As we
embark upon a thoughtful study of
the life and times of this fascinating
prophet, we will do well to understand the historical background against which he was called by God to be His spokesman in such desperate times.
Setting the Scene
: The
Seven Evil Kings of Israel
We begin thus with a brief survey of 1 Kings. After David dies, Solomon becomes king. Solomon is the king who started well and ended
badly. His many wives turned away his
heart from His God after their gods
(1 Ki 11:1- 9). God vows to tear the
kingdom from him. This happens eventually
in 930 BC when Solomon’s son, Rehoboam makes
strategic mistakes (due to his
reliance on foolish human counselors, and less on God) in the
governing of the once great kingdom of David. This always happens when people
and leaders stop listening to
God. A rebel called Jeroboam
persuades 10 of the tribes of Israel to secede,
and to
form the Northern Kingdom (called
Israel) in 931 BC. The northern 10 tribes are usually called Israel; the southern two tribes (Judah & Benjamin) are usually called Judah.
Jeroboam the leader of the NK
was an evil man. He erected
images of two golden calves, one at Dan
in the north and one at Bethel in the
south, and he told
his people no longer to go to Jerusalem to worship there. Jeroboam introduced idolatry into the nation,
and he was ultimately responsible to
bring the wrath of the Lord God
upon the people of Israel. “Walking in the ways of Jeroboam”[1]
becomes the trademark of all the
successive kings of the NK (Israel)
Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab. (1 Ki. 15:25-32) “He did what was evil in the sight of the
LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel
to sin.” (15:26). Nadab was assassinated after 2 years. Nadab was succeeded by Baasha
who reigned for twenty-four years. He did what was evil in the sight of the
LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to
sin.” (15:34). Baasha was succeeded by his son, Elah who reigned for two
years (1 Ki. 16:8). He was assassinated by Zimri who wiped out the whole dynasty of Baasha (in keeping with a prophetic word- 1 Ki 16:7),
and then proclaimed himself king. Zimri only rules for 7 days (1 Ki. 16:15ff), when Omri (who
ruled 12 years) takes over the
throne (1 Ki. 16:21ff). “Omri did what
was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were
before him”(v.25). Following Omri’s death, his son Ahab ascends to the throne. He rules for 22 years, and of him it is said that “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight
of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a
light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took
for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went
and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of
Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to
provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who
were before him” (1 Ki.
16:30-33). The fact that Ahab had dared to
marry Jezebel, a foreign princess
of the Sidonians, who also was a committed
Baal worshiper, was going to prove to be disastrous for the nation of Israel.
From Jeroboam to Nadab
to Baasha to Elah to Zimri to Omri to Ahab the Northern kingdom is
going from bad to worse. There appears to be no hope for recovery of the
Northern kingdom , but God is not finished with her yet.
Enter Elijah !
Oh, the patience and the mercy of God! Even at this advanced stage of decay,
God will send a messenger, a
prophet to speak to a king and a people who is spiritually immune
to the Word of God.
Our text says: “Now (or ‘and’) Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab”… (1 Ki.17:1).
With dramatic suddenness the prophet of God appears! We we have no description of his genealogy – something so important in
Jewish thinking. Like Melchizedek, he emerges
from obscurity. We are told is that he comes from Tishbe
in Gilead. Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan
River - today’s Jordan. Before the conquest of Canaan under
Joshua, still under the leadership of Moses, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and a ½ tribe of
Manasseh decided to settle there.
(Numbers 32)
Elijah’s name means “My God is Yahweh.” What an
affirmation and reminder is Elijah’s
name before this apostate king
Ahab of Israel! We shall discover that Elijah is one of the most remarkable figures of
the Old Testament, second only to Moses himself, in terms of
God’s miraculous power working through him. In
the NT John the Baptist is likened
to Elijah, to prepare the way of
the Lord (see Malachi 4:5 & Luke
1:17). Like John the Baptist, Elijah’s
calling was to free Israel from her bondage to Baal and to bring her back under the covenant God of Israel.
Consider what Elijah said to this
apostate king Ahab: “As
the LORD the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither
dew nor rain these years, except by my word!”
Elijah (“My God is Yahweh”) speaks to Ahab in the Name of “the LORD God of
Israel” (Yahweh Elohim
Israel). LORD (Yahweh or Jehovah) is the revealed covenant name of God.
Elijah says to Ahab: “As the LORD the God of Israel, lives…” ! He speaks in the Name of the living God ! None
of the 7 kings of Israel had believed this! They all had acted as if He did not exist. In fact, they had treated YAHWEH as nothing, by openly embracing other gods.
The fact that YAHWEH had apparently not judged them so far, made them believe that the LORD had no real existence. Ironically,
the dead idols of Baalism which they had
set up everywhere were even
more silent, as we shall see when Elijah enters into a contest with the prophets of Baal in 18:20. Never think that since God does not respond to every act of unbelief and the sin of men, that He does not exist! Paul reminds the Romans, that for
His own reasons, God “was enduring
with much patience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction.” (Rom. 9:22). No nation must ever think that if they
enjoy peace and prosperity in the
midst of gross and blatant sinning ,
that God is ignoring their sin.God’s wrath is deferred because He acts in
mercy, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Pet 3:9).
HOWEVER, the time had
arrived for God to act. 58 years had passed
since the kingdom had been
divided on account of sin.
God had allowed the nation of Israel to
continue in its apostasy for these 58 years, BUT NOW He sends
an obscure man, Elijah (note in
this regard how similar Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus are!) from across the river Jordan, to Ahab to announce the judgment of God!
Imagine that! Imagine
an obscure nobody going to the president of your country and
telling him “ I have just come from the
presence of God, and this is what you need to hear! “
Here is the message
from YAHWEH via Elijah to Ahab: “There
shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word”. The land designated as
“flowing with milk and honey” would be turned into a land of drought and barrenness and famine, and
therefore death. When God withholds
rain, no-one can create it. Jeremiah the
prophet asks with tongue -in –cheek, “…are
there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?” (Jer
14:22). Well , you know the answer! It
didn’t rain, and no one could produce rain. The terrible drought is only broken by the word of the LORD (1 Ki 18:1)
Before the powerful king of Israel stood an obscure man, who in reality
was much more powerful than Ahab,
because he had stood in the presence
of God!
Of this Elijah, James
says (carefully explaining
that he was a man and not a divine angel, but a man just like us ) “… he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and
for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed
again and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (Jas. 5:18)
Before Ahab stood one
who knew God, and who knew the power of prayer (the prayer of a
righteous person has great power as it is working- Jas 5:16). Elijah was conscious of having
been in the presence of God. This
accounts for his present fearlessness[2].
With God before him and with him, who can be against him?
CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION
What does this
text say to us?
Firstly, we are
still living in the same
world filled with ‘religious unbelievers’
who do not listen to God, and who hate the Word of God! Most of this
world is religious! But most of the
world and its rulers hate YAHWEH the
true God and they hate Christ who calls
men and women of the world to forsake
their idols and to follow Him.
Secondly, we may be confident and believe that God has not left
this world without a Word .
There are those who boldly say to the Ahab’s ( the kings and presidents) of
our day: “As the LORD, the God of the church lives, before whom I stand…”.
Any true church should be such a voice
in the political wilderness, and
any true church may be expected
to be called of God to confront the earthly powers with messages of repentance and judgment.
Thirdly, we must know
that while God delays His temporary
judgements upon the earth, He will certainly carry them out! I remind
you that every earthquake, every pestilence or pandemic, every tsunami and every flood, every war and every cruel ruler are God’s
temporary judgments upon the earth. With respect to the cruelties of men, God is
not the author of their sin or evil, but
He can choose
to allow them to carry on their
evil designs until His purpose has been accomplished among the nations!
This takes biblical wisdom to see and understand.
But mostl, it points us
to the fact of God’s mercy in
Christ. How great is the love of God for this fallen world, that despite
such wilfull, persistent and arrogant sin, He patiently
perseveres with this world. He perseveres
with you! Oh, how many times
you have sinned against Him. How
many times you have profaned His holy Name. How many times you have been
faithless! How many times you have chosen to
worship your created gods, rather
than Him! Still, today He calls you
by His Elijah’s and through His Word to
trust in His Son, the Lamb of God , who
takes away your sin. Will you not repent now and return
to Him you prodigal son or daughter?
May the rich rain of God’s mercy fall upon your soul as you come
today, and may this table spread before us be your invitation to come!
[1] E.g.
1Ki 16:2,19,26,31
[2] He looses this fearlessness , when confronted with Jezebel
cf 1 Ki. 19:1ff. The simplest explanation is that he expended
much spiritual energy in his contest with the prophets of Baal. At this
time he needed to have withdrawn back
into the presence of God. He was
not able to face the threats of Jezebel in his own strength.
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