Elijah The Man
James 5:16b-18.
16b. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. [NIV]
Elijah simply burst onto the scene at a time of national crisis. We do not appear to have any account of him prior to this; we do not have a record of his ancestors, and don¡¦t know much about where he came from, but it is apparent from the record given in James¡¦ Epistle that he was special.
In the first mention of this man in I Kings 17:1 he is spoken of as ¡¥Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead¡¦ [NIV]. It is agreed by a number of commentators that ¡¥Tishbe¡¦ was on the east side of Jordan, belonging to either the tribe of Gad or Manasseh. The country around that part was notably wild, rugged and hilly, and the people who lived there were of like description! Can you visualise the scene? Here is an unknown man, with a very rough appearance, speaking to the king and the nation in the name of the Lord God! He said it would not rain, and it didn¡¦t! Then he apparently cannot be found. Later on he appears on the scene again and prays, and the result is rain in abundance!
I believe that in our scripture in James 5 we have some very important truths to learn. Here was a person who many declare to be the greatest prophet that ever was. He spoke in the name of the Lord, and acted in the name of the Lord, and there were results.
I want us to note first that Elijah was a man!
1. Elijah - The Man
17. Elijah was a man just like us.
I am reminded of the occasion when Peter was arriving at the house of Cornelius, in response to the direction of the Lord, (you will find the account in Acts chapter 10), and Cornelius bowed down to worship him. Peter reacts to this as we see in verse 26
But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."
Again we have Paul who visited Lystra on his missionary journey, and speaking to a man who had never walked, said ¡§Stand up straight on your feet!¡¨ The man was instantly healed, and the people wanted to worship Paul and his companions as gods, but Paul said in Acts 14 15:
¡§Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you¡¨.
I think the Amplified version of James 5:17 is very helpful,
Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours [Amp]
Elijah was not a ¡¥Superman¡¦, nor and angel; but ¡¥a man with a nature like ours¡¦.
Matthew Poole expresses the thought this way;
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are; both of body and mind, natural and moral; and so, though he were righteous, yet he was not perfect; though an eminent prophet, yet but a man.
The Greek Lexicon explains this word ¡¥man¡¦ like this
Man - anyrwpov ¡V anthropos - anth¡¦-ro-pos
1) a human being,
1b) to distinguish man from beings of a different order
1b1) of animals and plants
1b2) of from God and Christ
1b3) of the angels
1c) with the added notion of weakness, by which man is led into a mistake or prompted to sin
It is clear that Elijah was simply ¡¥a man¡¦. If that is so, then what was his secret? We shall see that in our next section, but let me say that one thing that empowered him was that he had heard from God! To hear from God, he must have been listening! In the middle of a life filled with human feelings, he could still hear God speaking. He was able to distinguish the Voice of God from his own desires and longings. This wasn¡¦t imagination. In later accounts, where we have a record of his life, we certainly see that he was human. Feeling all alone, he complains to the Lord, but he could not see what God saw! There were many still seeking to serve the Lord. He was afraid, and his fear caused him to run away. Yes, Elijah was a man just like us. If that is so, then it must mean that we also can be used by the Lord.
We have seen that we need to listen for His voice. Now let us look at
2. Elijah - The Model
16b. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was obviously a righteous man, as he is used as an illustration of what God can do with such a person. What does this mean?
Strong¡¦s Greek Dictionary
Righteous: Greek: dikaiov ¡V dikaios - dik’-ah-yos
1) righteous; observing divine laws
1a)used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life.
This principle is made clear in many parts of the scriptures, is in
Psalm 66:18. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. [NLT]
We are not speaking of someone who never sins, but of a person who, when aware of sin, deals with it immediately by confession to the Lord, as John encourages us to do.
I John 1:9. If we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just, true to His own nature and promises, and will forgive our sins, and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [Amp]
I like what Guzick says regarding this righteous person.
This is someone one who recognizes the grounds of his righteousness reside in Jesus, and whose personal walk is generally consistent with the righteousness that he has in Jesus.
If we live in that way, we can move on to see answered prayer.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much [AV]. The words dehsiv energoumenh signify energetic supplication, [Adam Clarke]
The Greek word (energoumenh - energoumenh) would be better rendered by the word energetic. [Barnes]
This kind of praying is the example given here. The Amplified Version gives this
The earnest heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man
We need to take note that what we often speak of as prayer; is not what is spoken of here. The Greek gives a deeper meaning than simple speaking out words.
And he prayed earnestly proseuchproshuxato - proseuchproshuxato. He prayed with prayer; a Hebraism for, he prayed fervently. [Adam Clarke]
Here is the standard for someone who is seeking for answered prayer.
A comment by Guzick just here would be helpful,
Much of our prayer is not effective simply because it is not fervent. It is offered with a lukewarm attitude that virtually asks God to care about something that we care little about. Effective prayer must be fervent, not because we must emotionally persuade a reluctant God, but because we must gain God’s heart by being fervent for the things He is fervent for.
To live to this standard, we need to first of all know what the standard is! How can we know if we do not read God¡¦s Word with understanding? It is not enough to read a portion every day; we must know what it is saying to us! The Psalmist helps us regarding this, in Psalm 119:11 he says
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. [NIV]
In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you. [NET]
This is the reason we repeatedly emphasise the need to store up God¡¦s Word in our hearts and minds. Read it. Memorise it. Meditate on it. Live it. When we know what the Lord is saying, we can be in line with His requirements, and feel His heart for the people around us, just as Elijah did.
This leads us on to see what it was that made Elijah do what he did. He had a real motivation to change the way the nation was heading.
3. Elijah - The Motivated
He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. [NIV]
I can¡¦t help wondering if Elijah had read the warning given by Moses to the nation many years before this.
Deuteronomy 11:16-17. But watch out! You will be tempted to turn your backs on the LORD. And if you worship other gods, 17 the LORD will become angry and keep the rain from falling. Nothing will grow in your fields, and you will die and disappear from the good land that the LORD is giving you. [CEV]
I feel there were two main things that motivated him
ľ The Glory of God
ľ The Need of the Nation
The condition of the nation at this time was such that the Lord had been put to one side in the thinking of the people, and false gods were being worshipped. I think you will recognise that happening in our own nation at this present time.
False gods can take many forms, but anything that takes the place of the Lord in our lives is a ¡¥false god¡¦. It may be our home, our possessions, our personal enjoyment; even our family can be placed before the Lord ¡V if that is happening, then it is wrong. The command of the Lord given to His people a long time ago still applies today.
Deuteronomy 6:5 You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. [NLT]
The need of our nation is great at this time; the knowledge of the Lord and His ways is something foreign to many. Over the past years the standards have been lowered many times, and now our young people have no standards to aim for. We need to see our nation turning back to God, the altars of Baal overturned. In the time of Elijah, the worship of Baal had come to the fore, as it been previously, and as it was on other occasions in the history of Israel. Baal was considered to be the God related to heavenly things. It could be that this was a reason for the heavens being closed by the Lord to rain for a time ¡V to show that Baal had no power! Baal worship is also linked to the sun and moon, and other heavenly bodies. I find this interesting at a time when we see a rise in such things as horoscopes, fortune telling, etc.! Our nation needs the Lord, and needs a people who are prepared to intercede in prayer.
The other matter that caused concern was the Glory of God. The Psalmist said,
Psalm 63:2. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. [NLT]
It is sad to realise that we can sometimes go into places that bear the name of the Lord without seeing the glory of the Lord! My thoughts go back to the consecrating of the Priests in Tabernacle times. Moses heard from the Lord, and did as the Lord told him;
Leviticus 9:6. And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
The result was that there was a visible display of the Lord¡¦s glory. Is this what we really want ¡V to see the glory of the Lord ¡V not just for ourselves but for our nation? Then we should pray the prayer found in Psalm 90:16
Let Your work, the signs of Your power, be revealed to Your servants, and Your glorious majesty to their children. [Amp]
Let us remember that
Elijah was a man just like us.
If Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, then we can be men with the power of prayer like him. Guzick
Let us not allow our humanity to cause us to think that we cannot be used by God. Remember Elijah was a man just like us. He was subject to all the weaknesses we have, but still God used him. This is a challenge for us today. Are we willing to be people who are righteous before God, powerfully prayerful for our nation, and who will serve the Lord ¡V looking for the return of His glory.
