Theme: Fiery Prophet
Text: 1 Kings 17:1-6
Greetings: The Lord is good; and His love endures forever!
Introduction
Elijah means ‘Yahweh is my God’. He is known as Eliyyahu in Hebrew, and Elias in Greek. The feminine name is Eliana. Elijah lived during the ninth century B.C. He appears 1 kings 17, and disappears as a powerful fiery prophet 2 Kings 2. Elijah was from “Tishbite in Gilead,” it was a region of Israel (Genesis 31:21–22, Judges 10:4). He is projected in the Bible as a man of God (1 King 17:24), as a servant of God (1 Kings 18:36), and as a faithful prophet of God (1 Kings 17:16, 17:24, 18:44, 2 Kings 1:17). His prophetic career was during the reigns of Kings Ahab and Ahaziah of the northern kingdom. He was ranked with Moses.
Elijah appears in 2 Kings 3:11, 9:36, 10:10, and 10:17. Then in the NT (Matthew 11:14, 16:14, 27:47-49, Mark 6:15, 8:28, Luke 1:17, 4:25-26, 9:8, 9:19; John 1:21 1:25; Romans 11:2; James 5:17-18). Prophet Elijah is venerated by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Church commemorates July 20 as day of Elijah. It’s very relevant to meditate about him.
I would like to present the life of Prophet Elijah from three roles:
He had demanding prophetic expressions
He had demeaning personal exposures
He had deeming prophetic experiences
1. He had demanding prophetic expressions
Elijah’s prophetic expressions are combined with his prayer life. Elijah was seen as standing before God. Elijah was in front of God. Elijah's prayer life enabled him to stand before God, before kings, and in front of less valuable groups. He used to spend countless hours with God (1 kings 17:1).
In accordance with James 5:17, he fervently prayed for both the opening and binding of the clouds and the sky. He had the guts to say that ‘no matter how much men sacrifice anywhere in the world, the skies would not hear’.
According to 1 Kings 18:36–37, he prayed a shortest prayer in the public for the pouring down of the consuming fire, after hours of personal prayer beforehand (1 Kings 19:14), he offered lonely silent prayer for the rain to fall. He prayed persistently, with trust, and with humility (1 Kings 18:41–46). He considered prayer to be a vital part of his daily routine. Elijah portrayed a serious attitude. Because of his life of prayer, he was transported to heaven (2 Kings 2).
His prophetic expressions are also accompanied with strong condemnation of the wickedness of people and their miseries. He saved the religion of Yahweh from mixing up of the worship of Baal. Elijah challenged Jezebel's religious practices which contaminated Yahweh's faith with the Baal-Centered Canaanite religion. Elijah challenged 450 Baal prophets to a strength-based competition on Mount Carmel to decide who deity the real God of Israel is. Who was this Jezebel?
Ahab, the son of Omri, the king of the Northern kingdom, was married to Jezebel. The king of Tyre and Sidon, Ethbaal, was the father of Jezebel.
His prophetic expressions had the courage and fortitude to stand before the kings, not to give them accolade but to warn and declare God's will. God commanded Elijah to face King Ahab, who was plotting his assassination (1 King 18:10). The first thing King Ahab said to Elijah was, "You are a trouble maker of the Israelites." But Elijah responded, "No, I am trouble-shooter." He was the one who brought the good resolutions to an end, not the one who caused the chaos (1 Kings 18:18).
His prophetic expressions accompanied with a voice for justice of the weaker sections of the society. At Naboth's vineyard, Elijah met Ahab to condemn the judicial proceedings of Ahab in the case of righteous Naboth, Elijah cursed the king Ahab (1 Kings 21: 17–25). He was in front of King Ahaziah. He predicted his demise and cautioned him about his deviation (2 Kings 1:6, 16).
2. He had demeaning personal exposures
Elijah was one of the more complicated Old Testament characters because, in addition to his many significant events, he also experienced periods of uncertainty and difficulty. This is a summary of the life of this interesting man.
This prophet was known for his simplicity in life, food, and lifestyle. He used to depend upon God for every meal of the day. First few months the ravens fed Him (1 Kings 17:2-4), then he was fed by the widow of Zarephath in the region of Sidon (1 Kings 17:7-14). Then he was fed by the angel of the Lord with hot bread and delicious meat (1 Kings 5-8). This was not a commendable before men. A life of dependable.
The one side of his personality was that he was a full-time prophet, committed servant of God. He had a ridiculous dress code and appearance (2 Kings 1:8), he lived a humble lifestyle always with a fleet of foot without horses and chariot (1 Kings 18:46), and dwelt in caves (1 Kings 17:3). Elijah was a powerful demanding, challenging prophet of God.
But the other side of his personality was that Elijah experienced a moment of discouragement since things didn't go exactly as he had planned after great success. He proved Yahweh with external proofs, he proved his spiritual Authority. Elijah's worst mistakes were running into the desert and pleading with the Lord to take his life out of dread of Jezebel.
He had a Spiritual arrogance and self-righteousness. However, he misconstrued that he was the only faithful person in the entire Israelites community (1 Kings 19:10, 14, 18). This always denigrate us, keep us apart, and prevent us from experiencing genuine connection with one another. He has gone to the extreme end of self pity. He evaluated himself as unworthy, not good like his forefathers (1 Kings 19:4).
3. He had deeming prophetic experiences
The prophetic expressions of Elijah are deemed to be powerful prophet. His prophetic expressions are like Moses, Samuel, Ezekiel, Daniel and John the Baptist.
The Jewish Traditions say that “Elijah was the God-seer, miracle worker, and zealot for faith in God, he was born of the tribe of Aaron in the town of Tishba, for which he was called the Tishbite. When Elias was born, his father Sabbas saw angels of God hovering around the child, wrapping the child in fire and feeding him flames. That was a foreshadowing of Elias's fiery character and his God-given fiery power. He spent his entire youth in divine contemplation and prayer, frequently withdrawing into the wilderness to contemplate and pray in tranquillity.”
Elijah brought Fire on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). He called down fire on soldiers (2 Kings 1). A chariot of fire pulled by fiery horses appeared, coming between Elijah and Elisha. Elijah went up in the chariot in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:12).
On his journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19), Elijah has his most profound prophetic experience when he discovers that God is not present in the lightning, the earthquake, or the storm. Nature is not even a sufficient representation; it is far from becoming the manifestation of God. The most intellectual account of God, who is spiritual and invisible, is found in the Word of revelation.
John the Baptist was a living example of Elijah's spirit and life during Jesus' time (Matthew 3:1–6). John the Baptist was portrayed as a man of courage who denounced immoral behaviour by the authorities (Matthew 3:7, 14:4), a man of obedience to the call and commission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:15), a strong preacher who preached about the scribes and Pharisees repenting (Mark 1:5), a man of holiness who was unquestionable and no one dared to cast doubt on his personal life (Mark 6:20, Luke 1:80), and last among the prophets martyred (Mathew 14:10). Jesus Christ testified about John as a burning lamp.
On Mount Tabor, he appeared together with Moses beside our Lord Jesus Christ at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3-13, Mark 9:4-13, Luke 9:30-33). At the end of the world, Elijah will appear again to put an end to the power of the Antichrist (Revelation 11).
Conclusion:
Elijah's life is a shining example of what it means to be a faithful servant of God; from his unshakable faith to his fearless declaration of the truth and his selfless deeds of kindness. Believers of all ages are inspired by his narrative, which serves as a reminder of the effectiveness of prayer, obedience, and rely on God.
