1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
One thing that is universal with weak men is that they reject correction. It doesn’t matter what kind of correction it is; they flat-out reject it by getting defensive, deflecting to someone else, or going on the attack. A sign of a mature, godly man is that they receive correction by repenting to the Lord and making the necessary corrections. Elijah brought correction to Ahab, but Ahab chose to ignore it.
Just last week, the Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, held a hastily formed news conference to announce that two people had died of measles. One was a newborn baby. It turns out that the baby died from other complications and tested positive for measles. When confronted with the truth a couple of days later, Shapiro deflected and refused to answer any reporters’ questions. By the weekend, he had canceled most of his appearances and was meeting with a crisis management team to reshape his message. Most people are thinking, “What’s the big deal about this whole thing?” but Shapiro was trying to force a political view on people, and when it blew up in his face, he couldn’t admit his error.
Ahab gets confronted by Elijah the prophet, his nemesis. Elijah is Ahab’s polar opposite in every way. As a man of God, he is sent to give Ahab a short message. There isn’t going to be any rain or dew for years, except at Elijah’s word. Rain was everything to Israel because it was an agrarian society. Their crops and herds relied upon the rain. This was a judgment against Ahab, but also an indictment of the god Ahab worshipped, Baal. Baal was the God of rain and crop success, and God was showing Ahab that He was superior. Instead of tearing his clothes and repenting, Ahab did nothing. He didn’t even inquire of Elijah what he could do to mediate the situation.
It would be easy to brush this off and think we are nothing like Ahab, but think about the times you are stubborn, insisting on your own way. It may not be on the scale of Ahab, but it is the same spirit. Ahab knew Elijah was right, but he was too stubborn to admit it. His confidence in his false god and fear of his overbearing wife prevented him from receiving correction. There are a whole host of reasons behind our stubbornness, but the spirit is the same: we don’t want to admit when we are wrong.
This is the first of many confrontations between Elijah and Ahab. God put prophets in place to speak to Israel and guide the kings. Ahab constantly rejected Elijah’s Godly advice. By the end of Ahab’s life, these confrontations became almost comical. He went to his grave refusing to acknowledge the God of Israel and heed the counsel and correction of the prophets. Ahab is a warning sign to all men who reject Biblical counsel and correction. God is undefeated in this.
How do we make corrections when we struggle in this area? First, we need to admit it before God, to our wife (be prepared for an “I told you so” moment), your pastor, and a close group of guy friends. Public acknowledgment is essential to life change. That is why being part of a men’s small group or Bible study matters. Having close confidants to work through issues is vital to spiritual growth. Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens another.
Second, take correction and consider it before you reject it. What can you learn from it? When a person confronts you, tell them you will take what they said into consideration. Ask questions to clarify. If need be resummarize the issue to the person to make sure you got it right. Two caveats: there isn’t always a morsel of truth in every criticism; some people just like to complain. Also, only take correction from those from whom you would take advice.
Finally, work on your body language when confronted. Being defensive prevents you from fully hearing what the person is saying because you are formulating your defense in your mind. It also puts the person bringing this difficult subject at ease and lets them share freely.
