SA KRISTIYANONG UMIIYAK NA, SANA, #IntegralFaith at #TugmaLahat SA WORD AND CHARACTER OF GOD ANG STAND NG CHURCH LEADERS AT KA-MIYEMBRO, ANG POST NA ITO AY PARA SA IYO
By Maria Lourdes Sereno
Alalahanin na pinanghinaan din ng loob si prophet Elijah. At yung discouragement na iyun, sabi nga ng iba, depression daw, ay nangyari right after a glorious miraculous victory over the priests of the pagan god Baal. Sa Mount Carmel, yung sacrifice offered by Elijah as the lone prophet of Yahweh was completely consumed by fire that came from heaven, even if the wooden pile on which it was placed was heavily drenched in water. Iyun kasi ang challenge placed by Elijah: whose god could consume the sacrifices — Baal or Yahweh. Yung priests of Baal, mula umaga hanggang takipsilim, nagdasal, nagiyakan, humiyaw, nagsayaw, at naglaslas na nga ng katawan, begging Baal to rain down fire from heaven on their sacrifice. Literally, dinugo sila. At nung malapit na ang time ng evening sacrifice, they gave up and it was then the turn of Elijah.
So Elijah increased the odds against his own side by asking gallons of water to be poured on his sacrifice. He even had a trench dug around the wood and had it filled with water. When he prayed a straightforward prayer, fire came down from heaven. It consumed the bull (the sacrifice), all the water-logged wood, and even the water in the trench. Sobrang miraculous! At dahil doon, nagkaroon ng courage ang mga tao to follow the instruction of Elijah to kill the 450 prophets of Baal who were leading the people to idolatry and witchcraft. Sa harap ito ni King Ahab na patron ng Baal worship nangyari!
Sobrang victory yun! But despite that great victory, si Queen Jezebel instead of fearing Yahweh, publicly announced her order that Elijah will be killed!
Natakot si Elijah at nagtago. In his solitude, nagtatampo siyang sinagot ang tanong ng Diyos kung bakit siya naroroon at nagtatago sa Mt. Horeb. Sinabi ni Elijah, kasi siya ay nag-iisa na lang na ipinaglalaban ang karangalan ni Yahweh.
Ito ang assurance ni Yahweh kay Elijah sa 1 Kings 19:14-18:
ELIJAH: Lord, very zealous po ako sa Iyo. Pero tinalikuran na ang covenant Ninyo ng Israelites, pinagtitibag na ang Iyong mga altar, at pinatay ang Iyong mga propeta. At ngayon, pati ako ay papatayin na rin nila.
YAHWEH: (matapos binigyan ng detailed next-steps instructions si Elijah) At, NAG-RESERVE AKO NG 7,000 SA ISRAEL, MGA HINDI LUMUHOD O HUMALIK KAY BAAL.
Ibig sabihin po, hindi lang nakikita ni Elijah, na hindi siya nag-iisa. Marami sila. At lalaban sila para sa tunay na Diyos.
