The Sword of the LORD

“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.  And when even was now come, His disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.  And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.  So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.  But He saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid .  Then they willingly received Him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went .” (John 6:15-21). The sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John tells the story of the miraculous feeding of above 5,000 people when Jesus multiplied two small fish and five small loaves of bread.  We find that account in the first 14 verses of the chapter. ...

  There was severe drought and famine in the land of Israel in the Prophet Elijah’s day.   It would continue for three and a half years and severely affect the lives of most Israelites at that time.   Like today, people were feeling much uncertainty and fear for the future.   Some didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, and many were perishing from hunger.   Why was Israel left so impoverished?   It was because they had left off serving the true God and turned to worshipping Baal, an idol that was revered by some of the heathen nations around them.     Ahab, king of Israel during the time when the drought occurred, was not a good or godly man.   He managed to become even worse by the choices that he made in his personal life.   He chose Jezebel for his wife, a daughter of Ethbaal, who was the king of the Zidonians.   The name Ethbaal means “with Baal” and signifies that he reverenced and worshipped the heathen god Ba...