THE STATE OF THE UNION

 

THE STATE OF THE UNION

I Kings 16:29-17:1

Things were bad in Israel. God’s patience towards them had worn thin. Over and over again, God had sent prophets to them to admonish them to pay attention and repent. He warned them about what was going to happen if they didn’t. In our text today, we are told just how bad things had gotten. The interesting thing is how many similarities there are between how things are now and how they were then. We desperately need people to stand in the gap on behalf of our Lord.

There was aH growing decline in morals. It passed from generation to generation. Loose morals was the norm. King Ahab was blatant in his sinful living. He lived for the pleasures of sin and was deemed to be more wicked than his father and those who preceded him. He made no effort to do what was right in God’s eyes.

There was a moral decline in the institution of marriage. 31; I Cor. 6:14-18 Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of a Baal worshiper. He ignored God’s warnings about marrying a non-believer. Like so many who preceded him, his marriage was a political alliance. MarTriage was not deemed to be a sacred and spiritual institution. Sound familiar?

There was a moral decline in religious practice. 31-33 Ahab was the king of Israel, God’s chosen people. Although Israel was often God’s people in name only, God had watched over them and showed them the way of righteousness for centuries. God had poured out His love upon them, and they spurned His love time and time again. His father was evil, and Ahab followed in his footsteps. He did not look to God for guidance and help; instead, he worshiped Baal and Asherah. He worshiped creation rather than its Creator.

Today we live in a culture that is on a very slippery moral, marital, and religious decline. Sin is blatantly practiced. Morality, marriage, and Christianity are deemed to be old-fashioned and no longer relevant.

We desperately need God’s people to stand in the gap on behalf of our nation and stand for Biblical standards. We must not cave into the culture. We must be God’s voice to this generation. Will you stand in the gap and let your voice be heard?