ELIJAH – A Man With A Nature Like Ours

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario, Canada

Elijah is the most memorable of the prophets during the early days of the divided kingdom. There were others before him, but they came and went quickly and with little fanfare. However, we have substantial detail about portions of Elijah’s work beginning in 1 Kings 17 and ending in 2 Kings 2. Additionally, he is referenced thirty times in the New Testament, which is more than any other Old Testament prophet (except Moses).

One of the first things I am prone to do when studying an individual in the Bible is to look at the meaning of their name. Often we will find something significant. Elijah’s name does not disappoint. His name in Hebrew is ‘Eliyah, which is a combination of two vital Hebrew words – Elohiym (God) and Yahweh (Jehovah). Without even opening his mouth, the prophet declared, “Jehovah is God.” What a needed message for the people of Elijah’s day as they were being led away from the Lord and into Baal worship through the wicked leadership of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 16:29-33).

Hebrews 11 has often been called the “hall of faith,” listing individuals who were exemplary in the service of God. Elijah’s name is not mentioned specifically, but he certainly fits a few of the depictions in verses 34-35. His prominence among the faithful is further confirmed in Matthew 17, where Elijah is used as the representative for all the prophets on the transfiguration mount. Despite his status as a “giant of the faith,” James said, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…” (James 5:17). Understand, the New Testament writer is not seeking to belittle Elijah nor to undermine his faithfulness to God. Rather, his aim is to encourage us. Elijah was not endowed with some special prophet DNA. When Elijah prayed, he didn’t have exclusive VIP access credentials. There was nothing inherently special about him. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He put his tunic on one arm at a time, just like the rest of us. He faced struggles and trials in life, had doubts and fears, and he prevailed in the same way we will – through faith in God and obedience to His will.

1 Kings 17:1 indicates he was born in Tishbeh of Naphtali and resided in Gilead of Gad, but beyond this we know nothing about him. Who were his parents? Which tribe was he from? What was his occupation (before he was a prophet)? We like to know the details. We are moved by a person’s story. We are intrigued by heritage and fame. The Sanhedrin sent messengers to Elijah’s New Testament counterpart asking, “Who are you?” (John 1:19). He didn’t speak about his father Zecharias, nor his heritage in the tribe of Levi. He identified himself as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3). Like John, Elijah was a voice. He was there to proclaim the message God gave him. The focus was not on who he was, but on what he said and did. When it comes to God’s servants, it should never be a matter of pedigree. What matters is faithful service before God.

HE PRAYED AND IT DID NOT RAIN

So far as we know, Elijah’s first public declaration was, “…there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). He proclaimed a drought, which would result in a severe famine. Moses had warned the nation centuries earlier, if they turned aside from God after foreign gods, the Lord would “…shut up the heavens so that there be no rain…” (Deuteronomy 11:16-17).

In the remainder of 1 Kings 17, we see God’s provision for Elijah while these difficult times were upon the nation. At first, the Lord employed ravens to bring him food by the side of the Brook Cherith (v 2-6), however, the brook eventually dried up (v 7). Then God commanded the prophet to go to a pagan town where a widow would tend to his needs (v 8-9). This trip challenged Elijah’s faith. Getting away from Israel may have been desirable (Jezebel was massacring the prophets of God and Elijah was #1 on her hit list), but Zarapheth was in Sidon, Jezebel’s home nation. In fact, her father still reigned as king there! And if that were not enough, God didn’t send Elijah to a wealthy widow who had a storehouse of food, but to a woman who was down to the very end of her rations. While there, the woman’s son died, resulting in conflict and extra hardship for both he and his hostess (though God restored the boy’s life in response to Elijah’s prayer). 1 Kings 17 shows that God’s plans may not always make sense to us – thus the need to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Every meal in the widow’s house was God honouring Elijah’s faith and the woman’s faith. Elijah didn’t find refuge in Jezebel’s backyard; God was his refuge (Psalm 91:2-4, 9-10). Going to Sidon was not about safety, it was about trust in and obedience to God.

SHOWDOWN AT MOUNT CARMEL

In 1 Kings 18:1 God commanded Elijah to go to Ahab. This had to be a challenge. He had to leave behind the comfort of the widow’s house and the guaranteed meals to present himself to a king who wanted to see him dead. Like Abraham of old, we don’t see Elijah questioning God – he simply went. Ahab, seeing Elijah, identified him as the “troubler of Israel” (v 17). Ahab blamed Elijah for the drought and famine which plagued the land. It was Elijah who had said over three years previous that it wasn’t going to rain, and then he disappeared. Of course, Elijah wasn’t Israel’s troubler, Ahab was. He turned away from God’s will to serve false gods. He had taken as a wife the daughter of a pagan king and allowed her to influence him. He permitted Jezebel (perhaps even backing her) to put to death the prophets of God. Elijah was a messenger, not a troubler.

Why didn’t Ahab just kill Elijah right there and then? Recall the prophet’s proclamation, “…there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). As much as Ahab didn’t like Elijah, as much as he would like to slay him, it seems he understood that he could not harm the prophet. Elijah was Ahab’s only hope to see rain again. The Baals had done nothing. So, he was forced to listen to and follow Elijah’s instructions. Ahab was to gather all Israel to Mount Carmel, along with the prophets of Baal. Elijah challenged the people, “If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (v 21). They answered nothing. Elijah would demonstrate in a very public way that Jehovah is God (remember, that’s the prophet’s name!).

Picture the scene: on one side there is Elijah, the prophet of God; on the other side, there are 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. To the human eye, the odds for Elijah looked worse than it did for David standing before Goliath. But we know how that worked out, right? Two bulls were brought out and the showdown began; who would answer with fire, Baal or Jehovah? The prophets of Baal prepared their bull and petitioned Baal to set it afire. They prayed and prayed. Nothing. They leaped around the altar. Nothing. Elijah mocked them, maybe he is meditating or sleeping, perhaps he’s busy or out of the office (v 27). His words spurred them on. They shouted louder. They even began to cut themselves. They did this throughout the day but “…there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention” (v 29). Despite all their prayers, shouting, screaming, leaping, dancing and cutting, nothing happened. The sacrifice remained on the altar, untouched, except for the flies who no doubt had gathered about it. The point is clear – idols cannot do anything (cf. Psalm 115:4-9).

Having displayed the utter failure of Baal and his prophets throughout the day, Elijah finally called for the people to come near to him. He repaired the altar of God which had been broken down (v 30). He dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about 15 litres of water (v 32). He commanded water be poured over the sacrifice and the wood of the altar (v 33). He commanded it be done again, and again (v 34). Twelve barrels of water in all were poured over the sacrifice, and then for good measure, the trench surrounding it was filled with water (v 35). That’s a lot of water! Don’t forget, it had been 3+ years since it had last rained. The brooks and likely many rivers had dried up. Can you image how upset the people may have been at this “waste”? The prophets of Baal failed, but they didn’t waste resources. If Elijah failed, the use of water in this way was likely the last thing he would do on this earth. Then the prophet prayed (v 36-37). He finished his prayer and fire came down from heaven which “…consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stone and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench” (v 38). What could they do but acknowledge God’s power? They began chanting, “Elohiym Yahovah!” – “The LORD is God!”

Elijah commanded the people to seize the prophets of Baal and put them to death. He informed Ahab the rains were coming. Had the king’s heart turned to the Lord? No, but the heart of the people had, at least for the present. That was the purpose of the drought and famine, to turn the heart of the people back to God. Elijah prayed for rain and then sent his servant to watch the sky in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea. Six times the servant looked, and six times he saw nothing but blue skies. The seventh time, there was a small cloud rising from the sea. Soon there was heavy rain, just as the prophet said there would be.

WHEN VICTORY FEELS LIKE DEFEAT

Have you ever had a great victory in life, and then almost immediately, things took a huge turn for the worse? A lot of good things happened for Elijah at Mount Carmel: the drought was over, the prophets of Baal were dead, the people were focused on the LORD, his days of running and hiding were done. Or maybe not. In 1 Kings 19:2, a messenger from the palace informed Elijah that Jezebel vowed to kill him within the next 24 hours! The victory of that day faded out of view. His reaction was very different from the confident man who stood before the entire nation earlier, who mocked the prophets of Baal and eventually would put all of them to death by the sword. A day that had brought victory and a great spiritual high in Israel now ended witih the promise of defeat and an equally great spiritiual low for Elijah. He arose and ran southward to the wilderness near Beersheba (v 3-4).

When he stopped running, he prayed, but look at his prayer: “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (v 4b). He had done all that he could do and it still wasn’t enough. He was distraught, exhausted and tired of running. Sure, there had been a victory that day, but with spineless Ahab and spiteful Jezebel still in power, how long before Israel would be worshiping Baal again? He had done all he could do and still he felt like a failure.

Elijah is not the only man of God in the Bible to desire death in the midst of difficulties. Moses (Numbers 11:14-15) had all he could handle with the exodus generation. They constantly made demands, complained, threatened his life, and blamed him for their troubles. It was overwhelming. Job (Job 6:11; 6:16; 9:21; 10:1) had endured awful loses and despaired about life. To make matters worse, his comforters were a wife who told him to curse God and die, and three friends who constantly accused him of sin and beckoned him to repent. Jonah (Jonah 4:3) also wearied about life, though his reasons were suspect. He was upset that the Assyrian people responded to his preaching in sackcloth and ashes, resulting in God relenting from destroying them.

Elijah was in a dark place. He despaired for life, he had no appetite. The circumstances of life weighed heavily upon him. The Lord sent an angel to him with food and water (v 5-7). If He had not provided for the prophet, Elijah might have withered away and died under the broom tree. The second time the angel came to Elijah, he said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you” (v 7). What journey? Elijah had fled from Mount Carmel to Beershebba (about 200 km), but that journey was already complete. After receiving the food, Elijah went an additional 425 km south to Mount Horeb (v 8). This wasn’t the journey either. The word “journey” in the text refers to more than a trip from A to B; it is about the course of life. Elijah was struggling with the journey – he was ready to quit. He had fled 625 km from Carmel and was hiding in a cave at Horeb. The Lord knew it was too tough for Elijah to walk alone, so he provided nourishment and encouragement.

Notice the Lord’s question to the prophet, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v 9). Why did you travel to Mount Horeb? Why did you walk (run) 625 km due South? Elijah explained, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life” (v 10). Sure, things were bad, but not as bad as Elijah believed. He had convinced himself he was the only one who was faithful to God; that the rest of the world was against him and wanted him dead. So far as we know, the average Israelite did not want Elijah dead – just Jezebel. But fear can paralyze us and leave us feeling alone; it can cause us to be suspicious of others and make us believe things that are not so. Elijah was not alone. What about the 150 prophets Obadiah saved (1 Kings 18:4)? And the Lord would reveal to the prophet he was not alone in his zeal for God, for He had “…reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal…” (v 18).

Elijah was wallowing in self-pity and self-righteousness. The Lord commanded Elijah to exit the cave (v 11). He did not. The LORD passed by with all manner of noise and power accompanying His presence (a mighty wind, a powerful earthquake, and fire). And yet the Lord was not in any of these. These all displayed the power of God, but He came to Elijah in a still small voice. And it was not until the prophet heard this voice that he exited the cave. Again, the Lord asked Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v 13), and once more the prophet gave the same answer (v 14; cf. 10).

Recall Jonah’s effort to flee from the Lord? He intended to go to Tarshish, which was about 5,000 km away from where he was supposed to be (Nineveh). God used a severe storm and a huge fish to turn him around. Elijah was on the run from his responsibility to God and His people. He’d gone 625 km in the wrong direction. Now, it was time to turn around and go where the Lord needed him – Damascus (v 15), which was 100 km north of Mount Carmel. The wording of the text sounds like Elijah may have already been commanded to go to Damascus, but he did not go. When we follow our plans, we will find ourselves somewhere other than where God wants us to be. The trip to Horeb was Elijah going AWOL for a bit. Now it was time to get back on track. God had a plan. Appoint Hazael over Syria, Jehu over Israel, and Elisha as the next prominent prophet. If Elijah would follow the Lord’s plan, the threat from Ahab and his house would be taken care of.

STANDING AND SPEAKING IN FAITH AGAIN

In 1 Kings 21:17, again Elijah comes into view. He is sent to rebuke the house of Ahab for their wickedness. The prophet plainly speaks of the calamity which would come upon the king and his posterity because of their wicked deeds. Ahab identified Elijah as his enemy (v 20), but there is no threat made against the prophet’s life. In fact, after hearing Elijah’s message from the Lord, Ahab “…tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about mourning” (v 28). After years of blatant evil at the behest of his pagan wife Jezebel (v 25), the king of Israel humbled himself before God (v 29).

After the death of Ahab, his successor was severely injured by a fall. The king sent messengers to inquire of the prophets of Baal in Ekron about his recovery. Elijah intercepted the messengers and gave the prognosis – it wasn’t good (2 Kings 1:1-4). Discovering it was Elijah who had disrupted his messengers, Ahaziah sent a troop of fifty men to seize the prophet and bring him in. Those fifty men were consumed with fire from heaven (v 9-10). Another captain of fifty men followed the first, and they too were consumed with fire from above (v 11-12). The third captain of fifty approached Elijah pleading for the lives of his men (v 13-14). Elijah went with them fearing nothing, just as the Lord commanded him. Coming to Ahaziah, the prophet reaffirmed the message he had sent before – the king would die, for he rejected the God of Israel and turned to Baal (v 16).

CARRIED HOME IN A CHARIOT

Without doubt, there was much more to the life and service of Elijah than what is recorded in the Scriptures. What is recorded about him is exceptional, right down to his departure from this earth. Departure, not death. He did not die. The Lord sent a chariot of fire for Elijah, he was separated from his protégé Elisha, and caught up into heaven by a whirlwind. He is just one of two people we know of in the Bible who did not die (the other being Enoch, Genesis 5:23-24).

There are so many great lessons to learn from Elijah: boldness to speak God’s word, dependence upon God as our refuge in times of trial, and confidence in the power of prayer. May we also learn from his struggles, not to lose heart or to engage in self-pity. We serve a God who will give victory to His people.

19.04.02 | GROW magazine