Kingdom Building

June 17, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-7, 8-15a

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. –1 Kings 19:1-7

Revenge and hate eat the people who practice them from the inside out. They may or may not impact their adversary by their actions and feelings, but they will definitely hurt themselves.  This understanding matters because as followers of Christ we are called to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. When we conjure revenge and hate even in our hearts, we are denigrated out love for ourselves and our neighbors. Often our need to hit back at someone for doing something we perceived as negative toward us is the result of our owning the shame of the accusation whether we should or should not.  While we may need to seek forgiveness for something we have done, we also need to learn to forgive ourselves and we do that best when we confess to God and open our hearts to God’s healing.

Elijah fled from Jezebel after she threatened him. He was cared for and nurtured by the angels. He turned his response to Jezebel’s wrath over to God choosing to use his time more productively in his work as a prophet. Think about how much time we waste stewing over small and great insults or mistreatment. God needs us to have our heads on straight and be ready to serve God than wasting time plotting revenge.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls, make us whole so we can love like Jesus. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.