- And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 1 Kings 18:29 – The showdown between the prophets of the false god Baal and Elijah the prophet of the true God is underway within our chapter. The challenge was for each group to offer a bull on an altar to their god, yet not to light it on fire. Whichever god responded to their prayers by burning up the sacrifice would be declared the winning and real god. The Baal prophets went first, and when we seek to imagine this scene unfolding, its kind of heartbreaking. Starting out in the morning they are going hard in their prayers; leaping, dancing wildly, and yelling to Baal. After a few hours of this they began to cut themselves hoping their own blood would get the attention of their god. Yet, by evening time, after seeking the attention of their god for hours and even shredding their own blood, we see the response they got in our verse above. Nothing, no god answered their cries, no god paid attention to their sacrifices. How often are we finding ourselves in the very spot of these prophets of Baal? Likely we aren’t crying out to some idol for fire to consume a sacrificed bull, but how often are we seeking help in life from things that are not God? We chase that next dollar because it’s the thing that provides for our family. We strive for the next positive comment and like on social media because it’s the thing that provides us our self-worth and identity. Yet the dollar and the likes truly provide nothing for you. You cry out to them and the response will be the same the prophets of Baal got…nothing. Yet the Lord is alive and listening. Call upon Him, He is here and He is ready to move on behalf of His people. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3062
- 1 Kings 18 Daily DEVO And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 1 Kings18:35 – In order for God’s power and love to be known by others, we may have to give up what’s most precious to us. For this story that was water. Remember they were in a long drought and water had become one of the most precious commodities. Now they are dumping jars of it on an altar to the point it’s overflowing into the ground. The end result of all this though was people having their eyes opened to the fact that God really was God. What then might be something precious to you that you’re holding onto and as a result people aren’t hearing about God’s love like they could be? Your time? Your reputation? Your grudge? Pour it out on the altar and let the result be people hearing about Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1019
- And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 1 Kings 18:3-4 – God is always working, even when you don’t see it. Here we have Obadiah, a close servant of the king remaining faithful to the Lord despite the sinfulness in the kingdom. So God was still establishing His people in key leadership roles. Then we we see a hundred faithful prophets being kept safe in the midst of a treacherous time for followers of God. It would have appeared from the outside that God was defeated and gone, yet He remained and was continuing to carry out His plans. He was present and still in charge, and best yet, He was still working. Don’t allow the circumstances of the season or struggle you are in cause you to believe God isn’t working anymore. His moves might not be clearly seen at the moment, but His work is not done. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2202
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