Elijah: The Prophet, The Man
Growing up in church, I heard a lot about Elijah, the prophet. This great prophet who God used to do great things in Israel. This great prophet who God used to carry out His judgement against an evil king. This great prophet who never saw death. I heard little about Elijah, the man. I began to hear about the man a few years ago. And when I did, it was never in the greatness of the prophet. How could this be? Is he not the same Elijah? That did not sit right with me. Perhaps because in as much as I admired the prophet, I could relate more with the man.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.“
1Kings 17:1
What a dramatic introduction to Elijah, the prophet. I especially love the bit where he says with confidence, “except at my word,” and not “except at God’s word.” It shows a certainty in his relationship with God. A certainty that he was speaking the very words of God.
Yet, in spite of that confidence, God gives Elijah an interesting instruction. He tells him to hide!
“Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”
1 Kings 17:3
This is interesting. Why would a powerful prophet need to hide?
Because he is a man.
And the prophet cannot operate without the man. So what did God do? God took care of the man. He protected him and fed him. And when the brook dried up, God sent the man elsewhere for nourishment.
“Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”
1 Kings 17:9
In obedience, Elijah follows God’s instructions. There is just one tinsy winsy issue…The widow he was being sent to was getting ready to prepare the last meal for herself and her son…because of Elijah’s word of a drought.
In response to the widow’s circumstance, Elijah, the man steps aside and Elijah, the prophet takes over:
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘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.'”
1 Kings 17:13-14
Life moves on seemingly well for Elijah and the widow until:
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.
1 Kings 17:17
In response, the man and the prophet presented the son to God.
How did the man respond?
Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon the widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”
1 Kings 17:20
How did the prophet respond?
“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. […] Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let the boy’s life return to him!”
1 Kings 17:19, 21
God heard Elijah’s cry and the boy came back to life. The prophet and the man collaborated and God honoured them both.
The time for hiding had now come to an end. It was time for the great showdown at Mount Carmel. The showdown that cemented Elijah as one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. On one side of the showdown was King Ahab, four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah. On the other side of the showdown was Elijah and the LORD. The full account of this event is found in 1 Kings 18. For now, let us just take a few snippets of the prophet in action.
Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”[…] At noon Elijah began to taunt them, “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or travelling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.[…] At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice […] Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
1 Kings 18: 21,27,36-38,40
Elijah, the prophet, was used to do the unimaginable and shortly after, the rains returned to Israel. If ever there was a high, this was it! That is, until Elijah, the man showed up.
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life[…] He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life[…]
1 Kings 19:2-4
Elijah, the man, was afraid, lonely, depressed and giving up on life. It did not matter that Elijah, the prophet, had just experienced victory. The man in him was tired and wanted it all to end. The man in him knew the weight he carried in living out his God given vision. The man in him knew the loneliness of the prophet. The man in him wanted out!
And what did God do? God heard the man. He acknowledged his pain and sent an angel to feed and strengthen him:
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
1 Kings 19:7
God did not condemn the man. He allowed him to vent:
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
1 Kings 19:14
The man had the audience of the God who called him the prophet. God answered Elijah. He let him know that he was not alone. He gave him direction for the next phase of his life. And when it was time, God gave him a glorious send off.
[…] suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and seperated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
2 Kings 2:13
Your Turn:
I am grateful for Elijah, the prophet. He shows us what it looks like to be used of God when one is totally surrendered. I am grateful that he shows us that it is possible to live out your God given vision.
I am grateful for Elijah, the man. I am grateful that he was not perfect. I am grateful that he allowed us to see his vulnerable side. I am grateful that he was human. I am grateful that he had a mental breakdown. I am grateful that he was real.
I am grateful to God that He understands that in each of us there is “the prophet” and “the man”. I am grateful that He does not castigate us when “the man” shows up. I am grateful that He does not take away His vision from us when we are in our weak state, but that He listens to our tantrums, He feeds us and strengthens us. I am grateful that He still roots for us even when we are barely scraping rock bottom. I am grateful that He still loves us and that the vision He has for each of us was written by and in Love. And that in itself is the hope we need to keep on pressing on.