Who is the Troublemaker Here?
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 18:1-17
Ahab was arguably the most wicked of all Israel’s kings. In response to Ahab’s evil, God raised up the prophet who is arguably the greatest of all the Prophets – Elijah. These two men engaged in a spiritual war for the soul of God’s people. With Ahab on one side and Elijah on the other, the people of Israel were being challenged as to which side they were on. Ultimately, it was not about choosing Elijah or Ahab. It was about choosing between God or the devil, righteousness or sin.
To use the words of both Elijah and Ahab, Israel was troubled. The question is, “who was the source of the trouble?” In verse 17, when Ahab saw Elijah, he calls him the “troubler of Israel.” Elijah answers back, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.”
This is more than a childish “I know you are but what am I” retort. This is a serious question. These are the kind of charges and countercharges we hear in politics, church life, on polemical blogs, and on podcasts. It isn’t always expressed with the word “troubler,” but the gist of it is the same. “You are the problem.”
Like Israel, we may be the ones caught in the middle. Not innocent. No more innocent than was Israel of old. But standing, as it were, between two factions who are pointing the finger at one another and decrying each other as the cause of all the trouble. We are left to figure out which is which and choose a side.
This was not a new problem for Israel. Their whole history was one of choosing. They were founded as a nation-state with a moment of choosing. “Choose the day whom you will serve…” demanded Joshua at Shechem (Joshua 24:15). This is the call to each of us still.
The choice often presents itself in the garb of trouble and asks us to discern who is the real source of that trouble. And no one is going to stand up and take the blame. At least that is a rare case of humble pie. Most of the time, as it was in this instance, both sides will point to the other and declare, “You troubler of Israel.”
The way to discern which is which and who is who isn’t as hard or complicated as we might think. We have a way to judge. We have a standard by which to judge. It is called the Bible. Elijah did more than just make an accusation. He demonstrated the logic behind his charge. Ahab was the one who was causing Israel’s trouble because he was the one who had abandoned God’s word and was following false gods.
There you go.
