The Elijah Standard
Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you
out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before
me.” (NIV)
Jehovah Nissi desired for His children to
be blessed beyond measure. They were His chosen people who were to be set apart
from the rest of the nations. They were expected to be a light unto all the
world to let the heathen nations know that Jehovah Nissi was God and only He
was to be worshiped. Despite Jehovah Nissi’s faithfulness to them, they always
returned to their wicked ways of idolatry; thus, bringing upon themselves the
judgment of God as they did during the time of Moses and the worship of the
golden calf. Exodus 32:31-35 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh,
what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of
gold. But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the
book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against
me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of,
and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,
I will punish them for their sin.” And the Lord struck the people with a plague
because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. (NIV) The Children of
Israel did not learn from their ancestors’ mistakes, so each generation became
worse than the last. As the kings went, so did the people, for they did not
have a sincere loyalty to their God.
Elijah
was a prophet of the Lord and Jehovah Nissi used him to uphold His standard of
faithfulness. He did not compromise by worshiping idols but rebuked the heathen
practice instead. Israel was being ruled by a wicked couple, King Ahab and
Queen Jezebel, who did more evil in God’s sight than any other rulers of Israel
before them. 1 Kings 16:30-33 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of
the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to
commit the sins on Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter
of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He
set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. He set
up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also
made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to
anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. (NIV) Despite God
having told the Israelites to never intermarry with foreign women, Ahab disregarded
the Lord’s commands. Ahab married a wicked woman, and not only did he marry
her, but he also worshiped her pagan idols. God held Ahab responsible for the
idol worship that took place with the Israelites. As a leader, whatever he did,
the nation of Israel would follow. Therefore, King Ahab’s blatant disrespect
for Jehovah Nissi by marrying a heathen woman and worshiping her foreign idols
angered the Lord.
In
spite of the idolatrous ways of the Israelites, God always had a remnant who
refused to bow down to idols. Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, was one of them who
upheld the standards of Jehovah Nissi. God required complete faithfulness from
those whom He called as His own. Jehovah Nissi withheld rain from the land for
over three years as spoken by Elijah, which caused a major drought. During that
time, Jehovah Nissi took care of him and saw to it that the ravens fed him
morning and evening. In the third year of the drought, Jehovah Nissi told
Elijah to go before Ahab to tell him that it was finally going to rain. God was
not doing this because of Israel’s righteousness, but even during God’s
judgments, He is still merciful.
Jezebel
had been killing off the prophets of the Lord. She hated all that was pure and
true. Obadiah, a servant of King Ahab, however, hid one hundred of them divided
into two caves and supplied them with water and food. Obadiah had a reverence for
the Jehovah Nissi and even though getting caught in defying the queen would
have meant his life, he continued to honor God and His servants.
Elijah
told King Ahab to have the people assemble at Mount Carmel along with the four
hundred and fifty of the prophets of Baal and four-hundred prophets of Asherah.
He wanted to have a showdown to allow the Children of Israel to see that
Jehovah Nissi was the only one to be worshiped and that His standard of
complete allegiance was well deserved. 1 Kings 18:16-20 So Obadiah went to
meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he
said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” 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 Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab
sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
(NIV)
Instead
of King Ahab realizing that his sins were the cause for Israel’s troubles, it
was easier for him to blame Elijah. However, Jehovah Nissi was once again about
to show that His standard was the one that reigned supreme over any foreign
gods. Elijah had the false prophets to see if their gods would rain down fire
from Heaven to consume their sacrifice in front of the people. Although they
tried all day by dancing, shouting, cutting themselves and yelling, nothing
happened. Nevertheless, when Elijah offered his sacrifice, which had had
completely drenched in water, Jehovah Nissi rained down fire. It completely
consumed the sacrifice and water. The people were able to see the error of
their ways and they responded accordingly by acknowledging Jehovah Nissi as their
God. 1
Kings 18:39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,
“The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!” (NIV)
The
Children of Israel had to be reminded that Jehovah Nissi had a standard of
worship that only He was to have. Foreign gods could do nothing for them, but
Jehovah Nissi was God above all others. He was the One who delivered them from
their Egyptian taskmasters. He was the one who gave them manna to eat in the
wilderness. He was the One who gave them water out of a rock. He was the One
who had delivered them out of the hands of their foreign enemies. He was the
One who had given them the land of milk and honey. Unfortunately, too often, their
disobedience brought about judgment, but blessings were given when they were
obedient in upholding the standards of God. Leviticus 26:1, 14-17 “So
not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not
place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.
But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you
reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and
so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you
sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and
drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will
eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated and your
enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no
one is pursuing you.” (NIV)
Elijah
had the false prophets seized and killed. Jehovah Nissi’s might was shown once
again in front of His people. He would not tolerate insolence by His people and
His banner over them was love. Elijah upheld Jehovah Nissi’s standard without
compromise, and we too must adhere and uphold the standards of Jehovah Nissi
with boldness and without fear. His name means Lord, our Banner and He covers
those who are faithful and obedient to His will. He is above all other gods and
there is no competition with Him because all other gods fail in comparison to Jehovah
Nissi who is the Lord our Banner.
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