Men of God

Reading:   2 Kings 1

Okay the summer is over and, although I did not write a consistent blog, I assure you that I did read my scriptures daily and made notes and comments so that I could catch up on the blog.  To that end, I will be posting current blogs and dropping in others as I write them.

This chapter holds the best Elijah story, if not the best "prophet" tale, written in the Bible.  Up to this point, Elijah had done a number of things as directed by God and made quite a stir among the nobility, especially Ahab (King of Israel).  Here, Ahaziah (King of Israel after the death of Ahab), was concerned about his future and sent forth men to seek out an answer from prophets of Baal-zeebub. Elijah intercepted these messengers and straight up told them that Ahaziah would not recover but surely die.  This news was obviously not pleasing to Ahaziah and he therefore sent men forth to find Elijah and bring him forth for questioning.

2 KINGS 1:9-15

9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. 

10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 

11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. 

12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 

13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 

14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. 

15 And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. 

With the power of God, Elijah destroyed 102 soldiers and barely lifted a finger!  He was a little "hairy" old man, who sat on a hill wearing nothing but "...a girdle of leather about his loins (v.8)," and yet he dispensed the power of God with supreme ability. BOOM, fifty-one dead, BOOM, another fifty-one dead, who's next...?  I love it!!

So to relate this incredible tale...anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I somewhat pride myself on my outward appearance.  I'm not a real approachable guy because of my somewhat imposing look; likewise, I tend to allow people their initial assessment of what kind of guy I am without any attempt to sway their opinion with my incredibly warm personality, uh, anyway, the reason I bring this up...I have rarely come across men whom I have felt inferior to, on a strength or power scale, because I look for, and always seem to find, a weakness in even the largest of men - a focal point by which I could expose/attack if the occassion arose.  Now I realize that most people probably don't go about finding physical weakness in their fellow men but it is an initial assessment that I always make (we'll leave it to the shrinks to decipher why).  Anyway, here's the thing, those few men that I have felt an immediate sense of inferior power to have typically, if not always, been smaller men.  In some cases they have even been quite old and feeble but their power was very palpable.  I'm not talking about power in respect to persons (like a mafia boss etc., men who can point a finger and have things happen).  I'm talking about individual power that radiates from a person.  The kind of power that can only come from a relationship with God.  A level of faith that breaks the barrier of mortality and transcends the physical constraints of the natural man.

When reading of Elijah and his incredible obedience and faith and the subsequent power he exuded despite his mortal frame, I cannot help equate this man of God with similar men I have met.  I have shaken  the hand of the tiny, feeble, unimposing figure, of President Spencer W. Kimball, and, even as a young boy, that experience is prevalant in my mind because of the power that man of God radiated.

I have felt the same power in the company of other men and have experienced an undeniable strength tangible in the words expressed from several general authorities as they speak from the pulpit of General Conference.   Elijah is not alone in his faith, obedience, and immense power.  There are men, alive today, with these same incredible attributes - these are they that I would and will follow into the darkest pits of Hell - complete Men of God!

~Kipling