1 Kings 17

This message is based on a part of the life of Elijah. After Israel was settled in the land, there was a period under the judges when each did what was right in his own eyes. That was followed by the choice of a king. Three kings reigned over Israel when it was a united nation—Saul, David, and Solomon. Solomon had reigned over Israel at about 1000 B.C. But now Solomon was dead and 1 Kings 12 tells how Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) became king. Rehoboam rejected the people’s request to relieve the tax burden, and this led to division within the nation Israel. The first two kings of the divided kingdom were Jeroboam (in the North) and Rehoboam (in the South). Rehoboam was Solomon’s son, and Jeroboam was one of Solomon’s servants.

The Bible book of 1 Kings traces the line of kings in the North from Jeroboam through Ahab, and also the line of kings in the South from Rehoboam through Jehoshaphat. Some of Judah’s kings in the South were good kings. By way of contrast, all of the kings in the North were bad. (Kings were classified as “good” or “bad” on the basis of whether they promoted the worship of the true God, or whether they strayed into idolatry.)

The king of Israel (in the North) at the time of our lesson today was a man named Ahab. He reigned over Israel for 22 years, and “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Ahab had married the wicked woman Jezebel, and together, both served and worshiped Baal—the Canaanite storm god. Baal was considered the life-giving god who brought rains so that the people might have abundant crops. He was the god of fertility. Child sacrifice and deviant sexual practices were part of the worship of Baal.

Jezebel was determined to spread the worship of Baal throughout Israel. Baal-worship had become the official religion of the royal court, and hundreds of pagan priests lived and dined in the palace precincts (1 Kings 18:19). The faithful priests and Levites, who served the true and living God, had left Israel in the North and gone to Judah in the South (2 Chronicles 11:13-16).

It was at this crucial time in the Northern kingdom of Israel—when pagan worship was making inroads among God’s people—that Elijah appeared on the scene. This article tells about the beginning of Elijah’s ministry, and centers especially on the widow’s jug of oil which did not become exhausted—in response to her simple faith.

1. The Beginning of Elijah’s Ministry (1 Kings 17:1-7)

Jeroboam (the first king of Israel after the division) tried to change the religion in Israel from the worship of Jehovah God to the worship of Baal. He had set up idols to Baal at the villages of Dan and Bethel. He feared that if the people of the Northern tribes worshiped at Jerusalem (which was in the South), the two kingdoms would tend to want to unite again.

By the time Elijah appeared on the scene, several kings had succeeded Jeroboam, and now Ahab was ruling in Israel. Ahab was the most wicked of Israel’s kings, and he saw no harm in participating in the pagan religions of the Canaanites. But God sent the prophet Elijah on the scene. Elijah appeared suddenly. We know nothing about his background, his family, or his call to the prophetic ministry.

Elijah immediately confronted the idolatry and immorality that were being promoted by Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah had the courage to challenge the evil rulers, and hopefully stem the tide of their corrupt ways. He was a courageous man who spoke out against evil—without any concern for his personal safety.

Elijah (in verse 1 of our text) announced to King Ahab that there would be no dew nor rain in Israel during the next several years. Elijah said that Israel would suffer a severe drought; starvation would result; there would be clear evidence that the Lord God of Israel (and not Baal) controlled the weather!

The New Testament says that the famine lasted 3 1/2 years (Luke 4:25 and James 5:17). The autumn and spring rains (and the summer dew) were necessary for the crops to germinate and grow. But God threatened to withhold these sources of water from the land if His people turned from Him to serve other gods. Many years before, in Deuteronomy 11:16-17, God had said that if His people did not obey Him, He would withhold the rain—to chastise them—and the earth would not produce crops. Elijah knew that the pagan worshipers believed that Baal was the storm god, and so this announcement (about a coming drought) was a clear challenge to their belief that Baal controlled the weather.

In verses 2-3 of 1 Kings 17, we learn that once Elijah had delivered his message, God ordered him to hide. Obviously, Elijah’s message to Ahab infuriated the king, and it was not safe for Elijah to stay in the area of Samaria. Elijah was ordered to hide in a ravine east of the Jordan River, and make his home by the brook Cherith. The brook was what in Israel is called a “wadi”—a stream-bed that flows with water during the rainy season, and dries up when the weather turns hot.

In verses 4-6, Elijah was told how he would survive while hiding at Cherith. He would drink from the brook and eat what the ravens brought to him. And so, even though Elijah was in a wilderness area, God miraculously provided for him, much as He had done for the entire nation during the 40 years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness.

Being fed by ravens seemed like a strange means of provision, but Elijah did as he was told. This is a striking testimony to his faith in the word of the Lord. God honored his faith by providing for his physical needs (verse 6). The ravens brought bread and meat every morning and evening. (Where the birds obtained this food in a time of famine, we do not know—but the Lord supplied it and the birds delivered it! Normally, people in that society did not eat much meat, but with the severe drought, many animals were dying and so meat was more abundant.)

Why did God provide for Elijah in such an unusual manner? Perhaps the mental image of black ravens delivering food to Elijah twice a day (on schedule), helped to embed in his memory the fact that God never forsakes His people, no matter how severe the circumstances. Elijah would need to have his faith reinforced soon enough—in order to face the challenge of powerful kings, and to confront the pagan priests of Baal.

The drought persisted, and the famine spread throughout Israel. It lasted more than three years (1 Kings 18:1). Eventually Elijah’s own water supply dried up (verse 7), and the Lord directed him to travel northwest to the Phoenician city of Zarephath (along the Mediterranean coast)—just north of Israel’s borders.

2. The Widow’s Cruse of Oil (1 Kings 17:8-14)

Elijah was instructed to travel out of Israel, and take a 100-mile journey into a region where the Canaanite religion was the prevailing system of belief. Zarephath (up in Phoenicia) was a center of Baal worship. Zarephath was not part of Ahab’s territory, but was in the region where Jezebel’s father reigned. God promised to use a widow in that city to provide for Elijah’s food and lodging.

When Elijah arrived at the gate of the town (verse 10), he saw a widow gathering sticks for fuel. And when Elijah asked for a drink of water, the widow went to get it (verse 11). But before she left to get the water, Elijah asked her to bring a piece of bread.

The widow, however, was in a desperate situation. Her dire poverty meant that she had very little food to eat—only a handful of flour left in a jar—and a small amount of cooking oil in a cruse (a small jug). She had been gathering sticks to use in cooking a final meal for her and her son (verse 12). (The woman’s use of the words, “as the Lord thy God liveth” may suggest that this woman was a person of faith in the true God, even though she lived in a foreign land outside of Israel. She may have been a refugee from Israel—or she may have learned about the true God by some other means.)

Elijah’s response (in verse 13) may seem somewhat insensitive. The woman barely had enough flour and oil to prepare food for herself and her son, yet this stranger was asking to be fed first! Actually, Elijah was presenting the widow with a test of faith. Despite her scarcity of food, she was to feed the prophet before she met her own needs and those of her son. The word “cake” (verse 13) speaks of the smallest kind of loaf (perhaps something like an Irish “scone”). Even so, Elijah dared to ask the woman for something she really could not afford to give.

Elijah spoke to her in the name of “the Lord God of Israel” (verse 14), and assured her that it was the living God who would sustain her. Elijah undoubtedly sensed the widow’s anxiety over her meager supplies, and so made it clear that God would not let the flour and oil in her containers run out. Her supplies would last until that time when the rains would come and the crops would grow again.

3. The Results of Trusting God (1 Kings 17:15-24)

The widow responded in faith, and did what Elijah had said. God honored her faith by providing a food supply for her and her son and Elijah for many days (verse 15). In fact, no matter how much of the ingredients the woman used, there was always some flour and oil left (verse 16).

The fresh supply of oil and flour was a constant reminder to Elijah and to the widow of the value of daily trusting God for our needs. That reminds us of a special New Testament promise found in Colossians 2:6. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” Just as you have trusted Christ to save you, continue to trust Him as you face the problems of each day.

The latter part of 1 Kings 17 gives another interesting incident in the life and ministry of Elijah. In verses 17-24 we are told how Elijah restored the widow’s son after he had taken ill and died. This is a reminder that the God of Israel is the Lord of life and of death. In the physical realm, He can bring life again to a cold body that had died. In the spiritual realm, He can bring new life to those who are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Elijah took the boy to his room, stretched himself over the body, and pleaded with God to return his life. After the third prayer, the child revived, and the widow was convinced that the Lord, He is God! The widow’s words, “Now by this I know” (verse 24), show an inner certainty that was cemented in her mind by this miracle. The miracle of restoring her dead son was an experience even greater than the steady daily provision of food for her and her son.

Three miracles were demonstrated in 1 Kings 17:

• The feeding by the brook Cherith.
• The cruse of oil that never was exhausted.
• The power of God to restore a dead child to life.

These miracles without a doubt gave Elijah special boldness when he stood before Ahab, and later before the prophets of Baal.

There are some practical applications that grow out of this lesson:

1) We know nothing about Elijah’s genealogy. His parents are not named, and no one is even sure about the exact location of his home town. God does not depend on people with “big names,” or on people with illustrious backgrounds, to do His work. God often uses ordinary people who are dedicated to serving Him, regardless of background and heritage.

2) There were four miracle periods in Bible times. They were clustered around critical periods in human history. Miracles were prominent in the days of Moses and Joshua, the time of Elijah and Elisha, the period of Daniel in exile, and the days of Christ and the Apostles. Other long periods of Bible history are passed over without any record of unusual miracles. For example, Abraham never performed a miracle; King David was not a miracle worker; John the Baptist did no miracles (John 10:41). God has protected the significance of miracles by the rarity of their occurrence.

3) Even though Elijah was a courageous man, Elijah’s own faith at times must have been tested—especially when it looked like God’s plans for him seemed almost ridiculous. After all, who ever heard of being fed by ravens, or depending on a poverty-stricken widow for daily sustenance? We too are instructed not to be anxious about our daily needs (Matthew 6:25-34)—and yet we find it hard sometimes to believe that God will take care of us. In moments when our faith is weak and we are inclined to give up, we need to remember how God provided for Elijah, a widow, and her son!

Louisa Stead and her husband (and their 4-year-old daughter) lived in New York City. One afternoon during the summer of 1890, Louisa packed a picnic lunch, and their little family spent some time along the shore of Long Island—playing in the sand, wading in the ocean, and enjoying a few hours of relaxation and rest.

Mrs. Stead said to herself, as she watched her husband and their little girl playing the sand, “My cup runneth over.” Her thoughts for the moment went back over the chain of events that had brought her to that happy hour.

Louisa was born in England and had come to America in 1871 on a visit with her family. She was deeply moved by a speaker’s call for young people to volunteer for missionary service in China, and she decided to go, but she was rejected on account of her health. Later she had met Mr. Stead, and they had married. God blessed their union with a sweet little girl. She often said, “What more could one ask in life than a good husband and a lovely little child—and a feeling that one has found his place in God’s plan?”

But just then, as she was sitting along the shore thinking back over the past, she saw a little boy out in the water beyond the breakers, struggling against the wind and the strong waves— trying to get back to shore. She called to her husband, “That little boy out there seems to be in trouble”—and without hesitating at all, Mr. Stead told his wife to look after their daughter—and he plunged into the waves.

Louisa saw her husband reach the lad’s side, and place his strong arm around the struggling youth—and begin to swim back toward the shore. But the boy, instead of yielding himself to the strength and skill of the older man—in his fright—kept struggling and pulling wildly. As Louisa looked on in horror, she saw the two of them go down under the waves. Later they emerged, only to drop quickly out of sight again. She rushed to where their daughter was playing in the sand, picked the child up, and held her close to her trembling body. She called out over the stormy waves hoping the words would reach her husband: “Darling, where are you?” The only answer was the echo of her own words.

Later that evening the body of Mr. Stead was recovered. The next few weeks were dark days for that heart-broken mother and her little daughter. She sought comfort from reading the words of the Bible, and from singing some of the hymns of the church. But not only were the months that followed sad and lonely, but coupled with her grief was the added burden of providing for her little family. This was before the days of Social Security; there was nothing like a “survivor’s pension.”

But one afternoon when the pantry was about empty, and there was scarcely anything left to eat, Mrs. Stead and her daughter continued to pray that God would provide for them out of His bounties. The next morning she found a large basket of food at the front door, and an envelope with enough money to buy shoes for the little girl. She was so uplifted by that experience that she began to write:

“’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at his word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh for grace to trust Him more!”

Christians all over the world have been inspired to face hard places in the spirit of the 4th stanza:

“I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Will be with me to the end.”

Just as Elijah trusted God to send food by way of the ravens when he was lodging by the brook, and just as Elijah and the widow of Zarephath trusted the God of Israel for a fresh supply of oil and flour, and just as Louisa Stead received special help after the death of her husband—so we are told also to throw all our anxieties on Him, because He cares for us. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

1 Kings 18:20-46

This section centers on Elijah’s dramatic contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. When Elijah prayed to the living God, God’s power was clearly evident, and the people fell on their faces to proclaim that the Lord (not Baal) is the true and living God.

The section of Scripture that has been skipped in this study tells how Elijah left Phoenicia and returned to Israel. The severe drought had been in effect now for more than three years. Elijah was told to go and talk with Ahab the king—and on the way, he met Obadiah, a God-fearing man who was the steward of Ahab’s palace. Obadiah was hunting for water and for some grass for the king’s animals (verses 5-6). Elijah sent word with Obadiah that he wanted to speak with the king (verses 7-8). Obadiah conveyed the message to the king.

When Elijah met Ahab, the king’s first response was to blame Elijah for the trouble that had befallen his kingdom. Israel was in the midst of a prolonged drought. Ahab said to Elijah, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” (1 Kings 18:17). Elijah quickly reminded the king (1 Kings 18:18) that it was not he, Elijah, who had troubled Israel. Instead, it was the king, King Ahab—in that “thou, and thy father’s house . . . have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” This was the root cause of all the trouble in Israel. It was not Elijah who troubled Israel; actually, Elijah (the man of God) was one of the best friends Israel ever had.

Ahab and Jezebel had introduced idol worship and had imported hundreds of foreign pagan prophets. The king and his wife had abandoned God’s commands and instead, were encouraging the worship of Baal. Elijah was a courageous prophet of God and was not afraid to tell Ahab the truth. It was Ahab’s idolatry and disobedience that brought God’s judgment of drought upon Israel. The drought was not the result of any misconduct on Elijah’s part.

We also learn in the early part of 1 Kings 18 (verse 4) that Jezebel (the queen) had not only imported pagan priests, but had also ordered the slaughter of God’s faithful prophets. But Obadiah (who feared the true God of Israel) had secretly preserved 100 of the true prophets by hiding them in a cave and feeding them bread and water (verses 4, 13).

At this crucial time in Israel’s history—when idolatry was on the increase, and more and more of God’s loyal servants were being persecuted—Elijah went to Ahab and asked for an opportunity to show that the Lord God is supreme. And Ahab accepted Elijah’s challenge. God had promised that the rains would soon come and alleviate the drought that had gripped the land (verse 1). But who was in control of the weather—the Lord God Jehovah, or Baal, the pagan storm god?

A contest was about to take place on Mount Carmel. Carmel is not a mountain peak, but a range of mountains extending from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea southeastward about twenty miles to the central hills of Samaria. The Carmel mountains were regarded by the Phoenicians as the sacred dwelling place of Baal, and so the contest was to take place on Baal’s home turf.

1. The Bold Challenge (1 Kings 18:20-29)

The people in the northern kingdom of Israel had become very idolatrous. The worship of Baal (and the goddess Asherah) had the official endorsement of King Ahab. There were 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (verse 19).

A severe famine had gripped the land. It lasted more than three years. Now the Lord commanded Elijah to go to Ahab and announce that the Lord would soon send rain (1 Kings 18:1), but the nation would need to decide whether Jehovah (the Lord God of Israel), or Baal (the pagan storm god), was the true God.

When Elijah and Ahab met, Elijah brought before Ahab the idea of a simple contest between the prophets of Baal and the prophet of God. Ahab agreed to the challenge, and sent a message to all the people, and summoned the pagan prophets to appear on Mount Carmel (verse 20). Apparently only the 450 prophets of Baal showed up—and when they had gathered, Elijah stood in front of them and asked, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” (verse 21).

Israel had not totally rejected the Lord God, but instead, was seeking to combine the worship of God with the worship of Baal. And Elijah said to the people, “You’ve got to make a choice; either the Lord is God or Baal is god—but not both of them!” Elijah understood the truth that one cannot loyally serve two masters at the same time.

Elijah’s sobering challenge was met with stony silence. Verse 21 says that “the people answered him not a word.” So Elijah proposed a test to reveal whether the Lord Jehovah, or Baal, was the true God. Elijah recommended that two bullocks should be slain and placed on separate altars—the one for Baal, and the other for the Lord God. Each would then call on his god to send fire and consume the sacrifice on the altar.

First, the prophets of Baal would prepare the animal for sacrifice, lay it on the wood on their altar, but without setting fire to it. Then, Elijah would prepare another animal, lay it on the wood of his altar, and again not set fire to it (verses 22-23). The prophets of Baal would call on the name of their god, and Elijah would call on the name of the Lord. The god who answered by setting fire to the wood and consuming the sacrifice would be the true God. Verse 24 says that all the people agreed to this plan.

The prophets of Baal went first. All morning they shouted and danced and prayed, and even injured themselves. They tried their best to arouse Baal to action, but no fire came. The prophets of Baal were sure their god would respond and send fire, because they believed that Baal (the god of the storm) could shoot lightning flashes from the sky. But there was no response from Baal. About noon time, Elijah began to mock the pagan prophets. He said that Baal may have been thinking about other things—maybe he was sleeping, or perhaps he was away on a trip, or he may just have been busy (the Hebrew literally says he may have been “relieving himself”—that is, answering a call of nature). Elijah was confident of success in the contest, because he knew that Baal was powerless and that the Lord God was alive and able to answer.

When it was obvious to all that the prophets of Baal had failed to get an answer, it was Elijah’s turn.

2. The Careful Preparations (1 Kings 18:30-35)

The drama intensified when Elijah called the people to come closer to him while he prepared the altar of the Lord (verse 30). An altar dedicated to the worship of God had been built on the site long before, but it was in disrepair. Evidently the people of Israel had not used this altar for a long time, or perhaps some of their enemies had destroyed it. Anyhow, Elijah took twelve stones (one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel) and used the stones to repair the altar (verse 31). The use of twelve stones was a reminder to the people, of the covenant that God had made with Jacob and all twelve of his sons. Though the tribes had now been divided into two nations, they were still one people in God’s purposes—with a single Lord, a single covenant, and a single destiny.

When the altar was repaired, Elijah dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold several gallons of water. After digging the trench, Elijah arranged the wood on the altar, laid the animal on the wood, and called for twelve barrels of water (four containers emptied three times) to be poured over the sacrifice, and the wood, and in the trench surrounding the altar. (The “barrels” mentioned in verse 33 were not 55-gallon drums, but smaller containers—earthenware crocks—that were commonly used in the Middle East.)

The water was poured over Elijah’s sacrifice to remove any possibility of fraud or misunderstanding about the offering. The soaking with water showed everyone present that the burning of the sacrifice which would take place was not a natural phenomenon or a magician’s trick, but a miracle from God.

And then Elijah calmly and quietly prayed to the God of heaven. He addressed God as he would address any living person.

3. The Powerful Response (1 Kings 18:36-39)

In the sight of all the people, Elijah approached the altar (verse 36), and prayed to the Lord God of Israel, appealing to Him to answer his plea, and send fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. Elijah’s prayer was very simple. He prayed, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word (bidding)” (verse 36).

Elijah did not have to spend long hours calling upon God to get Him to respond with fire. In contrast to the slowness and silence of Baal, Jehovah God answered quickly with an intense fire from heaven. The fire of the Lord crashed down and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and even the dirt surrounding the altar. Furthermore, it licked up all the water that was in the trench (verse 38)!

God’s powerful response made an impression on the minds of the people. There was admiration mingled with awe for the holiness and power of the Lord God. Verse 39 says that the people fell on their faces (they fell to the ground), and said, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” When Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven, the people of Israel responded strongly in favor of Jehovah God.

Elijah did not set up this contest and pray that the Lord God would respond to make a name for himself as a true prophet. The latter part of verse 37 says that Elijah’s concern was that the people might repent and return to the Lord. The text says, “Hear me, O Lord . . . that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”

The people needed to see that Baal was a powerless and lifeless bronze idol—a worthless object that couldn’t do anything for them. By way of contrast, the Lord God was all powerful—and He Who sent the fire would also be able to send the rain—and the devastating drought would come to an end.

When the contest was completed, and it was clear that the Lord indeed was the true God, then the false prophets of Baal were seized and were condemned and executed according to the law of God as set forth in Deuteronomy 13:1-11.

It was Elijah who previously had predicted the drought to Ahab (recorded in 1 Kings 17:1). Now, the prophet told the king that there would be a heavy rain storm (1 Kings 18:41). Ahab went down out of the mountain to eat and drink; Elijah walked back up the mountain to pray for rain. He kneeled down and with his head between his knees, he persevered in prayer. At first the rain cloud was small like a man’s hand, but soon the whole sky grew dark, and heavy rains began to fall (1 Kings 18:41-45). Elijah advised Ahab to get going back to the palace in Jezreel if he didn’t want his chariot to become stuck in the mud.

This most dramatic demonstration of God’s power marks a turning point in Israel—at a time when the worship of the Lord was almost wiped out by those who opposed Him. A single prophet challenged the whole northern kingdom of Israel to return to God.

This seems like the proper time to spend a few minutes looking further at the appearance of miracles in the Bible. Special miracles were the exception rather than the rule during much of Bible history. Miracles are clustered around four critical periods in the Bible account. They were prominent in the days of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, the prophet Daniel, and the time of Christ and the apostles.

Moses and Joshua—Aaron’s rod turned into a serpent; the Red Sea parted and the Israelites crossed on dry ground; manna was provided in the wilderness; the sun stood still in Joshua’s day.

Elijah and Elisha—Elijah was fed by ravens; he restored a young boy back to life who had died; he called fire down from heaven to consume a sacrifice on Mount Carmel; Elisha recovered a lost ax-head when the iron came to the surface of the water.

The prophet Daniel—Daniel was protected in a den of lions; the three Hebrew friends survived in a burning fiery furnace; Nebuchadnezzar was condemned to eat grass like an animal.

Jesus and the apostles—Jesus walked on the water; raised people from the dead; multiplied food to feed the 5000. Paul took up a serpent without experiencing any harm. Peter was released from prison and loosed from his chains.

In spite of all these miracles found on the pages of the Bible, whole eras of time passed without any record of miracles. Many centuries passed between Moses and Elijah, and there is no record of any miracles. Miracles were out of sight during the centuries between the time of Daniel and the time of Christ. Many of God’s servants were never used to perform miracles. The Bible clearly says that John the Baptist (the greatest of all human beings) never performed a miracle (John 10:41). And so even in Bible times miracles were rare. The translation of Enoch into heaven is the only recorded miracle in the entire 1,700 year period between Adam and the Flood. And then during the long centuries from Joshua to David, only very rarely did a miracle ever occur. Signs and wonders and miracles are only effective because they are rare.

The Old Testament miracles established the supremacy of God (as the true and living God) over all the dead gods of idolatry. The miracles of Christ established His claims to deity. The miracles performed at the time of the apostles established the church as a divine institution. When the church was well founded, the scaffolding was taken down, and miracles are much less frequent in our day.

I am not saying that God does not exert His supernatural power today when a miracle is necessary. As the Omnipotent One, He does not change—and there are faithful Christians who have experienced that there is still nothing too hard for the Lord! What I am saying, however, is that in this age of grace, the perpetual display of miracles is not commonly seen. God has protected the significance of miracles by the rarity of their occurrence.

There are a few practical applications from our lesson on Elijah.

1) Many in our churches today seem to be like the people of Israel in Elijah’s day. Multitudes then had no real interest in becoming fully committed and dedicated followers of Baal. They wanted to serve the Lord God, and at the same time, enjoy some of the pleasures that went along with the worship of Baal. It is easy in our culture to make a profession of faith in Christ, but at the same time, flirt with the pleasures of this world system. Yet Jesus plainly said that we cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot be supremely loyal to God, and at the same time follow the values of an unregenerate society.

2) We often wonder how it was possible for the people of Israel to fall under the sway of idols. We would never do such a foolish thing! But we must remember that anything which siphons off our allegiance to God is an idol, and so we must intentionally seek to avoid various false gods that may tend to entice us—things made of chrome, steel, and glass; adulation of sports heroes; hours spent watching television, etc. It’s hard to imagine anyone reaching age 70, looking back over life and saying, “It’s been a great life, I spent more than a tenth of it watching TV.” It is easy to drift away from supreme loyalty to God. Idolatry is still alive and well in our circles.

We must keep in mind as we study lessons like this, based on Old Testament events—that these things happened to them to serve as examples, and they are written down to instruct us (1 Corinthians 10:11). Men like Elijah help to strengthen us as we continue our journey in this hostile world. They encourage us to pray, to trust in God, and to have faith. The lesson also reminds us that Elijah was human like we are—and he struggled with times of doubt and fear like we do. James says that Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (James 5:17). The God of Elijah is alive and active today. If you will turn to Him, and pray to Him, and trust Him, and obey Him—you too will know that He is the living God.

BIBLE HELPS  |  Robert Lehigh, Editor  |  PO Box 391, Hanover, PA 17331 United States of America

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Harold S. Martin

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