Elijah challenged the people: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!” Nobody said a word; nobody made a move. (I Kings 18:21, Message)
I can be a slow decision maker, particularly with high-priced or valuable items. If I need to purchase an appliance or home school curriculum, for example, I will spend time perusing the internet for feedback. I need to hear experiences from real users in similar situations to know if or not this product or item may be suitable for my needs. I’m trying to avoid buyer’s regret by taking all these steps.
Things were getting overly corrupt in and around the Israelites…again. Elijah challenged the people to make a choice. They’d been weighing the matter long enough. Time was up. Were they going to choose the real God or the false Baal?
God had proven himself repeatedly to the world. He’d shown His glory and majesty and sovereignty in miraculous ways. Yet, too many still opted to turn a blind eye to God and His impeccable record. They preferred to flirt with a false, unproven God than to have faith in One who was also the Creator. Sadly, no one responded to Elijah’s call.
So they went on to have a demonstration between the various believers. The Baal worshippers spent hours beseeching for their cries to be heard. They exhausted themselves to no avail. Then Elijah stepped up, saturated his altar with water, and received a response from God within a matter of moments. When the people witnessed God’s amazing reply to Elijah’s call, they immediately began to acknowledge Him. Finally.
But it was too late by then. They had waited too long and the Baal prophets had their lives cut short that very day.
When I have all necessary information in front of me, why drag out the decision?
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Linking up with Kate and her five minute Friday community today.