New Gods

Many of us think that idols are only carved images, but an idol is anything or anyone who takes the place of God in our lives. It causes us to lose focus and sway our hearts away from the Lord. It distracts us from worshipping and praying to God. God must be supreme and first in our lives, before anything or anyone. “You shall have no other gods before me.You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:3-6).” 

Elijah was a prophet and there was a severe famine in Samaria. The famine was caused by the unfaithfulness of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Jezebel was killing God’s followers and turning the people away from the one true God. God told Elijah to go and speak to King Ahab. Obadiah was the King’s administrator and and a believer in Christ who helped save hundred prophets from Jezebel. King Ahab tells Obadiah that they will split the land and go search for some grass to keep the horses and mules alive, hoping not to have to kill their animals. Obadiah runs into Elijah who tells him to go tell King Ahab, Elijah is here. Obadiah with some hesitation finally agrees and tells Ahab that Elijah is waiting for him. 

Ahab and Elijah meet up and Elijah tells King Ahab that his family and himself have abandoned the Lord’s command and followed the Baals. Baal, a false god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities. He was considered a fertility deity and Baal means owner or lord. The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place or refers to Baalim in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities of various locations. They also worship Asherah who was a Goddess and was often paired with Baal. Elijah tells King Ahab to summon all the people of Israel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah to meet him on Mount Carmel. 

Elijah issues a challenge to the prophets of Baal, in Verse 22-24 Elijah states  “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

The prophets of Baal prepare the bull and call on their god Baal. They call on him from morning till noon and they danced around the alter they made. Elijah begins to taunt them, to shout louder, and suggests maybe their god is in deep thought, sleeping or busy. The prophets begin to slash themselves the swords and spears, as was their custom. Blood began to flow from them and they shouted even louder. Still no response or fire to sacrifice the bull. The evening came and still no response. 

In Verse 30-39 we see the true power of the One and Only God. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Now a days we see much more worship to idols instead of the One true God. The new gods of america distract us from true worship. They are the same old idols/false gods manifested for this new generation. God of Media, Technology, Money, Power, Lust, which cause our relationship with God to weaken. They distract us from true worship. We see it all around us, in churches and society. Teenagers on their phones during church, people focused on fame and followers, so called Christians being racist and full of hate, false teachings to lure numbers and not the faithful, the holy union of marriage being desecrated etc. We are settling to appease the masses but God wants our full love and attention. We must be like Elijah and the faithful prophets that Obadiah saved from Jezebel. Even in the moments of persecution, God is the only true hope. 

In a world where everything is at out fingertips, has that driven us closer to God or further away? No creation of man or fake deity can equal the power of God. Nothing in this world can fill our spirit like the one true God. He is the only truth and everlasting life. Men continue to praise false gods, and rather live a worldly life than a spiritual one. The Bible tells us how the story ends and God is victorious. God has a purpose and a plan way beyond our understanding. Elijah made it even more difficult by adding a trench and filling it with water around the alter. It does not matter what obstacle is placed in front of God, he is all powerful and mighty. No other gods can compare to his all mighty power. Do not let the gods of the world distract you from the truth. Our God is all powerful, all knowing and there are none that can compare to his power. God’s true power will be shown when he is ready.