“...the one who comes
to Me I will by no means cast out.” – John 6:37
During ancient
times, High Priests were the most respected people in the society. They lived
with all honour and dignity. One such High Priest was Eli. He was a righteous
person who judged Israelites. He was chosen by God out of all tribes of Israel
to be His priest and the one who is worthy to stand upon the altar. All the
people of Israel know that Eli was a holy person. But Eli did a mistake in his
life. He never corrected his sons-Hophni
and Phinehas who were behaving
wickedly. They took the prime cuts of meat from sacrifices and also committed
adultery with woman who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation. Though Eli was aware of their behaviour, he rebuked them too
lightly and was unable to stop them. As his sons continued sinning, God’s word
came against Eli through a prophet saying, “...There
shall not be an old man in thine house” (I Samuel 2:31) i.e., all male
descendants will die before reaching old age.
Later, Kings
started ruling the country. They had all power and authority over the entire
region. One such King was Ahab-the husband of Jezebel. He was a wicked person
who ruled Israelites. He was the seventh king of Israel since Jeroboam. He was
a notorious person and an evil ruler who hungered for power. His wife Jezebel
was also evil in such a way that she wanted to kill every true prophet in
Israel. They had no righteousness in their life and he kept on doing mistakes. When
the innocent blood of Naboth-the owner of vineyard was shed, God’s word came
against him through Prophet Elijah saying, “...In
the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even
thine”. (I Kings 21:19) God warned them through Elijah that both he and his
wife will be killed.
Now, if we look
into the life of these two different people Eli and Ahab, both of them had committed
mistake and God’s word came against them. But they differed in the way in which
they responded to it. Eli said, “...It
is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth good. (I Samuel 3:18) But Ahab
responded differently. “...He humbled
himself and tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted” (I Kings 21:27)
Eli was a saint who
kept on hearing God’s word and always accepted it just the way He said. That is
why, even now he accepted what the Lord had said and never bothered it. So, God’s
wrath came to pass exactly as He had spoken. Though Ahab was a wicked person
from the beginning, he never grumbled or complained on hearing God’s word. Instead
he immediately humbled himself in the sight of God. Because he humbled, God
said “...I will not bring this evil in
his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house”. (I Kings
21:29) Because of his humbleness, God’s wrath did not come to pass at that
time.
Even today, you might be the most
respected person in your locality but you might have lost your dignity because
of your deeds. On the other hand, you might be an adulterer or someone who has
stolen or probably you might have even murdered. You might have been accused
and rejected by the world. You might have lost all your hope today. Whatever is
your state, the Lord is gracious to forgive everything and He is willing to
accept you just the way you are.
Bible says in Isaiah
55:7, “...He(Lord) will have mercy upon him...for He will abundantly pardon”
Whatever mistakes you might have
done till now, know the truth that the Lord is for you and not against you. His
Gracious Hands are there to comfort you and not to punish you. He is waiting
for you with an outstretched arm to accept you into His family. He will never
reject you at any cost. He will never forsake you at any point of your life. Just
commit your life to Him. Only He has the power to change your life upside down.
If you humble yourself today, He will
be gracious to forgive and lift you up in front of all.
(NOTE: GHG Team wholeheartedly thank Ms. Melinda Charlet for her help in writing this article)
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