THE ELIJAH CHURCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
ELIJAH’S TIME
1 Kings 16:29-34 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.
Ahab was 7th in line from King David’s day; seven is the biblical number of completion - – however he ruled over a split nation - after Solomon’s death the Northern Kingdom Israel consisting of ten tribes and the Southern Kingdom Judah consisting of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin split. Ahab was a “false King”. His line was full of corruption:
First two Kings of Israel did not serve God and were alcoholics, the third was a murderer, and the fourth also a murderer, the fifth was accused of spiritual treason and the sixth was described as worse than those who had gone before. Ahab married Jezebel – a marriage of political convenience and spiritual consequences – he introduced Baal and Asherah worship he executed, persecuted and imprisoned the prophets of God.
Baal and Asherah were male and female false gods:
a. God’s that could be bribed – give the right offering and all will be well
b. God’s that invoked fertility and barrenness
c. God’s that required child sacrifices
In Ahab’s time Jericho was rebuilt – so we see a people that had been infiltrated with idolatry, immorality and irreverence. In other words wickedness had completed a cycle of absolute apostasy a sign of the days before Jesus second coming!
The modern world, the humanists, evolutionists, liberal theologians, cults, and New Agers as a whole, think Christianity, the Bible, marriage, and a morality with absolutes are all but dead. Certainly they think moral absolutes have no place having any impact on the political and moral decisions of our society. They say it’s old fashioned, out-dated, obsolete. People living in immorality are often heard saying, “we’re living in the 2000’s,” as though society has outgrown such foolish ideas. It is as though God has been proven to no longer be an issue in life and people can ignore God without serious ramifications to themselves and society. But individuals, as well as nations, cannot ignore God’s Holy Word without serious consequences, which, like water breaking through a dam, spill over into every aspect of society. Knowing and believing this was the secret of Elijah’s boldness, his presence before King, Ahab, and the reason for the drought that was to follow. It was a judgment from the living God.
Elijah had not been infected by the mood of his day or by God’s silence--what people so often mistake as His indifference or unreality. Rather, Elijah was convinced God was not only alive, but immanent--personally and actively involved in the affairs of both Israel and the nations. Being infused with this reality of God and His person, Elijah acted on God’s promises. He prayed and proclaimed his message to King Ahab. God was not only alive and well, but very much operative in human history. This fact transformed Elijah’s life. By the words, “as living is Yahweh, . . .” Elijah was not only declaring the reality of Israel’s God as the only true God, but declaring the fact God was superior over the false ideas of mankind and the pagan idols of the nations.
Elijah was declaring it was not just any man’s ideas about God that counted, but the revelation of the God of the Bible--he alone is the true God. Likewise, our responsibility is to know God intimately, and then to proclaim the Christ of the Bible as the true Savior and God.
King after king in the northern kingdom of Israel had openly defied Yahweh and ignored Him with no apparent consequences. The idea so prevalent in the thinking of the people (just as it is today) was either Yahweh God had no real existence, or He was not concerned or involved with Israel. This was a subtle form of deism that had crept in since the people had been infiltrated by the idolatrous thinking of the nations. Through Elijah’s life and message, the idea of deism was being challenged and judgment declared and experienced.
Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 brings home an important lesson for us: Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. Although a sinner does evil a hundred [times] and may lengthen his [life] still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.
ELIJAH’S SUDDEN APPEARANCE AND DECLARATION
“As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
God was dramatically challenging Baalism, or the belief of the people in Baal, on the very thing they worshiped Baal for--RAIN! On the one side there was Ahab the King, the ruthless and notorious Jezebel, the impotent and false god Baal, and the Baal priests and priestesses. On the other side was Yahweh and a single servant, the prophet Elijah, a man of faith, deeply committed to God. It was a question of authenticity and power.
ELIJAH HAD NOT BEEN SHAPED BY HIS DAY BUT BY GOD
Romans 12:2 do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Elijah’s Description and Locality
Elijah is called “the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead.” He is so called because “Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead . . .”. Notice how Elijah just suddenly appears on the scene. We are told little about him. He simply emerges out of obscurity from the standpoint of the record of Scripture. Nothing is mentioned about his parents, his ancestry, training, or early life. He is simply called “the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead.” Scripture places very little emphasis on his background.
Tishbe
Is such an obscure place what archaeologists cannot find its location – God prepares His people through obscurity whether in location, ministry or life. Character is formed on what we do when no one is watching out of the public eye. Elijah was proved in the secret place of God’s school.
Gilead
Is on the east side of Jordan where the two and a half tribes lived. The name Gilead means “a rocky region” and refers to a mountainous area east of the Jordan that was comparatively uninhabited. It was an area well adapted for spending time alone with God. The phrase is certainly suggestive of his lifestyle as a sojourner, as one whose focus was on the things of God. Why is Gilead mentioned? Gilead demonstrates the historical reality of Elijah and throws additional light on Elijah’s background. Elijah was not out of the seminary of Samaria. The people of the rocky hill country of Gilead were rough, tough, rugged, and perhaps somewhat solemn and stern. They dwelt close to God’s creation in crude villages as shepherds rather than in the lavish surroundings of the palace. Such surroundings tend to spoil people’s character and make them soft rather than tough and rugged. The people of Gilead were hardened and disciplined by the weather and walking over the mountainous terrain. They possessed great physical strength, and such a life also gave them character. Elijah was what we could call a mountain man. But he was a mountain man who walked with God.
Balm of Gilead
The region of Gilead abounded in spices and aromatic gums, the word "balm" is a contracted form of "balsam," a word derived from the Greek balsamon, which was adopted as the representative of the Hebrew words baal shemen, meaning "lord" or "chief of oils." In the Hebrew “balm” is from the word tseriy meaning “to crack as by pressure, hence to leak”. The Balm of Gilead was an aromic resin used as incense and a medical ointment for the healing of wounds.
God had been developed in Elijah. 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. 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 keep us from being free to follow the Lord. This suggests he had denied himself the right 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. He was a man of character and strength both physically and spiritually. BUT IN BECOMING WHAT HE WAS A TOOL IN GODS HAND HE KNOW WAS ONE WHO COULD BRING HEALING TO A NATION. An incense burner – speaks of prayer – and a healing balm – bringing God’s Grace.
CONCLUSION
Shouldn’t we ask ourselves some tough questions like:
(a) How much have I been softened and negatively affected by the comforts of our society?
(b) How available am I to serve the Lord if it’s going to cause some kind of hardship or inconvenience?
(c) Do I have the heart of a sojourner? Or do I have the heart of an earth dweller?
(d) Am I more committed to my comfort and pleasure than I am to the Lord? (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13-2:12)
