The Real Deal or useless fakes
which do you choose…
'“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord ’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord ’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord . The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” ' 1 Kings 18:18-24
as an asian with family and friends from various countries that produce knockoffs, i’ve seen my fair share of ‘almost original’ goods (shoes, handbags, wallets, watches, etc.). some are very difficult to tell, while others you just know by looking at it that it’s not authentic.
the chapters and verses ahead of 18 describes how the previous kings, rulers fell away, stop following The Lord, God Almighty alone, and their hearts were turned to the various idols and gods from the people they conquered and captured. this led to God turning from His people.
it is easy to get pulled away from the things you know to be true and trust when you allow others who aren’t in alignment with your beliefs to have sway or control over you. starts with small things - giving you attention, making you feel good, distracting you from following Jesus because they don’t. little by little their influence becomes greater, stronger and you don’t see it coming. what was once your firm foundation becomes an afterthought. that is until you need help and the new ‘gods’ and people in your life aren’t there to provide it.
sometimes words are not enough to convince people, even when your evidence and points are obviously true, and you must demonstrate or prove your case. in verses 22-24, elijah (The Lord’s last prophet) issued a challenge to the 450 so-called prophets of baal, that whichever sacrifice that each put out would be consumed by fire, that would be the one and only, true God.
elijah had the other side go first. for hours nothing happened; elijah even provides encouragement (mockingly) to them that they should yell louder in case their god was ‘deep in thought’; as they danced and tortured themselves for most of the day, still nothing happened.
after a while, elijah prepared the altar to which he was sacrificing to The Lord, and just before doing so, he PRAYED:
Lord, the 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. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again
when he was done, God burned up everything, proving that there is no other besides Him, that when you call on Him, He listens and does respond. when the people saw it they were cried out that The Lord is God! turning their hearts back to The One and Only - Elohim, Yahweh.
disobedience has a cost - most children don’t understand the consequences until it happens; it sucks as a parent to discipline them but, in the end, it is a lesson they need to learn. we need to stay on track with what we know is true - The Word of God, His Promises. don’t deviate, don’t allow people or this world to trick us into believing otherwise, so we won’t have our hearts hardened and turned away from The One that loves us more than anyone in the world does. i understand sometimes the fake stuff looks good, the flip side is that you just really aren’t getting the real deal. question is, why settle for anything less?
Father God, thank you for showing me how real you are in my life. all that you have done for me, my family, and those that i love. help me Lord Jesus to never turn away from trusting and believing in you. may your Words and Promises be etched on my heart, allowing me to be fed and nurtured from them. in your Holy and Powerful Name we pray, amen!