Old Testament Characters
Elijah
1 Kings Chapters 17, 18, 19
2 Kings Chapters 1, 2
The Setting
It had been a little more than 50 years since Israel had reached the height of it power under the reign of Solomon.
Israel had split in half with the 10 of the tribes forming a new nation of Israel and king Jeroboam had set up two alternate worship centers so people would not have to travel to Jerusalem to worship
Israel suffered under a series of immoral kings which sent the nation even father from God
Nadab son of King Jeroboam ruled only two years and was murdered by Baasha. Baasha ruled for 22 years and was succeeded by his evil son Elah. After ruling two years he was murdered by his servant Zimri. Zimri ruled only 7 days died at his own hand in a fire. Zimri was succeeded by Omri who reigned for twelve years and his son Ahab became king and ruled for 22 years.
Ahab sought to establish Baal worship as the official religion of Israel. He married Jezebel who was the daughter of a foreign king who was also the high priest Baal worship.
Jezebel sought out and killed many of the God’s prophets with Ahab consent.
The Stories
Stopped the rain for several years
Fed by the ravens while he lived by the brook
Stayed with the widow and her son and God provided food for all of them from a little bit of olive oil and handful of flour
Brought the widow’s son back to life
He presented himself to Ahab in spite of the threat on his life
Challenged the prophets on Mt Carmel
Called on God to burn the sacrifice
Commanded the people to kill all the prophets of Baal
Called on God to bring the rain
Ran for His life when Jezebel made a vow to kill him
God provided bread and water for him in the wilderness
He stood in the presence of God when God passed by in the whisper
Picked his replacement Elisha
Foretold Ahab and Jezebel’s death (Naboth’s vineyard)
Called Ahab to repentance
Prophesied against the king of Samaria (will not get out of his bed)
Called down fire from heaven and consumed to messengers and their men
Separated the waters of the Jordan with his rolled up cloak
Taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire in a whirlwind
Obedience in spite of
Circumstances
Ahab was all powerful and had unlimited resources
Elijah was a nobody
The brook Kerith had dried up
Ravens were considered unclean
Sidon (where the widow lived) was Jezebel’s father kingdom
Faced overwhelming odds with the prophets
The things that he was called to do were supernatural in nature
Danger
He was called to walk into the presence of Ahab and Jezebel
Elijah’s face was pasted on every wanted poster in the nation
The people were suffering because of his actions
His allies were afraid (Obadiah) and untested (Elisha)
Discouragement
When Jezebel made threatened to kill him no one came to his defense
He had to endure the famine with the widow and her son.
He was accused of coming against the widow when her son died
Misunderstood what God was doing when the son died
After he had defeated Ahab and the prophets he had to deal with Jezebel
Offense
Ahab had insulted Elijah’s God
Ahab and Jezebel had sought to kill him
Ahab and Jezebel had killed God’s prophets
Ahab and Jezebel had led the people away from God
Application
If we desire to be obedient we have to learn that
We cannot determine God’s will on the basis on what is happening around us
We must rely on God for our strength and provision
Our courage, confidence and resolution has to come from the Lord
The risk, the danger, the opposition we face is real
We may have to stand alone
Our past may come back to haunt us
Understand we have a tendency to run and hide when things get tough
God is patient with us
God message is more powerful than what people think about him
