True Faithfulness Avoids Divine Judgment

Elijah and the account of the small cloud:

Now this account of how God provided rain in the account of Elijah through a small cloud is certainly one of most popular and powerful acts by God recorded in Scripture. However, let’s not forget for one moment the reason why God sent the cloud in the first place…, because of Israel’s idolatry, the gravest sin against God and against His commandments.

And notice how the Lord sent rain to the land “after” atonement was made for Israel’s idolatry and worship to Baal when Elijah slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. You see, the blood of the prophets provided atonement for Israel’s sin, which is consistent with Scripture that everything must be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin according to Hebrews 9:22.

The shedding of the prophets blood for the sin against God is the prelude to the miraculous act of the small cloud. Context matters!!! Remember, God sent the three year famine in 1 Kings 17:1 because of Ahab and Israel’s sin and unfaithfulness to the one and only True God as described in 1 Kings 16:29-34.

So, the spiritual moral of the story is that faithfulness to the True God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God who raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the key to avoiding any spiritual drought or divine judgment in your life!! Sometimes, we bring judgment upon ourselves because of our failure to remain faithful to God and His Word!! And thankfully, because of who God is, He remains faithful even when His people are faithless!! Thank you LORD!!

The spiritual challenge for God’s people moving forward is to beseech the Holy Spirit in your prayers to increase your faithfulness to God and to His One and only Son, Jesus Christ, especially during the extreme tests you will encounter in this mortal life, similar to how Jesus relied on the Father when He was being crucified on the cross for our salvation.

#BecomingMoreLikeJesus ✝️