Elijah..., fact or fiction?
One of the more colorful personalities in the Bible is the prophet Elijah. Sometimes I laugh just thinking about him and how human he really was. I want to share his story with you to help put a smile on your face, and inspire your heart as well!
It is sad that we do not find many Elijahs these days walking around in our churches; sometimes I wished we did. We have a good reason to have many Elijahs among us and in our churches, because on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was sent to us, and He is here ready to help anyone who asks Him.
The first time Elijah comes into the biblical scene is after King Ahab is coroneted to reign in Israel. The Bible says that he did evil in the sight of God more than any before him. To make matters worse he married Jezebel, a heathen who worshiped Baal, and even had Ahab build an altar for Baal. So Elijah said to 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” (1 Ki 17:1). Picture yourself being the King, and an average Joe tells you that his word is powerful enough to order stop rain for years. I wish I could see Elijah’s face saying those words. Now Jezebel set to kill him after she killed all of God’s prophets, but Elijah fled and hid in a cave by a brook. So God ordered a bird (a raven) to take food to Elijah in the morning and in the evening. What room service!
Famine was spreading throughout the land and the brook dried up. So God told Elijah to go to a widow for food. The widow ended up only having enough for one meal; for her and for her son. After the meal was made and given to Elijah, the widows oil and flour never ran out from her home. One day the widow’s son got sick and died, but Elijah prayed for him and brought the boy back to life.
Elijah was still on the run and fearful of the evil Jezebel. Finally, God instructed Elijah to visit Ahab and prove to him that God truly is the living God! Elijah went to talk to King Ahab and prayed for rain, and the rain returned to the land. Elijah then told Ahab to gather all the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The prophets were to get an offering ready and ask Baal to send fire to burn the offering. Elijah told Ahab that if Baal could not do this, he would pray to God and ask Him send the fire from heaven. It was agreed. After all that was said, Ahab saw the God of Elijah send the fire from heaven and burn not only the offering, but the stone as well. After all of this happened the prophets of Baal were slaughtered. This fumed the anger of Jezebel even more. Finally, because of her wickedness, she died a horrific death; the dogs ate her alive.
I entitled this post “fact or fiction” for a reason. Which do you think it is? One may think this story is close to fiction, but it is not! The finale is the most impressive part of the story because God sent a chariot of fire from heaven to pick up Elijah for his final destination (heaven).
What are we afraid of today, and who is the Jezebel in our life? God is the same and we are no different than Elijah. So today I want you to think of this powerful coward and smile. Thank Christ!
It is sad that we do not find many Elijahs these days walking around in our churches; sometimes I wished we did. We have a good reason to have many Elijahs among us and in our churches, because on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was sent to us, and He is here ready to help anyone who asks Him.
The first time Elijah comes into the biblical scene is after King Ahab is coroneted to reign in Israel. The Bible says that he did evil in the sight of God more than any before him. To make matters worse he married Jezebel, a heathen who worshiped Baal, and even had Ahab build an altar for Baal. So Elijah said to 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” (1 Ki 17:1). Picture yourself being the King, and an average Joe tells you that his word is powerful enough to order stop rain for years. I wish I could see Elijah’s face saying those words. Now Jezebel set to kill him after she killed all of God’s prophets, but Elijah fled and hid in a cave by a brook. So God ordered a bird (a raven) to take food to Elijah in the morning and in the evening. What room service!
Famine was spreading throughout the land and the brook dried up. So God told Elijah to go to a widow for food. The widow ended up only having enough for one meal; for her and for her son. After the meal was made and given to Elijah, the widows oil and flour never ran out from her home. One day the widow’s son got sick and died, but Elijah prayed for him and brought the boy back to life.
Elijah was still on the run and fearful of the evil Jezebel. Finally, God instructed Elijah to visit Ahab and prove to him that God truly is the living God! Elijah went to talk to King Ahab and prayed for rain, and the rain returned to the land. Elijah then told Ahab to gather all the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The prophets were to get an offering ready and ask Baal to send fire to burn the offering. Elijah told Ahab that if Baal could not do this, he would pray to God and ask Him send the fire from heaven. It was agreed. After all that was said, Ahab saw the God of Elijah send the fire from heaven and burn not only the offering, but the stone as well. After all of this happened the prophets of Baal were slaughtered. This fumed the anger of Jezebel even more. Finally, because of her wickedness, she died a horrific death; the dogs ate her alive.
I entitled this post “fact or fiction” for a reason. Which do you think it is? One may think this story is close to fiction, but it is not! The finale is the most impressive part of the story because God sent a chariot of fire from heaven to pick up Elijah for his final destination (heaven).
What are we afraid of today, and who is the Jezebel in our life? God is the same and we are no different than Elijah. So today I want you to think of this powerful coward and smile. Thank Christ!
posted by Rev. Alfred Batarse, PhD. | 4:03 PM
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