I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
This passage tells us that king after king came to the throne of Israel and did evil. God brought them, or their sons down and wiped out their entire family. We are not really told much more than that until we come to Ahab, son of Omri, who was king when God called Elijah. Ahab we are told built a temple and altar to Baal in Samaria and set up an Ashera pole there. The passage tells us that Ahab did even more to anger God than any of the kings preceding him.
God called Elijah to go to Ahab. Elijah went to Ahab and told him that it would not rain until Elijah said otherwise. As James puts it, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” That is a powerful testimony to the power of the prayer of faith. We are told that God told Elijah to go and hide by a stream near the Jordan river. That the ravens would bring him food there. So, Elijah goes and camps where God told him and the ravens brought him food morning and evening and he drank from the stream. Elijah stayed there until the stream dried up.
God then sent Elijah to a village near Sidon, where a widow would feed him. When Elijah got to the village he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him some water and a little bread. When he asked for bread she told him that she had just enough left for one more meal for herself and her son, after which they would both starve. Elijah tells her not to worry, just bring him some bread and then prepare a meal for herself and her son. That her flour and oil will not run out until God sends rain and the crops grow again. We are told that this does indeed happen. Elijah stayed with her. Some time later, the widow’s son dies. She asks Elijah why this happened. Elijah takes the child’s body up to his room and prays to God for the child to live. The child is returned to life and Elijah gave him back to his mother.
This passage is a primer on faith and prayer. Elijah trusted God and God sent him food by way of ravens. When his water source at the place where God had the birds feed him dried up, God sent him to a widow that was in need. Notice the timing here, the water in the stream did not dry up until Elijah would arrive at the village as the widow was preparing the last meal for herself and her son. When Elijah asked for bread, the widow gave him bread even though it was the last food she had. When she acted in faith, God provided for her and her son. When the widows son died, Elijah called out to God and God raised her son from the dead. Do we today have the faith to act as the widow did? Do we even have faith to act as Elijah did and pray for such a miracle? Or even to follow Elijah’s example and count on God to provide for our needs? Would we be willing to camp by a stream and count on birds to bring us food?
When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, Cornelius attempts to worship him but Peter prevents him from doing so. Peter then enters Cornelius’ home where he explains that God has shown him that he should not think of anyone as impure or unclean. Peter began preaching to those who havdgathered at Cornelius’ house (we are told that Cornelius had called together his relatives and close friends). As he is preaching, the Holy Spirit came upon those who were listening to him. The Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that God poured out his Holy Spirit on gentiles. When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit had come upon those present, he instructed that they should be baptized.
This passage is an important one for us as Christians to return to regularly. There are a couple of points. First, God shows no favoritism. He will pour out His Spirit on any who seek Him, no matter what state they are in when they begin seeking Him. Second, we should think of no one as impure or unclean, as someone we should not associate with. God is calling us to preach the Gospel to all who will hear. There are times when Christians think that certain groups are especially condemned of God, whether it be drunks, or drug addicts, or the wealthy or whatever group you can think of that is somehow too far away from God for Him to reach. The point of this passage is that there is no such group. No one is beyond the reach of God. We as Christians are called to pray for everyone we meet and to preach the Gospel to them. We do not know whom God will send His Spirit upon to convict of their sins. We must be prepared to minister to those whom God calls, no matter how distasteful we might find them. Beyond that, we are called to learn to not find them distasteful, but as sinners called by God to repentance, just as we are. I am a sinner called by God to repentance. I have no room to look down on others for their sins.
The psalmist calls on all servants of the Lord to praise God. If we are servants of God, we should be praising God. If we are praising God, we are servants of God. Even those who serve at night, when no one really notices, should praise God for the opportunity to serve Him. Whatever way we are called to serve God, we should praise God. Even if we are called to some task that no one ever notices, we should recognize that we are serving God.
When we forgive those who have done something blameworthy to us, our love for them and their love for us gets stronger. On the other hand, when we keep thinking about something someone close has done that bothers us, it creates distance between us. The second proverb tells us that those who are wise will take even a single rebuke to heart, while those who are foolish will not learn from severe punishment. Finally, we are told that those who are looking for an opportunity to challenge authority are likely evil.