February 24 Daily Devotional

February 24

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:

2 Kings 1:9–17

Bible Text:

The disciples ... asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them (Luke 9:54-55).

Devotional:

When King Ahaziah understood that it was Elijah who had given him the bad news, he sent his police after the prophet. The first chief said to Elijah, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down.' '' But since only God can command his own prophet, the chief and his platoon were consumed by fire from heaven.

A second detachment suffered the same fate. But the third commander was wiser. He begged for mercy. Then he and his men received mercy.

This is another one of those Old Testament fire-and-brimstone stories. However, we need to be careful how we react to them. Yes, it is an Old Testament account. But the God of Elijah, who struck down Ahaziah's men, is the Father of Jesus and the LORD whom we worship.

True religion is the most beautiful and the most dangerous thing. The love of God is better than sunshine. But anyone who taunts the Almighty or makes light of God's children is playing with fire.

Luke 9 recounts a story also set in Samaria, in roughly the same area where the incident between Elijah and Ahaziah's men occurred. In this story the people of Samaria insulted Jesus, the very Son of God. Impatient and offended, Jesus' pupils wanted fire from heaven—and they could have had it if Jesus had permitted it. But Jesus is God's revelation of love. He would not allow it.

This does not mean fire is absent in the New Testament. To be sure, the fire of God did come down. But instead of striking sinners, it hit the altar on which the Lamb of God was sacrificed.

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.