Years ago, Hebrew National Hotdogs ran an ad campaign featuring Uncle Sam smiling while holding a hotdog. The voiceover talked about all the artificial ingredients that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed them to use to make a hotdog. The slogan at the end was: “not us, we must answer to a higher authority. ”Answering to a higher authority is part of the lesson of this morning's reading of First Kings. Before we continue, it's important to share the backstory. Years earlier, King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel married Jezebel. This marriage was a scandal at the time. Queen Jezebel was a Phoenician princess, worshiper of Baal and Asherah. As queen of Israel she insisted that King Ahab build temples to Baal and Ashram. He even went so far as to insist that Baal become the God of Israel and ordered the death of Yahweh's prophets. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This did not go over well with either the people or Yahweh. A drought spread across the country as famine ensued. This is where our passage resumes. Elijah is now mocked by the prophets of Baal as they celebrate Baal's apparent defeat of Yahweh while more and more of the children of Israel literally change sides or choose to worship both Yahweh and Baal. But Elijah remains undaunted and literally chooses to challenge the prophets of Baal to a duel. Not necessarily a duel to the death, but truly a duel to see which god is real, or which god is capable of doing the impossible. The competition is simple, two altars are set up on each of which a sacrifice is placed. The purpose of the challenge is to see which god will come down to consume the people's sacrifice. Baal goes first, with the altar set up, his prophets singing and praying and shedding their blood all night for Baal to consume the sacrificial carnage with fire. At dawn their efforts are futile. Baal is not coming. Now it is Yahweh's turn. Elijah prepares the altar and then raises the anti, flooding the altar with water. Then call upon the Almighty. With ardor and elegance, Yahweh arrives like a ball of fire and consumes the sacrifice, proving that it is not Yahweh who is powerless, but Baal. Over time, the Children of Israel abandon Baal and the other false gods, corrupting their relationship with Yahweh and returning their allegiance to God. Queen Jezebel is ultimately defeated and brought to her untimely demise. This morning's story serves as an archetype of the human condition. It tells of our fickleness in terms of loyalty to God and the values ​​God has bestowed upon us. It demonstrates how quickly we are willing to turn our backs on God when we are seduced by the false gods around us until we finally come to understand the cliché “all that glitters is not gold.” “Our passage is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. This weekend, as we celebrate and remember the men and women who gave their lives on behalf of this country, we are called to stop and ask ourselves what they were willing to fight for. The easy answer is freedom. But I believe the call to arms for many went deeper. If my history teachers were right, this country was founded on the belief that everyone had the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yes, I know that the history of this country is not as pure and simple as my elementary school teachers made it out to be. that's how it is. In the time of our ancestors, life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness were the only inalienable right of the free male. But over time, and with great conflict, we have come to broaden our understanding to mean that to all people, male.