Elijah

Without question Elijah is one of the most distinctive and diversely talented individuals in the Bible. He is prophet, preacher, political reformer, and miracle worker all at the same time.

Elijah hats Baalism as much as Jezebel loves the cult, and he desires to magnify Yahweh over Baal and defeat the interloping religion once and for all

Elijah makes it his mission to teach that Yahweh lives, that Baal does not exist, and that ethical standards flow from a commitment to the living God.

1 Kings 17 CSB

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”

The prophet barges into the story unannounced - he is an unknown quantity from a town scholars can no longer locate with certainty.

His name declares his theological mission - Elijah means “Yahweh is God”

He speaks to the king of Israel, Ahab - his declaration is that there will be no rain until he says so - to be more exact he tells the king there will be no water of any kind (no dew even).

Why are drought? Baal worshippers believed that their storm god made rain, unless of course, it was the dry season and he needed to be brought back from the dead.

To refute this belief Elijah states that Yahweh is the one who determines when rain falls, that Yahweh lives at all times, and that Yahweh is not afraid to challenge Baal on what his worshipers consider his home ground.

1 Kings 17 CSB

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi.

Even though Israel is under judgement, God makes sure to take care of Elijah.

A wadi is a valley streambed and it is characterized by intermittent water flow - they usually don’t have water except after heavy rains - God controls all natural resources.

Not only does God provide water for Elijah but he also has ravens bring him food.

1 Kings 17 CSB

7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.” 11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.” 13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’ ” 15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through Elijah. 17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do you have against me? Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death?” 19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!” 22 So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived. 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”

God temporarily provided for Elijah in the wilderness but like all the other water the wadi eventually dried up.

Just because the first provision was gone doesn’t mean God forgot about Elijah - now God sends him to a person who should not have been able to help but God is going to bless both the prophet and the widow through her faithfulness.

God told Elijah that He commanded a woman to provide for him - she doesn’t seem to trust this completely because she is looking at her current situation.

God works a miracle through Elijah - the purpose is to show that God provides what the false god Baal cannot.

She followed Elijah’s instructions and the woman’s flour never ran out and neither did her oil.

While enjoying the blessing God is providing a tragedy happens, the woman’s son dies.

She thinks that if Elijah hand’t come that maybe her son would have lived completely forgetting that without Elijah (and God) both she and her son would have starved.

Let’s be real, Elijah’s method of healing was a little weird but setting that aside the important fact is that God raises the boy from the dead.

This elicits a confession from the woman that Elijah is from God and his words are true.

1 Kings 18:1–19 CSB

1 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord 4 and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets. 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.” 6 They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

The drought has been happening for 3 years so it was bad.

God tells Elijah to go to Ahab and let the king know the Lord is going to send rain.

We meet Obadiah who feared God but has to serve Ahab as well.

Ahab and Obadiah go out to find pasture hoping to save the livestock.

They split up to cover more ground.

1 Kings 18:1–19 CSB

7 While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 “It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’ ” 9 But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you. 11 “Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ 12 But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water. 14 Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ He will kill me!”

Ahab has been searching for Elijah but God has effectively protected Elijah so that no one could find him.

Obadiah is concerned for his own life - he has already help save the lives of 100 of the Lord’s prophets and now he is afraid the Lord will take away Elijah when he goes to tell the king Elijah had come.

1 Kings 18:1–19 CSB

15 Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.” 16 Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?” 18 He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals. 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah reassures Obadiah that he is not going anywhere because he plan to stand in front of the king.

Ahab blames Elijah for Israel’s current trouble but Elijah is clear - Ahab and his family are to blame because they disobeyed the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals.

Now the time has come to prove once and for all God’s power.

Elijah issues a challenge - bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah… Elijah is about to face 850 false prophets alone, well not entirely alone…

3 Takeaways

God often provides in unique ways

God sent Elijah into isolation - not to a palace, but to a brook… and later to a poor widow outside of Israel.

In both places, God miraculously sustains him.

Obedience may lead you into uncomfortable or unfamiliar territory, but God will provide what you need where He sends you.

Don’t expect His provision to always look logical - expect it to be faithful

When God send you, He’ll sustain you.

God can use ordinary people in extraordinary ways

The widow had very little, but what she gave in obedience became the foundation for a life sustaining miracle.

He faithfulness sustained Elijah but also he son and he own life through the famine.

You don’t need to have much for God to use you - you just need to trust Him with what you have.

Faith and obedience open the door for God to do more than you think possible.

Faithfulness often means speaking truth even when it’s dangerous

Elijah stands before king Ahab, one of Israel’s most wicked rulers, and boldly speaks truth - without flinching or softening the message.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who lived during the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime. At a time when many churches in Germany aligned with the government out of fear or compromise, Bonhoeffer stood out as a prophetic voice of resistance. He spoke out boldly against Hitler’s ideology and the state-sanctioned persecution of Jews. He even became involved in a resistance plot to stop Hitler’s reign of terror.

Bonhoeffer could have chosen a quieter life - he was brilliant, respected, and had opportunities to escape Germany entirely. In fact, he was safely teaching in America when the war intensified. Under conviction he returned to Nazi Germany to live out his faith and speak truth against the enemy. In 1945, he was arrested, imprisoned, and ultimately executed just weeks before the Allied Forces liberated the area. He last words reportedly were: “This is the end - for me, the beginning of life.”

Faithfulness sometimes means confronting power, culture, or compromise.

You may be misunderstood or blamed like Elijah , but don’t hold back.

When God calls you to speak, truth must outweigh fear.