Introduced to Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-7)

This sermon was preached on 10/1/2013

Elijah is an important man for Christians to consider for several reasons. First, he is one of only two humans who have never died – the other was Enoch before the Flood (Gen. 5:24). Second, he is one of the two residents of heaven who came down to speak with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, the other being Moses (Luke 9:30). Of course, Elijah shared each of these privileges with another believer, but no-one shared both privileges with him. Third, his name is identified with God in a particular way as seen in the question, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ (2 Kings 2:14). Fourth, his character and role are very similar to another great prophet, John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus (Luke 1:17). Fifth, James tells us that Elijah was a man with the same passions as us so we should be able to see ourselves in him and in his behaviour (Jas. 5:17). Sixth, Elijah was a man of prayer, with several amazing answers given to him from heaven. Seventh, Elijah served God in days that are very similar to ours, as we shall see shortly.

The times

Elijah lived in difficult times for those who wanted to follow God. Over three decades previously, the kingdom of Israel had divided into two. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the southern kingdom of Judah and the remaining tribes formed the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom, had set up a new form of worship of Yahweh, with idols in Dan in the north and Bethel in the south, in order to prevent the people of the northern kingdom from travelling to Jerusalem to keep the annual feasts that God had ordained. He reigned for twenty years. In other words, political necessities overruled divine instructions. His son Nadab followed his father’s example, but after only two years he was assassinated by Baasha who then put to death all relatives of Jeroboam in line with a prophecy given to him because of his sin.

Baasha reigned for twenty-four years and carried on the practices of Jeroboam, and for this he was told that his family would lose the kingdom. This happened after his son Elah had reigned for two years – he was killed by one of his generals called Zimri, who was to have one of the shortest reigns in history (seven days). Despite being an officer in the army, the troops did not want him to be king and they chose Omri, the commander of the army, as king.

A civil war followed between the followers of Omri and the followers of a man called Tibni. Eventually Omri won the war and he was to rule for twelve years. He is known for building Samaria as the capital of the northern kingdom. Sadly he is also known as being more evil than the kings who preceded him. Omri’s son was Ahab and he was to reign for twenty-two years. He too is described as being worse than all the previous kings, including marrying Jezebel of the royal family of Sidon and introducing the worship of Baal and giving it royal approval.

By working out the length of the reigns, we can calculate that about one hundred years had passed since the death of King David, at which time the united kingdom of Israel had been a nation with whom God was pleased. His son Solomon, despite a good beginning, set in motion events that were to bring about the demise of the united kingdom. Even worse he set in place acceptability of idolatry when he arranged and participated in the worship of false gods. This practice was adjusted and developed by the kings of the northern kingdom. So when Elijah comes on the scene, the northern kingdom of Israel has departed from the worship of God and several times the author of 1 Kings tells us that God was displeased.

Another feature of the period was instability in the government. In the previous sixty years, there had been three royal families and each of the changes was marked by bloodshed and one was marked by a civil war. It is inevitable that the people would recall the good days of King David. Each of the changes was a divine judgement that had been predicted by a prophet.

Elijah bursts on the scene

Elijah is introduced very suddenly into the story of the northern kingdom of Israel. All we are told about him is his name and where he came from. His name is a combination of two divine titles – El and Yah. Yah is short for Yahweh, which was the covenant name of God that he used in his relationship with Israel. El is a general name for God that highlights his power, but here the general name has a personal pronoun attached, so Eli means ‘my God’. So Elijah’s name means Yahweh is my God.

No doubt Elijah was given this particular name by his parents. Of course, it is possible that their choice of name may have been selected merely because they liked it or because it was the name of a relative. Yet the name could indicate that Elijah’s parents were devout believers in the God of Israel at a time when the majority were abandoning faith in the Lord. If that is the case, their example would tell parents today to ensure that their children are distinguished from the crowd and know why they do so. After all, the child Elijah would have to live with what his parents had arranged for him by giving him this name.

It is also possible to translate his name in another way as ‘Yahweh is my strength’. The term translated God can also be rendered as ‘power’ or ‘strength’. Even if this is not the rendering, it does highlight an aspect of Elijah’s spiritual outlook which was that he depended on the almighty God. And it may be that by this name we are meant to recognise that all who trust in Yahweh will be strengthened by his power.

Whatever the reason he was given his name, it is obvious that Elijah lived up to his name. We can comment on his peculiar behaviour or his depressive tendencies or his isolation and in so doing make him into a lesser man than he was. Yet it cannot be denied that he was a brave and loyal servant of the Lord, prepared to stand alone for him against powerful opponents. Whatever everyone else said, Elijah was prepared to shout, ‘Yahweh is my God.’

We are also told that Elijah came from Tishbe in Gilead. Gilead was on the east side of the Jordan river, and today we would locate most of it in the modern country of Jordan. The striking feature about it is that he came from a place that was not prominent in the national life of the northern kingdom. Of course, the Lord often prepares his servants in such places for their later prominent roles. We should not be surprised if his servants today come from such places.

It is evident that Elijah was a man of prayer. James tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it might not rain (Jas. 5:17). When did he pray about this matter? Was it before or after he made this announcement to Ahab? I suspect it was before, and the Lord gave him his plea. Of course, the petition came from the Lord. If the prayer came first on this occasion it is a reminder that whatever we do for the Lord must be preceded with and accompanied by earnest prayer.

The messenger of the Lord

As we have noticed, Elijah appeared suddenly to Ahab, past on the Lord’s message and then went and lived in another obscure place. Yet his short message has lessons for us. The first is Elijah’s understanding of who the Lord is.

It is clear from Elijah’s opening words that he knew that his God was alive. The prophet knew that his God was not like the inert gods of the pagans. But he also knew that his God was not like the impressions that were being given about him in the northern kingdom. The rulers of Israel had imagined that they could manipulate God and his ways for their own ends. They had their own reasons for erecting alternative places of worship in Dan and in Bethel. Yet all they were doing was demeaning the authority of the living God and their actions revealed that they were indifferent to what he regarded as important.

Second, Elijah recognised that he was accountable to God. We can see this outlook in the prophet’s words, ‘Before whom I stand.’ We are not told where Elijah was when said this – he may have met Ahab in a royal dwelling. The one thing that is clear is that Elijah did not worry too much about being in the presence of an earthly king. Standing includes the idea of showing great respect and Elijah recognised that he was accountable for his actions.

This self-description by the prophet also highlights the sense of authenticity that he had. Elijah knew he was different from the false prophets, whether of Baal or any other god. He had stood and heard the Lord’s call to him to serve, and this awareness made him brave in his actions.

There is another element that this self-description reveals about Elijah and that is his consciousness of the authority he had as the Lord’s messenger. The Lord had given him a message to say, and this was sufficient authority for Elijah. When a person senses this authority he will speak to anyone, even if the message from God is threatening, as it was here.

Third, his message from God confronted the sins of the time. It is obvious that Elijah had a message of judgement, but we can ask, ‘Why was there a particular form of judgement involving the dew and the rain?’ The answer is that the message about Baal claimed that he was in charge of the seasons, that he was able to control the elements in order to give good harvests. We can see how the prophet’s short message spoke directly to the situation facing the people of Israel. As Elijah was later to ask them, the choice was between Baal and its worldview and Yahweh and his covenant commitments. God’s message always confronts contemporary culture – that was the case in Elijah’s day and it is the same today. The promised judgement showed that Yahweh was mighty and Baal was non-existent.

Fourth, his message was not accepted by the king. Elijah had offered some hope to Ahab by saying that the drought would end by another word from the prophet. The king had a duty to show an example to his people by repenting of his own sins. Who knows what would have happened had he done so. Yet he did not. And in his response we have a similarity to how many respond to the gospel – they are not moved by its threats and they are not affected by its offers.

Fifth, Elijah was prepared to stand alone and deliver his message. From church history we are familiar with occasions when individuals had to stand by themselves. We can think of Athanasius in the early church fighting for the truth of the divinity of Jesus or Luther declaring his adherence to his doctrines at the Diet of Worms. Where did Elijah get his courage from? The answer is obvious. The Lord was his strength.

A year of silence at Cherith

Elijah was directed by God to go to a secret place and hide near the brook Cherith which was across the Jordan. It is important to note that he went there in obedience to the Lord’s commandment. There is not the slightest hint that he was afraid of Ahab. In going there, he was showing his willingness to put God first. Sometimes when a person is given a prominent role he finds it hard then to accept a less prominent one. Elijah did not have that problem. He was willing to serve God in public and in private.

Elijah was told to go there in order to hide and we may assume that he was to hide from Ahab, which may have been the case. Yet it is also possible that he was told to hide because the Lord knew that the people were not yet ready to repent. Perhaps they had to taste the seriousness of his judgements for a time before they would see the futility of Baal and his claims.

Another reason why he could have been called to this place of solitude was to prepare himself for the demanding work he would do for God in the future. It is not necessary for each called person to have a three-year period by himself, but it is beneficial to have such a time alone with the Lord, however long it is, before getting further involved publicly in his work. Elijah would have meditated and prayed. He would have thought about the details about God that had been passed on to him. And there in that solitary place he could examine himself as well.

No doubt Elijah learned many important lessons during his stay at the brook. One was that the Lord could provide for his needs by using the ravens to bring food there twice a day. There is a sense in which it would have been easier for Elijah to believe the promise of judgement that he passed on to Ahab than to believe the promise of grace that was given to himself. After all, God had judged many other peoples in the past, so Elijah could see how it could recur. But there was no example of ravens feeding an isolated servant of the Lord. From one perspective it sounded ludicrous. From another perspective, it was a test of is faith.

Another lesson was that he should not imagine that what God does at one time he will do every time. The brook Cherith began to dry up because of the famine and eventually there was no water. God could have provided water miraculously but chose not to do so. Elijah would have to move on. We can see one danger that could have affected his thinking, which is, ‘God will always work in this particular way.’ We can trust in the method rather than in the One who provides for us.