Elijah was one of the great Old Testament prophets. Recently I read a great book. Its title says it all, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by GD Fee and Douglas Stuart. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get the most out of her/his Bible reading and study.
Anyway in that book they refer to OT prophets as covenant enforcers. The prophets were people sent by the Lord who spoke for Him, enforcing His covenant with
This is one of those cases; King Ahaziah doesn’t want to listen to God and thus God uses Elijah to speak judgment.
Confronting or correcting others, whether it is a child in the home, a subordinate at work or someone you are mentoring, is rarely pleasant. If the person has a humble teachable heart it can have great rewards. However, defiance makes the situation very unpleasant.
Like it or not, people in authority need to confront others.
I’m not sure I gain lots of wisdom from this particular passage beyond these two thoughts. One, this kind of work can be difficult. And two, one better know that you are speaking accurately for the Lord if it is spiritual correction. For me this means making sure that the things I say need to align with God’s Word, accurately understood!
Lord, God, keep my nose in Your Book. Keep me consistent in reading and studying and praying about Your Word so that when I am to be your mouthpiece in correcting or rebuking that everything will be guided by Your Word.
Lord, Your Word from 2Tim comes to mind even as I pray. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2Timothy 3:16-17).
May I, in my living, stay close to You and Your Word. Amen.
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