Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. -- I Kings 19:18
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Elijah, the Tishbite, the great prophet of God, did some wonderful exploits on behalf of the Lord during his lifetime. But even Elijah had at least one moment when he was afraid and believed himself to be all alone--the only servant of God who was left.
After all, he had just received word from a messenger sent by Jezebel, that most wicked queen of Israel, that she planned to hunt him down and kill him before another 24 hours had elapsed. Well, God quickly let Elijah know the truth, that indeed God had thousands who were still faithfully serving him. (See I Kings 19:18)
When you look at Elijah's life and note the giant successes he racked up in his walk with God, it might seem that he would be the last person to ever become discouraged or afraid. But the thing to remember is that he, like all of us, was human.
In his New Testament epistle, the writer James notes that, "Elias (Elijah) was a man subject to like passions as we are." But he continues, "and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months."
The reason Elijah prayed that prayer, of course. was because of the great wickedness that was prevailing under the leadership of King Ahab. "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word," the prophet told the king to his face. (I Kings 17:1.)
Sure enough, God shut the heavens up for 42 months. No rainmaker was able to make it rain. In fact, do you know when it rained again ? Not until after Elijah himself prayed and petitioned God to lift the drought.
Read about it in I Kings, beginning at Chapter 17, and you'll learn of how God used him to save the life of a widow woman and her son; how he later raised the boy from the dead, and of his great victory in a contest that pitted Elijah and his God against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the grove with the whole host of Israel as witnesses.
"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. (I Kings 18:21.)
Elijah called for two bullocks, one for Baal's worshipers, and one for himself. Each bullock was cut in pieces and laid on wood, but in each case, no fire was put under it.
"And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God," Elijah declared (I Kings 18:24).
He allowed Baal's people to choose their own bullock, dress it, and then to call on the name of their gods.
"And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, O Baal hear us. But there was no voice nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
"And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened.
"And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." (I Kings 18:26-28) The next verse says that they "prophesied until the time of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any that regarded."
Then it was Elijah's turn. He repaired the broken down altar, took 12 stones and built an altar in the name of the Lord, and then made a trench about the altar, cut up the bullock, and laid him on the wood. Then he instructed 12 barrels of water to be poured on the sacrifice. Then he had the same amount of water poured on the sacrifice two more times. Then, he filled the trench with water.
Finally, Elijah began to pray and said, "Hear me O, Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou has turned their heart back again." (Verse 37).
The next two verses:
"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
"And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God."
What a victory!
However, that sent Ahab crying to his wife, and led to Jezebel's rage and her vow against the man of God. With all of his successes, you would think that Elijah could not be affected by the threats of an evil woman. But he was, because he was human.
God, of course, encouraged him, and Jezebel never got him. In fact, Elijah was later to prophesy the deaths of both Ahab AND Jezebel as God poured out His judgments against them. And, the prophesy came true just as the prophet said it would.
So, my Christian friend, it's important to stay encouraged when things go wrong and it looks as it the devil's about to take over. Let's learn from Elijah's experience and never, ever forget that God is still in full control.
Read about it in I Kings, beginning at Chapter 17, and you'll learn of how God used him to save the life of a widow woman and her son; how he later raised the boy from the dead, and of his great victory in a contest that pitted Elijah and his God against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the grove with the whole host of Israel as witnesses.
"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. (I Kings 18:21.)
Elijah called for two bullocks, one for Baal's worshipers, and one for himself. Each bullock was cut in pieces and laid on wood, but in each case, no fire was put under it.
"And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God," Elijah declared (I Kings 18:24).
He allowed Baal's people to choose their own bullock, dress it, and then to call on the name of their gods.
"And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, O Baal hear us. But there was no voice nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
"And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened.
"And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." (I Kings 18:26-28) The next verse says that they "prophesied until the time of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any that regarded."
Then it was Elijah's turn. He repaired the broken down altar, took 12 stones and built an altar in the name of the Lord, and then made a trench about the altar, cut up the bullock, and laid him on the wood. Then he instructed 12 barrels of water to be poured on the sacrifice. Then he had the same amount of water poured on the sacrifice two more times. Then, he filled the trench with water.
Finally, Elijah began to pray and said, "Hear me O, Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou has turned their heart back again." (Verse 37).
The next two verses:
"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
"And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God."
What a victory!
However, that sent Ahab crying to his wife, and led to Jezebel's rage and her vow against the man of God. With all of his successes, you would think that Elijah could not be affected by the threats of an evil woman. But he was, because he was human.
God, of course, encouraged him, and Jezebel never got him. In fact, Elijah was later to prophesy the deaths of both Ahab AND Jezebel as God poured out His judgments against them. And, the prophesy came true just as the prophet said it would.
So, my Christian friend, it's important to stay encouraged when things go wrong and it looks as it the devil's about to take over. Let's learn from Elijah's experience and never, ever forget that God is still in full control.
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