Elijah: the weatherman.
1st. Kings 17: 1. 05/02/04
I want to talk to you about a man we find in the Old Testament that was a no-nonsense type of personality. There are several things we could say about this prophet but one thing I want you to know is there was no middle ground with this man. He saw things, as only right or wrong, God or devil and no in between. So with the spirit of God leading him, he confronted people about sin. It didn’t make any difference with him if it was a king, a religious leader or layman, he was straight and to the point.
I think we have in chapter 17 verse one, his first public appearance in the Scripture. It may seem a little odd but his first appearance we find him forecasting the weather. He said, "as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."
Now I want to ask you, does that sound convincing? He did not say there is around 50 percent chance there will be no rain but a 100 percent there will not be no rain until I give the word. I like that, and he said that to the King Ahab. He just goes up to the King uninvited makes his stern pronouncement and then was gone.
Now as we think about Elijah, the weatherman, there are about three things I want us to see in our text. First of all I want you to notice THE PREFACE OF THE FORECAST. The Lord God of Israel liveth, was the first part of his message.
I want you to know this was a challenge to King Ahab. He and his wife Jezebel was doing all they could to eliminate God from Israel’s theology. They had substituted the worship of God to the worship of Baal. There were only 7000 of all the millions in Israel who had not bowed to this false God. But truth is truth whether people accept it or not.
What Elijah said is a challenge to our nation today. We have those hypocritical judges in our nation who doesn’t want the ten Commandments hanging in our courthouse but if you take the witness stand there is a Bible placed in from of you and the question is asked, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help you God? Now I want to ask you, where it is the logic? How about the money they receive that reads, in God we trust?
We see not only the preface of the forecast but also THE PARTICULARS OF THE FORECAST. Elijah’s weather forecast said, "There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." This means there was going to be a drought in Israel. This weather forecast was a statement of judgment against Israel for their wicked ways.
The Bible reads in Deuteronomy 11:16, 17, "take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, if you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them: and then the Lord’s wrath will be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain." But they paid no attention to this command of God. They not only worshiped Baal, which is to make a religion of your own selfish desires, but also legalized and accepted it. God tapped Elijah on the shoulder and said go and remind people that I have not forgotten.
Folks listen to this preacher, the person who lives out there as if there is no God, and views the believer as old-fashioned and out of date, my Bible tells me that even that person will one day bow a knee before God and confess he is God, only to hear depart from me for I never knew you.
Folks, the way it looks, the only way our land will, honor the Holiness of God is through judgment, for our land is certainly not honoring God’s holy ways through obedience. But we are to be different than the world, for we have been called out from the world to be different people, and not to be judged with the world.
Our last point is THE PREREQUISITES OF FORECASTING. Elijah was not guessing about the drought, he was informing Ahab that it was coming, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. His message was based on what God said, and there was no higher authority.
The Bible also says that Jesus taught as one having authority. The reason Jesus taught with authority was that everything he said was based on the divine word of God. And I like it when he said whosoever would call upon my name in faith shall be forgiven their sins and be saved. Have you sins been forgiven? Do you know Jesus as your savior?
