Elijah, one of the greatest of the prophets, was a man who was truly unique in many ways. The account of his life, one of the high points in the Old Testament, is in stark contrast to the low spiritual level of his contemporaries. He served God in the northern kingdom, but his influence was clearly felt in Judah as well. Moreover, his work and his character would have a lasting impact.
The great prophet came upon the scene in Israel during the reign of the infamous Ahab. Elijah (Heb. eliyahu, “Yahweh is God”) came out of the hill country of Gilead. He reflected his origin in a rugged appearance and straightforward manner that captured the attention of his hearers. He was the man specially prepared for that time and place. What Israel and its wayward king needed was a plainspoken messenger of the Lord; they got it in the person of Elijah.
Elijah the exhorter
The exhortations of Elijah were direct and powerful. It was not a time for wasting words. The prophet looked around him and saw a people perishing for lack of knowledge of the word of God. From the king’s court to the farmer’s dwelling, the ways of the LORD were forsaken. The preaching of Elijah, therefore, most often took the form of rebuke. While it seemed at the time that neither king nor people paid much attention to the prophet, his efforts were not wasted. His fame reached Judah, and the faithful of both nations never forgot him.
Ahab the king
Since Jeroboam’s apostasy, there had been little likelihood that Israel would produce either a godly king or a righteous people. Ahab was in no way faithful to Yahweh, but he was a complicated man. He actually shows at times a latent belief in Israel’s true God and some recognition of Elijah as His prophet. Though he allowed and even sponsored Baal worship in Israel, it is notable that he named his children after the God of Israel (Ahaziah, “sustained by Yah,” Athaliah, “Yah is strong,” and Jehoram, “Yah is high”).
But Ahab was a weak and worldly man. His heart was not inclined to righteousness, and his choice of a pagan wife assured that his reign would be spiritually disastrous. Jezebel was an assertive woman and a devoted worshiper of the Tyrian god Baal. She became the epitome of evil because she opposed the true God and persecuted His prophets. In the Apocalypse, Ahab’s queen stands for the false teachers who would corrupt the early church. “As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, [Ahab] took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ..Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (I Kings 16:31-33).
The people of Israel
Elijah appeared in a spiritual wasteland. The kings of Israel had long ago abandoned right worship of Yahweh and had thrust out His priests. Idolatry was encouraged. It was a wonder there was any worship of the true God in Israel at all. But the prophet found a few who had remained faithful. Even in the court of Ahab, one righteous man, Obadiah, hid a hundred prophets of Yahweh from the persecution of Jezebel.
To punish Israel for its spiritual destitution, and to call attention to the prophet as a man of God, the Lord brought upon the land a literal drought. It would last a long time, three years and a half, and its end would only be revealed through the prophet Elijah.
End of the drought
The years of dearth finally came to an end in a most dramatic fashion. The people witnessed the ineffectiveness of the priests of Baal as they tried desperately to persuade their god to consume his offering. In contrast, at Elijah’s behest, Israel’s true God sent fire from heaven to convince them that He is God and Elijah His prophet.
So impressed were the people with this demonstration of Yahweh’s power that they rose up and killed the prophets of Baal. At least for a short time, Elijah was able to witness a process of conversion.
After that, Baal worship never fully recovered in Israel, and Jehu would follow the prophet’s example, destroying both priests and worshipers of that false god. The house and image of Baal were demolished: “Thus Jehu wiped out Baal [worship] from Israel” (II Kings 10:26- 27 RSV).
Of justice and mercy
The kings of Israel, under God, were expected to serve as righteous examples for their people. They were to exercise justice with mercy toward all their subjects. Ahab’s dreadful crime against Naboth aroused the wrath of God and his prophet. The king had coveted Naboth’s vineyard, and Jezebel had instigated the good man’s murder on Ahab’s behalf.
Upon hearing Yahweh’s denunciation of him through Elijah, the king for once showed some remorse and humbled himself before the God of Israel. Ever merciful, the Lord set aside His immediate judgment of Ahab. Sad to say, the king’s contrition did not bring him to a true or lasting change of heart. But it is significant that the Lord had taken notice of even this small sign of repentance.
Elijah’s trials
Both in his spoken words and in his example, Elijah was a true prophet and a man of God. His lot would not be an easy one, and he lived constantly under the threat of death. Following the killing of the priests of Baal, the wrath of Jezebel would know no bounds. There were times when the prophet despaired, when he felt helpless, lonely and abandoned. Though God continued to preserve his life, Elijah was often isolated and alone.
In this desperate situation, the prophet became very despondent, “and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, 0 LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (I Kings 19:4).
At the mount
“I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (I Kings 19:10).
In response to the prophet’s words of despair, the Lord directed him to Mount Horeb. There he would witness a demonstration of the strength of God and learn a powerful lesson. A tempest rent the mountains, an earthquake shook the ground, fire blazed around him. The LORD was in none of these, but He appeared in the “still, small voice” that followed.
Put into the proper frame of mind to receive the word of God, Elijah was instructed in the Lord’s purpose for him. He was also informed that he was not entirely alone. There were 7,000 in Israel who were faithful to the Lord, “all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (I Kings 19:18).
The instructions given to Elijah provided for his successor (the prophet Elisha) and for the forces that would execute judgments upon the guilty nation of Israel. Elijah was to anoint Hazael to take the throne of Syria and Jehu to ascend that of Israel. “And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay” (I Kings 19:17).
The faithful few
Elijah learned that God would preserve Himself a remnant, a faithful few, who would not turn aside to idolatry. While the house of Ahab was to be destroyed and the nation punished, a few thousand (many more than Elijah had thought) would remain. Ultimately, the people of Israel would go into captivity and dispersion, but a remnant would always survive.
Elijah’s departure
There are many exceptional events associated with Elijah and his work. In fact it seems that everything associated with the prophet is spectacular. This is so because Elijah was to be God’s spokesman in a special way to both the houses of Israel. It was intended that he should be remembered.
Thus Elijah’s departure was a magnificent event. “And it came to pass, as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11).
The last phrase could be rendered “into the air.” The Hebrew word shamayim is sometimes translated “air,” as in Proverbs 30:19 and Ecclesiastes 10:20. Certainly he was not taken up to the heaven of God’s dwelling, for we are expressly told that “no man hath ascended up to heaven” (John 3:13).
There is an indication that Elijah was somewhere on earth long after his departure. A letter was received by Jehoram, king of Judah, from Elijah, after the prophet was taken up (II Chron. 21:1, 9- 12). Either the letter was written before he was taken, or Elijah was “caught away” like Philip in the New Testament (Acts 8:39) and remained in seclusion in some hidden place. He was not seen again until he appeared with Moses at the transfiguration of Christ (Luke 9:3031).
Elijah’s future role
We are not told whether it was revealed to Elijah, but later prophets understood that he would have a part to play in the final regathering of the remnant of his people.
To this day, he is associated by the Jews themselves with Israel’s redemption. They have a longstanding tradition that says Elijah will appear at the end to lead the remnant back to their land. This is recalled in every Jewish home at Passover when an empty chair is left for the prophet.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…” (Mal. 4:5-6).
We will deal with the future work of Elijah in the next article, God willing.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One