We read the history of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and it is there so that we can learn from it. We can learn how awesome and amazing God is, and we can learn how deadly and powerful sin is. We can see how time and time again, the nation of Isreal waffled between wanting to serve God and wanting to serve the flesh and the false gods of the other nations around them. And, sadly, we see how so often they made the wrong choice and paid the price for their actions.
After reading their history, it should be clear to us that the only way to peace, joy, and a successful Christian life is to obey God and keep His commandments, however – it would seem that many times we learn nothing from them, and we ourselves can’t decide whether to serve our flesh or to truly serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We come to just such a story in I Kings 18. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were wicked rulers, and they were leading the nation of Israel far from God. So, the prophet Elijah offered to have a contest between the false god and the true God, and which one would answer prayer. They had the contest, and the result was the Almighty God was the One Who answered. It seems the nation of Israel was just like many people today. One day they wanted to serve God, and the next day, they go jealous of the world around them, and wanted to serve their false gods. They kept going back and forth.
Look at what Elijah says to them, “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word.” (1 Kings 18:21) He basically said, “Make up your mind! Stop waffling between them…if God is truly God – then follow Him, if Baal is the true god, then follow him, but stop the constant back and forth false worship!
The same is true for us today! If God is truly God, then STOP giving your flesh and the world so much attention, and give God everything. Either God and His Word are 100% true or they are 100% false. Our constant back and forth worship makes God sick. Look at what He says to the church at Laodicea, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:15-17)
Make up your mind! Is God truly God? Then why waste any more time following after the flesh, the world, and the devil??? Those other ‘gods’ will never satisfy anyway!