1 Kings 18:20-21
“So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.”
Up to this point, Elijah has only spoken to Ahab, but now he addresses the people of Israel, many of whom had given themselves to idolatry and had fully embraced the worship of Baal. Some of the people were following Asherah, while others were still thinking half-heartedly about the God of heaven and were undecided.
So Elijah confronts them with the truth and challenges them to make a decision: “Listen. How long will you remain lukewarm? How long will you hesitate and vacillate? You can’t have it both ways. If the Lord is God, then follow Him. If Baal is god, follow him. Where do you stand? The time has come to make a decision.”
This was a defining moment for the people of Israel, and they didn’t say a word. They didn’t answer Elijah’s challenge. Nor did they argue with him. The easiest thing to do at the moment of decision is to take the path of least resistance and remain uncommitted. Just linger in the neutral zone.
And that’s what they did. They were silent.
We can only speculate as to why the people were silent. Perhaps they were afraid. Ahab, Jezebel, and the priests of Baal held the power in the land, and it would certainly be dangerous to oppose them.
Perhaps they were confused. Elijah seemed to speak with authority, and his prophecy about the drought had been painfully accurate, so was the smart thing to turn away from Baal and return to worshiping the God of Abraham and Moses?
Or perhaps they were simply waiting to see the outcome of the imminent confrontation between Elijah the prophet of God, and the 450 priests of Baal.
Whatever the source of their hesitation, Elijah directly challenges them to make the decision about where they stand. This is an echo of the challenge that Joshua had given to the people of Israel several generations before as they were preparing to take possession of the promised land:
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24.14-15).
I believe the Lord is asking the same question to the professing Church in our generation. As our nation continues to embrace and promote increasingly deviant behavior, and as the forces of darkness become more and more dominant in American society, where do you stand?
Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Coram Deo
