The modern city of Haifa is a major travel and industrial hub. But it also has its roots deep in the past, as its southern neighbourhoods stretch up the northern slopes of Mount Carmel. From the neighbourhood of our new coffee shop, you can look up and see the slopes where prophets of Baal walked up the mountain for a showdown with the Lord’s prophet, Elijah. If you’d been there at the right moment in history, you might have been able to see the fire descending from heaven on Elijah’s sacrifice.
Elijah asked the people of Israel a question that still confronts us today: ‘How long will you waver between two opinions?’ (1 Kings 18:21 NIV). The people had not completely abandoned the Lord. Rather, they were trying to hold onto God while also holding onto the idols and influences of the culture around them.
I sometimes wonder what Elijah would say to us now, if he could come walking down that mountain into Haifa.
In the modern world, you’d be hard-pressed to find any worshippers of Baal. But unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that we’ve done away with idolatry. Many of us are weary from placing our trust in things that were never meant to save us. Politics cannot provide peace. Financial success cannot sustain the soul. Physical comfort cannot satisfy spiritual hunger. Technology cannot touch the heart.
Only God can do those things. King David reminded us, ‘Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation’ (Psalm 62:1).
Haifa today is a very secular city – as are most of the cities in which we proclaim the gospel to our people. It has no shortage of the idols of modern culture. So, at the start of this new ministry, it’s tempting to wish that God might rain down fire on the mountain once more, just to get our people’s attention.
Then I remember that He has already done that. He sent the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire to fill believers gathered on the Shavuot after Jesus’ ascension. He empowered us as His body to be witnesses in Judea and to the ends of the earth.
Across Israel today, we are meeting more and more Jewish people who are asking questions about Jesus or who have encountered God in powerful ways. The Lord is drawing His people back to Himself.
As we begin our collaborative ministry through Café Maagan in Haifa, working in partnership with local ministries and congregations, please pray with us for the people of Haifa. May God send those who are ready to engage in honest spiritual conversations. May many see the power of the gospel to change lives and find true hope in Messiah Himself.
My prayer for our staff, you and me is that God will guard our hearts and minds against the lure of modern idols. In a world filled with competing voices and false promises, may we stay wholeheartedly committed to the One who alone is worthy of our trust, worship and hope.