passions

Bible Study Guides – Victorious Temperance

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September 21, 2008 – September 27, 2008

Key Text

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23.

Study Help: Child Guidance, 394-400; The Desire of Ages, 114-123.

Introduction

“As the youth are educated, and as their characters are molded in their childhood to virtuous habits, self-control, and temperance, so will their influence be upon society.” The Adventist Home, 15.

1 How do our appetites and passions affect our ability to perform noble service? Ecclesiastes 10:17.

Note: “You need to exercise temperance in all things. Cultivate the higher powers of the mind, and there will be less strength of growth of the animal. It is impossible for you to increase in spiritual strength while your appetite and passions are not under perfect control.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 63.

2 What effect do appetite and passions have upon spiritual life? Luke 21:34.

Note: “Every true Christian will have control of his appetite and passions. Unless he is free from the bondage and slavery of appetite, he cannot be a true, obedient servant of Christ. It is the indulgence of appetite and passion which makes the truth of none effect upon the heart. It is impossible for the spirit and power of the truth to sanctify a man, soul, body, and spirit, when he is controlled by appetite and passion.” Counsels on Health, 86.

3 What does the Bible say about the bodies of true Christians? I Corinthians 6:19, 20.

4 What practical illustration did Paul use in regard to the Christian life? I Corinthians 9:24, 25.

Note: “In the hope of impressing vividly upon the minds of the Corinthian believers the importance of firm self-control, strict temperance, and unflagging zeal in the service of Christ, Paul in his letter to them made a striking comparison between the Christian warfare and the celebrated foot races held at stated intervals near Corinth. … Young men of rank and wealth took part in them and shrank from no effort or discipline necessary to obtain the prize.” The Acts of the Apostles, 309.

5 What testimony did the apostle give about his own struggle? I Corinthians 9:26, 27.

Note: “In referring to these races as a figure of the Christian warfare, Paul emphasized the preparation necessary to the success of the contestants in the race—the preliminary discipline, the abstemious diet, the necessity for temperance. … How much more important that the Christian, whose eternal interests are at stake, bring appetite and passion under subjection to reason and the will of God! Never must he allow his attention to be diverted by amusements, luxuries, or ease. All his habits and passions must be brought under the strictest discipline. Reason, enlightened by the teachings of God’s word and guided by His Spirit, must hold the reins of control.

“And after this has been done, the Christian must put forth the utmost exertion in order to gain the victory. In the Corinthian games the last few strides of the contestants in the race were made with agonizing effort to keep up undiminished speed. So the Christian, as he nears the goal, will press onward with even more zeal and determination than at the first of his course.

“To win a perishable prize, the Grecian runners spared themselves no toil or discipline. We are striving for a prize infinitely more valuable, even the crown of everlasting life. How much more careful should be our striving, how much more willing our sacrifice and self-denial!” The Acts of the Apostles, 311, 312.

“That he might not run uncertainly or at random in the Christian race, Paul subjected himself to severe training. The words, ‘I keep under my body,’ [I Corinthians 9:27] literally mean to beat back by severe discipline the desires, impulses, and passions.” Ibid., 314.

6 From what history had Daniel and his fellow captives been warned early in youth? Leviticus 10:1, 2.

Note: “From the fate of the sons of Aaron, they [the Hebrew worthies] knew that the use of wine would confuse their senses, that the indulgence of appetite would becloud their powers of discernment; and as wine had been prohibited to all who should engage in the service of God, they resolved that they would not partake of it.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 29, 1907.

7 Besides refusing strong drink, what further stand did they maintain even under the pressure facing them in the Babylonian court? Daniel 1:8.

Note: “As they [the Hebrew worthies] were brought to the test, they placed themselves fully on the side of truth and righteousness. By earnest prayer and study of the Scriptures, they were prepared to act intelligently in the matter. Flesh meat had not composed their diet in the past, and they determined that it should not come into their diet in the future.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 29, 1907.
“Daniel and his companions knew not what would be the result of their decision; they knew not but that it would cost them their lives; but they determined to keep the straight path of strict temperance even when in the courts of licentious Babylon.” Ibid, August 18, 1898.

8 How did these young men distinguish themselves—both initially and then after a three-year period of training? Daniel 1:11–15, 18–20.

Note: “The four Hebrew youth … did not feel that the blessing of the Lord was a substitute for the taxing effort required of them. They were diligent in study; for they discerned that through the grace of God their destiny depended upon their own will and action. …

“Here are revealed the conditions of success. To make God’s grace our own, we must act our part. The Lord does not propose to perform for us either the willing or the doing. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort.” The Youth’s Instructor, August 20, 1903.

“Their keen apprehension, their choice and exact language, their extensive knowledge, testified to the unimpaired strength and vigor of their mental power.” My Life Today, 147.

9 After His baptism, how did Christ prepare Himself for the imminent temptation? Luke 4:1, 2; Matthew 4:1, 2.

Note: “When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, He was led by the Spirit of God. He did not invite temptation. He went to the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate His mission and work. By fasting and prayer He was to brace Himself for the bloodstained path He must travel. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the wilderness, and he thought this the best time to approach Him.” The Desire of Ages, 114.

10 What was Christ’s first temptation and how did He face it? Matthew 4:3, 4.

Note: “From the time of Adam to that of Christ, self-indulgence had increased the power of the appetites and passions, until they had almost unlimited control. Thus men had become debased and diseased, and of themselves it was impossible for them to overcome. In man’s behalf, Christ conquered by enduring the severest test. For our sake He exercised a self-control stronger than hunger or death. And in this first victory were involved other issues that enter into all our conflicts with the powers of darkness.” The Desire of Ages, 117.

11 What should we learn from the second temptation? Matthew 4:5–7.

Note “The wily foe himself presents words that proceeded from the mouth of God. He still appears as an angel of light, and he makes it evident that he is acquainted with the Scriptures, and understands the import of what is written. As Jesus before used the word of God to sustain His faith, the tempter now uses it to countenance his deception.” The Desire of Ages, 124.

12 What strategy did Satan use in the third temptation, and what did Jesus answer? Matthew 4:8–10.

13 How did Christ overcome? Hebrews 5:7–9.

Note: “The Captain of our salvation was perfected through suffering. His soul was made an offering for sin. It was necessary for the awful darkness to gather about His soul because of the withdrawal of the Father’s love and favor; for He was standing in the sinner’s place, and this darkness every sinner must experience. The righteous One must suffer the condemnation and wrath of God, not in vindictiveness; for the heart of God yearned with greatest sorrow when His Son, the guiltless, was suffering the penalty of sin. This sundering of the divine powers will never again occur throughout the eternal ages.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 924.

14 What is expected from His followers? I Peter 2:21.

Note: “The Lord has a people on the earth, who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. He has His thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Such will stand with Him on Mount Zion. But they must stand on this earth, girded with the whole armor, ready to engage in the work of saving those who are ready to perish. Heavenly angels conduct this search, and spiritual activity is demanded of all who believe present truth, that they may join the angels in their work.

“We need not wait till we are translated to follow Christ. God’s people may do this here below. We shall follow the Lamb of God in the courts above only if we follow Him here. Following Him in heaven depends on our keeping His commandments now. We are not to follow Christ fitfully or capriciously, only when it is for our advantage. We must choose to follow Him. In daily life we must follow His example, as a flock trustfully follows its shepherd. We are to follow Him by suffering for His sake, saying, at every step, ‘Though he slays me, yet will I trust in him.’ His life practise [sic] must be our life practise [sic]. And as we thus seek to be like him, and to bring our wills into conformity to his will, we shall reveal him.” The Review and Herald, April 12, 1898.

Additional Reading

“Of all the lessons to be learned from our Lord’s first great temptation none is more important than that bearing upon the control of the appetites and passions. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind. Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave to man as a priceless endowment. Thus it becomes impossible for men to appreciate things of eternal worth. Through sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from the soul every trace of likeness to God.

“The uncontrolled indulgence and consequent disease and degradation that existed at Christ’s first advent will again exist, with intensity of evil, before His second coming. Christ declares that the condition of the world will be as in the days before the Flood, and as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart will be evil continually. Upon the very verge of that fearful time we are now living, and to us should come home the lesson of the Saviour’s fast. Only by the inexpressible anguish which Christ endured can we estimate the evil of unrestrained indulgence. His example declares that our only hope of eternal life is through bringing the appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God.” The Desire of Ages, 122.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

The Spirit and Power of Elijah, Part II

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As we read of the experience of Saul sparing Agag and the best of the sheep, when he had been commanded to utterly destroy all that the Amalekites had (1 Samuel 15), let us give heed to the admonition, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14.

We are reminded of that significant passage in Joshua 17:12, 13 where it is said that the children of Israel could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, “but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.” The whole story of their subsequent failure and captivity is told in that one brief sentence, “The Canaanites would dwell in that land.” But they had no kind of right to dwell there. They were dispossessed. The cup of their iniquity was filled up, and God had said, “I will drive them out.” But they would dwell there; that is to say, they wanted to, and so Israel let them; a compromise was formed, and Israel did not utterly drive them out.

Let us apply these same principles to our spiritual warfare. Have there not been in all our lives all these years those besetting sins of fleshly lusts that would dwell with us, and in some instances have held their own, notwithstanding we have known that they had neither part nor lot with the soul redeemed by Jesus Christ? Let us not condemn too strongly ancient Israel, lest we condemn ourselves. Surely the words of Joshua are as applicable to us as to them: “How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?” Joshua 18:3.

Abundance of Rain

Returning again to the scene of Elijah’s triumph over the prophets of Baal and their false system of religion, we find him saying to Ahab, “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” Surely it was not the rumbling of the great thunderstorm that was soon to break upon them. For after this he went up on top of the mountain and cast himself down on the ground, and prayed seven times before there was seen even a cloud as large as a man’s hand. (1 Kings 18:42–44.) The preceding verses tell us that when all the people saw the manifestations of God’s power in the consuming of the sacrifice, they said, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” Their hearts had been turned back to God again. This to Elijah was the sound of abundance of rain. The apostasy of the people of God was the thing that had shut up the heavens, and their return to God was the only thing that would open them.

And so it is in our own day. If we are walking in dry places, it is because we have departed from God. If we would enjoy the copious showers of the latter rain, we must repent of our backslidings and turn again to God with all our hearts. Then we shall receive largely of His Spirit.

“What doest thou here?”

The sad story of Elijah’s failure is told in 1 Kings 19, and proves beyond question that he was a man subject to like passions as we are. On the night following his mighty triumphs of faith on Mt. Carmel, where he had stood alone against the wicked king and all the prophets of Baal and a whole nation that had apostatized from God, he arose and fled for his life before the threats of one wicked woman. “When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life.” Verse 3. The story of his defeat is told in that brief clause, “When he saw that.” As long as he kept his eyes upon God, he was invincible; but when he looked away from God and saw that woman Jezebel threatening him, “he arose, and went for his life.” Terrified, he ran away to the desert, and requested that the Lord would take away his life.

Notwithstanding his cowardice, the Lord did not forsake his servant. Angels provided him food and drink, and he went in the strength of that meat 40 days and 40 nights, until he reached Mt. Horeb. This wild and rugged portion of Arabia had once before been the training ground for one of God’s chosen servants. (See Exodus 3:1.) And long after Elijah had finished his life work and gone home, it was for a time an asylum for the great apostle to the Gentiles. (See Galatians 1:17.)

When Elijah had finally put a journey of 40 days and 40 nights between himself and the scene of his recent triumphs, he reached the mount of God, and crawled into a cave and lodged there. “And, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9. It would be well if God’s children would always hear that same voice saying, “What doest thou here?” whenever unbelief has separated them from God, or the allurements of the world have enticed them into some pleasure resort or some questionable place of amusement.

Whisper of Conscience

“And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” Verses 11, 12. God would teach Elijah that he would not always work through the elements, as during the years of famine, and those scenes that he had recently witnessed on Carmel’s height. Doubtless Elijah was depending too much upon the miraculous and spectacular methods to restore his people to their allegiance to God, feeling that it could be accomplished only by some unusually striking manifestation of God’s power. But these signs had failed, and he was now told that in these signs, in the highest sense, God was not—not in these, but in the still, small, gentle whisper of conscience, and solitude was the surest token that God was near him.

Life is filled with sharp and varied experiences. We think of Moses on the mount with God for 40 days, and then his return to the plain and the golden calf; of Christ at His baptism anointed with the Holy Ghost, His Father proclaiming from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” and then His temptation in the wilderness; of Christ on the mount of transfiguration talking with Moses and Elias, and then down in the valley to meet the demon-possessed boy; of Elijah on Mt. Carmel, carrying into effect in one day the greatest program for God of which we have any record, and then, before the excitement and inspiration of that eventful day were over, fleeing, panic-stricken, at the threat of the wicked queen.

Elijah had doubtless concluded that because God was not any longer working as he did on Mt. Carmel, he was not working at all. However, that was not God’s chosen way of saving Israel. There had been a more gentle and loving ministry going on that Elijah knew nothing about. The special message to Elijah was that the wind and the earthquake and the fire might pass before him, but God was not in them. But deep down in the heart of the nation, in the caves of Carmel, unknown to him, unknown to one another, were 7,000 who had not by word or deed acknowledged the power of Baal. In them God was still present. In them was the first announcement, often repeated by later prophets, of “an Israel within Israel,” of a remnant within all the great movements of God. This remnant embraced the true hope of the future.

Faith and Courage Renewed

Elijah was now instructed to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in his stead. We do not know just what time elapsed between Elijah’s return from Arabia and his translation. Possibly it was about ten years. We catch only an occasional glimpse of him during those times. But again the old-time courage and faith had come back to him, and before his translation, he was brought over the same ground, and tested again on the very same point where he had signally failed.

Ahaziah, who was reigning in the place of his father, Ahab, had fallen down through a lattice in his upper chamber, and was very sick. When he learned that Elijah was in the country and had prophesied that he should surely die, he sent for him, doubtless to do him harm. (11 Kings 1:2–9.) There was just as much danger involved in his appearance at the court of Ahaziah, the son of Jezebel, who was still living, as there had been on a former occasion. Still Elijah went boldly down with the messenger through a crowded capital into the palace of his foes and announced to the king his doom. (Verse 16.) As he nears his reward, he no longer fears the wrath of man, for he is once more standing before his God, and is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High.

Before our final leave-taking of this wonderful prophet, let us remember that he was a man of like passions with ourselves, and the secret of his marvelous deeds was to be found, not in any inherent qualities that he possessed, but in the fact that he was filled with the Holy Ghost. It was by his consecration and faith that he “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, . . . escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness . . . [was] made strong. Women received their dead raised to life again.” [Hebrews 11:33–35.] Is it too much to suppose that God will again give unto us the spirit and power of Elijah in the closing years of this generation? In fact, has God not always through all the ages shown Himself strong toward those whose hearts were perfect toward Him?

Absolute Surrender

When D. L. Moody was a young man, he read somewhere that the world had yet to see what God could do through a man who was fully surrendered to Him. Mr. Moody was greatly impressed with the statement; and although he had a very humble opinion of himself, he reasoned that he was a man, and if it was not so much a question of who it was if only the surrender was complete, he was willing to pay the price if only God would use him. His choice was made, and his unsurpassed record as an evangelist and soul-winner for nearly half a century shows what one man may do in one brief life if only he is willing to surrender absolutely and unconditionally to God. While Mr. Moody was a man of rare gifts and a born leader of men, yet the secret of his power was unquestionably due to the fact that he was a man full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.

“Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,” Christ said to His disciples; and their lives from that time became a never-ceasing record of mighty signs and wonders done in the power of the Spirit. [Acts 1:8.] Stephen, we are told, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Charles G. Finney was so filled with the power of the Spirit that as he entered a mill, the operatives fell upon their knees in tears before the mere presence of the evangelist before he had uttered a word. There is no limit to the usefulness of those who are willing to put self aside and live a life wholly consecrated to God. One has well said that “there is nothing the church of today needs so much as spiritual power, and there is nothing that we can have so easily, if only we are prepared to pay the price.” It is of no use to exclaim in despairing tones, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” He is here waiting to do as much now as for the illustrious saints of olden times.

O for that flame of living fire

Which shown so bright in saints of old;

Which bade their souls to heaven aspire,

Calm in distress, in danger bold!

Where is that spirit, Lord, which dwelt

In Abram’s breast, and sealed him thine?

Which made Paul’s heart with sorrow melt,

And glow with energy divine?

Is not thy grace as mighty now

As when Elijah felt its power?

When glory beamed from Moses’ brow,

Or Job endured the trying hour?

Remember, Lord, the ancient days;

Renew thy work, thy grace restore;

And while to thee our hearts we raise,

On us thy Holy Spirit pour.

~ Wm. H. Bathrust

The Adventist Review and Sabbath Herald, October 19, 1916; October 26, 1916

The Spirit and Power of Elijah, Part I

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Elijah the Tishite, an inhabitant of Gilead, is one of the greatest characters of Old Testament times. He has the peculiar distinction of being the only man since the flood to be translated to heaven without seeing death. From those far-off times until the present age he seems to be God’s type of a true man. The prophet Malachi could find no better type of the forerunner of Christ than Elijah the prophet; and the angel Gabriel, four hundred years later, when making known to the aged priest Zacharias the birth of his wondrous son, said: “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, . . . and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias.” Luke 1:15–17.

The final fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, which is to reach to the very end, is still in the future. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5, 6. Elijah was a type of all those who will be translated at the Second Coming of Christ.

A Man of Like Passions

One noted writer has said; “We are studying the life of a man of like passions with ourselves—weak where we are weak, failing where we would fail; but who stood single-handed against his people, and stemmed the tide of idolatry and sin, and turned a nation back to God. And he did it by the use of resources which are within the reach of us all. This is the fascination of the story. Prove to us that he acted by the spell of some secret which is hidden from us meaner men; convince us that he was cast in a heroic mold to which we can lay no claim,—then we must lay aside the story; disappointment has overcast our interest: it is a model we cannot copy, an ideal we cannot realize, a vision that mocks us as it fades into the azure of the past.

“But this is not the case. This man by whom God thrashed the mountains, was only a worm at the best. This pillar in God’s temple was, by nature, a reed shaken by the breath of the slightest zephyr. This prophet of fire, who shone like a torch, was originally but a piece of smoking flax. Faith made him all he became; and faith will do as much for us, if only we can exercise it as he did, to appropriate the might of the eternal God. All power is in God; and it has pleased him to store it all in the risen Saviour, in some vast reservoir; and those stores are brought into human hearts by the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost is given according to the measure of our receptivity and faith.

“Elijah’s strength did not lie in himself or his surroundings. He was of humble extraction. He had no special training. He is expressly said to have been a man ‘of like passions’ with ourselves. When, through failure of faith, he was cut off from the source of his strength, he showed more craven-hearted cowardice than most men would have done; he lay down upon the desert sands, asking to die. When the natural soil of his nature shows itself, it is not richer than that of the majority of men; and, if anything, it is the reverse.”

It was said of John the Baptist that he would go before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias. When we think of John the Baptist, we are wont to think of the great power he wielded as the wilderness preacher; and when we think of Elijah, we are apt to think of him on Mt. Carmel, praying down fire on the sacrifice, or of his wonderful departure out of this world. But let us notice the text, “He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias.” Let us consider not alone the power these men wielded, but the spirit they manifested, and especially the training, experience, and discipline through which Elijah passed before he came to Carmel.

Student of Prophecies

Elijah was evidently a student of the prophecies, and from the writings of Moses (Deuteronomy 11:13–17) he had learned that God had said that if the people should turn aside and worship other gods, he would shut up the heavens, so that there would be no rain. Now, under the reign of Ahab, who had done more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him, Elijah knew that the true God had been set aside, and that Baal had been set up.

And so “he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not.” Afterward he went boldly into the presence of Ahab and said, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” When he had delivered his message, “the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.” [James 5:17; 1 Kings 17:1–3.]

Think of those lonely days and weeks and months beside that drying brook in the wild wilderness gorge that runs down from near Jerusalem to the northern shores of the Dead Sea! But God had commanded him to go there, and has promised that the ravens should feed him there. “So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: . . . and it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” [1 Kings 17:5–7.] When the last drop of water had seeped into the ground, Elijah was still there.

Elijah Obeyed

Then the word of the Lord came unto him again, saying, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath.” [Verses 9, 10.]

It will be noticed that Elijah did exactly what he was told, “according unto the word of the Lord”; and afterward he could say, when the time came for God to display his power wondrously through his servant, “I have done all these things at thy word.” [1 Kings 18:36.]

The word “Zarephath” means “place of refining,” and surely this last mission upon which God had sent his servant was calculated to drain the last dregs of pride or self-reliance or independence from the already tried soul of Elijah. Some one has remarked that Elijah, with his great heart, would not have so much minded to sustain a poor widow during those terrible years of famine, but it was certainly not pleasant to his manly nature to feel that a poor widow was to sustain him. So the days slowly passed into weeks, and months, and years. The barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of God that he spake by Elijah.

The pen of inspiration records only one instance in the life and experiences of Elijah during those weary years of drought and famine, and that was the death of the widow’s son, who, Jewish tradition says, afterward became Elijah’s servant, and who was also the future Jonah. However this may be, Elijah raised him to life, and presented him again to his mother. We can judge of his hold upon God during those times by the testimony of this woman, who said, “I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” [1 Kings 17:24.]

Challenge to the Gods

“It came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth . . . And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto 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 foresaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:1, 17, 18. Then Elijah called for a great convocation of all Israel and of all the false prophets, on Mt. Carmel, that a test might be made of the rival systems of worship, and the god that answered by fire was to be acknowledged as the true god.

The prophets of Baal chose their bullock and laid it on their altar, and cried aloud and cut themselves with knives from morning until noon, and from noon until the time of the evening sacrifice, saying, “O Baal, hear us.” But “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.” [Verse 26.] Then Elijah said unto all the people, “Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. . . . And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood.” [Verses 30, 33.] Elijah was triumphant in the midst of that unbelieving host. He was more than conqueror. When all was ready, he called three times for four barrels of water to put on the wood and the sacrifice. By his mighty faith he even piled up difficulties in the way of God. Instead of trying to make it as easy as possible for his prayers to be answered, he soaked the wood and the sacrifice and filled up the trench around about his altar with water.

“And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” [Verses 36, 37.] God more than met Elijah’s faith on this occasion. Not only was the sacrifice consumed, but also the wood and the stones and the dust and the very water that was in the trench.

No Compromise

Immediately following this remarkable demonstration of God’s power, Elijah took the false prophets down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. There was no compromise with sin. That was the secret of his power. This is where King Saul had failed in his war with Amalek. God had told him to “go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” 1 Samuel 15:3. But Saul spared Agag and the best of the sheep. Some one has aptly remarked that if we save our Agags, when we would be at our best in some great crisis (as when Samuel went out to meet Saul) there will be the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen just when we would have them keep still, and it will be to our utter chagrin and undoing.

“Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. . . . and Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” [Verses 32, 33.] Let us slay utterly, and give heed to the admonition, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 12, 1916; October 19, 1916.

To be continued . . .