Elijah left the home of the widow and her son in Zarephath a changed man. In the years between his first encounter with Ahab and his journey to Mt. Carmel, Elijah had matured and his faith and obedience had deepened. He began the next portion of his journey with no more direction than, “Go and present yourself to Ahab” (1 Kings 18:1).
One of Ahab’s closest associates, Obadiah, was out wandering in the countryside looking for patches of grass (and, no, I don’t think he was looking to smoke a joint) to feed the kings livestock. Obadiah and Elijah had what seemed to be a chance encounter on the dusty, rain-starved plain.
Chance encounter? I recall the statement of one prayer warrior who said, “The more I pray and seek the Lord, the more I have chance encounters that open new doors for ministry.” While it seemed like an accidental meeting, it was not.
Elijah’s “chance encounter” with Obadiah was the first part of God’s plan to get the prophet back in Ahab’s face. But the encounter also gives us a glimpse into the terrible spiritual condition of Israel.
It’s easy to lose sight of Obadiah’s pathetic spiritual condition if you only see him as the person hiding one hundred of God’s prophets from the murderous Jezebel. That was a commendable act, of course. But you also must ask yourself, “How did this man get into a position of authority if he wasn’t a willing participant in the evil religious behavior of his day?” Baal worship included child sacrifice and all types of deviant sexual behavior—it was grossly evil.
Obadiah was an example, an illustration of what was going on in the whole nation. Later in this story, when he finally arrived on Mt. Carmel, Elijah challenged the thousands of Jews that had gathered. “How long will you waver (halt) between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (18:21 NIV).
The meaning of the word waver (halt) means “to limp.” Elijah’s statement to the assembled Jews was, “Your attempt to live in two worlds has crippled you.” The Jews were nominally following the teachings of Jehovah God but they were also freely indulging in the pagan idolatry of Baal. Elijah called them to a decision: “Who are you going to serve?”
Obadiah was a conflicted and fearful person. He didn’t trust Elijah and he was afraid of Ahab. He was a man with a divided, fearful heart, trying to please God while also eating at the table of the devil, and it had crippled him in spirit.
Obadiah and the Jewish nation at this time form a picture of many in the church world today. They love the Lord but they don’t fully trust Him. At the same time, they are afraid of the world, afraid to displease, afraid they will be made to pay a price if they show a full allegiance to God and so they live with a divided heart.
Elijah asked Obadiah to take the message to Ahab that he wanted to meet with him. The idea of being the messenger did not thrill Obadiah and he responded, “What did I do wrong? Do you want to get me killed?” (vv. 9 and14).
Finally Elijah prevailed and Obadiah agreed to take the message to Ahab. Interestingly, Ahab immediately responded and went to meet the prophet he has been hunting for three and a half years. Ahab was so determined to kill Elijah that he sent assassins to every nearby nation to look for him.
When the two protagonists finally met, Ahab greeted Elijah with, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” It is the nature of the carnal world to blame everything they can on the righteous. Human nature does not change. In Acts 17, Paul was preaching in Thessalonica and, as often happened, the Jews got very irritated and began to demonstrate against the gospel and Paul. They took some of the new believers before the city officials and accused them, “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” To the carnal, when the world is turned right side up, their distorted mind views it as turned upside down.
Elijah’s response to Ahab was simple and direct. “I am not the one who has troubled Israel. You and your family have brought this pain on the nation. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and given yourself to Baal. Call the nation to come to Mt. Carmel and bring four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who are under your wife’s protection. Let’s get it on!”
Surprisingly, Ahab offered no resistance. I wonder if in his perverted mind he reasoned, “One man can’t stand up to eight hundred and fifty.” So Ahab sent word throughout the nation that the “Grand Smackdown” would take place on Mt. Carmel.
What a showdown that would be! In the natural, the odds were eight hundred and fifty to one. One man of God against eight hundred and fifty demon-possessed prophets of hell In the spiritual world it was war, and it would be Baal, the demonic god of fertility and productivity, against Jehovah God, Who answers by fire (18:22).
Next week, “The God Who Answers by Fire.”
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
FEEDING THE HUNGRY AND RAISING THE DEAD
Elijah was a changed man when he left the Cherith Ravine—challenging circumstances will do that to a person. Difficulties cause us to grow and mature, press in to God and learn to walk in faith, or they have the totally opposite effect. If Elijah had complained and whined instead of listening and learning, he would have been just another prophet who disappeared and was never heard from again.
Elijah left Cherith as a man of God in the making. What happened to him at Zarephath would complete the preparations for his encounter with the demonic prophets of Baal and Asheroth on Mt. Carmel.
God told Elijah, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there, I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food” (1 Kings 17:9 NIV). Right away we see a test of Elijah’s faith because Zarephath was in enemy territory. Sidon was ruled by Jezebel’s father, the high priest of Baal. God was hiding Elijah right under the nose of his enemies.
Zarephath means “the place of refining.” At Cherith God had begun to cut away everything that hindered Elijah’s becoming a man of God and at Zarephath God would polish and refine to get him ready for the encounter with demonic power on Mt. Carmel. Elijah would remain at Zarephath until the refining was complete.
We are given the opportunity to see and understand two major events at Zarephath. The first involved the word God gave to Elijah regarding the widow and her food supply.
Under Old Testament law, widows were protected by God Himself and no one (and that included priests and prophets) was to put demands upon widows.
So was God contradicting His own law? No! God’s statement to Elijah was, “I have put it in the heart of this woman to feed you.” Elijah instantly understood what was happening when he met the widow, recognized the desperate circumstances she was in, and realized he needed to give her an opportunity to respond.
While it appeared that the woman was going to feed Elijah—and she did—actually Elijah was there to care for her and her son and to bring the miraculous power of God into their lives. This was a powerful lesson for him about faith and obedience.
After the widow provided Elijah a drink of water, he said to her, “For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land’” (17:14 NIV). And that is exactly what happened.
Elijah stayed with the widow and her son for two to three years. Sometime late in the stay, the young boy took sick and died. The widow was angry and heartbroken and she accused Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (v. 18).
Elijah did not respond to the woman’s accusation; he simply said, “Give me your son” (v. 19). Elijah then retreated to his room with the body of the boy and began to pray
.
There is no scriptural record of anyone being raised from the dead before this time. New ground was being broken as the man of God prayed a prayer of faith that had never been prayed before.
I believe that Elijah was operating within the understanding of the same word that brought him to Zarepheth—that he was to care for this woman and her household. It was at Zarephath that Elijah’s faith matured so that he could speak the word of the Lord with faith over the flour and oil, and then with confidence pray the prayer of faith over the dead boy.
Elijah knew what he was to do because of the word the Lord had given him, and because at Cherith he had learned to walk in daily communion with Him. Elijah had learned to know and to understand the voice of God.
Verse 20 says, “Then he [Elijah] cried out to the Lord.” This is deep intercession. Verse 21 tells us that three times he stretched himself out on the body of the boy. This is equivalent to the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18), indicating that God’s power was passing from the man of God to the sick.
Verse 22: “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.”
As Elijah left Zarephath, he was a much more mature man of God than when he first met Ahab. Elijah had not faltered in the trimming down process of Cherith, and he had matured further through the refining and polishing at Zarephath.
Soon Elijah would meet Ahab again and then at the “Grand Smackdown” on Mt. Carmel, he would stand as the lone representative of the God who answers by fire. He would participate in one of the greatest examples of deliverance that the world has ever seen!
Elijah left Cherith as a man of God in the making. What happened to him at Zarephath would complete the preparations for his encounter with the demonic prophets of Baal and Asheroth on Mt. Carmel.
God told Elijah, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there, I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food” (1 Kings 17:9 NIV). Right away we see a test of Elijah’s faith because Zarephath was in enemy territory. Sidon was ruled by Jezebel’s father, the high priest of Baal. God was hiding Elijah right under the nose of his enemies.
Zarephath means “the place of refining.” At Cherith God had begun to cut away everything that hindered Elijah’s becoming a man of God and at Zarephath God would polish and refine to get him ready for the encounter with demonic power on Mt. Carmel. Elijah would remain at Zarephath until the refining was complete.
We are given the opportunity to see and understand two major events at Zarephath. The first involved the word God gave to Elijah regarding the widow and her food supply.
Under Old Testament law, widows were protected by God Himself and no one (and that included priests and prophets) was to put demands upon widows.
So was God contradicting His own law? No! God’s statement to Elijah was, “I have put it in the heart of this woman to feed you.” Elijah instantly understood what was happening when he met the widow, recognized the desperate circumstances she was in, and realized he needed to give her an opportunity to respond.
While it appeared that the woman was going to feed Elijah—and she did—actually Elijah was there to care for her and her son and to bring the miraculous power of God into their lives. This was a powerful lesson for him about faith and obedience.
After the widow provided Elijah a drink of water, he said to her, “For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land’” (17:14 NIV). And that is exactly what happened.
Elijah stayed with the widow and her son for two to three years. Sometime late in the stay, the young boy took sick and died. The widow was angry and heartbroken and she accused Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (v. 18).
Elijah did not respond to the woman’s accusation; he simply said, “Give me your son” (v. 19). Elijah then retreated to his room with the body of the boy and began to pray
.
There is no scriptural record of anyone being raised from the dead before this time. New ground was being broken as the man of God prayed a prayer of faith that had never been prayed before.
I believe that Elijah was operating within the understanding of the same word that brought him to Zarepheth—that he was to care for this woman and her household. It was at Zarephath that Elijah’s faith matured so that he could speak the word of the Lord with faith over the flour and oil, and then with confidence pray the prayer of faith over the dead boy.
Elijah knew what he was to do because of the word the Lord had given him, and because at Cherith he had learned to walk in daily communion with Him. Elijah had learned to know and to understand the voice of God.
Verse 20 says, “Then he [Elijah] cried out to the Lord.” This is deep intercession. Verse 21 tells us that three times he stretched himself out on the body of the boy. This is equivalent to the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18), indicating that God’s power was passing from the man of God to the sick.
Verse 22: “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.”
As Elijah left Zarephath, he was a much more mature man of God than when he first met Ahab. Elijah had not faltered in the trimming down process of Cherith, and he had matured further through the refining and polishing at Zarephath.
Soon Elijah would meet Ahab again and then at the “Grand Smackdown” on Mt. Carmel, he would stand as the lone representative of the God who answers by fire. He would participate in one of the greatest examples of deliverance that the world has ever seen!
Friday, June 11, 2010
FROM SOMETHING TO NOTHING--THE MAKING OF A MAN OF GOD
Like a bolt of lightning on a cloudless day came the unknown prophet from the tiny town in Gilead. His name was Elijah and he had a dramatic word for the king of Israel: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1 NIV).
Ahab, Israel’s king, had the dubious distinction of being “… more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30 NIV). Ahab’s wife, the infamous Jezebel, was the daughter of the king of the Sidonians, who also was the high priest of Baal. Ahab and Jezebel served and worshipped Baal. Baal worship was demonic in origin and practice, including child sacrifice and all sorts of deviant sexual behavior. Ahab was dominated by his evil wife and Israel descended to its lowest level of degradation ever.
God chose an unknown prophet to bring the word of the Lord to Ahab and the nation. Baal claimed to be the god of productivity and fertility and Baal worshippers believed they would see an increase in their crops, livestock, wealth and general prosperity. Elijah’s stark message regarding rain flew clearly in the face of what Baal was promising. Baal promised bumper crops—and that required rain. Elijah’s message, delivered face to face to Ahab, was, “There will be no rain or even dew in the next few years except at my word.”
What an opening statement! What an introduction to the big stage. One could wonder what could be next for Elijah. Maybe he would go over to Syria and call down fire on Damascus!
Instead, God’s instructions to the prophet were, “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith (Cherith) Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there” (1 Kings 17:3-4 NIV). Hey, that doesn’t sound too bad—a cool hiding place, room service, and a bubbling, clear stream to bathe in and drink from. This must be a reward for service well done, right?
But wait just a minute! Out there east of Jordan is basically wild desert country. Cherith Ravine was nothing more than a steep-sided gulley through which flowed a small, filthy desert stream. There wasn’t much shade in this wild country, where temperatures could reach 120 degrees (F).
And then we need to talk about the room service delivered twice daily. Ravens are scavengers and they eat what we in Texas call “roadkill.” Their diet consists essentially of garbage, if there’s any of that around; if not, they go to the alternative menu, which consists of dead rodents or dead animals in any state of decay.
How in the world did Elijah end up here? This must be a terrible mistake! God would not do something like this to one of His servants—or would He?
The word of the Lord was clear to Elijah and this place was where he was to be after his prophetic statement to Ahab.
Why would God do this? Why would He take a man from an obviously sensational opening and place him on the backside of nowhere, where he had nothing and there was no one?
The answer begins to unfold when we understand the meaning of the word Cherith, which is “to cut off, to cut down, to separate.” It would be in Cherith that Elijah would go through God’s cutting. There he would learn to trust Him, to obey Him, to know Him. God was preparing Elijah for what was next by stripping away all the nonessentials and making him into a man of God. At the beginning of the chapter, he is introduced simply as Elijah (we call him a prophet) but by the end of the chapter, Elijah is referred to as “a man of God” (v. 24).
But surely God didn’t use this “from something to nothing” process to build character, integrity and faith in others that we meet in Scripture! Or did He? And would He do this today?
David had been anointed by Samuel to follow Saul as the king of Israel somewhere around his middle teen years. Not too long after that, on a visit to his brothers, David killed Goliath and skyrocketed to popularity in the nation. Now this was a great entrance to the big stage, even better than “American Idol.” David then spent most of the next seven years running for his life from a jealous King Saul. It was in these difficult and dangerous years of running and hiding that David was cut down to size and became the great man of God that he was.
Will God give us a taste of effective ministry and then put us into a place that seems like a dead end, where it seems there is no future, and it feels as if He has forgotten us? The answer is yes! He will put you into the “cutting place” where you will learn to trust Him and not your talent, where you will learn to walk with Him, according to His word and not your intellect. The lessons will be many but He will never leave you, nor will He forget where you are. And in the fullness of time He will take you from Cherith to Zerephath (where the hungry are fed and the dead are raised) and then on to Mt. Carmel (where Elijah takes on 850 prophets of hell). There could never have been the stunning exhibition of God’s power through Elijah at Zeriphath and then on Mount Carmel had he not first been to Cherith. And it is no different for any of us!
Ahab, Israel’s king, had the dubious distinction of being “… more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30 NIV). Ahab’s wife, the infamous Jezebel, was the daughter of the king of the Sidonians, who also was the high priest of Baal. Ahab and Jezebel served and worshipped Baal. Baal worship was demonic in origin and practice, including child sacrifice and all sorts of deviant sexual behavior. Ahab was dominated by his evil wife and Israel descended to its lowest level of degradation ever.
God chose an unknown prophet to bring the word of the Lord to Ahab and the nation. Baal claimed to be the god of productivity and fertility and Baal worshippers believed they would see an increase in their crops, livestock, wealth and general prosperity. Elijah’s stark message regarding rain flew clearly in the face of what Baal was promising. Baal promised bumper crops—and that required rain. Elijah’s message, delivered face to face to Ahab, was, “There will be no rain or even dew in the next few years except at my word.”
What an opening statement! What an introduction to the big stage. One could wonder what could be next for Elijah. Maybe he would go over to Syria and call down fire on Damascus!
Instead, God’s instructions to the prophet were, “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith (Cherith) Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there” (1 Kings 17:3-4 NIV). Hey, that doesn’t sound too bad—a cool hiding place, room service, and a bubbling, clear stream to bathe in and drink from. This must be a reward for service well done, right?
But wait just a minute! Out there east of Jordan is basically wild desert country. Cherith Ravine was nothing more than a steep-sided gulley through which flowed a small, filthy desert stream. There wasn’t much shade in this wild country, where temperatures could reach 120 degrees (F).
And then we need to talk about the room service delivered twice daily. Ravens are scavengers and they eat what we in Texas call “roadkill.” Their diet consists essentially of garbage, if there’s any of that around; if not, they go to the alternative menu, which consists of dead rodents or dead animals in any state of decay.
How in the world did Elijah end up here? This must be a terrible mistake! God would not do something like this to one of His servants—or would He?
The word of the Lord was clear to Elijah and this place was where he was to be after his prophetic statement to Ahab.
Why would God do this? Why would He take a man from an obviously sensational opening and place him on the backside of nowhere, where he had nothing and there was no one?
The answer begins to unfold when we understand the meaning of the word Cherith, which is “to cut off, to cut down, to separate.” It would be in Cherith that Elijah would go through God’s cutting. There he would learn to trust Him, to obey Him, to know Him. God was preparing Elijah for what was next by stripping away all the nonessentials and making him into a man of God. At the beginning of the chapter, he is introduced simply as Elijah (we call him a prophet) but by the end of the chapter, Elijah is referred to as “a man of God” (v. 24).
But surely God didn’t use this “from something to nothing” process to build character, integrity and faith in others that we meet in Scripture! Or did He? And would He do this today?
David had been anointed by Samuel to follow Saul as the king of Israel somewhere around his middle teen years. Not too long after that, on a visit to his brothers, David killed Goliath and skyrocketed to popularity in the nation. Now this was a great entrance to the big stage, even better than “American Idol.” David then spent most of the next seven years running for his life from a jealous King Saul. It was in these difficult and dangerous years of running and hiding that David was cut down to size and became the great man of God that he was.
Will God give us a taste of effective ministry and then put us into a place that seems like a dead end, where it seems there is no future, and it feels as if He has forgotten us? The answer is yes! He will put you into the “cutting place” where you will learn to trust Him and not your talent, where you will learn to walk with Him, according to His word and not your intellect. The lessons will be many but He will never leave you, nor will He forget where you are. And in the fullness of time He will take you from Cherith to Zerephath (where the hungry are fed and the dead are raised) and then on to Mt. Carmel (where Elijah takes on 850 prophets of hell). There could never have been the stunning exhibition of God’s power through Elijah at Zeriphath and then on Mount Carmel had he not first been to Cherith. And it is no different for any of us!
Friday, June 4, 2010
I KNOW!
The pastor on the phone was really angry and as I listened I didn’t blame him. Before the call ended, we made arrangements to meet the next day.
As soon as I finished the call, I talked with one of my trusted friends and we discussed the troubling accusations against one of our mutual acquaintances.
As I sat with the pastor the next afternoon and heard the full story, I only interrupted him to clarify a few things I didn’t understand. I just let him talk it out and when he finished, I had little to say. I looked at him and finally said, “I agree with your assessment and I understand your anger. I know the accused person and, sadly, I know he is fully capable of doing what you have described.”
Over the years in ministry and travel, I have met many people. Perhaps I’ve spoken in their church or had coffee with them during a ministry assignment. Years later I might see them again and, yes, we know each other but it’s a distant and not very personal knowing.
Most of us have a circle of friends that we know fairly well. We call them by their first name and perhaps we see them every week at church; occasionally we might do something social with them. They are friends but not that close.
And then we have a small circle of close friends that we call our “best friends.” These are those we talk to about everything, friends who know us pretty well and still like us.
The design and plan of God is that the closest, most intimate relationship is that between a husband and wife. The Bible describes this as a “one flesh” relationship…the most intimate of intimate. This is the type of relationship Christ desires to have with His people, with His church.
In the earlier writings of the Bible, before the coming of Jesus and the advent of the church, the phraseology used was slightly different but no less potent in its meaning.
Psalm 9:10: “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
To those of us raised under the influence of western culture, on the surface that verse will not have the same depth of meaning the Psalmist intended. In ancient days to say that you knew a person’s name was to say, “I know this person, his character, his integrity, the way he lives his life, and because I know these things, I trust him.” It’s different today—I know the name of Bill Clinton but I have little trust in his character.
I have referred to the word “know” in past articles. The word in the Hebrew is YADA, which means to know on the most intimate level, the level of intimacy that is reserved for husbands and wives. This Hebrew word is used almost one thousand times in the Old Testament. It’s an important word and one that we need to understand.
Most Americans and Canadians know the name of God but a much smaller group actually know God. An even smaller group has become intimate with Him, and that is a tragedy because it’s out of knowing Him, knowing His name, that trust/faith grows.
When I told the angry pastor that I knew the accused was capable of the wrong, I knew that by experience, and at the same time I also knew what needed to happen next. I knew the first because I knew the accused quite well, and I knew the second, the steps to take, because I know God.
“They that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). Daniel’s prophecy of the end-times helps to fill out the picture of the value of “knowing” Him. Today’s church has been sold a “Nigerian scam” by many television teachers. They tell you to do these things, buy these tapes, say these phrases, attend this convention, give this much money—and your faith will soar.
The key issue in building your faith is in “knowing” Him. Sound easy? Think again! Knowing Him, building your faith, requires all the discipline required in building a good marriage. A good marriage requires time, work, discipline, and communication; it will not happen overnight but because of love, it will happen. So it is with our “knowing” Him; He loves us unconditionally and we respond the best we can, out of our brokenness, and the relationship builds.
In the closing moments of King David’s life, he called together all the leaders of Israel. David rehearsed his being chosen as king and established that Solomon would follow him as the next king of Israel. David, the great king, then turned his attention to his son, his successor, with these end-of-life instructions:
“As for you, my son Solomon, know (yada) the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJ).
David knew that if Solomon didn’t know the Lord, he would personally be a failure and would lead the nation into failure.
As soon as I finished the call, I talked with one of my trusted friends and we discussed the troubling accusations against one of our mutual acquaintances.
As I sat with the pastor the next afternoon and heard the full story, I only interrupted him to clarify a few things I didn’t understand. I just let him talk it out and when he finished, I had little to say. I looked at him and finally said, “I agree with your assessment and I understand your anger. I know the accused person and, sadly, I know he is fully capable of doing what you have described.”
Over the years in ministry and travel, I have met many people. Perhaps I’ve spoken in their church or had coffee with them during a ministry assignment. Years later I might see them again and, yes, we know each other but it’s a distant and not very personal knowing.
Most of us have a circle of friends that we know fairly well. We call them by their first name and perhaps we see them every week at church; occasionally we might do something social with them. They are friends but not that close.
And then we have a small circle of close friends that we call our “best friends.” These are those we talk to about everything, friends who know us pretty well and still like us.
The design and plan of God is that the closest, most intimate relationship is that between a husband and wife. The Bible describes this as a “one flesh” relationship…the most intimate of intimate. This is the type of relationship Christ desires to have with His people, with His church.
In the earlier writings of the Bible, before the coming of Jesus and the advent of the church, the phraseology used was slightly different but no less potent in its meaning.
Psalm 9:10: “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
To those of us raised under the influence of western culture, on the surface that verse will not have the same depth of meaning the Psalmist intended. In ancient days to say that you knew a person’s name was to say, “I know this person, his character, his integrity, the way he lives his life, and because I know these things, I trust him.” It’s different today—I know the name of Bill Clinton but I have little trust in his character.
I have referred to the word “know” in past articles. The word in the Hebrew is YADA, which means to know on the most intimate level, the level of intimacy that is reserved for husbands and wives. This Hebrew word is used almost one thousand times in the Old Testament. It’s an important word and one that we need to understand.
Most Americans and Canadians know the name of God but a much smaller group actually know God. An even smaller group has become intimate with Him, and that is a tragedy because it’s out of knowing Him, knowing His name, that trust/faith grows.
When I told the angry pastor that I knew the accused was capable of the wrong, I knew that by experience, and at the same time I also knew what needed to happen next. I knew the first because I knew the accused quite well, and I knew the second, the steps to take, because I know God.
“They that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). Daniel’s prophecy of the end-times helps to fill out the picture of the value of “knowing” Him. Today’s church has been sold a “Nigerian scam” by many television teachers. They tell you to do these things, buy these tapes, say these phrases, attend this convention, give this much money—and your faith will soar.
The key issue in building your faith is in “knowing” Him. Sound easy? Think again! Knowing Him, building your faith, requires all the discipline required in building a good marriage. A good marriage requires time, work, discipline, and communication; it will not happen overnight but because of love, it will happen. So it is with our “knowing” Him; He loves us unconditionally and we respond the best we can, out of our brokenness, and the relationship builds.
In the closing moments of King David’s life, he called together all the leaders of Israel. David rehearsed his being chosen as king and established that Solomon would follow him as the next king of Israel. David, the great king, then turned his attention to his son, his successor, with these end-of-life instructions:
“As for you, my son Solomon, know (yada) the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJ).
David knew that if Solomon didn’t know the Lord, he would personally be a failure and would lead the nation into failure.
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