Today’s Reading

1 Kings 16-18; John 1:29-51

Selected Verses

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. I Kings 18:21

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. John 1:35-37

Reflections

Israel under King Ahab continued in the rebellious ways of Jeroboam. God sent a prophet, Elijah, to proclaim a drought as a means of getting their attention. This went on for three years, but the nation did not cry out to God. They continued to put hope in the false god Baal. Elijah called for a showdown, a battle of the gods on Mount Carmel. As this definitive demonstration of the truth began, Elijah described the people as limping between two different opinions. They tried to use the Lord and Baal to solve their problems, but the Lord would not allow this kind of syncretism.

We know from our reading how this turned out. The Lord God of heaven and earth was shown to be the only one who could act. Baal and his prophets were exposed as frauds. Any reasonable person would give up following Baal and fully follow the Lord.

In Jesus’ early ministry, John the Baptist introduced Him to his disciples as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (vs. 29). The next day, as Jesus walked by, two of John’s disciples heard him say, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Maybe these two had thought about John’s comment overnight. Maybe they had tossed and turned pondering what they should do. Their teacher, John, was saying that this Jesus was greater than he was, One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. They must have thought, “It’s time to follow Jesus” because follow Him they did.

Think about it

God will not allow us to go limping between two opinions. Are you following Him or the god of our culture? Are you following the One who came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world? Only He is more powerful than Baal. Only He takes away sin. Stop limping and follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads.

© 2017 John A Carroll Used by permission