returned. Obadiah is terrified at this idea. He pleads with Elijah. If he goes to the king, his life will be taken. Elijah assures Obadiah that he will appear before the king and so Obadiah delivers the message in spite of his apprehensions about the trouble that might come his way.
When King Ahab arrives at Elijah’s location, he calls him "the troubler of Israel." King Ahab blamed all the of troubles of the draught and the resultant economic hardships on Elijah. To be a troubler was to be someone who brought harm upon the entire nation. The idea of a troubler harkens back to the book of Joshua when Achan’s greed and disobedience led to Israel’s defeat at the battle of Ai. Acahn’s sin caused the entire nation harm. King Ahab accuses Elijah of being this kind of troubler. Elijah isn’t offended. He fires right back at Ahab, telling Ahab he is the one who has troubled Israel “because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Ba’als” (1 Kings 18:18).
There are two kinds of trouble we face in this life. There is the kind of trouble that comes on us when we obey God. That’s the kind of trouble Obadiah was worried about. He was worried that if he did as Elijah said and went to the king he’d be killed. There’s a second kind of trouble; the kind that comes when we disobey God. That was the trouble King Ahab had brought on himself and on the entire nation. That’s the worst kind of trouble. For us it is no different; the worst kind of trouble comes in our lives when we don’t obey God.
Most of us tend to think like King Ahab. King Ahab didn’t recognize the source of his trouble. He was blaming Elijah for his problems (and probably God as well). All the while the source of his problems was his own disobedience and idol worship. Are you blaming someone else for trouble that you have caused? It is so easy to do this. We blame our spouse, we blame our coworkers, we blame our children, or some leader out in the political sphere. So many times the problems we experience are the result of our own disobedience and rebellion against God. Elijah had it right. He obeyed God, and therefore he didn’t have to worry about the trouble that would come from disobeying God. That enabled him to stand with courage before King Ahab and deliver God’s message. Elijah is a great model for us today. We need to concern ourselves with obeying the Lord in these days, whether that brings trouble or not.
Check out the full message here.