ELIJAH:
The Man
The
churches of
Christ Greet You (Romans
Introduction
Briefly, let us review the historical setting that formed the spiritual and moral environment into which Elijah was called of God to minister. It was a time when the foundations of law and order were being systematically dismantled. It was a time when the righteous might well ask as in Psalm 11:3, "When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" From this Psalm, we see our response of faith is not to run and hide. Rather, we need desperately to follow examples like David, Elijah, and Elisha. We need to learn from their lives and be encouraged so that, as David answered this question in Psalm 11:4, we can live in light of the fact: "The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men."
This challenges us to remember the fact that God is not indifferent to people and nations. As the Almighty, He deals with us accordingly. We need to know and rest in the truth of Psalm 33. Let us note particularly verses 12‑22 (READ). We obviously deplore what we are seeing in our nation and in the world. Indeed, conditions are becoming more grotesque every day. It seems that each day brings some tragedy or disaster - murder, serial killings, mass killings, nation‑wide corporate fraud - evidence of moral breakdown and rejection of our Christian heritage. But this is the day in which we live. As it was with Elijah, so God has called us to serve Him and minister to others in times like these.
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the
inhabitants of
Principle: This reminds us that, other than being godly people of faith who are available to be used of God, it is never really who and what we are that counts. In the final analysis, what really matters is who and what God is. Knowing who God is should strengthen our faith in Him so that it affects what we are, what we say, and what we do.
By contrast, it seems people always want to know,
"Who
are you?" "Who is he or she?" People can look at their
accomplishments, as Nebuchadnezzar did (Dan.
John the Baptist, Elijah's New Testament counterpart, was asked, "Who are you?" His answer was, "I am just a voice!" (John 1:19-23). He was emphasizing he was merely an instrument of the living God who was there to help them recognize and believe in the living and true God. We need to also remember what the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians who were so focused on human personalities. He said, “Who am I, Who is Apollos? We are mere ministers by whom ye believed. We are planters and waters, but God gives the increase. We are only laborers together with God” (Read 1 Cor. 3:4‑9; 4:1‑5). How we need the attitudes of John the Baptist and Paul. We tend to be so people‑oriented and go to one of two extremes. Either we run and hide from our ministry because we have our eyes on our limitations and on the problems we are facing. Or we do the opposite and glory in personalities rather than in the power and presence of the Almighty.
Elijah's Name
Elijah is the Hebrew Eliyahu that means "My God is Yahweh." Let’s note several things here... In Elijah's name, given to him perhaps by a godly parent, we can see how the sovereign providence of God is often at work in the historical circumstances of our lives. God picked out, raised up, and used a man whose very name was significant to the religious climate of his day and the contest that would follow. The nation was following after Baal who was, of course, no god at all. Elijah boldly appeared and proclaimed the true God of Israel, Yahweh, who was His God. This proclamation was the point of Elijah's prayer in 1 Kings 18:36‑37 (read). As the months rolled by after Elijah's declaration of no rain, whenever people saw or thought of Eliyahu, they were faced with the message of his name, "My God is Yahweh." In other words, my God is Yahweh, not Baal. The prophet's name, therefore, declared something of which he was. It was a standing declaration of his faith in that it demonstrated (1) his protest against Baalism, (2) his allegiance to God, and (3) the key issue of the day as it is today - who or what is our God?
This should challenge us to ask some questions such as: Who and what is my God? Do we claim faith in the God of the Bible, but live like practical atheists? Is God really our God from the standpoint of our treasures, attitudes, priorities, pursuits and behavior? Or are we guilty of worshiping other gods like the gods of materialism and the details of life? Is there a way we can tell? Of course! What's really important to me? How committed am I to getting alone with God so I really get to know Him? Do I allow Him to completely rearrange, redirect, channel, and use me in the issues and needs of our day, and in the lives of others around me? What is my name? In other words, who am I? Like Elijah, God has created each of us for a purpose. We are each unique with unique potential and opportunities limited only by our attitude, our faith, our awareness of God, and our availability to Him.
Application: Let us dream big because
we have a
big God! Let's ask the Lord to: (1) show us the potential of ministry
around
us, and (2) to cause us to see the opportunities through the potential
of His
life and power. We need eyes to see the fields that are white unto
harvest (cf.
John.
Elijah's Description and Locality
Elijah is called "the Tishbite, who was of the
settlers
of
He is called "Elijah, the Tishbite" six times and
was well known by this title (cf. 1 Kings 17:1;
The name
How should we understand and apply this? It shows
us Elijah
was not out of the seminary of
Remember the contrasts between David and Solomon?
Just as
David's character was developed as a shepherd, so this tells us
something about
the character God had developed in Elijah. Elijah was what we could
call a
mountain man. But he was a mountain man who walked with God. He had
developed
the character of a sojourner, one who was separated from the lifestyle
of his
day. He was a man with a light grip on the details of life; a man
willing and
able to pick up and go if God said to go. He was not bogged down,
chained by
his comfort zones or by a desire for the material details of life. Like
John
the Baptist, he was a man of the desert. Being a desert man he was free
from
those things in society that so often dominate our hearts and keeps us
from
being free to follow the Lord. This suggests he had denied himself the
rights
to control his own life and, by faith, had submitted to God's control.
The result
was a man totally dedicated to God and His service (cf. Phil.
Application: Shouldn't we ask ourselves some tough questions like: (1) How much have I been softened and negatively affected by the comforts of our society? (2) How available am I to serve the Lord if it's going to cause some kind of hardship or inconvenience? (3) Do I have the heart of a sojourner? Or do I have the heart of an earth dweller? (4) Am I more committed to my comfort and pleasure than I am to the Lord? (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13‑2:12).
Elijah's Attire and Appearance
Elijah stands in striking contrast to the Baal
priests and
the populace of the city in every way. His dress and appearance are
mentioned
in 2 Kings 1:7‑8 (Read). He was a hairy man and girded with a leather
belt about his waist to hold in his garment for free movement. The way
they are
mentioned suggests the people were a little awed by the prophet's
distinctive
looks and manner. This appearance stood in striking contrast to the
affluent
inhabitants of
His dress was symbolic and stood for: (1) His chosen poverty and priorities - material things were not on his priority list. (2) His separation and denouncement of the world - he was not controlled by the lifestyle of the world. He was separated to the Lord as God's servant. (3) His official office and purpose in life - he was a proclaimer of the Word of Yahweh. He knew who he was (God's representative), where he was (in a sinful world that stood opposed to the purposes of God), and why he was there (to give out God's message of light to people in darkness).
What a contrast Elijah must have been to the
people in the
rich luxurious city of
Application: Elijah's dress and lifestyle demonstrated his separation and devotion to the Lord. It teaches us that spiritual priorities and values controlled his life. He was a man who was truly free because he was free to follow the Lord.
WARNING: When, in our attempt to be free or
do as we
please, we sometimes rebel against the Lord's authority and control of
our
lives. In this rebellion we experience a sad irony. We become slaves of
our own
desires and become what Peter describes as "slaves of corruption” (2
Peter
In our next lesson, we will see Elijah's
appearance and
dramatic declaration to King Ahab. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning
out of
the dark clouds of