Elijah's proposal is simple, kill a bull, prepare it for
sacrifice, gather the wood for the fire and then ask your god to light that
fire and I will do the same. For several
hours the prophets of Baal danced and prayed around their altar. They danced until they developed such tender
feet that they had to "limp" around the altar. As the time passed their cries became more
fervent and then were accompanied by cutting themselves as part of their custom
to get Baal to answer. Elijah is
taunting them all the while as they seek to implore their god to act and prove
himself. When they finally have had
their turn, they are a bloody mess and nothing has happened. Elijah raises the bar for Yahweh by soaking
the wood on the altar with water three times (a lot of water for a nation where
it is in scarce supply). He makes a
simple plea, prove yourself and return the nation to you. Immediately a raging inferno consumes the
sacrifice and the people begin to praise the Lord. Elijah then orders those who led them astray
to be killed, just as had been done in the wilderness by the Levites. The people comply, they have seen enough to
know, at least this day, that Yahweh is indeed powerful.
John is like Elijah, in fact, Jesus says of him that John
was the fulfillment of the promise of Malachi that Elijah would return to
presage the coming of Messiah. John
lives apart from the nation and his appearance and diet are a sign that the
nation needs to heed. He will not avail
himself of the comforts of the world because he knows the world is about to be
judged. John could and should have been
a priest like his father but he chose a life not at the center of the nation
but on the periphery. His message was
authentic and the people responded by confessing their sins in preparation for
the coming of the Lord. The leaders,
however, were less than genuine in their coming out, they were doing it so the
people wouldn't utterly reject them in favor of John. John knew it and he had the authority of God
to call them out, he wasn't beholden to any of them. We need more men as leaders who are like
John, working for one alone. Only then
can we speak truth.
Paul is such a man.
He has been there and done that with respect to the confidence the law
might provide, the external covering of righteous actions. He has found, however, that in that he did
not recognize true righteousness, he was one of those whom John castigated as a
brood of vipers. Paul had his "come
to Jesus" moment and it changed him forever. He knew that Jesus was perfect and real
righteousness and that his own, well meaning as it may have been to him, was
nothing at all, because his heart was a mess.
The flesh isn't the solution, the heart is the real problem. He now knows the solution to that problem,
the power of Jesus' resurrection and the indwelling Holy Spirit which leads to
understanding and real righteousness. Pursuit of that righteousness is
never-ending in that it requires constant attention and obedience to the voice
of the Spirit. Boldness comes from the
knowledge that Jesus has indeed overcome the world so we might not fear it.
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