Devotional - May 17th, 2023
Scripture: James 5: 17-18 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
In my last devotion, I wanted to uplift the idea of the text being addressed to the Messianic community, the Jerusalem church. All too often, it slips our minds that the letters and books in the New Testament are not being addressed to us, personally. We most certainly can learn a lot from them (2 Tim 3:16-17), but their context should not be overlooked. When preached from the pulpit today, they often get characterized as being addressed to the current individual listener. So, after saying all that, what am I going to do today? I am going to personalize the context of the letter... James is working off the idea formed at the end of James 5:16, the prayer of the righteous person is powerful and effective. James sights the prophet Elijah. Elijah comes on the scene rather abruptly in 1 Kings 17: 1. He is a Tishbite, which is to say, he is from nowhere special. However, his name means YHWH is my God, very special. Therein, you see the relationship between Elijah and YHWH. It is personal and absolute. James encourages the readers of his letter to pursue God in a like manner. He tells his readers that Elijah was just like them, a human being, nothing more, nothing less. But unlike many of them, he did not spend his time boasting about his riches or postulating his theories about God. No, due to his deep devotion, he served God with all his heart. Due to his relationship with God he sought to make his God known and expose other "gods" as false. When you read the account of Elijah in First and Second Kings, it does not coincide with James' account. There is no mention of Elijah specifically praying for the rain to stop. Rather, Elijah declares it would not rain (1 Kings 17:1). James fills in the gap by saying it happened because Elijah prayed. Elijah did so to show Ahab, the current King of Israel who had turned to idolatry, that Israel still served a Living God. Would the church of Jerusalem, out of their relationship with God, dare to do such a deed? James suggests they could. The question is, would they? Would we? Ahab had married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess and prophetess of Baal (Rev 2:20). Being that Baal was the god of agriculture and fertility, to stop the rain meant the crops would not flourish and would ultimately die. So, when Elijah stopped the rain it showed YHWH's dominion over all that Baal and his worshippers supposedly controlled. In our day, we do not need to stop the rain. We need to live the Christian life so others can see the blessings it bears for the believer. So people can see there is a Living God still among us. Such living can have a profound effect on our culture.
Pray with me.., Holy God at times we feel our life, our prayers, matter little in this world. We may even think You do not hear us at all. Revive us O Lord. Remind us, O God, that You hear and that You respond. Lord hear us as we pray for our loved ones. Bless them, we pray, in accordance with their needs. And bless our church O God, bless us, so we can be the people You call us to be. Hear us as we ask Your blessing on our Annual Meeting and time of celebration for Memorial Day, in Jesus name, Amen
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
