1 Kings 17:1
The story of Elijah begins with a meeting between the then-unknown Elijah and Ahab, the wicked king of the northern kingdom. At this meeting Elijah declares to the king that in the coming years no rain will fall unless he wills it. (1 Kings 17:1):
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” (1 Kings 17:1)
Who was Elijah, that he should speak with such authority, power, and certainty? There would be no rain unless he said so. Was Elijah mad, or was he a hero? Elijah was an ordinary man. Up to this moment he had been completely unknown. There is no mention of his having any special education, noble descent, or anything else that set him apart. All that was known of him was that he came from the little town of Tishbe in the region of Gilead. Elijah the Tishbite was a man like us. James 5:17 says:
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. (James 5:17)
Elijah was an ordinary man. And yet he was extraordinary. His name is mentioned in the New Testament more than that of any other Old Testament prophet. Elijah did extraordinary things: he shut up the heavens and stopped the rains for years on end, he called down fire from heaven, he raised the dead.
What accounted for Elijah’s remarkable life? In this first verse we learn three exceptional things about him:
- Elijah knew the living God – “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives.”
- Elijah was a representative and servant of the living God – “whom I serve” (“before whom I stand”). Elijah was under the authority of the living God.
- Elijah drew on the resources of the living God – prayer, the Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit – which we understand from his words and from the rest of his story.
Elijah was an extraordinary man. But what I want to show you is that the things which turned Elijah from an ordinary man into an extraordinary one are not inaccessible and reserved for him alone. They are available to us as well. We too can know the living God, be His servants, and draw on His resources. And if we do, we too will be transformed from ordinary people into extraordinary ones, for the glory of God.
DO WE KNOW THE LIVING GOD?
First of all, Elijah knew the living God – not Tangra, not Baal, but Jehovah, the God of Israel. At that time God’s people were worshiping not Jehovah but Baal. But Elijah came, and his prophetic ministry consisted precisely in proving that not Baal, but Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the true and living God. He began his declaration before the king with the words: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives…”
In Acts 14:8-17 we read of another man who knew the “living” God – the apostle Paul (v. 15):
8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (Acts 14:8-17)
Notice that in verse 15 the apostle Paul stresses that he too, like Elijah, is of the same nature as we are. Yet he believes in and serves the living God – the One who is the Creator of everything in this world; the One from whom are all things and through whom are all things; the One who, as the Author of life, raised His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 1:17-18 the apostle John describes his encounter with Him:
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)
What will convince the people around us that our God is alive? The change in our lives – the divine joy, our abundant spiritual life, the peace within us – a peace that no mind can comprehend. These are all things that can come only from God. They cannot be imitated.
Faith in the living God is not a dead faith. It is a living faith – it summoned Elijah to action. When he watched idolatry swallowing up God’s people, Elijah could not stand idly by. He went and confronted King Ahab; he stood against Jezebel. If we know the living God, we too will not be passive. On the contrary, we will be active in our struggle against deception and sin.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE LIVING GOD
“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve…”
Besides knowing the living God, Elijah was also His servant and representative. He was His ambassador, His spokesman. But we too have this privilege. The apostle Paul calls us ambassadors of Christ. The message we carry to the people of this world as God’s envoys is “the message of reconciliation.” In 2 Corinthians 5:18–6:2 we read:
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 5:18–6:2)
Notice that, after reconciling the world to Himself through the sacrifice of Christ, God made us believers His ambassadors – ambassadors to carry His saving message to people perishing in their sins.
We are sent not only by God, but by the whole Holy Trinity. Our “credentials” are “signed” by Christ. We are sent in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 28:18-20 the Lord Jesus left us His commission:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
God wants to use people. As He used Elijah, so He wants to use me and you! Just as Elijah fearlessly stood before Ahab and declared to him his sin and the power of God, so we too must stand before the people of the world and tell them the truth about sin, salvation, and the will of God that we discover in the Bible.
What kind of people does God call? People in whom He may be glorified. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 we read:
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
If we want to be used by God, we must humble ourselves and remain humble.
THE RESOURCES OF THE LIVING GOD
Elijah knew the living God. Elijah was a servant and representative of the living God. But that is not all. God had not sent him out without providing for him and equipping him with resources for ministry. What did Elijah have at his disposal for his service? Did he have anything we do not have? No. He had at his disposal the very same means that we have – prayer, the Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
First of all, prayer. Before he spoke the words “in the next few years there will be neither dew nor rain except at my word,” Elijah had prayed earnestly (James 5:17).
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. (James 5:17)
If Elijah’s life teaches us anything, it is that our prayer has the power of an atomic bomb (James 5:16). Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain; then he prayed that it would rain, and it rained. In James 5:18 the apostle continues to speak of God’s prophet and says:
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (James 5:18)
Second, at Elijah’s disposal was God’s written Word, which revealed His will. The prayer that brings heaven down to earth and changes things is prayer according to God’s will. In 1 John 5:14-15 we read:
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
And where can we find God’s will? God’s will is revealed in His Word. When in James 5:17 we read that Elijah prayed that it would not rain, this was not some personal whim of his. For the rain to stop was in accordance with God’s will. How do we know this? Evidently Elijah had searched God’s written Word, which at that time was the Pentateuch, and from it he had understood what was bound to happen when Israel rebelled against Jehovah by serving other gods. In Deuteronomy 11:16-17 we read what would happen in such cases:
16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:16-17)
Elijah’s prayer was not haphazard. It was a prayer that flowed out of his personal abiding in the Word. And such a prayer cannot go unanswered. In John 15:7 it says:
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)
Yes, God promises that every one of our prayers will be answered. But what is the condition? That we abide in Christ and that God’s Word abides in us.
Third, the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is remarkable that every action of Elijah was preceded by the instructions of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:2, 5, 8; 18:1):
2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: (1 Kings 17:2, 5, 8)
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” (1 Kings 18:1)
The same must be true of us. Our actions must be filled with God’s instructions. Elijah was known for being led by the Spirit of God and for moving in His power. In 1 Kings 18:7-12 we read of Elijah’s meeting with Ahab’s palace administrator, whose name was Obadiah:
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” 8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. (1 Kings 18:7-12)
Notice what Obadiah was worried about. That the Holy Spirit was carrying Elijah wherever He willed. Today we have this same Spirit at our disposal as a source of leading, sanctification, and power. In John 3:8 it says:
8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
I believe that God is calling us to be like Elijah – people who know and belong to the living God, people who make use of the power of prayer, the Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our conviction is that if we live like the heroes of the Bible, we will have their results. Then we will be transformed from ordinary people into extraordinary ones, for the glory of God! Amen.