another one

This week has been a doozy. So much work, ye gods. I stayed till seven most days and brought stuff home. The teachers at my school were laughing about how the administration is trying to get us to hate our jobs. They put manditory training (in stuff I'll never use in my classroom) during our planning, faculty meetings and parent conferences all in the same week, which was the week after report card grades were due. Plus, in my lateral entry class, we had to read 4 chapters (200 pages) instead of the usual two, do a four hour observation of a young childcare and write a five page paper. Then, during this hoopla, I wrote a meditation on a Scripture verse-- I wrote I Kings 18 when I was supposed to write on II Kings 19. So close, yet so far away.

Meanwhile, during yesterday's planning, my teammate confiscated a student's cellphone. After the child said, "Don't check it. I'll get in so much trouble!", we looked through the texts and pictures and found plenty of things that would be disturbing on a 30 year old's cellphone let alone a 12 year olds: propositions for sex, nude photos, etc. But, maybe we'll get the girl the help she needs. And, during the parent conferences I found out a student's mother served a 7 year prison sentence for abusing our student and his brother-- that's why they can't have their picture published on the website or in the newspaper. The mother has tried to kidnap them twice. When I left last night, I was drained. The three teachers on my team had cried yesterday, including me. Sometimes, teaching grammar is the least of my problems. Kyrios eleison.

In I Kings (just as in Judges), we’re watching a downward spiral in leadership. Ahab was the worst in the lineup of bad kings. He married Jezebel, who converted his kingdom into a completely pagan one replete with assassinating the LORD's prophets, installing Baal and Asherah prophets and idols, and rejecting the justice required by The LORD. Ahab’s rejection of The LORD is reminiscent of the prodigal son in the parable.

In I Kings 17, the LORD decides to let the Northern Kingdom experience the logical consequence of their disobedience. He takes off the training wheels and lets them experience the results of misplaced faith in a god with no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no heart to love, and no right arm with which to act.

Yahweh calls Elijah to tell Ahab that there will be no rain, the symbol of blessing throughout the Old Testament, until Yahweh decides there will be. Ahab’s reaction is to order the execution of Yahweh’s prophets. The drought causing extreme famine in the land might cause most kings to repent and beg forgiveness of Yahweh in order to save his people. No, Ahab hunts for Elijah without success. Over two years later, Yahweh sends Elijah back to announce that he has decided it will rain.

But, first there is a show down between the 450 Baal prophets and Elijah. Elijah taunts the prophets (“Where’s your god ... is he using the bathroom ... is that why he isn’t answering you”). Somehow, it isn’t shocking that golden calf was unresponsive to their pleas. Whereas, Elijah prays, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again (36b-38).”

The LORD answered Elijah’s prayer: “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Yahweh called Elijah to a hard duty, Elijah chose obedience and God was faithful to him. Ahab had equal opportunity to worship God and access to his grace, but continually refused and with each disobedient act his heart was as hard as the idols he worshipped.