A Biblical pastor often shares truth and, sadly, is lambasted for his courage; he can easily be the recipient of scorn and anger. So as a skilled attorney seeks to discredit the opposing witness to invalidate the testimony, so also do people seek to discredit a pastor to ignore his message. Shooting the messenger seeks to take away from the truth of one’s statement by redirecting the focus onto the person making the claims.
Let’s say, for instance, a pastor delves into the realities of a specific sin, oftentimes those that are opposed to it (or guilty of that sin) try to discredit the source instead of deciphering whether the information is fact and applies to them.
'Shooting the messenger' is a manipulative tactic to appease the conscience. Click To TweetEssentially, it is bringing emotions of distrust into a factual situation to sideline your rationale into an emotive state. Once there, feelings often lead the thinking process and taint the viewpoint brought to the table. ‘Shooting the messenger’ is a manipulative tactic to appease the conscience.
How did we get here?
Jumping back, we walked through Solomon’s life and the country splitting.
There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
1 Kings 12:20b
Judah (with Simeon, as it’s land was completely surrounded by Judah) was the southern nation (the line of Jesus) and Israel consisted of the other 10 tribes as the northern nation. The Israelites had split.
Walking through the different kings of both nations guides us a bit to understand the severity of Elijah’s warnings.
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Judah’s kings…
Since Solomon, Judah had three kings by the time Elijah entered the picture: Rehoboam (17 year reign), Abijah (3 years), and Asa (41 year reign). They were all the same family line.
- David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord;
- David’s son, Solomon, “loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places”;
- Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and reigned 17 years;
- Rehoboam’s son, Abijah, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and reigned 3 years; and
- Abijah’s son, Asa, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done” and reigned 41 years.
Solomon veered off from complete alignment; while we cannot deliberately attach his son’s behaviors to this, we can see that it may have led to Rehoboam’s choices especially in light of the fact that it was unknown if Solomon died repentant. Also of note, is that Asa is directly connected to his Great-Great-Grandfather, David, as they were both aligned spiritually with God. A question we might also ask of ourselves, who would we be associated with?
In Israel’s lineup, a similar alignment is mentioned, all who did evil in the Lord’s sight were connected to Jeroboam, the first evil leader.
Israel’s kings…
Well, Israel takes on a different historical list for kings. There are many kings during this time, and they all align themselves together… in a bad way.
- Jeroboam (22 year reign): completely defied the word of the Lord and set up an opposing worship framework to keep the two nations separate (two golden calves, shrines on high places, priests from any tribe, created his own festivals, sacrificed to the calves, etc.), this was the beginning to a destructive path.
- Nadab (2 year reign): Jeroboam’s son; “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.”
- Baasha (24 year reign): assassinated Nadab; “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.”
- Elah (2 year reign): Baasha’s son; assassinated (along with his entire family and all of his friends) as a result of Baasha’s judgment from the Lord for his sins.
- Zimri (7 day reign): He sure didn’t last long; the people spoke up and proclaimed Omri as king; he died as a result of the “sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin.”
- Omri (12 year reign): Half of Israel wanted Tibni to be king; Omri won the civil war that ensued as a result of the indecision; built the capital city, Samaria; “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.”
- Ahab (22 year reign): Omri’s son; he “did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him… as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat….”
All of the Israelite kings so far were associated with Jeroboam (Elah was through Baasha’s judgment). He was infamous. Until one superceded him: Ahab. Ahab was notorious for his disdain for the Lord.
The messenger…
Prophets were oftentimes thought of as God’s messengers. They received, interpreted, and delivered God’s messages. Imagine, if you will, approaching a wicked king with a foreboding message. Um, that would be terrifying! I cannot imagine a more scary job.
Elijah first enters the scene by pronouncing to King Ahab a judgment on the land. Leading up to this point, we have seen a snowball effect of evil growing with the Israelite kings. They would murder anyone who opposed them. Elijah was taking his life in his hands every single time he confronted the king.
‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand….’
1 Kings 17:1b
That did not stop him from obeying the Lord!
His first pronouncement was a drought. While we may consider it ironic, it was a direct blow in multiple ways to King Ahab.
First, Elijah states his allegiance is to the Lord, not the king. The king and priest were to be set in place by God to lead the people to Him; Israel had neither at the time so Elijah was sent as a messenger.
‘[T]here shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’
1 Kings 17:1c
Second, King Ahab set up a temple for Baal in the capital city of Samaria. Baal was thought to not only be a god of fertility but also ‘lord of the rain clouds’. Here, we see the abject lack of power that Baal actually possessed.
Following the Lord’s commands, he fled and hid. God sent birds to deliver food, and then led him to a widow who was preparing to die with her young son. She had no food as a result of the drought, but still listened to and obeyed Elijah. He had asked her to use a portion of her very last provisions to make him food.
Discrediting the messenger…
Within the third year of the drought, Elijah is told to go back to Ahab and rain will follow.
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:18-19
False accusations. They get flung at good people often. Sometimes, the best answer is to walk away trusting that your reputation will discard baseless claims. Other times, however, it is best to call it out to right the wrong.
Elijah calls it out and correctly identifies the truth and defines it by Biblical standards. Not only that, he authoritatively tells him what to do next.
Ahab complies and one of the biggest showcases of God’s power is displayed.
Taunting by the messenger…
As though calling it out were not enough, Elijah goes yet another step further. He goes farther than what we would consider reasonable in an effort to showcase the reality of God’s power. The priests of Baal were to set up an altar and divine their god to produce fire. Afterward, Elijah was to do the same. All in front of the people, to show them who was truly God. The 450 prophets of Baal had taken all morning and failed to conjure up even a spark.
And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
1 Kings 18:27-29
Nowadays, Elijah’s mocking would likely be deemed unseemly, uncouth, and uncaring. However, Jesus protecting the temple steps by angrily tossing over the moneychangers’ tables would also be characterized in the same light, had it not been Jesus Himself carrying that out.
The point, when dealing with God’s glory, there is a time to be bold when it is to showcase the glory of God.
Confirming the message…
After the outrageous displays by 450 men (crying loudly, cutting themselves so blood would gush out, raved on), Elijah contrasts this greatly. He called the people to him, took 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes (not just 10 to represent Israel), built an altar, dug a trench around, prepared the offering, and had them pour water over it all 3 separate times. The altar and offering were drenched in water. Calmly and quietly, in stark comparison, Elijah stepped forward and prayed.
‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.’
1 Kings 10:9, emphasis added
The purpose: “that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God.”
Right before this, Elijah asks the people a question we should ask ourselves
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
1 Kings 18:21
How different is the question for us today? How long will we go limping between two different opinions? Do you serve the living God, a version of God that you designed to appease your conscience, or perhaps the things of the world, maybe money?
We have one life to live.
One!
This world is not our home, and in that light, who will you choose, this day, to serve?
Elijah commanded the people to seize the prophets and kill them all. They had defied the Lord and led the people astray. Their punishment was death.
Shooting the messenger…
After King Ahab’s horrifically evil wife, Jezebel, heard what happened, she threatened Elijah’s life. As though it was his fault. He was relaying a message through demonstrations and actions who God was, that He was still living, and He was in ultimate control. He was God’s messenger.
Shooting the messenger may have looked more like a beheading at that time, but the intent was no different. Elijah came with a message from God, the receiver did not like it, and they tried to kill the messenger instead of dealing with the message.
God does not intend to send us a message for us to ignore it. Nor does he send a messenger for us to place the blame on. Our guilt should never supercede the basis of the message and the call to right our hearts with His.
This closely aligns with pastoral care and should impassion us to fervently pray for pastors to tell the truth in all situations, that they demonstrate the courage of Elijah.
Distraught as he was over his son’s pending divorce and sinful lifestyle, a man met with his pastor to discuss the situation. When the pastor humbly suggested that the man’s son did not appear to be in right relationship with the Lord but was merely saying the things a Christian would say to appease his hearers, the father went away angry at the pastor. How dare he accuse his son of not being a Christian?! After all, the son could recite verses, had a concept of Biblical morals, and said sorry.
The pastor saw through the nothingness of words without actions. He determined that verbiage does not save a man, but a continually sinful life with no true repentance was not Biblical. He rightly advised the father how to help his son, by understanding where his son was at in life. The father could not accept that, and maliciously gossiped about the pastor in order to discredit him and to accept his truth as reality.
While I could never imagine being on the receiving end of that conversation, it serves as a great reminder to take out the emotions and logically look at a situation. God may send a pastor, a friend, an enemy even, to wake us up to reality. Shooting the messenger is never the answer, shooting down the sin is the answer.
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Biblically sound and so good! “Shooting the messenger is never the answer, shooting down the sin is the answer.” <— So true!
Thank you for this in depth look at shooting the messenger regarding pastors isn’t it something. I enjoyed reading about Elijah and how he was in the same position as some of our pastors. Blessings to you.