Sermon Snippet – One of the Few – Part III
INTRODUCTION – The prophet Elijah thought that he was alone as a man of faith in Israel, but God assured him that there were still a few fellow believers (I Kings 19:14, 18), including the government official Obadiah (I Kings 18:1-16) and the prophet Elisha (I Kings 19:19-21 – likely his parents were people of faith, also). Almost all of the “seven thousand” (I Kings 19:18), though, remain unnamed and unknown to us. I Kings 20:1-30 reveals another prophet, unnamed but not unknown, a strong witness in a wicked society.
1. EVEN THE MOST EVIL PEOPLE DESERVE A WITNESS (verses 1-15)
Ahab, a truly vile man, faced a serious military threat. Humanly speaking, he deserved defeat and destruction, for he knew the truth but never followed God. He had deliberately departed from the Jewish faith and had embraced the false gods of the subjugated Canaanites. Yet, God speaks to this apostate through an unnamed prophet (verse 13) – and gives a good message! Certainly this promise of deliverance was not prompted by even a hint of godliness in Ahab. Rather, it reveals God’s grace as He reaches out to mankind, created in His image (Genesis 1:26-28). God has an abiding interest in all people. Also, we see that the plans and purposes of God have many strands. If we looked at pagan Ahab only, we would expect a message of impending judgment. However, the many strands of God’s work of salvation include a witness to Ahab, to this prophet, to the few believers in Israel, to Israel itself, to the Syrians, to us today. When we pass through personal difficulties, even tragedies, we are looking at only one strand of God’s multi-faceted work. Similarly, we might wonder why the return of Jesus to rescue us from this wicked world of woe seems to be delayed. However, He is giving others a chance to repent, providing us a chance to be employed for good, presenting the angels a chance to marvel at God’s mercy and grace, and furnishing mankind a chance to prove again that we cannot make things better. Undoubtedly, there are other strands that we cannot see now. However, like this unnamed prophet, we are called to be witnesses to a world full of apostates.
2. EVIL IS UNFORTUNATELY ELASTIC (ADAPTABLE) (VERSES 16-25)
The evil Syrians were soundly thrashed, but the prophet warns that they would return (verse 22). Evil does not just go away. Satan thought that he had thwarted God at the Cross, found out at Jesus’ empty tomb that he had lost, and continues to fight in a myriad of ways (for example, Matthew 24:24 and II Thessalonians 2:3). On the personal level, the same temptations and, sometimes, the same sins best us. Each of us still possesses a sin nature in a sin-cursed world that is getting worse. As part of today’s minority, we will be the special objects of evil’s assault. The prophet’s command to Ahab is also applicable to us: “Go, strengthen thyself and mark [take note] and see what thou doest” (verse 22).
3. EVIL IS EVERYWHERE (VERSES 26-30)
The foolish Syrians believed in localized, provincial gods; but a god of limited power is not our God! However, we must be careful not to become pagans in practice and Christians in theology only. It is possible to believe that Jesus saves us from our sins but not from much else, that He is powerless in this evil world, or, perhaps, inattentive and inactive. II Peter 3:3-7 is one Biblical exposition of this defective view of God and must be taken literally and seriously, for evil can infect and infest even the doctrine of the Church.
CONCLUSION – There are many strands of God’s plans and purposes, but all of them lead to one mighty conclusion: we need Jesus as Savior. We must repent – turn from our own stubborn way to the saving way of Jesus (II Peter 3:8-10). We do not as Christians then understand each strand, but we do comprehend the end (verses 11-13). Like the unnamed prophet, we are God’s witnesses to the truth. By His grace, may we be strong witnesses in a wicked society. “If ye do not stand in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9b – NIV).