Psalm 69; 2 Kings 1:2-17; 1 Cor. 3:16-23; Matt. 5:11-16
Ahaziah sinned in seeking answers not from Yahweh but from a false God, Baal-zebub, concerning the outcome of his sickness. Elijah meets the messengers sent to inquire of the god and asks a simple question, “Why are you seeking this information from another god?” Because of his apostasy, the answer to the king’s question was that he would not recover but would die. The teams of soldiers sent are more obedient to the wicked king than to Yahweh and in their boldness in coming against the man of God they pay the price. The final captain knows the power of the Lord is greater than the power of the king and humbles himself before the prophet and is blessed for his humility. Finally, the prophet announces the verdict to the king himself, but not before he asks the question directly. The king had chances to repent and would not, there was the possibility of mercy but he chose to continue in his wicked ways.
The words of Jesus are addressed to the community, not simply to individuals present. The word “you” can be translated “y’all.” We are saved as individuals but we are then incorporated into a larger community and we, collectively, are to be salt and light. Too often we miss this distinction and fail to understand the significance of a corporate witness as salt and light. We represent a larger whole, the body of Christ, in all that we do and say. When outsiders see and hear us as Christians we bring either fame or disrepute to the whole. The body of Christ is often judged by interaction with individual Christians. We need one another to encourage us in persecution and in our witness and we need one another for accountability.
What does Paul mean when he says we are God’s temple? The temple was the place where God’s glory dwelt. The same Holy Spirit that filled the temple fills us. The most dangerous moment of the entire Jewish year was at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when the high priest went into the holy of holies for the only time of the year in order to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant, on behalf of the nation. This was not for personal sins within the nation but for the nation itself which was the covenant people. If they had been unfaithful to the covenant and the Lord did not forgive those sins, the high priest would be killed in the presence of the Lord. We should continue in the fear of the Lord all the days of our lives. We should seek after sanctification that we might know His pleasure always. To be the temple of God is to say that we are the place His glory dwells and in order for that to be revealed to the world we must seek holiness.
And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
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