33:21-33). “Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead . What a contrast Elijah must have been to the people in the rich luxurious city of Samaria, especially the effeminate, perverted Baal priests. Is God really our God from the standpoint of our treasures, attitudes, priorities, pursuits and behavior? Elijah opposes Ahab on *Mount Carmel. A straight trip from the broom tree would have required little more than seven, maybe eight days. J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M. When we read about someone like Elijah, we want so very much to believe such people are inherently different because it soothes our consciences and gives us an excuse for being mediocre or run-of-the-mill. 4:1-2). He was filled with his own importance, and angry over the lack of response and help from others including the Lord. God sent not the ravens as before, nor a widow, nor some other natural means, but the preincarnate Christ. The result was a man totally dedicated to God and His service. We just do not like to admit we are wrong and pursuing a wrong course. Remember, depression that is not caused by physical problems, is one of our methods of escape. Mankind or our self-made gods are absolutely powerless to negate God’s purposes. How we need the attitudes of John the Baptist and Paul. Did he understand he was there because of his faulty thinking and his wrong focus? 13:4) and stood in striking contrast to the affluent inhabitants of Samaria, and especially the Baal priests. I think it’s just terrible. The name Gilead means “a rocky region” and refers to a mountainous area east of the Jordan that was comparatively uninhabited. Against the backdrop of Elijah’s failure, this little demonstrative particle highlights God’s gracious work to restore the prophet back to his ministry regardless of what he had done. 4:30), and proudly credit them to their own brilliance. to Horeb, the mountain of God.” Because of the history of this mountain and the last statement of verse 7, we might be tempted to think he went there to find the Lord or he went there at God’s orders. 18:7-15; 68:8; Heb. Elijah’s failure and discouragement (because of his expectations) were due in part to two things. Introduction In our first lesson on Elijah, we looked at the historical setting that formed the spiritual and moral environment into which Elijah was called of God to minister. This four-fold manifestation of God was given with these four-fold phenomena to show God honors and works through the message of His Word, that He cares for his people who share His Word, and that it will not return to Him void. I am sure no soldier, priest, citizen, or member of Israel’s secret police dared stand in his way. "Sinai" and "Horeb" are generally considered to refer to the same place by scholars. Oh, how we often set ourselves up for discouragement by our pride and our expectations which we fail to rest on the foundation of God’s wisdom. We need eyes to see the fields that are white unto harvest (cf. י‬ ‎, Har Sinai) is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. Or we do the opposite and glory in personalities rather than in the power and presence of the Almighty. text reads, “behold here” or “behold now.” This highlights the place and time when God’s angel, His messenger of mercy, comes on the scene. This challenges me to ask some questions such as: (1) Who and what is my God? We tend to be so people-oriented and go to one of two extremes. 6:33; 1 Tim. Similar to the life of Jesus, Elijah performs marveling acts to demonstrate the validity of God to the people of Israel. 30 Bible Verses about Preparation ... Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. And this was undoubtedly done in the presence of the murderous Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. (b) His separation and denouncement of the world--he was not controlled by the lifestyle of the world. (3) The fire may be a picture of the work of judgment completed by Elisha, Elijah’s successor (1 Kgs. What was Elijah to learn from this? Or are we guilty of worshipping other gods like the gods of materialism and the details of life? How should we understand and apply this? As the months rolled by after Elijah’s declaration of no rain, whenever people saw or thought of Eliyahu, they were faced with the message of his name, “My God is Yahweh.” In other words, my God is Yahweh, not Baal. The divorce rate, drugs, crime in the streets, in corporate America and in our government, the violence we see in our society even among small children, the rise of a militant gay movement, and the rise of the occult and the cults give us a frightful and grisly picture. It showed Elijah that his ministry had not been in vain and that God’s Word does not return void no matter how things may look to us. It was a time when the foundations of law and order were being systematically dismantled. Elijah’s dynamic living, his courageous ministry and effectiveness against all odds was not the result of certain innate super-duper qualities, nor was it in the absence of personal weaknesses, temptation, failure, nor even fear. What’s the Lord pointing out to us in this picture? In our first lesson on Elijah, we looked at the historical setting that formed the spiritual and moral environment into which Elijah was called of God to minister. The Truth About Reconciliation, Pt. Elijah is told to anoint three people and each one acts as an agent of divine judgment or blessing. Hampton wrote many articles for the Biblical Studies Foundation and on... More, 9. Out of exhaustion, Elijah fell asleep. In verse 11, we have another “behold” section designed to highlight another important event--the Lord passing by the cave on the mountain. But no, the Lord was not in the wind. 2:13). It was when he was depressed and a deserter with the best his own strategies could supply--a scrubby desert bush. This suggests he had denied himself the right to control his own life and, by faith, had submitted to God’s control. John 4:35) while I pray focused on the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2). We have asked the question, how could this have happened to such a man of God? Can’t you picture him as a kind of Grizzly Adams or a rugged Abraham Lincoln? However, Scripture places very little emphasis on his background. - So he departed thence, and found [Nothing can be concluded from this word as to previous acquaintance] Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [It was in the winter, consequently (Proverbs 20:4.See Condor, p. 328). The people of Gilead were hardened and disciplined by the weather and walking over the mountainous terrain. 20:7-9). We must learn to rest our expectations in God’s sovereignty, trusting Him for the timing and the means. Still, the Lord was not there. Matthew 3:1-17 ESV / 102 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. It occurred when he was in the wilderness, when Elijah was out of fellowship. Again in verse 13, Elijah is faced with the divine question, a voice comes to him asking, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” But again in verse 14 his reply was the same. (c) Do I have the heart of a sojourner? This suggests the title was significant. His God-given successes had made him take his own importance too seriously (19:4, 9, 14). We hear and say things like, “Isn’t it just awful. In its place we have turned to the relativism of secular humanism with its evolutionary foundation. The Lord simply ignored Elijah’s self-justification and reason for being on the mountain. By God’s divine grace and providence, he was sustained as Israel was through the forty years, and he was drawn to Horeb, to Sinai, the special place of God’s divine revelation of Himself. 17:1-19:21 God provides for Elijah when there is no rain. "Elisha is found not in his study, but in the field: not with a book in his hand, but the plough" (Hall). But the Lord wasn’t through with Elijah and failure doesn’t mean defeat or an end to our ministry. Certainly, many people are impressed by the miraculous and seek the sensational and the spectacular, but generally, that’s not what changes lives. Matt. He was known as a prophet, as the account that follows suggests. Why? The Bible is called the Word of God because it is His voice, not in audible sounds, but in the words of the pages of Scripture. (b) As Moses had spent forty days on the mountain without bread and water, sustained only by God while he awaited a new phase of service (Ex. But suddenly, before Elijah comes out of the cave, four events occur, three of them spectacular. It was a time when the foundations of law and order were being systematically dismantled. In other words, who am I? Notice twice Elijah is asked what he is doing there on the mountain (vss. It was to be as David said in Psalm 11:1, “In the Lord I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain.’” Or as David counseled himself in Ps. He said there would be neither dew nor rain for years except by his word. His message was short, direct, and somewhat curt. Surely this was added to stress the impotence of the Baal prophets against the Lord whom Elijah represented. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. 1 Pet. - Elijah the prophet. 16:29-34 Ahab, king of *Israel. With the word “behold” the Hebrew text has the word zeh, an adverb of place or perhaps time that means, “here” or “now.” Literally, the Heb. (c) As Moses was to see the presence of God (Ex. 1:3, 8; 9:36). What made him such a powerful tool for the Lord? Hampton wrote many articles for the Biblical Studies Foundation and on... More, 9. How committed am I to getting alone with God so I really get to know Him? It was a standing declaration of his faith in that it demonstrated his protest against Baalism, his allegiance to God, and the key issue of the day as it is today--who or what is our God? First there was his view of what it would take to change the nation. Elijah was what we could call a mountain man. Here was a man who was close to God, a man to whom God was very real and God used Him. Elijah was not a man of many words; but he was a man of much faith. was a 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years. This cave was a much better source of refuge than a broom tree, but his spiritual condition was still in shambles. Further, He knew Elijah was not yet able to respond and God didn’t even expect it. Many have opted for a New Age philosophy. Indeed, conditions are becoming more grotesque every day. (4) After the fire, Elijah heard a gentle blowing, a faint whisper, a quiet voice, hushed and low. Compare John 21. In such seasons, may the Eternal Comforter abide with us, and cause us to bless the Lord at all times, making even the solitary place to become a temple for Jehovah. He did not come bowing and scraping. As it was with Elijah, so God has called us to serve Him and minister to others in times like these. Elijah’s appearance was dramatic and sudden. (1) To show the prophet His love and grace and perhaps to remind us that it was when we were sinners and alienated from God that He sent His Son for us. He knew who he was (God’s representative), where he was (in a sinful world that stood opposed to the purposes of God) and why he was there (to give out God’s message of light to people in darkness). However, when faced with the threat of Jezebel and the obvious fact there would be no immediate revival in the land, he suddenly became fearful and discouraged. (3) A sudden fire followed, but this too did not announce the presence nor the activity of the Lord. 3:4-9; and 4:1-5). 21:1-29 Ahab and Naboth’s *vineyard I am just one voice. 22:8-16; Ps. The Lord was not condoning what Elijah had done or overlooking it, but rather (a) He was assuring Elijah he was still the object of His love, and (b) that He still had a plan and purpose for the prophet just as He does for us when we get out of His plan. Isn’t this also an illustration of how we are so prone to prolong our trek in the wilderness in the pursuit of our own solutions to our pain and misery rather than quickly turn to the Lord. He was asked, “Who are you?” His answer was, “I am just a voice!” He was emphasizing he was merely an instrument of the living God who was there to help them recognize and believe in the living and true God. This gives us more insight into the forces forming the character of the prophet. If people will not respond to the Word that is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, they are not going to respond even if someone comes back from the grave and tells them about hell (Luke 16:31). 3 Elijah was afraid # 19:3 Or Elijah saw and ran for his life. Elijah stands in striking contrast to the Baal priests and the populace of the city in every way. 9:1-10). Elijah is told to come out of the cave and stand before the Lord. Did he understand why he was there from his standpoint and from God’s standpoint? He had also witnessed God’s supply by the brook, in the home of the widow, in the years of famine, in the fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, in the coming of the rain, and in the ability to outrun Ahab back to Jezreel. By way of application, isn’t this really another indication of the grace of God that even when we are out of fellowship, with our hearts devising our own way, the Lord still works on behalf of His children’s needs to lead them back to Himself? It seems clear that he was simply wandering about much like the children of Israel had done for forty years, Furthermore, the forty days and forty nights is not without symbolical significance. Let’s ask the Lord to show us the potential of ministry around us, and to cause us to see the opportunities through the potential of His life and power. Gilead demonstrates the historical reality of Elijah and throws additional light on Elijah’s background. I am nobody important. Elijah seemed to be neither surprised nor overwhelmed by this supply of grace. to really count for God. Notice how Elijah just suddenly appears on the scene. 14:26-35). Did he understand that though he had been running from the Lord, it was God who had led him to this very special place to instruct and restore him? 26:19; Deut. 33 Expositors Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, general editor, Vol. How slow we are to learn and how deep seated our feelings of rejection and hurt become established. We are not told why, but since “the settlers of Gilead” really means “the sojourners of Gilead,” it may declare something about Elijah’s character and relationship to God. There is no record of any response, not even a “thank you.” It appears he simply took God for granted. 6 Alfred Edersheim, The Bible History of the Old Testament, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Vol V, 1890, p. 188. We are told little about him. Like the 7,000 of Elijah’s day who were hiding in caves to escape persecution, we tend to crawl off into the cave of our “business as usual” routine, or into our particular strategy by which we seek to become narcotized to the problems. This was to become the official dress of a prophet (Zech. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” 2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. I can’t preach or teach. Instead, He offers him instruction that would result in special revelation about the Lord and God’s method of operation. (b) How available am I to serve the Lord if it’s going to cause some kind of hardship or inconvenience? In other words, the cave represents just another human strategy for refuge which, of course, was a substitute for God as his refuge. In the final analysis, what really matters is who and what God is. This special work of God’s grace did not occur on the summit of Mount Carmel, nor when in conflict with the prophets of Baal, nor by the brook where the Lord had sent Elijah, nor when he was in prayer and intimate fellowship. When, in our attempt to be free or do as we please, we rebel against the Lord’s authority and control of our lives, we experience a sad irony. Let’s note Elijah’s response in verse 6: “So he ate and drank and lay down again.” What does this tell us? The people of the rocky hill country of Gilead were rough, tough, rugged, and perhaps somewhat solemn and stern. It was a time when the righteous might well ask as in Psalm 11:3, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” From this Psalm, we saw our response of faith is not to run and hide. This was God as the Great Counselor working to get Elijah to evaluate where he was, why he was there, and what he was doing. Now, because of his improved physical condition, he is in a better place to learn and listen. Let us dream big because we have a big God! He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. God remembers that we are frail. What gave him his courage, and how can we tap in on what he had so God can use us in the way and to the degree He desires? Scholars debate the exact location of Tishbe. Num. It had long slender branches with small leaves and provided very poor shade or protection from the sun. His capacity for response and appreciation would come later. Elijah possessed a sinful nature just like ours with weaknesses, fears and doubts. Where did his faith, courage, and commitment come from? First, James calls our attention to the fact that the faithful prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much and be used dramatically for God (vs. 16b). In this lesson we see Elijah’s appearance and dramatic declaration to King Ahab. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”. It teaches us that spiritual priorities and values controlled his life. He is called “Elijah, the Tishbite” six times and was well known by this title (cf. with twelve yoke of oxen [Heb. J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M. (2) What is my name? … (d) Am I more committed to my comfort and pleasure than I am to the Lord? Elijah runs away. As the Almighty, He deals with us accordingly. 1:13-2:12). While Elijah was spiritually head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries, he was at the same time normal and average from the standpoint of innate or natural qualities and abilities. God picked out, raised up, and used a man whose very name was significant to the religious climate of his day and the contest that would follow. Did he have a corner on spirituality? 4:4-5; 2 Sam. Remember, this cave represented Elijah’s human strategy for refuge--the product of his wrong focus and thinking. Let’s look at how the Lord worked to restore the prophet. Or do I have the heart of an earth dweller? Though the means may be completely lacking to us and all may appear lost and without hope, there is never an end to the degree of God’s love and care, nor to the capacity and power at God’s disposal to supply any need at any time. (2) This also affirmed the power of God. It is a human strategy for dealing with pain and disappointment. One source says that “Tishbe” means “captivity.” It certainly is a derivative of shabah, meaning “to take captive.” In view of God’s warnings in Deuteronomy 28:15-37, this could have stood as a warning of eventual captivity if Israel refused to repent and turn to the Lord. He needed further instruction and insight that he might see himself and God, and in the process learn a very important truth that is also very, very crucial for our day as well. He knows our frame, that we are but dust. We think it excuses us from tackling tough things for God. (a) As the children of Israel had a significant spiritual failure (at Kadesh Barnea) and wandered forty years in the wilderness, so a defeated Elijah was to spend forty days in the desert (cf. Jer. Verse 5 tells us an angel was touching him, awakening him to eat. Such surroundings tend to spoil people’s character and make them soft rather than tough and rugged. We are each unique with unique potential and opportunities limited only by our attitude, our faith, our awareness of God, and our availability to Him. It is God’s voice speaking to people as He did in olden days through the prophets and the Old Testament and now to us in the complete inspired Word through the ministry of the Spirit of God (cf. To reveal Himself and an important truth in the spiritual maturity of the prophet. Then, out of our minds and mouths flow a river of typical human excuses--enough excuses to lose our nation. Elijah is called “the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead.” He is so called because he was likely from a town called Tishbe in upper Galilee known to us from the Apocryphal book of Tobit 1:2. There was no desert in his heart, though there was a desert around him. Furthermore, the text tells us “he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb.” From where Elijah began, a day’s journey south of Beersheba, he was no forty days and nights from Horeb. Of all the chapters on the life and ministry of Elijah, 1 Kings 19 is, in my opinion, the most instructive and, in many ways, the most encouraging because we can all so easily identify with the prophet and his failure. . Here the Lord, in the low, still, small voice of divine revelation to the prophet, explains and reveals the truth of the power of the Word that brings judgment on those who reject it, and blessing to those who believe it. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.”. Sometimes we think if we only had so and so’s brains, money, IQ, memory, personality, or if we had his position or were as articulate as he is, then maybe we could do something. It was when he was depressed and a deserter with the best his own strategies could supply--a scrubby desert bush. Why was the Lord passing by? (cf. Probably made it rain on him all night or send a swarm of mosquitoes or fire ants. This is not the same personage as the "messenger" in Malachi 3:1; for the latter comes before the first advent of the Lord, the former appears before the day of judgment; one comes to prepare the way of the Lord, and is followed immediately by Messiah's coming to his temple; the other is sent to convert the chosen people, lest the land be smitten with a curse. The way they are mentioned suggests the people were a little awed by the prophet’s distinctive looks and manner. Elijah had demonstrated courage before Ahab in the king’s palace and on Mount Carmel. . But, by the strength of God through faith, Elijah rose above his weaknesses through the divine resources at his disposal. If Jezebel had really wanted him dead, she would have tried to seize him without warning, but, cunning as she was, she wanted rather to discredit him before his new converts and she was successful. Why? Elijah needed some special instruction from the Lord, but again, he first needed physical strength through nourishment. Of course! Excuses like these stem partly from the hero mentality we too often use as an escape from responsibility. Elijah is the Hebrew Eliyahu that means “My God is Yahweh.” Note several things: In Elijah’s name, given to him perhaps by a godly parent, we can see how the sovereign providence of God is often at work in the historical circumstances of our lives. We keep clinging to them as our way of escape and defense. 18 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. He was a man who was truly free because he was free to follow the Lord. This rugged mountain man, dressed in his camel’s hair garment, was the sight that people saw striding down the streets of Samaria, up the steps of the palace right into the throne room and presence of Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah’s dress and lifestyle demonstrated his separation and devotion to the Lord. For now, God was patient and seeking to physically restore and strengthen. Like all of us, he desperately needed to hear the Word. Perhaps because it demonstrates how the promises and warnings of God’s Word always take precedence over man’s response or opinions. Elijah is initially presented in 1 Kings 17 as the seer who foretold a three-year drought in the land of Israel. The call of Elisha, a young man available and positive to the Word and the Lord, and the 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal illustrate the other side of the coin. They are two of the most notable prophets from scripture helping to restore Israel in a time of wicked rulers. The juniper tree is not the coniferous tree of the genus juniperous. In fact, some believe that since this cave was somewhere on Mount Horeb, it could very well have been “the cleft of the rock” where the Lord had placed Moses when God’s glory passed by (Ex. He was still smarting over his failure as expressed in verse 4. He is personally involved in seeking to restore us. He was in no condition to listen or take in the Word of God. The Truth About Reconciliation, Pt. Our next lesson will not only show us what Elijah proclaimed, but it will give us insight into what made him the kind of man God could use. Do we claim faith in the God of the Bible, but live like practical atheists? In fact, his humanness will clearly emerge later in the record of his life and ministry (chapter 19).
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