Elijah A Man Like Us Text: 1 Kings 17 22; 2 Kings 1 2:9; James 5:13-18 Series: Elijah A Man Like Us [#1] Date: July 7, 2013 Introduction Many people have favorite figures or heroes of the Bible. A Sunday school teacher asked the grade 3 kids who their favorite Bible hero was. Sam said, My Bible hero is Jesus the Savior because he died on the cross so we can go to heaven and have everlasting life with our Father, God. He is returning to get all Christians someday. It is my joy to tell about Jesus and how he saved me. The Bible tells me that Jesus is my example. Now that s quite a statement from a grade 3 student! 1 But sometimes the answers are not that accurate on the details. One child quickly named his favorite Bible hero. It s Jethro the shepherd boy who killed a giant lion and had an ark of many colors. I let you find the discrepancies. Today we begin looking at a hero of the Old Testament who is on my list of favorite heroes, the prophet Elijah. What we know about him is found in the books of 1 & 2 Kings, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans and James. He lived in the northern kingdom of Israel in the 9 th century B.C. Elijah s work for God focused on confronting the idolatry and evil in the land and calling the people to return to God. His work began with King Ahab. 1 Kings 16 tells us Ahab did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him (30). Ahab not only allowed the worship of foreign man-made gods such as Baal, he joined that worship. Ahab and his wife Jezebel elevated the worship of Baal and tried to eradicate the worship of the one true God. Elijah s name means My God is Jehovah or, My God is Yahweh. His name fit him and his ministry to a T. We may see Elijah and the other heroes of the Bible as quite different from ourselves. We may think, It s great to see how God used them. I wish I could be like that. Or, They are on a totally different level than we are, or at least than I am. James 5:17 gives Elijah as an example for us, telling us that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. In other words, Elijah was man just like us. That is the constant, the unifying thread that will bind and build our look at Elijah through the next weeks. Elijah was a man like us. Elijah A Man Like Us? When we review the Bible s account of Elijah, we might wonder about that statement. Was Elijah really a man like us? After all, think of all the great things he did! For example, he confronted the king. Turn to keep and keep your Bibles open, starting at 1 Kings 17. We meet Elijah for the first time as the chapter opens.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. The writer doesn t give us any other background on Elijah. We aren t even certain about where the town of Tishbe was. He showed up at the palace and announced God s judgment to the king. Later, in chapter 18, he sought out and met King Ahab again, even though the king had been searching for him throughout Israel and other nations in order to kill him. In chapter 21 he announced God s death sentence on Ahab, his wife Jezebel and their entire family. He confronted the king. Could you see yourself doing that? Then, he was a man of effective prayer. In 1 Kings 17:1 he announced God s judgment of no dew or rain for three years. This was significant, in part, because in Canaanite religion Baal was their god of rain. At the end of the three years, he told the king in chapter 18 that rain was coming. God pulls the curtain back farther in James 5 where He tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. (17-18, NIV). We don t know how all this worked, but God revealed the plan, Elijah prayed earnestly, and God answered. That is effective prayer! We ll zero in on this next week. We also see that God protected Elijah from King Ahab. At one point God told him, Go away from here and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there (17:3-4). That is exactly what God did. Question: Has God ever sent a raven, or any bird, or any animal to bring you food day after day? That s not our experience. And so we can ask, Elijah was a man just like us? After Elijah s water supply dried up out there, God sent him to Zarephath. The town may mean nothing to us, but it did to Elijah. It was north of Israel on the coast of the Mediterranean between Tyre and Sidon. It was the area that Queen Jezebel came from Jezebel who enshrined Baal worship in the court and land of Israel, Jezebel who had the prophets of God killed. God did not send Elijah there to stay with some nice misplaced Jewish family, but with a Gentile widow and her son. They were on their last hand full of flour and drops of oil because of the drought. Out of food, she had resigned herself to die. Elijah told her that if she provided for him, The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land (14, NIV). And so it was. 2
While Elijah was there, we find another striking example of effective prayer the widow s son became sick and died. In her despair she concluded that Elijah was actually sent to judge her, not to bless her. Elijah took the boy s lifeless body to his room. He prayed, O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child s life return to him (17:21b). Then, Scripture tells us, The LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. Another striking feat was Elijah s defeat of the prophets of Baal, recorded in 1 Kings 18. The three years without dew or rain by God s command demonstrated that He controls the rain, not Baal or any man-made god. In a decisive demonstration and judgment, Elijah set up a challenge to see who really is God Yahweh the God of Israel or Baal. He challenged the people of Israel to gather at Mt. Carmel, along with King Ahab, the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, another Canaanite deity. Each side would put an ox on an altar, call out to their god, and, Elijah said, the God who answers by fire, he is God (18:24). The hundreds of Baal s prophets went first, imploring Baal from morning to evening with no results, as Elijah mocked him and them all along the way. Then it was his turn. He prepared the altar and sacrifice having them drenched with water three times before praying to God. Then, look at 18:38, the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. Elijah was a man like us? And what about how Elijah completed his time on earth? Elijah went straight to heaven without dying. 2 According to the account Elijah and others apparently knew this would happen, but not when. 3 2 Kings 2:11-12 describe the event, As they [Elijah and Elisha] were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw Elijah no more. Now when Christ returns for the church today, tomorrow, or in ten, a hundred or thousand years believers living then will experience what Elijah did, being taken directly to heaven without dying. 4 But until then, all of us, all believers will die. Was Elijah really a man like us? Elijah A Man Like Us! The Bible tells us he was. We start with that clear statement from James that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (5:17), that he was like us. Our difficulty in accepting this may be linked to focusing more on Elijah s great works than who he was as a person. The measure of who we are is not the kinds of abilities God has given us or the works God 3
enables us to do. God gives spiritual abilities and works as He wishes 5 and we all do not have the same abilities or kinds of works. 6 One view of Elijah that will help us accept that he was a man just like us is the view of his faith. Elijah, like believers in every time and place, was rejected and attacked because he stood with God. God sent him away to safety from King Ahab after he announced that there would be no rain for three years. Chapter 18 makes it clear that the king was scouring the country and the countries around to find Elijah and kill him. Notice the opening description of Elijah and Ahab s next meeting, 18:17, When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is this you, you troubler of Israel? After the victory over Baal and his prophets, the opening lines of chapter 19 record, Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them (the prophets who had been killed)by this time tomorrow (2, ESV), i.e., may disaster come upon me if I don t have you killed by tomorrow. In Elijah s last encounter with Ahab, the king greeted him, Have you found me, O my enemy? (21:20). Elijah didn t seek rejection and attacks any more than we do. He was attacked because, as Paul wrote, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 7 The extent will vary, but rejection and attacks are part of following God. Heroes of the Bible were not spared this. Elijah was a man just like us. Elijah was a man of great faith. He believed and trusted God. But, just like us, there were times when he was anxious. The great victory over Baal at Mt. Carmel is framed by the first words of chapter 18. After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth (1, ESV). Three parched years and now, finally, God was going to send rain. Drop down to verse 41 in chapter 18 to see what happened right after the victory. Now Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower. So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go back seven times. It came about at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, a cloud as small as a man s hand is coming up from the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you. In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. (41-45) 4
We know from James 5 that Elijah was praying, but there appears to be more here. Elijah was crouched down with his head between his knees, almost rolled up in a ball. He didn t look, but repeatedly told his servant to check the western horizon for any sign of rain clouds. He was anxious. I told Ahab what God told me it s going to rain, it s going to pour. Where are the clouds? When is it going to rain? I m sure we can identify with that trusting God, but being anxious while we wait for Him to speak, direct, work, answer. Elijah was a man just like us. One more example. Elijah believed and trusted God, but there were times when he was both fearful and discouraged. The great victory over the prophets of Baal demonstrated that God was the God over rain and could rain down fire, while Baal was not God, but an invention of people. Those who deceived and led the people away from God were defeated and destroyed. Then all the people of Israel gathered at Mt. Carmel said with one voice, The LORD, He is God; the LORD He is God (18:39). What a victory! When Jezebel heard about this she sent a message to Elijah that she would have him killed within twenty-four hours. How did Elijah respond? Look at 19:3, And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah Yes, Jezebel was dangerous. She was a wicked murderer who killed God s prophets. 8 But when Elijah stood for God against hundreds of Baal s prophets, he saw God showing Himself as the mighty, victorious warrior, mighty to save. Yet now he was terrified and ran for his life. He was so discouraged, we read in verse 4, he prayed that he might die. I have had enough, LORD, he said. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors (NIV). I doubt that any of us are too hard on Elijah here. Why? Because we ve been there, we ve felt fear, discouragement, despair. Because we have experienced the exhilaration of God giving victory and also the bone-chilling terror of evil threats and actions as well as circumstances. We are not too hard on him because Elijah was a man just like us. Us People Like Elijah? As we look at Elijah as an example for us, there is another question we need to answer: Are we like him, are we like Elijah? We are going to touch on this question in a number of different ways in the next weeks, and start now with an overview of some major points. Fundamental here is faith not only true trust in God as God, but the quality, the maturity, the depth of our faith. Elijah lived by his faith. 9 By faith he went to the palace to announce God s judgment to the king. By faith he went to the wilderness trusting God s word that ravens would feed him. By faith he left Israel and approached a Gentile widow, told her God s amazing promise of replenishing flour and oil. 5
By faith he asked God to raise her son back to life. By faith he challenged all the prophets of Baal. By faith he announced God s word of rain after the three years of no rain. By faith. Is our faith, is your faith, is my faith, like Elijah s? Yes, our situations and challenges are different. The constant question is, Am I really living by my faith in God and the truth He has given us in the Bible? My prayer is that God will use the weeks ahead to help us grow in living by faith. Closely related to faith is obedience. Each of the examples of Elijah living by his faith are also examples of his obedience to God. God directed Elijah, and Elijah obeyed. His obedience was not empty form nor fearful submission, but it flowed from his love and devotion for God, out of his faith in God. Question: How obedient are we, are you, am I, really? How obedient have we been this last week? Has our obedience flowed from love and devotion to God? Or as thoughtless routine? Out of fear? My prayer is that God will help us grow in the quality and extent of obedience to Him in these next weeks. Then, are we like Elijah in prayer? God does not give us an in-depth description and analysis of the prophet s prayer life. But the sketches He provides trace rich, deep, effective prayer. How would you describe the quality of your prayer life? One more in this very selective list. Are we like Elijah in courage? Elijah displayed courage from the start of marching into the palace on through the monumental challenge of Baal s prophets on Mt. Carmel, to his announcing God s death sentence on the king and his family. His courage was not just a natural quality, nor was it based on his accomplishments. We know this because when Elijah looked inward at himself rather than upward at God he was anxious and fearful. His courage came from knowing God is sovereign and that he was directed, empowered and kept by God for His purposes. Do we have the kind of courage Elijah had? My prayer again is that we will grow in courage as we look at Elijah in the next weeks. Conclusion. Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours. The events of his life and times both shaped and tested, displayed and proved his character as a true hero of God. In exactly the same way, the events of our lives and times both shape and test, display and prove our character. As we see the qualities behind the situations and work of his life, allow God to use that insight to shape us, we too, each one of us, will also be heroes of faith. 6
In the next personal moments with God, thank Him for Elijah, that he was a man just like you, that he is an example for you. Think with God about the question Am I like Elijah? Ask God to help you both learn and live the truths we ve seen today and will see in the next weeks. Let s bow our heads and do this now. 1 Who is your favorite Bible Hero? Antioch newsletter. March 1, 2011. <http://antiochokc.org/wp-content/ uploads/2010/11/2011_03- Antioch-Newsletter.pdf>, page 3. Accessed 18 May 2011. 2 cf. Genesis 5:22-24; Hebrews 11:5. 3 cf. 2 Kings 2:1-12. 4 cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 5 cf. 1 Corinthians 12:11. 6 cf. 1 Corinthians 12:29. 7 2 Timothy 3:12. 8 cf. 1 Kings 18:4, 13. 9 cf. Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38. 2013 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 7