“Elijah” (Part 1)
“My God is Yahweh”
Of all the Old Testament prophets, not one is mentioned more or is held in higher esteem in the New Testament than the prophet Elijah. His ministry is significant for a variety of different reasons and his experiences are valuable to us in a number of ways. This man was so highly regarded by God, that he never saw death, rather he was translated from earth to heaven via a fiery chariot. In fact, according to the scriptures, no other human being has ever exited this earth in such a glorious fashion. There’s no doubt that, among the prophets of God, Elijah was one of the greatest.
His very name; Elijah literally means; “my God is Yahweh.” And how appropriate--seeing that his assignment as Israel’s prophet was to turn the hearts of his countrymen back to his God, Yahweh. And, as we will soon learn, this assignment would prove to be no easy task, for his fellow Israelites were so obsessed with foreign gods that they had all but forgotten the Lord their God.
Over the next few weeks, we will examine together in detail, the “death defying” -- “life promoting” ministry of Elijah. And by doing so, it is my prayer that we too will receive a portion of this same Spirit that enabled him to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and find hope and peace even in the midst of turmoil and despair.
Elijah’s first appearance in the scriptures is in 1Kings 17. The year is 874BC. By this time, the nation of Israel had long been divided into two kingdoms; the northern kingdom which retained the name Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. Obviously, neither kingdom had too much to be proud of since the division, but Israel in particular was wasting no time in forgetting the one true God. No longer did they, as a people, honor the God Who had delivered them from Egypt--no longer did they revere the living God who brought them into the promised land which they now possessed. This northern kingdom had seven previous kings, all of which “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” by leading the people deeper and deeper into idolatry and apostasy.
And in 1Kings 17, when our prophet Elijah is called to report for duty, the nation of Israel is in it’s most depraved spiritual state it has ever seen. This, due largely to the current rule of the most wicked king ever; king Ahab. To get a brief account of his reign as king, let’s look at 1Kings 16:29-33.
1 Kings 16:29-33
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Now there’s little doubt that Elijah was well aware of the wickedness of Ahab and the control that the king’s idol-worshipping wife exerted over him. Elijah must have known of Jezebel’s plan to permanently replace the God of Israel with Baal, the god of her homeland. In fact, this was obvious to almost everyone because the persecution of the prophets of God had already began, and it would be only a matter of time until the people would essentially forget Yahweh and wholeheartedly accept Baal as their god. So Elijah is finally commanded by the Lord to deliver this ultimatum to the king:
1 Kings 17:1 “ Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’”
This judgment that Elijah was pronouncing upon the kingdom of Israel should not have come as a surprise to Ahab nor any of the other Israelites because God had given them fair warning long before--in fact, before they even came into the promised land, they made a covenant with the Lord who was leading them, and this is part of that covenant;
Lev 11:16,17 says; “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.”
By worshipping Baal as their god, the Israelites were not only ignoring this specific warning, but they were blatantly breaking the first two of the ten commandments.(thou shalt have no other gods before Me; thou shalt not make for yourselves images..) And because they were forsaking the Lord their God, they would soon receive upon the land the due penalty for their transgression.
This drought that would cause a very severe famine in the land was not God trying to annihilate His wayward children..... no, this famine would actually serve two purposes. As we have already mentioned, it was due punishment for the worship of false gods; yet it was also a very ingenious ‘slap in the face’ to Baal--it served to discredit this false god and prove him to be powerless. You see, Baal was not only the god of fertility, but he was supposedly the god of the elements as well. He was credited by Jezebel and all his followers for bringing the rains in season and causing the crops to germinate and grow, thus providing food for his people.
God’s judgment of withholding this life-giving rain, though it was indeed harsh, was also merciful. God sought to teach the people that there simply was no other god but Himself. Believing otherwise would not only rob them of true happiness, it would also rob them of eternal life. But since they failed to heed warning after warning, and since they insisted on believing that Baal was indeed a creditable god.....then surely he could bring his worshippers a little rain.
1 Kings 17:2-6
“2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.’
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”
Elijah’s part in this stage of God’s plan is done, and now God instructs His servant to “lay low” for a while and allow the ensuing famine to do it’s part in turning the hearts of the people back to Him. You see, sometimes the only thing that gets our attention and encourages us to diligently seek the Lord is a desperate situation. In fact, many Christians today are living examples of how desperation somehow gives birth to a sincere and lasting relationship with the Lord. It could be that some of you here today first sought the Lord as a direct result of some calamity or tragedy in your lives.
The bible doesn’t say, but I believe that this famine must have awakened many people to the fact that they had indeed forsaken the only true God and perhaps some began to return to the Lord with all their hearts--sincerely repentant of their apostasy.
Meanwhile, Elijah is sent to an uninhabited region and is miraculously provided for by God. He is told that he will drink from a brook and be faithfully fed by ravens. If you know your birds, you’ll realize that this particular species of bird is notorious for neglecting to regularly feed even their own young. Yet Elijah would be relying on them to provide him with food.
In Isaiah 33:16 God tells us that, even in times of famine, the bread and water of the righteous will “be sure.” This is a promise that the prophet claimed and every one of God’s children can claim it even today. Elijah followed God’s instructions with no thought of packing bread or bottled water because he knew that his Father was faithful and would provide all that he needed. We as Christians should always have this same confidence in God’s ability and desire to meet our needs in any given situation -- no matter how dismal or hopeless it may seem to us. We must know that God will provide.
Elijah had no idea how long he would be in “God’s Witness Protection Program” down by the brook, but by faith he went deep into the Kerith Ravine and existed there, one day at a time. Every morning and evening he watched the sky knowing that soon the Lord would provide him with food even while so many others were beginning to feel the hunger pains of the famine. I believe it was during this time in our prophet’s life that the Lord was really able to “condition” and equip Elijah for his service. He certainly must have spent much time in prayer and quiet meditation, and this would indeed be necessary to spiritually strengthen him for the trying task ahead.
1 Kings 17:7-9
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”
Now the bible doesn’t tell us how long Elijah was down by the brook, but I would guess that it was around a year or year and a half because, as we will read, the famine was now very severe. Because of the lack of rain, the brook dried up and Elijah found himself with no more water.
We often talk about how God will “open and close doors for us” so we will know where He wants us to go. Well, the brook drying up was definitely a door slamming in the prophet’s face. It could have been that Elijah was getting pretty used to his new home where his water was always flowing and his food was air-dropped twice a day--compared to many at the time, he was living like a king. Perhaps the prophet was comfortable--maybe too comfortable....
At this point, he had spent enough quality time alone with the Lord and it was now time to resume his ministry among the people. So God sends Elijah to find a certain widow woman who was to supply him with food... Remember, there is a severe famine in the land, and there isn’t any social security, there’s no welfare or even food stamps for widows or anybody else. In fact, in times of famine, the poor widows were usually among the first to perish. But yet God is sending His servant to one of these widows that she might take care of him...
So Elijah was told to leave his secluded paradise and head for the town of Zarephath of Sidon. Remember, Jezebel by this time, has already slaughtered many of the Lord’s prophets, and I’m sure that she was searching diligently for Elijah. In her mind, not only had Elijah caused this famine in the land, but he had also greatly embarrassed her by making her god Baal seem powerless because obviously he was unable to bring the much needed rain.
Yeah, there’s no doubt that Elijah was number one on her hit list, and as a result, he was the most wanted man in all of Israel. In fact, if they had post offices back then, I’m sure his picture would have been the biggest one on the wall and offering the most reward.
When God told Elijah to go to Zarapheth, I’m sure the prophet must have, at least for a second, questioned the logic of going to that particular place... Do you know where Zarapheth was? In Sidon. God was essentially sending the most wanted man in Israel to hide out in Jezebel’s backyard! Remember, before she married king Ahab, this was her home. And I’m sure she still had many friends and informants in that place, in fact, her father, Ethbaal, was still the reigning king of Sidon.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes God sends us places that we don’t want to go--places where we are uncomfortable and maybe even in serious danger. But, like the prophet Elijah, we need to go where the Lord sends us regardless of how unwise or illogical it may seem to us at the time. When God is seeking to give us a particular task, we need to say with Isaiah; “here am I Lord, send me.”
So, Elijah got up and began his sobering 80 - 90 mile journey from the Kerith Ravine to Zarapheth. I can only imagine how many starving people he must have encountered along the way-- how many children who’s stomachs were distended for lack of food must have begged from him; or how many funeral processions he must have seen make their way down the dry dusty roads.
It was indeed a terrible time throughout the land, and the end was no where in sight. Certainly, the prophet must have shed many tears as he made his journey, seeing first-hand the relentless misery that he himself had prophesied would come. But yet he faithfully continued on.
After a few days, Elijah finally reaches the town, and there, just outside the gate, he sees a poor widow woman walking around almost as if she’s in a stupor, scrambling around picking up as many twigs and sticks as she could find. I’m sure she must have been frail and weak from malnutrition. And as any good mother would, she had probably given most of her share of their meager rations to her son. But the emptiness of her belly was nothing compared to the thoughts of having to see her only child slowly and painfully die from hunger.
Why did God send Elijah to this dying Phoenician woman? My theory is that he was sent to save, not only her physical life, but her soul as well. I’m certain that this woman had heard about the cause of the famine and how the God of Israel had profusely “overpowered” her god. Perhaps she had become convicted that Yahweh was in fact the only true and living God. Maybe, out of desperation, she had even began invoking His name--praying for relief from this curse and pleading for God to save her son. We could easily deduct that Elijah was, in fact, the answer to her prayers--but as it sometimes is with us, she didn’t recognize that answer at first.
The bible tells us in verse 10 that he called to her; “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” Even though the drought was at its peak, the woman turned to go and get this stranger a little water that she now had very little of. But Elijah’s request doesn’t stop there, as she is walking away he calls to her and says; “..and bring me please a piece of bread.”
Listen to her reply in verse 12
1 Kings 17:12
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
Notice this Phoenician woman’s reply; “As surely as the Lord (Yahweh) your God lives..” By this statement it is evident that she recognizes two things: One; that Yahweh is the “living God” and two; that Elijah was his servant. Perhaps she even now knew his name and recognized him as the Lord’s prophet who first brought word of this famine.
Sensing her desperation, Elijah tells the woman; “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’” (1Kings 17:13,14)
What faith it must have required for this non-Israelite woman to trust so much in a God that she had never really known! I mean, to give her and her son’s last meal to a seemingly well-fed man would most definitely be a very hard thing to do. We have to wonder why God didn’t allow the widow to bake the food for her and her son first and then cook for the prophet. I believe it was for the same reason that the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant across the flooding Jordan river had to first “put their feet in the water” before the Lord opened the way—faith is the key to opening miracles.
As we said earlier, this woman had that faith. I can only imagine how excited she must have been after she delivered the bread and water to the prophet and started back to the house. “Could this mighty God have actually heard my prayers for help?! Will He really take care of me and my son in this miraculous way?! I can almost picture her reaching into that supposedly empty jar of flour and pulling out a full scoop—I can see the tears of joy in her eyes as the oil flowed from a dry jug.
By faith, may we daily realize that we are merely empty jars of clay depending solely upon God to fill us with His goodness, mercy and love. Let us also freely pour out those attributes to be enjoyed by all those around us who, like the widow, may learn of our God and be led to His throne of Grace. For we live in a world that is indeed starving for spiritual nourishment, and like Elijah, may we faithfully and tirelessly follow where He leads us—blessing other people along the way.
