IMITATE THEIR FAITH/ELIJAH -Judging Ahaziah - Conclusion

 Ahaziah sent another chief with 50 more men. The second chief was even more reckless than the first. For one thing, he learned nothing from the deaths of those 51 men, though their ashes may still have littered the hillside. For another, not only did he repeat his predecessor's contemptuous order to Elijah to "come down" but he added the word "quickly"! How foolish! So he and his men lost their lives in the same way as the first group did. Even more foolishly, though, was the king. Unmoved, he sent a third contingent of soldiers. Happily, this third chief was a wiser man. He humbly approached Elijah and pleaded that he and his men be spared. Elijah a man of God, no doubt reflected Jehovah's mercy when he responded to the humble chief'. Jehovah's angel directed Elijah to go with these soldiers. Elijah obeyed and then repeated Jehovah's pronouncement on the wicked king. True to God's repeated words, Ahaziah died. His rule had lasted just two years. - 2 KINGS 1:11-17.

How did Elijah endure in the face of the stubborn, rebellious behavior of those around him? That question is relevant today, is it not? Have you ever been frustrated when someone you care about refused to listen to good sense and insisted on pursuing a harmful course? How can we endure such disappointments? We may draw a clue from the place where the soldiers found Elijah, "on top of the mountain." We cannot say dogmatically why Elijah was there, but we may be quite certain that as a man of prayer, he found the solitude of that place offered him good opportunities to draw closer to his beloved God. (James 5:160-18) We likewise can regularly make time to be alone with God, calling on him by name and confiding our troubles and concerns to him. We will then be able to endure when those around us act in reckless and self-destructive ways. 

Next time: IMITATE THEIR FAITH/ELIJAH - Transferring the Mantle

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