1 Kings Chapters 18-19 records some important events in the life of the Prophet Elijah, as God used him alone to confront 450 prophets of Baal. Through the great prophet, God glorified himself in the midst of the people by exposing the futility of false god worship and destroying the 450 prophets of Baal. As result of this great feat, King Ahab’s wife (Jezebel) threatened Elijah’s life, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of the them (Baal prophets) by this time tomorrow” (1 Kgs 19:2). Elijah despaired and fled to Mount Horeb (also referred to as the Mountain of God). It is here where Elijah laments his burden of hopelessness, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kgs 19:10).
Like Elijah, it appears that David is also experiencing the overwhelming feeling of being outnumbered by his adversaries. He cries out to God, “Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man” (v1). Bible Scholars are unsure of the specific event that is occurring in the life of David that he speaks of. He laments that the foundations of the society he lived in were rotten due to moral decay and abounding corruption. He prayed that God would bring to nothing the schemes and words of the wicked and end their boasting as they with prideful hearts said within themselves, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?” At this point, his situation looks grim.
What should we learn from David’s response in the crisis? In spite of how he felt, he turned to God, thus the opening of his prayer, “Save, O Lord…” He expressed confidence that God would respond and overthrow the godless, “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, ‘I will rise,’ says the Lord; I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
What events in our own world enable us to relate to David’s anxiety? We also live in a fallen society where it seems that lawlessness abounds (and increasing), where the many are haters of God who are insolent, prideful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless (Rom 1:29-30). If we spend any time on social media or watching the news, we should appreciate the words of Agur the Son of Jakeh who observed, “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. (12) There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. (13) There are those how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! (14) There are those who teeth are swords, who fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind” (Prv 30:11-14).
With so much evil in the world, what are the righteous to do? Like David, we must look unto God. By seeking God, we will gain encouragement, strength and knowledge that (1) God is for us, and (2) He has not left us alone on the earth. The saints suffer many things all over the world, but also enjoy the refuge of God who is our hope in all of it. God corrects Elijah thinking to be in line with this truth as God always preserves a remnant of his servants in the earth. He encourages him, “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kgs 19:18). In addition, Peter reminds the exiled Christian’s in the 1st Century about the story of Lot who was considered the only righteous person in the midst of the wicked cities of Sodom & Gomorrah. He reassures the saints that God guards them and knows who to rescue his people from trial, from the overwhelming odds of haters of God (2 Pt 2:6-9). Like David, it is these truths we trust in when the odds appear not in our favor. Remember, it only appears that way (e.g. 2 Kgs 6:15-19).
In Part 2 of this devotion next week, we’ll finish David’s prayer as he exalts in the steadfast love of God over his people. Amen.
Blessings,
Dr. Jason S. Price, Th.D
www.springoflivingwaters.com