The Miracles of the Lord through Elijah

The Miracles of the Lord through Elijah

In 1 Kings 17 -2 Kings 1 we see many miracles performed by the Lord though Elijah. We are used to the word miracles always meaning happy occurrences, resurrections, the feeding of the 5000, healing and so forth. A close examination of Elijah shows that the miracles are not always happy. 

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• 1 Kings 17:1 : there will not be dew or rain but according to my word, this was the start of a over 3 year drought
• 1 Kings 17:2–6 : the ravens feed Elijah bread and flesh morning and evening
• 1 Kings 17:8–16 : the widow woman feed Elijah the last of her oil and meal, her oil and meal never run out until the end of the drought
• 1 Kings 17:17–22: Elijah brought the son of the widow back to life
• 1 Kings 18: 31–38 The fire of the Lord consumed a burnt offering that had been soaked in water, and consumed all the water that had soaked it as well. 16 barrels of water
• 1 Kings 21:17–19; 22:34–38 :Elijah was given knowledge of events both past and future  which he did not see and could not know, the death of a man –and they are fullfilled
• 2 Kings 1:9–14 : Elijah destroys 2 regiments of 50 men and their Captains, saves the regiment of the Captain that bows before God

(b) Write a paragraph that gives examples from what you read of how the sealing keys can both bless and curse.

The Prophet Elijah held the keys and his obedience to the Lord allowed him to work miracles. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing Elijah was able to save the lives of the widow, her son and those she was able to help. A curse in that many of the miracles that Elijah wrought were responsible for the deaths of many people and brought loneliness to Elijah himself. The life of this Prophet was often a lonely existence filled with the memories of death and people who hated him. Elijah was faithful and as a reward was eventually translated directly to Heaven.

Elijah and Solomon

Elijah and Solomon

In 1 Kings this week two separate characters keep coming to mind to ponder.

Elijah who was angry at the Children of Israel for not keeping their covenants- again. For destroying the alters and killing the prophets. That was the order he listed them in. Elijah who fled into the wilderness and was fed by angels and when God asked Elijah, what are you doing?  Answered upfront and honest. Lord I am mad for you. A righteous anger. Elijah was then taught about the Holy Spirit and how to find it and guess what? He was still mad, but he still obeyed and returned.

When we have truly righteous anger, not petty anger, not selfish anger the Lord does not chastise us for that, but neither does he excuse us from our duties.

Solomon has quite a duty to perform as well, as King over the Israel he had to rule and in addition was in charge of building the temple. It took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple and it was beautiful. Yet he spent 13 years building his “house” that can only be described as a mansion. While building this mansion did not stop his work on the temple the elaborate mansion that took nearly twice as long to complete as the temple and was larger than the temple makes you wonder what was going through Soloman’s mind.

When we look back at our life we can often see the roots of our decisions both good and bad crystalized as moments of time. By listening to the Holy Ghost we can recognize those times and make the better or best decisions and not regret later.

What doest thou here, Elijah?

Answering the Lord and Finding the Spirit

In 1 Kings Chapter 19 Jezebel finds out about Elijah facing down the prophets of Baal and killing them. Her response to the deaths of the false prophets is that she wants Elijah to be killed also.

When Elijah hears of this, he disappears into the wilderness, first stopping to sleep under a juniper tree a day’s journey in (v 4) and asked the Lord to die.  His request was not granted and an angel appeared to him and brought him food and water. After eating, he slept again. The angel returned with more food and bid him to eat warning him that the journey would be too great for him. The food the angel feed him sustained him for a 40 day and night journey to Horeb where he stayed in a cave and the Lord found him and asked him a question “What doest thou here, Elijah?”

The modern interpretation of this would be “What are you doing here Elijah?”

Elijah doesn’t get sulky or petulant. He is very self-aware

v 10 “And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

It is worth noting that jealous in this case means resentful or angry.  

Elijah who is the prophet who is to be speaking with the Children of Israel is angry with them for forsaking the covenants, destroying the alters, slaying the prophets until he is the only one left. I personally, don’t blame him a bit. I faced similar feelings just reading about it last semester over 3000 years later. The Lord tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain and sends the wind and earthquake against the mountain and then a fire. He shows Elijah how to find Him. That He is not in the wind, the earthquake or fire, He show Elijah the Holy Spirit –the still small voice.  What an amazing gift. And the Lord asks him again what he is doing here- it is remarkable the answer does not change. He is still angry with the Children of Israel, and the Lord sends Him back with instructions.

There are some great lessons in this interaction between Elijah and the Lord. Elijah fled in part because his life was in danger but mostly because he was angry. The people he was trying to teach who were supposed to be following the covenants were forsaking their oaths, destroying the alters and killing the prophets. When asked by the Lord he owned up to his anger and was rewarded with a great gift, learning of the Holy Spirit.

Many people today mistake the Spirit, and 1 Kings 19:11-12 show us without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is not in the wind, it is not in any natural disaster that befalls the earth be it fire, flood, or earthquake. The Holy Spirit is a still small voice. D&C 8:2-3 explains further that the spirit of revelation is the Holy Spirit, which will come upon you and dwell in your heart. The Spirit is in your heart. Some people feel it as a burning in the heart (Luke 24:31-32) others may feel it as a prickling (Acts 2:37) I personally have also felt goosebumps when in the presence of truth.  The Holy Spirit communicates with you, but you have to listen but without a doubt, He is within you not in the wind and fire.

King David and the Lessons of Atonement

King David and the Lessons of Atonement

King David lived a righteous life for most of his life, however only one man lived a perfect life and that man was a decedent of David, not David himself. David had been home from the wars for over a year and one day while on the roof of his house sees a beautiful woman bathing in her own house. Asking after her he finds out that she is the wife of one of his soldiers. David has her brought to him and "lays with her".  There is no record of her attempting to refuse him, so we do not know how much responsibility  she bears in this. Bath-sheba becomes pregnant and David sends for her husband Uriah who after reporting to David won't even go home because the others are still in the field. David sends him back to battle and orders him sent to the fiercest fighting that he should be killed in battle, and he is. After the period of mourning he takes Bath-sheba as his wife. It is after this that the prophet Nathan comes to David, and brings him to his senses with the story of the rich man and the poor man.

When Nathan brought David to his senses, David confessed his wrong doings and admitted his sin, Nathan told him that the consequence would be the death of the child conceived in sin,  he prayed and fasted for 7 days that the child would be saved. After the death of the child he rose and bathed and comforted Bath-sheba and ate. The sin is past, no matter how it came to be he and Bath-sheba are married now and the sin is forgiven.
David followed a path that is no different than what we do in atonement today. 1) Have a godly sorrow for the sin - David was angry at the injustice and wanted the man punished
2) Abandon the sin completely - make restitution as far as possible - The Lord decreed the death of the child conceived before David and Bath-sheba were married would be the restitution. David pleaded for the child's life for 7 days but that was the restitution. A man's life cannot be restored.
3) Confess to the proper authority. - King David was the highest authority, the Lord already knew as did Nathan the prophet.
David spent 7 days in prayer and fasting becoming right with God and attempting to save the life of his child. When the Lord took the child he went to his wife and comforted her and they went on with life. The final step, when forgiveness is granted you go forward and do your best to stay on the correct path. David was given his son Solomon. 

Dance Before the Lord

Continuing Contemplation on King David

This week in my communication class we set aside our text book and concentrated on the topic of Spiritual Communication. As children of our Heavenly Father we have a relationship with Him and any relationship must be maintained with communication. Prayer is how we speak to our Father, the Scriptures are a written record of His word and the Spirit, the Priesthood and the Prophets are lines of communication that He has established back to us. 

King David, from what I understand, lived in a time of oral teaching. The commandments written in stone, carried in the Ark were the only writings of Gods word the rest were taught and prayer and prophets who carried His word were vitally important. The Holy Spirit was still a occasional gift, He was not the Comforter that came to all after Jesus left. David followed the Lord with less tools that we have at our disposal and did so building a nation and waging war to strengthen Israel.  What an immense task, what a strong relationship David had with the Lord. Strong enough that when David asked to build a Temple to honor the Lord and was refused he did not argue, he did not sulk, he praised the Lord for His blessings upon his line and continued.

King David was not perfect but his relationship with the Lord and how he treated Saul and his family are wonderful examples, his relationship with the Lord is even a better one. The Lord was his Master and being in the presence of his Master made him so happy that he danced. Let us all be joyful and dance before the Lord.

King David

King David

What do you think about when you think about Kind David? Goliath? Bathsheba? Those are two things about him for sure. CNN is airing a series of specials called Jesus: Faith, Fact Forgery examining the historical trails of Jesus life and this week they talked about Judas Iscariot, one of they points they brought up was that when you paint a mans life with one or two strokes you are not seeing him as the Savior did. Jesus saw much more in Judas or he would not have been an Apostle. Many of the historians believe he might have been one of the first Apostles chosen and he was the treasurer for the Apostles. 

King David is no different. Yes he slew Goliath, yes there is Bathsheba - that fall is in not in our reading this week.  Lets look at what else King David did.

After the death of Saul, David was anointed King over the house of Judah, Gilead, Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel, but he wasn't the only king. Saul son  Ishbosheth was also proclaimed king. It was the Game of Thrones. After several years of both of them ruling Ishbosheth was assassinated and David went to great lengths to show he was not involved in an attack on Saul's family. He continued to rule and during his 40 year reign defeated the Philistines, brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David, strengthened the boarders of Israel, by bringing Syria, Moab and Euphrates into line, found Jonathon's son Mephibosheth and gave him control over the land that his grandfather Saul had controlled as well as inviting him to always dine from his table. King David spent 40 years securing the peace and safety of Israel by defeating their enemies through war and he did it in an honorable manner following the Lord. Israel under David's rule was at the height of its power and the only thing denied to David was building the Temple.

David asked the Lord if he could build Him a Temple and the Lords answer is that his (Davids) line would be blessed, that they would be remembered, but that David had seen too much war and bloodshed to build the Temple and David accepted the answer and obeyed. Even blessing the Lord for His blessing on his line.

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Ruth and Sampson: A Study in Contrasts

Ruth and Sampson: A Study in Contrast

My reflection this week is a study in contrasts. We have Ruth and Naomi who are a study in quiet strength. They did what needed to be done in grace and wisdom. We hear no whispers of complaint or murmuring despite trials, tribulations and hardships. They worked hard and people noticed. Then we have Samson whose birth was heralded by an Angel of the Lord and is blessed by the Lord. Yet he does nothing. He shows off his strength and is tempted and gives in to temptation. He does not increase his learning. He does not use his strength for good purposes, and if I understand the Law of Clean and Unclean properly he caused anyone who ate that honey to be unclean. We know that even prophets are not perfect. The only perfect man to ever live was Jesus. However, the lesson we can learn from Sampson is one of wasted potential. This man appears to have not applied himself to doing much of anything except amusing himself. Be more like Ruth and Naomi, strive and work hard, be less like Sampson.