The Torch Lighting Ceremony
A few months before the Olympic Games, there’s a special ceremony in Greece, where they light the Olympic torch. The event takes place on Mount Olympia, before the ruins of Hera’s temple, Beautiful young women dressed as priestesses preform rituals, pleading with Apollo, the sun god, to kindle Olympic fire once more. When the time comes, the High Priestess uses a parabolic mirror to focus the sun’s rays, lighting the torch.
Of course, if it’s cloudy, the torch is lit in a more ordinary way. But the priestesses still pray and sing to Apollo.
Great pageantry. Wonderful symbolism. Ancient Greece is where the Olympic games originated, and it’s fitting that Greece is where the modern-day Olympic torch is first kindled before the games.
But I have a word of warning.
Elijah’s Story
The Prophet Elijah spoke for the Lord during a time of great darkness in Israel. The country was ruled by King Ahab. His foreign wife, Queen Jezebel, grew up worshipping the deity, Baal and soon her husband did too. The queen started a great wave of persecution and began killing all the prophets of God. She also made Baal worship mandatory.
Elijah confronted King Ahab and later held a contest between himself and the 450 prophets of Baal. Both sides built an altar. Then Elijah and the priests of Baal each slaughtered a bull. stacking the pieces of meat upon their altar’s dry wood. But neither side kindled a fire. Elijah declared the true God would be the one who rained fire from heaven, consuming the offering.
Elijah won.
The 450 prophets of Baal were put to death. The Israelites promptly switched their allegiance back to Yahweh. Then Ahab told Queen Jezebel the bad news.
Immediately, she sent a life-threatening message to Elijah.
This triumphant man of God panicked and ran.
A Divine Intervention
Discouraged and alone in the wilderness, he talked to his God.
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
(1 Kings 19:9-10 NIV)
Yahweh gave His wayward prophet divine instructions about what to do next. Then He answered Elijah’s chief complaint. Several Israelites had stayed faithful to the Lord.
18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18 NIV)
My Spiritual Point
1 Kings 19 shows idolatry from God’s viewpoint.
Many fearful Israelites only pretended to worship the queen’s pagan god. Did some of the Jews even believe Baal existed? Maybe not. But the physical act of bowing to Jezebel’s stone idol condemned them.
In God’s eyes they had committed idolatry.
My Spiritual Point
If I was a young, beautiful Greek actress who was also a God-fearing Christian woman, lighting the Olympic torch is one job I’d pass up. By their dances, songs and prayers, these young women are worshipping a false god, even though he’s not real.
There is one God who placed the sun in the heavens to warm us and give us life and his name is not Apollo.
These images came from Pixabay.com. The image of the older gentleman was ai-generated.
Resources:
A short video of the Olympic torch being lit in front of Hera’s temple in Greece.
Elijah’s war against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel is found in 1 Kings 17-19
WWW.History.com has posted a great article on the First Modern Olympic Games.
