Difference between revisions of "Sermon for July 17th, 2016"

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22 Kings 1:1-18

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.

2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

5 The messengers returned to the king, who said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 They answered him, “There came a man to meet us, who said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, “A hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. So the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14 Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he set out and went down with him to the king, 16 and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.”

Death of Ahaziah 17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. His brother, Jehoram succeeded him as king in the second year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

What Sort of Man

In verse 7 of today's scripture passage, King Ahaziah (the son and successor to King Ahab) asks his men "What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?"

What sort of man was he? That's actually a question that has been on *my* mind for several weeks now, as we have been examining the life of Israel's greatest prophet, Elijah the Tishbite. I will confess to you that often I will choose the topic for a sermon series without quite having everything sorted out in my own mind. I do that for several reasons. Partly to leave room for God to move and speak into that vast space between these ancient stories and our present-day lives; partly because it's easier to come up with the right questions than the right answers; and partly because I like to procrastinate.

In any case, I started out by asking, who was Elijah? What was he like...as a person? Why did he do the crazy things he did? What made him so great, so revered in Israel's history? And what can we learn from his example? If I'm being honest, those questions have been really hard to answer.

Elijah is moody and mysterious--it's hard to get inside his head. He is principled to the point of being rigid and inflexible. He is capable of great compassion, such as when he miraculously feeds the widow, and brings her son back to life. But he's also capable of great cruelty, such as when he singlehandedly slaughters the 450 prophets of Ba'al, or in today's story when he calls down fire to consume 100 of the king's men, then (when asked nicely) spares the next 50.

What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?

The more I read and reflect on the character of Elijah, the more I become convinced that he was not a man at all, at least not in the conventional sense. Interestingly enough, there is support for this idea in ancient Jewish tradition.

In the book of Numbers we read of a high priest of Israel by the name of Phinehas, who, in a moment of extreme zeal, avenges Yahweh against a rebellious and idolatrous leader. God rewards Phinehas by promising him "eternal priesthood." Phinehas goes on to appear in a few other episodes, including one at the end of the book of Judges, where he is still serving as high priest...about 300 years after his first appearance.

Observing this detail, ancient interpreters also observed that the death of Phinehas is not recorded anywhere in the scriptures...which would be unusual for a high priest. Some of them concluded that, in fact, he never died. Another few hundred years later, Elijah the Tishbite shows up out of nowhere, without a real name (remember that Elijah simply means "my God is Yahweh") and like Phinehas before him, is described multiple times as being "very zealous" for the Lord. Last week, we saw a world-weary Elijah plead with God to just let him die, and as we'll see next week, Elijah never really does die--God takes him back up to heaven in a chariot of fire.

Ancient Jewish interpreters reasoned that Phinehas and Elijah were indeed one and the same person--and that in Israel's time of need, he would come again to save them. This is why the prophet Malachi (the last book in the Old Testament) says, on behalf of God, "Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse."

That's also why in the New Testament, everyone keeps asking both John the Baptist and Jesus if they are really Elijah returned again to save them from their oppressors. So what am I saying here? That Elijah is some sort of divine, immortal being sent periodically to protect the people of Israel? Not exactly, although that is what some ancient interpreters believed.

This idea--the idea of a great warrior-hero who never dies, but simply disappears, and will someday return to fight on behalf of his nation in its darkest hour--this is not unique to Israel.

In England, that figure was King Arthur, the legendary king who embodied all the values held dear by his people (nobility, chivalry, equality), and defended England against foreign invaders with the magical sword, excalibur, given to him by the lady of the lake. When Arthur was fataly wounded in battle, legend has it, he was taken away to the island of Avalon, where he would heal from his wounds and come again to England in her darkest hour. During World War II, some felt that Winston Churchill was nothing less than King Arthur come again. When asked what he believed about the Arthurian legend, Churchill famously said, "It is all true, or it ought to be; and more and better besides."

I'm sure we can point to several heroic figures in our own culture, both real and legendary. But there's one in particular who has helped me a great deal in understanding Elijah, and the role he plays in these scripture passages.

This hero was created by two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland in the 1930's during the depths of the Great Depression. We know him as Superman, the man of steel, or the man of tomorrow. His birth name, given to him by his parents on the dying planet Krypton, is Kal-El. By the way, Kal-El is Hebrew (did I mention his creators were Jewish?) for "The voice of God." In Judaism, one who speaks with the voice of God is a Nevi'im--which we translate as "prophet." In other words, Superman is a prophet.

That might sound strange, if you think that a prophet is just someone who talks and predicts the future. But as we've seen in Elijah's story, Old Testament prophets also use supernatural abilities to fight bad guys. On several occasions (including today's passage) Elijah calls down fire from heaven. Superman can run faster than a speeding bullet, and Elijah can run faster than King Ahab's speeding chariots. Superman is known by his distinctive (and slightly disturbing) costume, wearing his underwear outside his pants. In today's scripture passage, when the King's soldiers say they met "a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist" the King immediately says, "It is Elijah, the Tishbite." When things get tough for Superman, he retreats to the Fortress of Solitude. When things get tough for Elijah, he retreats to his cave in the wilderness.

Superman appeared on the scene at a time when America was first emerging as a world superpower: He steadfastly represents the values of his people: Truth, Justice, and the American way. Elijah appears at a time when Israel was first emerging as an independent nation, and was transitioning from a polytheistic culture (that worshiped many gods) to a monotheistic culture. Superman fights to protect truth, justice and the American way; Elijah fights to protect Israel's sacred worship of one God, Yahweh. Both of their names (which are not really names) reflect the desires of their people: He is a super man. We are a super power. His God is Yahweh. We worship Yahweh alone.

Superman is certainly a fictional character, but he often fights real, historical enemies, who usually happen to be the enemies of America. During World War II, Superman fought the Nazis. During the Cold War, he fought communists. And in the most recent Superman movie, he fought some middle Eastern terrorists. By the way...Superman was 29 years old when he first appeared in 1938, which makes him about 107 years old now. Like Elijah, he never dies--and even when he appears to, he always comes back when his country needs him most.

We have no way of knowning whether Elijah was a historical person, a legendary folk hero, or a just a myth. But we do know that his enemies were real: Ahab and Ahaziah are historical kings, attested in external sources and verified in the archaelogical record. It's worth remembering that the book of Kings, in which Elijah appeared, was never intended to be taken as a work of historical fact. That's why the author says (at the end of today's passage) that as for "the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?" That's the history book. This is the book to teach us, to inspire us, to give us a dream, and a national identity.

• dual identity, power and powerlessness (exilic judaism)