Prophet Elijah – a model of steadfastness and faithfulness to God

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A summary and highlighting of a few key points surrounding the ministry of the prophet Elijah demonstrates what it means to resist the general “trend,” as well as the pressures and threats, in order to proclaim God’s Word straightforwardly and unadulterated. Regardless of what may actually be at stake. Furthermore, it shows (once again) that unteachable man is doomed to repeat history.

Elijah was a “nobody”

The ministry of the prophet Elijah and the reasons for his calling by God reveal the dramatic apostasy of the people of Israel at that time. This specifically concerns the 10 tribes of Israel, which formed Northern Israel after the division of Israel as a whole (931 BC). Their capital was Samaria. Elijah worked during the time when Ahab was king in Northern Israel. He was the 7th king after the division of Israel as a whole.

Elijah, a Tishbite, was not a man of high rank. He lived outside the cities east of the Jordan, somewhere in the mountainous region of Gilead. Elijah first appears in the Bible in 1 Kings 17. His age at this time is not mentioned, nor is the time when God called him to be a prophet. The name Elijah is derived from the Hebrew name Elijah, meaning “My God is the Lord.”

“Of all people” Ahab and Jezebel

Ahab was the son of Omri, also king of Israel. Ahab himself became king when the current King Asa had already been on his throne in Judah for almost 38 years. For 22 years, Ahab ruled his country.

In God’s eyes, Ahab did nothing good. Not only did he continue the idolatry introduced under the first king of northern Israel, Jeroboam, but he also married Jezebel. She was the daughter of Eth-Baal, king of the Sidonians, a people who worshipped the idol-god Baal. Jezebel brought this idolatry with her, and Ahab followed suit and began to worship this “deity.”

In Samaria, Ahab had a place of worship, including an altar, built in honor of Baal, regarded there as a “rain god.” A statue of the “goddess” Asherah was also added, much to God’s displeasure (1 Kings 16:30-34). Israel’s apostasy was not only blatant, but also “highly official.” Both king and people viewed the blessings of heaven (dew and rain) not as God’s work, but as a result of “natural forces,” driven by the “life-giving” sun. A view that is “not entirely unknown” even today.

Elia simply does

These were the conditions or circumstances when Elijah came into play and immediately conveyed his messages from the Lord to King Ahab. This began with the clear announcement that from now on, there would be no more rain, and thus, sowing and harvest would also come to an end. This is already the first evidence that the true God of Israel could not be this Baal.

Elijah also made it clear to King Ahab that dew and rain would be absent until the prophet asked the Lord for rain again. This was not without risk for Elijah, as Ahab’s anger was certain. For this reason, the Lord instructed his prophet to hide in the eastern region of the Jordan, by the Brook Cherith. There, Elijah had water at his disposal, and God had the ravens provide him with meat and bread every morning and evening. These brought the prophet the necessary food.

While Ahab let the prophet search in vain, his wife, the pagan Jezebel, took action and consulted with her Baal priests, who had also been brought to Samaria. A curse was pronounced on Elijah, but in vain. Rain and dew failed to materialize, and the fertile land withered. Nevertheless, the people were impressed by the Baal priests’ incantations and appeals and clung to their superstitions.

No privileged protection against waste

This shows that even the people of God, who were led into the Promised Land through the Lord’s guidance, gained the upper hand over the pagan peoples there and thus experienced the fulfillment of all the promises themselves, can still stray so far from the truth, fall extremely low, and even turn to false gods. Essentially, they forget everything, annul it, as if it had never happened and the “Godhead” itself resided in nature.

A hint, for if humanity can demonstrate one consistency, it is its forgetfulness of history and its resistance to learning. “There is nothing new under the sun,” and therefore humanity is doomed to repeat history. Paul described a historical “snapshot” in his letter to the Roman church. In it, he denounced the paganism of the Romans, who worshipped creation but not the Creator (Romans 1:24-25).

Love of nature or idolization of nature?

Whether a personal deity is attributed to individual natural forces or natural phenomena, or a tree trunk is impersonally embraced, is actually irrelevant. But this personification is clearly a human predilection. However, it remains the veneration of creation rather than the true, living God and Creator.

The “spiritual” Francis of Assisi also had a similar tendency toward the deification of nature. His hymn to nature has endured to this day and also served as a model for Pope Francis’s encyclical “Laudato Si” – Pure Pantheism.

Pressure on Elijah increases

Despite the lack of rain for many months, Jezebel, her priests, and Ahab remained stubborn. They refused to acknowledge that the true God was asserting His right and exposing the pagan gods as figments of their imagination. Instead, their anger against the prophet continued to grow, and the search for Elijah expanded, but remained unsuccessful.

With the harvest failure, widespread famine also set in. Instead of the people finally confessing to the true God as known by their forefathers, they remained stubborn, also misled by the numerous Baal priests who had expanded their efforts through rites and ceremonies for the “appeasement of Baal.” Hostility toward God’s prophet Elijah, however, continued to grow, and this was true of almost the entire people.

Ahab intensified the search for Elijah, even visiting the rulers of neighboring countries to persuade them to help him find the prophet. For over three years, not a drop of water had fallen from the sky.

Call for direct confrontation

God’s call to Elijah followed, calling him to go to Samaria to seek out King Ahab. At this point, many people might have caved, for Elijah was about to go straight into the lion’s den, the snake pit. The Lord gave the prophet the message that it would rain again (1 Kings 18:1). How explosive the situation was for Elijah is demonstrated by his first encounter with Ahab’s household manager, Obadiah. One of the few in Israel who remained faithful to God. Elijah instructed Obadiah to report his arrival to King Ahab. But Obadiah feared for his life, if only because of the consequences of having to bear the bad news.

Elijah assured the household manager that nothing would happen to him. He went to the king and announced him to the prophets. Shortly thereafter, Elijah found himself face to face with King Ahab, who, with unbridled fury, had been searching for the prophets for a good three years. Ahab, however, managed little more than a hesitant stammer and asked the prophet a question that is still relevant today:
“Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” (1 Kings 18:17).

A vivid example

People who have remained faithful to God, in this case even those sent by God, are viewed by the highest political and religious levels as harbingers of misfortune and corrupters, while the accusers themselves adhere to false theology and idolatry. This was a permanent condition in the so-called “Dark Ages,” when the Church of Rome held the ecclesiastical and temporal sword in its hands. Another such “hint” regarding the repetition of history in the present and especially the near future.

Type for Prophecy & Law – Elijah & Moses

The originally insignificant Elijah, a type of prophecy, is also repeatedly emphasized in the New Testament, together with the type of the law, Moses. Be it the “two witnesses” in Revelation 11, where one witness turns the waters to blood and the other witness stops the rain (Revelation 11:6), or the transfiguration of Jesus when Elijah and Moses appeared (Mark 9:4), or even the repetition of the “Love Commandments of Jesus” on which law and prophecy depend, it becomes clear that such conditions will prevail even at the end of time.

John the Baptist is called the “second Elijah.” However, a “third Elijah” is also announced. Just as John was not the literal prophet Elijah, the third Elijah will not be the actual prophet either. It is all about holding fast to the Word of God, even in the most adverse, dangerous, and seemingly hopeless circumstances, standing up for it, and proclaiming this truth. This undoubtedly included John the Baptist, who, unnoticed by the authoritarian Pharisees, paved the way for Jesus Christ in advance.

Straight ahead like Elijah

No matter who is standing opposite, or what person the other person represents, the proclaimed word should begin with, “Thus says the Lord!” (e.g., Exodus 4:22, 1 Samuel 2:27, 1 Kings 12:24, 2 Kings 1:16, Isaiah 38:5, Jeremiah 2:5, Amos 1:6, Micah 2:3, Haggai 1:2, Zechariah 3:7). Elijah remained faithful to God, accepting every challenge with unshakable faith and trust in God.

Finally, after many years, Elijah reached the end of his strength. He asked God to release him from this burden. The prophet wanted to die. But God had other plans. Elijah’s final task was to pass on his ministry to his successor, Elisha, the son of Shapha (1 Kings 19). This involved a period of training lasting several years. After completing this final task, God nevertheless did not grant Elijah’s wish to fall asleep. The prophet was taken away by angels and allowed to ascend to God’s glory. Elijah, along with Enoch, was another who did not have to taste death.

DThe first headwinds are already capable of sweeping away the most unstable Christians. At the very latest, when the pressure increases to such an extent that only “all or nothing” remains, the last chaff will visibly separate from the wheat. And that time will come.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)