Study 7 - The Troubler of Israel

Well away from the public eye, Elijah submitted to God’s training and proved that the Lord was able to perform miracles. Now the prophet emerged from hiding, confronted the nation of Israel, and prepared for the display of God’s mighty power.

Troublemakers
‘Go tell your master, “Elijah is here,”’ the prophet told the reluctant Obadiah (1 Kings 18:8). When Ahab arrived there was a distinct chill in the air. ‘Is that you, you troubler of Israel?’ he asked (1 Kings 18:17). No sign of repentance, no compassion for the starving poor in the land. Ahab was preoccupied with his animals, trying to keep them nourished during the famine (1 Kings 18:5).

Elijah was viewed as a troublemaker. He was thought to be the source of the problem! Jeremiah was similarly hated by his contemporaries. ‘If you are a national prophet …’ they said, ‘… you should be encouraging us, not telling us to repent and surrender to the Babylonians. This is treachery. You’re a traitor to your own nation.’ And they imprisoned him. (See Jer. 38:1-6.)

Prophets from Amos to John the Baptist experienced the pain of rejection from God’s people. For two years Paul taught quite freely in Ephesus. Then, when his message began to threaten vested economic interests, his very life was in danger (Acts 19:10-41). The Pharisees accused Jesus of stirring up people all over Judea through his teaching (Luke 23:5). John Wesley suffered persecution from both the crowds and religious leaders. Many years passed before he was recognised and honoured as a great man of God. Throughout church history, from Bible times onward, prophets have raised their voices only to be labelled ‘troublemakers’.

Take a stand
If you’re doing your job properly, you will at some time or another be seen as a troublemaker. It’s inevitable, because you’re identifying with a God who has a rebel world on his hands. As you walk through it, you’ll upset it. Though to some people you will be ‘the fragrance of life’, to others you’ll be ‘the smell of death’ (2 Cor. 2:16). So don’t think it strange when you experience backlash. Believers before you have endured it and triumphed, Elijah among them.

Don’t deliberately make trouble by being obnoxious, but don’t live passively in an attempt to avoid righteous conflict. In order for salt to affect society, it has to be scattered where the action is. Get involved – get elected as a city councillor, parent governor or student leader – and stand for righteousness.

God called Jeremiah when he was young, saying, ‘Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet … Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you’ (Jer. 1:5, 17, 19).

It was a hard calling for a sensitive man. True, Jeremiah brought some wonderful new covenant promises, but at the outset of his ministry he was told that he’d encounter opposition. More than once he cried to God, ‘Enough is enough. I don’t want to prophesy any more. Every time I speak, I get into hot water. It’s time you found me another job. Here’s my resignation.’

I once did that. I was having a tough time in my first pastorate. Growing numbers were being filled with the Holy Spirit, while others were antagonistic. For several years the battle went on. Even the elders were at loggerheads. ‘When will the breakthrough come?’ I cried. ‘How can God possibly bless us when there’s so much tension among the leadership? I can’t go forward. It’s time to quit.’ I wrote out my letter of resignation and when I’d finished it, God said, ‘Hmm … very nice. Now throw it away.’

When you know that you’re in the will of God, where else can you run? The barriers to progress may be there – the Red Seas, the Jordan Rivers, the walls of Jericho – but you have no choice except to push on. If you’ve definitely been sent by God and you maintain your faith, the breakthrough must come!

Quote
‘It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it.’
A. A. Hodge