Heroes of the Bible: Elijah
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 8/29/2021
NOTE: This sermon was adapted from my book, Holy Heroes of the Bible. If it's a blessing to you, please consider buying the book which includes chapters/sermons on 17 additional Bible heroes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SBNJTSZ
My daughter Ellie’s favorite book is titled My Dad, My Hero. She calls it the Daddy Book. I read it to her upon request just about every night before bed. In fact, the two of us have it almost memorized. I’ll read a line from the book and she’ll make the corresponding sound effects. Narrated by a little boy, the book starts off saying, “My dad is not a superhero…” then, page after page, lists all the superpowers dad doesn’t possess (super strength, flying, web shooters, etc.). But by the end of the book, the child concludes, “Even though he may not be a superhero… he’s really super and definitely my hero.” A child’s first hero is almost always their mom or dad. But, in truth, we never grow out of our need for a hero. People need heroes to inspire us and encourage us to become the best version of ourselves.
Thankfully, the Bible is full of heroes.
For eight weeks now, we’ve been encouraged by the stories of the greatest heroes of the Bible. So far, we’ve been inspired by the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samson, Ruth, and, most recently, David—the hero who had a warrior heart, a worshipful heart, and a wayward heart. Today we’re going to meet another great hero of the Bible—a powerful prophet named Elijah.
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Elijah was one of the most important and most respected prophets in Israel’s history. God used him to bring about a revival in the Northern Kingdom. The Spirit of God flowed mightily through Elijah and God accomplished a number of awe-inspiring miracles through him. He was one of the most significant figures in Israel’s history, along with Abraham, Moses, and David. He even reappeared in the New Testament alongside Moses at the transfiguration of Jesus!
After the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel suffered a terrible civil war. The kingdom was divided and ruled by a series of wicked kings who led Israel astray, embracing the pagan practices of the surrounding nations. So, God raised up the prophet Elijah to fight for truth, justice, and a return to God’s way. Widely recognized as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, Elijah’s story is filled with adventure, peril, and conflict. This morning, I’d like to spotlight a sequence of heroic feats from the life of Elijah.
First, Elijah demonstrated heroic supplication.
• SUPPLICATION
Every superhero has an archenemy. Superman has Lex Luthor. Batman has the Joker. Elijah had King Ahab—an evil king who plunged the nation of Israel deep into idolatry and immorality. The Bible says, “He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him” (1 Kings 16:33 NLT). Elijah boldly prophesied against Ahab and his wicked wife Queen Jezebel because they worshiped the false deity Baal. So, King Ahab determined to kill Elijah along with every other prophet of God in Israel. Although the Lord protected Elijah, Ahab stained his royal robes with the blood of many of God’s other prophets.
One day, with no regard for his own personal safety, Elijah marched right up to Ahab’s palace in Samaria and challenged the king to a contest on Mount Carmel to prove whose god was the one true God. The rules were simple: each side would sacrifice a bull on an altar. King Ahab’s prophets would sacrifice to Baal, and Elijah would sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Whoever sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice would prove to be the one true God.
Rather than kill Elijah where he stood, Ahab couldn’t resist the challenge. So, Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and all 450 prophets of Baal to meet on Mount Carmel. Standing before the entire kingdom, Elijah announced, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! If Baal is God then follow him!” (1 Kings 18:21 NLT).
For most of the day, the prophets of Baal shouted, danced, and even slashed themselves with swords to get Baal’s attention. The Bible says, “They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response” (1 Kings 18:29 NLT).
Finally, it was Elijah’s turn. But first, he wanted to up the ante. All of Israel crowded around as Elijah built an altar to the Lord. He stacked twelve stones, one to represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel. He dug a trench around the altar, piled the wood on it and place the bull on top. Then he dumped twelve large jars of water onto the altar, saturating the wood and filling the trench. Then Elijah made supplication to the Lord, praying for all to hear, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things. Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back” (1 Kings 18:36-37 HCSB).
Suddenly, before Elijah could even say amen, flashes of fire rained down from heaven, roasting the sacrifice, consuming the altar and evaporating the water in the trench. And the Bible says: When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39 HCSB).
In his greatest confrontation with King Ahab, Elijah relied on supplication—prayer—to overcome his enemies and save the day. Even when he was outnumbered and the odds were against him, Elijah trusted in the power of prayer. He knew that God would hear his requests and that God would answer his pleas. The same is true for us. The Bible says, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for” (1 John 5:14-15 NLT). There is tremendous power in prayer. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or outnumbered, don’t try to fight your battles on your feet until you first drop to your knees. Godly heroes rely on the power of prayer!
Immediately following Elijah’s feat of supplication, he performs a feat super-speed.
• SPEED
Marvel’s preeminent super-speedster is a mutant superhero named Pietro Maximoff, codenamed Quicksilver. One particular scene from X-Men: Apocalypse showcases just how fast Quicksilver can run. This is just such a fun scene that I wanted to share it with you.
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Wow. Can you imagine what it would be like to run that fast? So fast that everyone else seem frozen in place?
Well, long before Quicksilver made his movie or even comicbook debut, God empowered Elijah to become the original super-speedster. After his humiliating defeat, King Ahab beat a hasty retreat to the city of Jezreel in his royal chariot. “Then,” the Bible says, “the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:46 NLT). Elijah wasn’t ordinarily very fast, but God supernaturally enabled him to outrun Ahab’s chariot. Elijah may not have been as fast as Quicksilver, but winning a race against a horse-drawn chariot is still an impressive feat of super-speed!
Typically pulled by four horses, a chariot could reach speeds of 35-40 miles per hour. For Elijah to outrace Ahab’s chariot, he would have to run at least that fast, a feat that would leave in the dust the even fastest Olympic runners of our day. What’s more, Jezreel was thirty miles away from Mount Carmel! In other words, this race was longer than a marathon! Elijah had more than just super-speed that day—he had super-stamina too.
Interestingly, the Bible frequently compares the Christian life to running a race. The apostle Paul writes, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26 NLT).
This is such a rich metaphor. There’s a reason that the Christian life isn’t compared to a summer picnic or a quick stroll around the block. A race is hard. And when you’re in it, the race becomes your primary focus as all other concerns fade to the background. The same is true of the Christian life. We are to live in a speedy pursuit of Christ. We can’t live as if passive, half-hearted devotion will get us closer to the finish line—our “eternal prize,” as Paul calls it. We must give it our best effort. We must “run to win!” Pursuing God must be the primary focus of our lives.
The Bible also says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).
Just like in a race, in this life you’ll have hurdles, you’ll face obstacles, and you will get tired. But just like Elijah, we’re called to run with endurance. This “huge crowd of witnesses” surrounding us doesn’t consist of spectators looking down and cheering us on us from heaven’s grandstands (as encouraging as that sounds); rather, it points back to Hebrews chapter 11, which is often called the Hall of Faith. This chapter is a rollcall of many of the great heroes of faith from the Old Testament—men and women, like Elijah, who did incredible things through faith in God. They ran their race, finished the course, and kept the faith. When we grow weary and fainthearted, these godly heroes can bolster our spirits and inspire us to run the race God has set before us. Unlike Elijah’s race against King Ahab’s chariot, though, the Christian race isn’t about how fast you run, but how faithfully you finish.
Finally, in addition to Elijah’s supplication and speed, I also want to highlight Elijah’s sidekick.
• SIDEKICK
From the earliest days of comicbooks, many of the greatest superheroes had a sidekick. Batman had Robin. Captain America had Bucky. Aquaman had Aqualad. Green Arrow had Speedy. The Flash had Kid Flash. And, similarly, Elijah had Elisha.
In the wake of Elijah’s victory over King Ahab and the prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel swore vengeance against Elijah. In true villainous fashion, the evil queen declared, “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you” (1 Kings 19:2 NLT).
And so, Elijah became bitterly discouraged. He thought his days of running and hiding were over. He felt completely alone in his battle against the forces of evil. So, God comforted Elijah. He sent an angel to bring Elijah some food and fresh water. Then, God assured Elijah that he wasn’t alone—in fact, there were still 7,000 Israelites who were faithful to God and had not bowed before Baal. In order to help Elijah continue his never-ending battle, God led him to a young man named Elisha. The Bible says, “Elijah wet over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders… Then he went with Elijah as his assistant” (1 Kings 19:19,21 NLT).
Like Batman and Robin, Elijah and Elisha became a dynamic duo. Elisha accompanied Elijah everywhere he went, assisted him, supported him and learned from him. In time, Elisha even replaced Elijah.
The day came when Elijah went to be with the Lord… literally. Elijah’s relationship with the Lord was so special that God didn’t allow Elijah to die. Instead, the Bible says, “As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11 NLT). Heartbroken by his mentor’s disappearance, Elisha stood there staring into the heavens as Elijah’s caped fluttered to the ground before him. Elisha picked up the cape, threw it over his shoulders, and continued Elijah’s mission. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Elisha carried out a ministry of miracles that even surpassed Elijah’s.
Sidekicks aren’t just for superheroes (or prophets, for that matter). Jesus himself mentored not one, but twelve sidekicks! He called them disciples. These twelve sidekicks lived with Jesus for three years. They traveled with him from town to town, watched him perform breathtaking miracles, and absorbed his life-changing teachings. The more they listened to Jesus and learned from him, the more like him they became. When Jesus ascended into heaven, their training ended, and these twelve sidekicks became full-fledged heroes. They continued Christ’s mission and ministry, and trained others to do the same. From one generation to the next, this process continues.
In a letter to one of his sidekicks named Timothy, the apostle Paul writes, “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Timothy 2:2 NLT). This is what discipleship is all about—training young men and women in the teaching of Jesus, so that they can teach others generation after generation. If you’re relatively new to the Christian faith, I want to encourage you to seek out a spiritual mentor who can help you grow in your walk with Christ. If you’re a veteran Christian, be on the lookout for new and young believers who could benefit from your wisdom and experience. In either case, our work isn’t done until our sidekicks have sidekicks of their own.
Conclusion:
Elijah’s life really shows us what biblical heroism looks like. His reliance on supplication while confronting King Ahab and the prophets of Baal demonstrates the power and effectiveness of prayer. His speed while outracing a chariot reminds us to run with endurance the race God has set before us. And his sidekick, Elisha, emphasizes our need to make disciples who will carry on the mission and ministry of Christ after we’re gone. We’re nearing the end of our Heroes of the Bible series, but we’re not quiet done. Next week, we’ll meet Esther—the heroine who rescued her people from genocide.
Invitation:
In the meantime, if you’re struggling to stay strong in the Lord or you’ve grown weary in your Christian race, I want to encourage you to turn to God and talk to him about it. Confess your weakness and ask his to rejuvenate you with his Spirit. And if you don’t have a sidekick/mentor, I hope you’ll start to look around for someone to team up with. If I can help in any of those areas, please come talk to me. Let’s stand and sing together, church.
NOTE: This sermon was adapted from my book, Holy Heroes of the Bible. If it's a blessing to you, please consider buying the book which includes chapters/sermons on 17 additional Bible heroes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SBNJTSZ
