Elijah

…His name means: “Yahweh Is My God”

His work: Elijah was a prophet active in Israel in the middle of the ninth century BC. His primary work was to combat Baal worship and restore the worship of the true God of Israel.

His character: Like Moses, who stood against the false gods of Egypt and the oppression of Pharaoh, Elijah was a prophet who stood against the worship of Baal at great risk to himself. To do so meant defying Ahab and Jezebel, Israel’s royal couple, and trusting God to take care of him when his life was threatened by famine and violence.

His sorrow: Though Elijah was not the only true prophet left in Israel, he appears to have thought he was, perhaps because the rest of the prophets were silent and in hiding. Exhausted after his battle with the false prophets of Baal and his narrow escape from Queen Jezebel, he became so despondent that he prayed God would take his life. Instead, the Lord sent an angel to strengthen him.

His triumph: Elijah was a miracle-working prophet, whose powerful prayer life and whose persistence in speaking God’s word helped preserve the faith of God’s people during a time of religious persecution.

Key Scriptures: 1 Kings 17-19

A Look at the Man…

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” Elijah’s no-nonsense challenge seems all the more powerful, all the more compelling nearly three thousand years later because of the witness of his life.

Persecuted for speaking the truth, hunted by powerful enemies, he was a man with the unenviable task of speaking truth to those who held the truth in contempt. His enemies had not only embraced a lie but were forcing it on others. At times the task seemed too heavy to bear. But just when he thought he could not possibly go on, God supplied whatever he needed-rest, food, strength, hope. Elijah never lacked the grace to remain faithful to God. His dedication was unwavering.

It’s tempting to think of the prophets as superhuman figures, fanatics who relished delivering one thundering pronouncement after another. But preserving the truth in a time of darkness is the costliest of ventures. It would have taken tremendous moral, emotional, and physical strength to stand against the king and queen, their prophets, and all the rank and file who had embraced their false gods. But strength wouldn’t have been enough. Such a task also would have required love-love for God and for the people who had strayed so far from him. Love is what must have kept Elijah on the path God had chosen for him.

Elijah’s strong words still strike a chord today. They remind us to stop wavering between two opinions, to stop hedging our bets and straddling the line when it comes to living out our faith in a world that is so often hostile to faith. They remind us that if the Lord truly is God, then we must follow him. And following him means loving him with all our hearts.

Reflect On: 1 Kings 18:41ÔÇô46; 19:1ÔÇô8

Praise God: For hearing our prayers.

Offer Thanks: For the way God has answered your prayers in the past.

Confess: Any tendency to believe your prayers won't make a difference.

Ask God: To show you how to pray for the things he has promised.

“What should we learn from the life of Elijah?”……The Prophet Elijah is one of the most interesting and colorful of all biblical characters, yet his life was so filled with turmoil that today we might say he was up one day and down the next. Because Elijah was at times bold and decisive and at other times fearful and tentative, we have much to learn from him. In the narratives in which Elijah is the central character, we find principles that demonstrate the victory in the life of a believer as well as defeat and recovery. There are ways in which Elijah demonstrated the power of God and an instance where he plumbed the depths of depression.……Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means, "my God is Jehovah," came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. We first see Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1 where he suddenly appears to challenge Ahab, an evil king who ruled the Northern Kingdom from 874 to 853 B.C. Elijah prophesies a drought to come upon the whole land as consequence for Ahab's evil choices (1 Kings 17:1-7). Warned by God, Elijah hides near the brook of Cherith where he is fed by ravens. As the drought and famine in the land deepen, Elijah meets with a widow, and through her obedience to Elijah's request, God provides food enough for Elijah, the woman and her son. Miraculously, her barrel of flour and jar of oil never run out (1 Kings 17:8-16). The lesson for the believer is that, if we walk in fellowship with the LORD and obey Him, we will be open to His will, and when we are in God's will, He fulfills all of our needs and His mercy to us never runs short.……We next see Elijah as the central character in a face-off with the prophets of the false god Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40). The prophets of Baal call upon their god all day long to rain fire from heaven to no avail. Then Elijah builds an altar of stones, digs a ditch around it, puts the sacrifice on the top of wood and calls for water to be poured over his sacrifice three times. Elijah calls upon God, and God sends fire down from heaven, burns the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones and licks up the water in the ditch. God proved He was more powerful than false gods. It was then that Elijah and the people kill all of the false prophets of Baal. Such supernatural evidences of God's power are not seen today. However, we have access to the same power as God's Word works through us and demonstrates the power of His Spirit in our lives (2 Corinthians 4:7). Elijah is an illustration that it is not the vessel but God in the vessel that demonstrates power.……After the great victory over the false prophets, rain once again falls on the land (1 Kings 18:41-46). However, in spite of victory and provisions from the LORD that he receives, Elijah enters a period of wavering faith and depression (1 Kings 19:1-18). Hearing that Ahab's wife Jezebel has made a vow to kill him, Elijah feels sorry for himself, hides in a cave, and even comes to believe that he alone was left of the prophets of God. He got his eyes off of God and onto the details. It is then that the LORD instructs Elijah to stand on the mountain as the LORD passed by. There is a great wind, an earthquake, and then fire, but God is not in any of those. Then comes a still, small voice in which Elijah hears God and understands Him. When Elijah stopped focusing on the fear of what men could do and his feelings of being alone, God's voice was heard, and Elijah went on to be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1-11).……Just as for Elijah, when the believer focuses on the noise and the tumult of life in this world, we may get our eyes off of the LORD. However, if we listen for His still, small voice and walk in obedience to His Word, we find victory and reward. Each biblical character we study has a lesson for us to use in our walk as believers. Elijah was filled with human frailties yet was used mightily of God.