1. Genuine involvement in an evil culture has great rewards and also great consequences.
2. Our culture does not want to hear from true believers in Jesus Christ.
3. 1 Kings 16:29-33 introduces the reign of Ahab in a very negative way.
4. The writer has a negative view of King Ahab and justly so.
5. Elijah was intimately involved in the religious and political life of his culture.
6. Ahab reigned 29 years.
7. "Of all sin, the greatest in the eyes of the biblical authors was idolatry, and they often wrote of it this way." The Apologetics Study Bible
8. Modern day idolatry is much more prevalent in our culture and also in our own life.
9. 1 Kings 16:30-"more evil...than any of those before him", is a sad commentary on Ahab the King. May this not be a commentary on any of our lives.
10. Our Great and Gracious God does not look on our sin favorably.
11. 1 Kings 16:31-"He not only considered it trivial to commit the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him", is a sobering commentary on Elijah's world, but also on ours.
12. Many church members have closed their eyes to the sins of the culture due to a desire to participate in those sins.
13. True reflection and confession will lead us to confess our worship of the 21st Century Baals.
14. True spiritual involvement in our culture will require us utilizing God's Holy Spirit.
15. God's Holy Spirit always ministers to His ministers who are seeking to minister to their culture.
16. True involvement in our culture will require proclaiming the truth of God's Word.
17. God always expects His people to confront the evils of their culture.
18. Our culture will react violently and politically whenever we confront their sins.
19. "Gilead" on the east of the Jordan River and south of the Yarmuk river was a wild, forested, and largely unsettled during this era." The Apologetics Study BibleA
20. "Baal" was the Canaanite storm god, who supposedly brought life-giving rain to the land. The drought and control of the weather was a direct challenge to Baal's credibility as a deity. The Apologetics Study Bible
21. A "wadi" is a stream that is dry most of the year, but which tended to have flash floods during the wet season.
22. Anyone who truly confronts our evil culture will require refreshments and nourishments from the Holy Spirit.
23. Notice how the Ravens kept bringing Elijah bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he also drank from the wadi.
24. We must accept the nourishment before us.
25. Confronting the culture will sometimes lead to discouragement and depression. We need God's Holy Spirit, His Word, His written word, and a good Christian family and friends.