A Devotional Thought From 1 Kings

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.     1 Kings 18:17, 18

So when Ahab and Elijah meet after God had told Elijah he was going to lift the drought, Ahab looks down from the chariot and asks, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? Ahab and his pagan wife Jezebel were stunned and angry that Elijah had turned the people back to the LORD, and had executed 850 false prophets. In one fell swoop the nation had had a cataclysmic change, in Ahab’s mind a change for the worse, so looking at Elijah he says, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

Elijah is not intimidated. He looks the King in the eyes and says (let me paraphrase v. 18), “We know who is troubling Israel. Thou art the man. And how have you done it? You have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and worshiped (and still worship) false gods.”

When the preachers of righteousness are criticized for standing against the immoral currents of any society, the leaders and follows of immorality accuse them of troubling the nations. Why can’t you just shut up about what the Bible says is right and wrong? Not everybody believes in your LORD so why must you put your faith out there and make them question their values and actions? Why can’t you live and let live? Why can’t you just let society do what it wants without being critical? You can have your own religion just keep it inside the walls of your religious building and don’t let the public at large know what you think or believe, because it just causes trouble to advocate for spouses to be faithful to one another in marriage, or for preborn children to be allowed to live, or for men to use only the men’s room when in public places, or for government to be righteous, or for preachers to preach the Bible as God’s Word revealed, or for violent criminals to be punished, or… or… or. All of your protestations trouble the nation!

Like Elijah Christians and other moral people reply, “We know who is troubling the nation. It is the leaders and followers of breaking down traditional faith and morality. You are Ahab (Melville’s character named after this wicked king of scripture) chasing after the white whale of no standards, no morality, no restrictions, no obligations, no truth, no righteousness, and when you finally harpoon that situation it will drag you down and drown the nation with you.”