Elijah Delivers God’s Message of Justice

Dr. David Jeremiah shares a story of extreme injustice from the life of Elijah, laying the groundwork for a lesson in God’s judgment and mercy.

When we look at what’s happening in our world today, I’m reminded often that evil is rampant and sometimes I know you’re like me.
You’re saying, God, why don’t you do something about this? How can we let this happen?
And I’m reminded that in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, the martyrs are there in heaven and they’re crying out, Lord, how long is it gonna be before you avenge our souls?
And I don’t know the answer to that nor do I know any of the details about it.
But one thing I can tell you, God will repay and one day the injustice of this world will meet its master and God will have control.
We have no shortage of stories of ordinary people who changed the world.
People born of humble beginnings, who came out of obscurity, the unexpected, the unknowns, the unlikely heroes, the underdogs.
It’s hard to imagine lives so recognizable being anything like you or me.
But no matter the achievements, everyone is human and to some degree ordinary.
So the question then becomes, what can someone like you and I do to change the world even further?
What can someone like you and I do to impact the world for eternity.
Like those who have gone before us, regardless of age, station stature passed or assumed future when we offer God a life, no matter how ordinary God takes it and uses it for extraordinary impact.
That’s the story we find in the Bible again and again, God’s people, his profits, his apostles all appeared average and unexceptional until God worked in and through them.
So then someone like you can walk in the footsteps of the greats who have gone before like them, someone like you can live with purpose, meaning and intent, bearing witness to God’s extraordinary actions through you.
God was looking for someone like them and he is also looking for someone like you.
I’m David Jeremiah and welcome to Turning Point, you may be surprised to hear me say that some sermons are harder to preach than others.
Today’s message relates to a sobering episode in the life of Elijah.
The prophet that we can identify with in today’s world. The subject is injustice and vengeance.
How should we respond when we witness wrongs and feel powerless to set things, right?
This current series of messages is called someone like you. And we’re learning lessons from the life of Elijah.
Today, we will see an ordinary man summoning extraordinary courage to deliver God’s message of vengeance to an evil king.
My message is simply entitled vengeance.
It can be a challenge to leave justice to God when we want to take action ourselves, but God never allows injustice to stand.
You’ll see how and why on today’s edition of Turning Point.
Dr Jeremiah first released understanding the 66 books of the Bible, helping thousands of Bible readers fully comprehend the place and purpose of every book in the Bible.
Now, Dr Jeremiah wants to help you live out the entire breadth and depth of scripture in his new companion volume, living the 66 books of the Bible in its pages.
Dr Jeremiah identifies each book’s purpose theme, challenge, verse and prayer, which will help you learn and live all 66 books of the Bible to put them into practice and to be a doer of the word request living the 66 books of the Bible, when you give a gift of any amount in support of this program, and if you give $60 or more, Dr Jeremiah will also send you in appreciation the first companion volume, understanding the 66 books of the Bible and the Genesis through revelation.
In 66 scenes DVD, understand the Bible and live the Bible with these resources from turning point, call or go online today.
Thank you for watching turning point. Now, here is Dr Jeremiah with his message vengeance.
Have you ever seen a movie or read a book or witness to play where one of the characters was getting away with such grave injustice that you could hardly wait for the conclusion so that the evil character would get what was coming to him.
Some injustices really stir our emotions.
They create momentary knee jerk reactions to what has been done. Some injustices are premeditated and they are pure evil.
And when we see something like that unfold, whether it’s on the screen or in real life, we discover the kind of anger of which we are capable.
Today’s story from the life of Elijah makes me long for justice.
It makes me angry, so angry that I wish I could go back in time to personally witness the perpetrators getting what they deserve on the southern edge of the valley of Jezreel.
Ahab, the wicked king of Israel had built his palace and next to the royal palace lived a simple, humble and godly farmer whose name was not both the story that unfolds between Ahab, the mighty king and Nab off.
The humble farmer is one of the real tragedies of the Old Testament.
It is a tragedy that is presented in four different acts.
Each of these acts involves Ahab and one other person.
And it begins at the beginning of the 21st chapter with Ahab and the Farmer.
And it came to pass after these things that now both the Jezreel eat had a vineyard which was in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
So Ahab spoke to Nab off saying give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is near next to my house and I will give you a vineyard better than that or if it seems good to you, I will give you it’s worth in money.
In the first act.
Ahab approached Nab off his neighbor and he says, listen guy, you’re lands next to mine.
And I’d really like to annex your property and create a vegetable garden and really just be wonderful if we could trade property.
Why don’t you let me take your land and I’ll give you a vineyard better than the one you have.
And if you don’t want to do that, let me just pay you for it.
I’ll give you way more than it’s worth. Ahab’s request. Sounds reasonable.
And the kind of thing a king might do, but when the king presented the deal to Nab off, this is what he heard.
Nah, both said to ahab, the Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.
Nah, both wasn’t holding out for a better price. He wasn’t trying to upstage Ahab.
He wasn’t simply a stubborn old miser who was standing his ground.
Nabbous firmness was based on his commitment to the word of God.
He knew that the Children of Israel were not permitted to sell land to one another because their property did not belong to them.
It belonged to the Lord Leviticus says the land shall not be sold permanently for the land is mine for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
And in the Book of Numbers, we discover the same principle.
So the inheritance of the Children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe.
For every one of the Children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
So according to the law, nah both was technically not the owner of his land but a steward.
And he knew that if he allowed Ahab to have the vineyard, he would be in violation of God’s will.
And so he said no to the king act one ends with one of the most pitiful and sickening scenes in all of the Bible, let the word of God speak for itself.
Verse four. So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which now both the Jezreel eat had spoken to him for.
He said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.
And Ahab laid down on his bed and turned his face toward the wall and would eat no food.
What a sorry sight.
The most powerful man in Israel moping around the palace like a disconsolate spoiled child.
Do you remember when you were a little child? You got in trouble or something?
Didn’t go your way and you get in your bed and turn your face to the wall and pout.
Come on. Now you aren’t that old? You remember Ahab and the farmer act too.
Ahab and Jezebel. But Jezebel Verse five, his wife came to him and said to him, Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?
And he said to her, my interpretation because I spoke to in a month that just released and said to him, give me your vineyard for money.
Or else if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard and he answered, I will not give you my vineyard.
It had to be something like that.
And Jezebel, his wife said to him, you now exercise authority over Israel arise, eat food.
Let your heart be cheerful. Never mind. I’ll get the vineyard myself.
I mean, that’s not in the Bible, but that’s what I think happened.
She was disgusted with her husband and rightly.
So here’s the man who she was supposed to look up to and respect.
He’s the king over all the land and he’s pouting in his bedroom because he can’t have this little piece of property.
So Jezebel says to him, look, let me get it for you.
Here is a strong woman married to a weak man.
In fact, here is a strong, wicked woman married to a weak, wicked man.
Now that is big time trouble right there, let me tell you a little bit about this woman, Jezebel.
When author gives us this profile, she is the prototype of the evil woman.
She’s the Harlot queen, the shameless fornicator, the scheming seductress, enticing the innocent into the depths of wickedness.
She was the mother of all malice, violence and monstrous, disgusting vice. She despised God trampled underfoot.
A host of human and divine laws and breathed her brand of falsehood into Israel’s courts, schools, homes and bedrooms.
She corrupted five kings and two kingdoms.
If Jezebel could corrupt an entire nation, it’s not surprising that she also made her husband who was already a wicked man far worse than he would have been without her first kings.
21, says, but there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel, his wife stirred him up.
Jezebel is about to stir up her husband to do one of the most wicked things I have read about in all of literature.
Listen to her plan verse eight and she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city where nobody was.
She wrote in the letters saying, quote, proclaim a fast and seat both with high honor among the people and seat two men.
Did you ever know this word was in the Bible scoundrels before him to bear witness against him saying you have blasphemed God and the king then take him out and stone him that he may die.
The elders and the nobles did the queen’s dirty work.
Everything happened as she said, And if you read Second Kings 9 26 you will discover that not only did they kill Nebo, but they also killed all of his sons so that the inheritance could never be traced back to his property that Ahab had stolen that night.
If you had come to the edge of the valley of Jezreel and walked by the house on the little vineyard where nobody had lived, you would have heard a woman wailing for her husband and her sons who had been murdered by a wicked queen and her wicked cowardly husband.
When Jezebel received the news that Sabbath was dead, she relayed the news to Ahab and said to the king verse 15, arise, take possession of the vineyards of Napa.
Both the Jezreel Light which he refused to give you for money for now both is not alive but dead.
And I’m sure that when Ahab and Jezebel got word that nobody was dead, they thought they were home free but not so fast.
Act three. Ahab and Elijah, what Ahab and Jezebel have forgotten in all of this is that there is no creature hidden from God’s sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
Elijah’s assignment. Once again, the word of the Lord comes to him, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the fish bite saying arise go down to meet Ahab king of Israel who lives in Samaria there.
He is in the vineyard of Nevada where he has gone down to take possession of it.
You shall speak to him and say, thus says, the Lord, have you murdered and also taken possession and you shall speak to him saying thus says, the Lord in the place where dogs lick the blood of Nevada, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.
So ahab said to Elijah, have you found me? Oh my enemy.
And he said I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.
Get this picture in your mind while Ahab is checking out his new piece of real estate and trying to figure out how he’s going to plant his beautiful garden in this new place.
The last person in the world he ever wanted to see was the preacher.
Have you ever been in a situation? Don’t answer me.
Have you ever been in a situation where the last person you ever wanted to see was the preacher here.
He is in the midst of his crime and Elijah, the preacher shows up and Elijah as assignment is followed by his announcement.
Verse 21. Behold, I will bring calamity on you.
I will take away your posterity and will cut off from Ahab, every male in Israel, both bond and free.
I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of a bat, like the house of Barsa.
The son of a hija because of the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger and made Israel sin.
And concerning Jezebel, the Lord also spoke, saying the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.
Ahab and the farmer, Ahab and Jezebel.
Ahab and Elijah and now the last act, Ahab and God.
So it was when Ahab heard those words from Elijah that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body and fasted in lay and sackcloth and went about morning.
Now folks listen to this instead of going home to pout like he did before Ahab repented, he repented.
I feel like Jonah when then invites repented. I don’t want to have to repent.
I want him to be destroyed. I want him to get what’s coming to him.
I’m almost as much of a problem with him repenting as I do with what he did in the first place.
How could that happen? Verse 28 the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the fish bite saying see how Ahab has humbled himself before me because he has humbled himself before me.
I will not bring the calamity in his days in the days of his son, I will bring the calamity on his house even with a brief show of humility and repentance.
Almighty God was willing to reach out to this wicked man and show him mercy.
So that’s the story almost.
But here are four things we need to learn from this tragic story.
First of all, let’s don’t forget where courage can take us.
The story of neighbor’s vineyard teaches us the heights to which courage can take us.
We don’t know very much about nab off. We’re not given anything at all about him as a person.
He wasn’t very important apparently, but he had courage and conviction and nab off was willing to die rather than to violate the word of God in which he had put his trust.
And Elijah was the same way. He stood up to the king.
He pointed his finger at him and delivered the word of God to the king in our world today.
Men and women. We need to fan the flame of the courageous heart among God’s people.
It’s pretty easy to just fit in anymore with society just to go along to get along.
But we need people like me who will stand on the word of God.
And we need people like Elijah who are not ashamed of God and will willingly declare God’s truth where courage can take us.
We also learned where covetousness can lead us.
Ahab listen to me was willing to sacrifice his own integrity and destroy an innocent family so that he have one little thing that his heart coveted.
It’s exactly the same thing that happened to another one of Israel’s kings, King, David coveted Bathsheba.
And when all else failed, he was willing to kill her husband to get what he wanted.
I’ve seen what happens when people want something that is not theirs and they begin to do everything they can to get it.
Whether it’s another person or another possession, do not let covetous get the root in your heart.
The Bible tells us of its great complications. It is the green sickness.
And if you allow it to take root in your heart, it will destroy you. It will literally destroy you.
Third, we learn where compassion can reach us.
It is amazing that God would show compassion to a man as wicked as they have when eternity tells its final story and we all get to heaven, we’re gonna look around and think, how did he get here?
And then we’re gonna realize, listen to me as wicked as what we have read.
God wanted to forgive. Ahab. There is no sin so wicked that God cannot forgive it.
And we must never ever forget the compassion.
Maybe you’re here today and you think, well, I would like to be a Christian, but Pastor Jeremiah, you have no idea what I’ve done.
No, I don’t. And it really doesn’t make any difference because the God that I know is not willing, that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
And if you’re willing to come to him. He will come to you finally.
And this is kind of the rest of the story. We learn where condemnation can leave us.
I’m gonna tell you the rest of the story and I must tell you this is somewhat gross.
Three Elijah, the Lord also promised that dogs would eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
Here’s how the Bible describes Jezebel’s end.
Now, when Jay Hue had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head and looked through a window.
And as Jay who entered at the gate, she said, is it peace? Zimri murderer of your master.
And he looked up at the window and said, who is on my side?
Who so two or three eunuchs looked out at him and he said, throw her down.
So they threw her down and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses and he trampled her underfoot.
And when he had gone in and ate and drank, then he said, go now see to this accursed woman and bury her for she was a king’s daughter.
So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.
Wow. Now read with me the conclusion of the story in second kings, 10 verses 10 and 11 know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab.
For the Lord has done what he spoke by his servant, Elijah.
So Jay Hue killed all who remained of the house of Ahab and Jezreel and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests until he left him, none remaining.
When we look at what’s happening in our world today, I’m reminded often that evil is rampant and sometimes I know you’re like me.
You’re saying God, why don’t you do something about this? How can we let this happen?
And I’m reminded that in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation, the martyrs are there in heaven and they’re crying out, Lord, how long is it gonna be before you avenge our souls?
And I don’t know the answer to that.
Nor do I know any of the details about it.
But one thing I can tell you, God will repay and one day the injustice of this world will meet its master and God will have control.
In the meantime, I must allow God to do his work and not take it on myself.
For when we allow the spirit of vengeance to get into our hearts, it can destroy our lives and keep us from the joy of the Lord.
Vengeance is mine. Saith the Lord. I will repay.
This story has another main character whose name is not mentioned and whose presence looms large between every line.
If we only have eyes to see him. He is there.
Think of King Ahab whose every action in this story serves as a counterpoint to the glory of King Jesus.
Ahab was a wicked king who stolen inheritance that was not rightfully his Jesus is the righteous king who gave away his own inheritance to those who do not rightly deserve it.
Ahab humbled himself in a superficial way and as a result, disaster came not upon him but upon his descendants, Jesus humbled himself to the point of death.
And as a result, disaster came upon him so that it would not come upon you, Jesus not mentioned in this story, but like most of the Bible, he’s in between every line.
When I open my eyes, I see him so clearly.
And then I’m reminded that we live in between two very important periods of time if we are here today and we do not know Jesus Christ, we’re in church and we’re living in the time of compassion.
The very fact that you’re here, the very fact that you’re listening to the word of God.
The very fact that you have interest in knowing more is a demonstration of the fact that God wants to be compassionate towards you.
Let me encourage you to take advantage of the grace of God during the season of compassion.
For there is coming a day when the season of wrath will arise, do not wait until it’s too late.
Do not judge yourself able to make sure that you get in just at the end of compassion before the wrath of God comes, hear the voice of compassion, the love of God who would forgive an ahab.
If he will forgive an ahab, he will forgive you.
There’s nothing you could ever do that will keep him from forgiving you.
If you will just ask Dr Jeremiah will return to close today’s program right after this, Dr Jeremiah would like to offer you living the 66 books of the Bible to help you put the entire breadth and depth of scripture into action and live out every book in God’s word, yours, an appreciation of your gift of any amount in support of this program and for a gift of $60 or more, Dr Jeremiah will also send his first companion volume, understanding the 66 books of the Bible beloved by many readers to help you journey through God’s word and comprehend the place and purpose of each book, plus the Genesis through revelation.
In 66 scenes DVD. Thank you for your support of turning point call or go online.
Today, we’re studying the life of Elijah because he was an ordinary person like you and me.
He found himself in extraordinary situations and because he had faith and was obedient. God used him in amazing ways.
I believe that is the message from Elijah’s life that we need today.
God wants to use us to do amazing things for him.
And the most amazing thing he wants every person to do is to say yes to his offer of salvation and new life through faith in Jesus Christ.
And to help you, I would love to send you two free gifts from turning point that will guide you in taking that step if you never have one is our booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point.
And the other is our monthly devotional magazine called Turning Points and will send them to you free of charge if you will contact us here at Turning Point today.
In addition, you can order Doctor Jeremiah’s legacy work.
The Jeremiah study Bible, a beloved study Bible and the culmination of Dr Jeremiah’s decades of teaching helping you to answer what does the Bible say?
What does it mean and what does it mean for me available in multiple translations and formats.
There is a Jeremiah Study Bible for everyone also available for Children, Dr Jeremiah’s airship, Genesis kids study Bible order yours today.
Next time on turning point, we live in the age of grace and in this age, the fire that falls is the fire of God’s love that penetrates our hearts and blazes within us until we can’t stand it any longer.
And we have to respond to the love of God. Thank you for being with us today.
Join Dr Jeremiah next time for his message, whatever happened to God here on turning point.