The sixteenth chapter of 1 Kings ends with King Ahab ascending the throne of Israel. Ahab was an evil man who, according to verse 33, "did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him." America, don't miss the parallel here between Ahab and many of our current governing administration. Jump forward to 1 Kings chapter 17...Enter...Elijah...When I read verse 1 I usually imagine some kind of awesome theme music (The first few bars of "Hold On Loosely" perhaps. Feel free to imagine the song of your choice...except "Danger Zone". I just can't condone that.) as one of my personal favorite men of God makes his first Biblical appearance by confronting the most wicked king Israel had ever known. Just when Ahab thought he would go unchecked, he ran headlong into the man of God. Unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah we are not told anything about Elijah's past or his calling to serve the Lord. He just steps forward almost as if from nowhere in 1 Kings 17, and proceeds to drive King Ahab absolutely crazy. So, how did he do it? He knew God, he trusted God and he obeyed God. As I have already said, we live in a world that is doing everything it can to blaspheme the Lord and destroy itself. We are to the world what Elijah was to Ahab. We are the outstretched hand of God's grace. Instead of receiving the Lord's grace, Ahab persistently rejected it and was frustrated by it. He hated when Elijah showed up. He even tried to have Elijah killed, but failed. We have been established as the fence posts in God's boundary between right and wrong. Like Elijah, to some we will be the life-saving hand of grace while to others we will be a frustration that must be removed. Don't fear them, but continue in the good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Yes, the theme music is just my imagination as I read about one of my heroes. The reality is that Elijah was a man who walked humbly with the Lord and was obedient to His Word. We have to do the same. The world will be confounded when the Lord's boundary stands against their best efforts to move it. As a result some will just continue to be confounded, but some will see and will glorify the Lord because of it. But, like Elijah, as long as we stand the world will be forced to acknowledge the Lord one way or another.