February 22 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

Elijah's name is his mission: "My God is the LORD." Elijah teaches us the meaning of repentance by the removal of idolatry. Unless we obey the Word, God's blessings don't descend. Instead, the land will experience a terrible drought.

Bible Reading:

Romans 11:1–6

Bible Text:

"I reserve seven thousand in Israel ... whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and ... whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).

Devotional:

In his report to the LORD, Elijah says twice that he is the only one left. Everyone else has switched sides or been killed, says Elijah. The true religion is a lost cause.

However, the sovereign God replies, "I reserve seven thousand in Israel" who don't engage in Baal worship. Seven thousand is a symbolic number for the total remnant. God knows all the faithful ones. He has written their names in his book.

This is a tremendously comforting message. Keep it in mind when statistics show an ever growing apostasy. The LORD still has an elect remnant of seven thousand.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul argued that God chose Israel by grace—not because they qualified as the best. They became God's people by God's choice. And in the dark days of Ahab and Jezebel, said Paul, God kept a remnant of true believers by grace.

In Paul's day most Jews had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Israel as a whole did not welcome the long-expected Savior. Only a small portion of the Jewish people believed and became Christians. This part of the nation Paul called "a remnant chosen by grace" (Rom. 11:5).

The remnant survives because God has chosen them and holds on to them. God's church will persevere even in the worst of times. The "seven thousand" faithful ones endure because God's grace keeps the remnant faithful.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.