Studies in the Life of Elijah Essay Example

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Contents Preface1 Lesson 1: Introduction and Historical Setting3 Lesson 2: The Man Elijah (1 Kings 17:1)9 Lesson 3: The Message of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1)14Lesson 4: Testings By the Brook (Part 1) (1 Kings 17:2-7)20 Lesson 5: Testings By the Brook (Part 2) (1 Kings 17:4-7)28 Lesson 6: Testings and Ministry at Zaraphath (1 Kings 17:8-16)36 Lesson 7: The Death and Resurrection of the Widow’s Son (1 Kings 17:17-24)43 Lesson 8: The Word of the Lord Comes to Elijah (1 Kings 18:1-6)49 Lesson 9: Elijah Ministers to Obadiah (1 Kings 18:7-15)54 Lesson 10: Elijah Meets and Rebukes Ahab (1 Kings 18:16-19)59 Lesson 11: When One Becomes a Majority (1 Kings 18:19-22)64 Lesson 12: The Ineffectual Prayers of the Baal Priests (1 Kings 18:23-29)69 Lesson 13: The Prayers of Elijah (1 Kings 18:30-46)74 Lesson 14: The Vulnerability of Victory (1 Kings 19)82 Lesson 15: The Crisis of Elijah (1 Kings 19:4-14)87 Lesson 16: The Restoration of Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-18)95Lesson 17: Taking Up Your Mantle (1 Kings 19:19-21)100 Lesson 18: The Translation of Elijah--Part 1 (2 Kings 2:1-11)105 Lesson 19: The Translation of Elijah--Part 2 (2 Kings 2:1-11)109 Appendix A: The Doctrine of Suffering114 Appendix B: Hindrances to Prayer119 Preface This series of lessons is a devotional study on the life of the prophet Elijah. The objective is to provide practical insight into the doctrinal and spiritual significance and meaning of his life. As a man of like passions with us, his life sheds light

on the greatness of the God of the Bible, His purposes, and His love and care for His people in a world in desperate need of the saving message of Jesus Christ.The story of Elijah also reflects the need of God’s people to walk with Him by faith through the privilege of prayer and the knowledge of His Word. The messages of these studies stem from the heart and from years of study and shepherding God’s people as a pastor. They were originally a series of studies presented at the Sunday morning services.

I do not intend this study as a “scholarly” work, though I have sought to base it on a careful exposition according to the cultural and historical background, the context (both near and more remote), the meaning of Hebrew words and grammar, and the analogy of Scripture. I do not claim originality, for the hearts of many other students of God’s Word have guided and influenced my own.These studies are not presented as a last word on the life of the prophet but it is my prayer that the Lord, by His matchless grace, will use them to His glory and honor and for the building up of the saints for a deeper walk by faith in our loving and sovereign God. So I commend this study to God and to the Word of His grace which is able to build us up. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:4 Lesson 1: Introduction and Historical Setting Introduction The story of Elijah and

the nation of Israel is heroic narrative built around the exploits of the main character, Elijah.It is the story of a man raised up by God in a time of conflict in his community, in a time of spiritual and moral degeneracy. He was there to bring the nation back to God, to turn them from their idolatry to a vital faith in the true God, the God of Israel and the Bible. In heroic narrative, the story focuses on the protagonist, the central figure or hero and his conflicts and encounters as the story moves toward the goal of the narrative. The goal of the narrative and the high point of the story is found for us in 1 Kings 18, the challenge and contest with the prophets of Baal before the people on Mount Carmel.

The purpose of this high mark in the story is spelled out for us in two verses, 18:21 and 18:37. Chapter 17 is the preparation for this event.It is showing us God’s preparation of Elijah and the nation for what will happen on Mount Carmel. Then chapter 19 is the aftermath--the effects of this event on the nation and on Elijah, the hero. What we must not miss is the fact that the hero or heroine of heroic narrative is a representative person.

In other words, the story and its hero capture the universal human situation. The historian tells us what happened, but literary narrative in the Bible tells us more. It shows us what happens in life. [1] The hero, then, becomes a model, an example for faith, for spiritual experience and life, and the conflict he

is in becomes an illustration of what we face in life.Values and virtues, failures and weaknesses, strengths and abilities of the hero and the conflicts he and his society faced show us this is the way life is. They reveal what we need to know, to appropriate, and to avoid as we live in our society.

Thinking about the impact the life of Elijah should have on us in the day in which we live, I am reminded of Psalm 11:3 which asks an important question. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? ” The question was being asked of David by his friends and is another heroic narrative of Scripture. This question forms a fitting introduction for the study of Elijah. The NIV translates this: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? ” Or “what is the righteous one doing? David’s friends had become fainthearted and depressed over national conditions. They were suggesting that David should flee to the mountain where he fled from Saul (Ps.

11:1). The question relates to a time when law and order were being destroyed. It may have been when Absolom, David’s own son, was seeking to usurp his throne. Or as some suggest, it may have been when Saul was seeking to kill David.

Regardless, the foundations refer to the law and order of society based on the Lord’s protective rule through the absolutes of the Word. This asks a question we are facing in our nation today because our country is under the countdown with its foundations being destroyed by godless humanism.David’s answer is given in Psalm 11:4-7. In short,

David’s focus was on the Lord. He contrasted the problems on earth with the sovereign and exalted position of the Lord who sits in heaven, the place of authority and power. [2] The sovereign Lord sits on His heavenly throne, not indifferently, but observantly.

He is working out His purposes on earth. Though transcendent, God is also intimately and immanently involved with mankind, especially those who trust Him. David then reminds us that while the Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, He never forsakes the righteous who can, by faith, behold His face and thus experience His strength and courage.The righteous can experience His peace now in the midst of any situation and will one day experience His presence and blessings in God’s eternal kingdom.

Second Chronicles 7:13-14 reminds us of another privilege and responsibility: If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. First Chronicles 12 also tells us of another serious time in David’s history when the foundations of the nation were crumbling.As 1 Samuel 26:20 puts it, David was being chased by Saul like a partridge on a mountain. During this time some of God’s people did something else. “Day by day {men} came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God” (1 Chr.

12:22).

These men joined together to form a band of men who would stand against the times they were facing. Included among these were the sons of Issachar of whom was said: “Men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chr. 12:32). What does this mean to us in our day? The righteous need to know what to do and then do it because they know and believe that God sits in the heavens observantly.

Withdrawing, becoming bitter, angry, depressed, diseased in our attitudes, or seeking sinful ways of escape is not what the righteous should do. I am reminded of what Daniel said about those who truly know God. Daniel 11:32 refers to the godless, humanistic mind-set and activity of the last days, especially in the days of the Tribulation. Satan will promote and use this humanistic and demonic mind-set to advance his end-time system and the Man of Lawlessness (the Antichrist). The objective will be to turn people away from God and His covenant promises in the Savior.

But Daniel 11:32b tells us even then, as bad as that will be, God will have His remnant who know Him intimately.Regardless of the pressures, they will display strength and take action. We are getting a taste of this now, as Israel did in the time of Antiochus Epiphanies around 175-164 B. C.

You might ask, what does all this have to do with a study of Elijah? He too lived in dismal times. They were times of spiritual apostasy and moral decay. But we find in this colorful and powerful prophet a wonderful illustration of what the righteous should do

when the foundations are destroyed. Elijah is one of the prominent figures in the Word of God. His significance is evidenced by over 20 direct references to him in the New Testament, and by his appearance in the transfiguration of the Lord with Moses, the great Law giver.

However, to gain greater insight from the example of his life, we need to understand the historical setting in which this great man of God abruptly and suddenly appeared on the scene. The Historical Setting In the day in which Elijah lived and ministered, the foundations had crumbled far beyond what King David experienced in his day. As we study the Word, we must always remember that the Bible was written to and about living people in real life situations. It does not represent just a group of ethereal, religious, and proverbial sayings thought up by a group of religious hermits who were isolated from people and from life.

Rather, through the Bible as the Word of God, God has revealed Himself historically, setting forth His eternal truth to real people in real-life situations. Practically speaking, what does this mean?It means we dare not divorce our study from understanding the historical setting of every passage of Scripture if we are going to come to grips with the truth and message of the Bible. Much of its relevance and application to us personally in our need is derived from our understanding of the historical setting in which a passage is written. This is undoubtedly why many of the Psalms begin with a reference to some historical situation.

A Nation in Decay The books of 1 and 2 Samuel record

the establishment, consolidation, and extension of the Theocratic kingdom of God in the reigns of David and his son, Solomon. It was a glorious time--a time of great prosperity in the nation.This was the result of God’s blessing for obedience to the holy absolutes of His Word, or His covenant with Israel according to God’s purpose for the nation among the nations (cf. Ex. 19:4-6 with Deut. 4:6-11 and Deut.

28-30). Though Solomon began well, about the middle of his reign he began to act foolishly. As is so often the case, in his spiritual decline, his country was gravely influenced as well. He brought upon himself the disfavor of God by permitting the thinking and customs of other nations to influence his decisions and manner of life. This situation developed as a result of the following: (1) He allowed idolatry to invade his kingdom through foreign marriages, a practice forbidden by the Word (Deut. 17:14-20; Neh.

13:23-27).Marriages were commonly seals of foreign alliances. He had Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Zidonian, and Egyptian wives and this suggests alliances with all these nations. [3] (2) Furthermore, he levied excessive taxes and labor constrictions on the people, without pay, because of his own selfish extravagances.

These included some of the very things Deuteronomy 17 warns against. In other words, rather than remaining distinct and separate from the nations, Solomon became like the nations. Leon Wood calls our attention to a marked contrast between the kingships of Solomon and his father David, a contrast created by the diverse backgrounds of the two rulers.It speaks volumes to us in our day of prosperity, softness, and moral breakdown. [4] |DAVID |SOLOMON

| |David had been raised in the open, watching sheep, and later |Solomon, however, had known only the ease of the palace, with its | |experienced the testings of a fugitive life. |attendant luxuries.

| |David became a king of action, aggressive and efficient, who |Solomon became a king of peace, happy to stay home and content merely to | |could personally lead armies to victory. |retain the land his father had gained. |David’s court never grew larger than the requirements of his |Solomon became lavish to suit his tastes and expensive appetites. As a | |government.

|result, he needed more revenue and raised taxes. | |David was more a man of the people. |Solomon was a man of the court. | |More significant, David maintained a vibrant faith in God as a |Solomon, began well in spiritual devotion, but failed to maintain this | |“man after God’s own heart. ” |basic relationship before God. He fell into sinful ways and finally came | | |under God’s censure.

|When Rehoboam, Solomon’s son took over the throne of his father, the ten tribes of Israel (all but Judah and Benjamin), sought a solution to this heavy taxation through the leadership of Jeroboam. Rehoboam was a young man accustomed to extreme prosperity and luxury. Rather than cut back on the heavy taxation and labor constriction imposed by Solomon, he acted selfishly and foolishly. He refused the counsel of the older men to cut back, and threatened to increase taxes because he wanted to continue enjoying a lavish court.

As a result, the ten tribes seceded immediately and there was a division of the kingdom. Jeroboam then became

king of the northern ten tribes of Israel.Rather than seeking the glory of God and the benefit of his people, he followed his own selfish agenda and committed gross sin in the sight of God. He established a substitute worship for his people, two new worship centers, one at Dan and another at Bethel.

As symbols for the new places of worship, he made golden images of calves. His proposed aim was to worship Yahweh, but his real motive was political and selfish. He wanted to keep the people from going back to Jerusalem because of his fear they would eventually want to reunite into one kingdom. He put his own desires ahead of God’s will and the good of the people. Of course, this was in direct violation of the Law of Moses.It set the people up for religious syncretism of the true worship of God with the fertility cult of Baal.

Without doubt, this new worship of Jeroboam paved the way for the introduction of Baal worship under Ahab and Jezebel in the time of Elijah. In the southern kingdom of Judah, there were occasionally kings who did good in the sight of the Lord, like Uzziah and Hezekiah. In the northern kingdom, there were no good kings of whom it could be said in the record of Scripture, “they did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. ” In fact, all eighteen of Jeroboam’s successors continued his substitute form of worship which God held against each as a serious sin.

The descriptive sentence, “And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his

father and in his sin which he made Israel sin,” is repeated with variations of most of Jeroboam’s descendants (1 Kgs. 15:26). Not only were these kings evil, but there was a continuous decline. Scripture indicates that the next king was worse than his father. There was continual spiritual and moral erosion, much as we have seen in our nation.

With the rise of Ahab in the time of Elijah, things had reached an all time low. Fifty-eight years had passed since the division of the kingdom. Seven kings had reigned and all were evil. All were idolatrous, but with Ahab idolatry reached an all-time high even to the point of seeking to stamp out the worship of Yahweh altogether.

How? Why?Ahab married Jezebel, the famed princess from Tyre, daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre. Again, following the poor examples that preceded him, his aim was to seal a pact with Phoenicia for profitable political reasons. His trust was in his own schemes rather than in the Lord. The weak Ahab allowed Jezebel to introduce the worship of the satanic and idolatrous cult of Baal-Melqart into Israel. The worship of Baal, a Canaanite deity, had been observed by Israelites in the days of the Judges and before the establishment of the kingdom. David rid the land of this dirge, but now it was resurrected on a new scale, larger than ever, and this was done by the government, the king.

Likewise today, we have seen every conceivable cult introduced into our society along with the New Age movement. In many ways this too is being promoted by our government, while at the same time Christianity is

hindered under the ploy of separation of church and state. Not only was Jezebel persistent, but she was highly dominant and held a great amount of influence over Ahab. Jezebel did not want Baalism to coexist with the worship of Yahweh. She wanted to completely stamp out the worship of God.

This is precisely the way Satan and his world system works. People are often broad-minded with the varying religions and philosophical ideas of the world, but never with the truth.Thus Jezebel slaughtered every prophet she could get her hands on (1 Kgs. 18:4). Today, humanism and the New Age movement would like nothing better than to stamp out Christianity because it stands in the way of Satan’s world wide purposes.

New Agers are not naive enough to believe that everyone will accept the dawn of this new day. Some will oppose the emerging New Order. For these, there is another solution: intimidation, starvation, and liquidation. Make no mistake: if and when the New Order comes, it will not be because everyone will voluntarily fall in line.

Those religions that will not accept the lie that man is God will be systematically eliminated by whatever means is necessary.In the New Age, disarmament will be the guise used to get the nations of the world to surrender their sovereignty to an authoritative global political machine, which will in turn use those weapons (if necessary) to force everyone, especially the religious objectors, to get on board with the new agenda. Understand Satan’s methodology: there is a vast difference between his advertising and the product that the purchaser receives. George Orwell called it newsspeak.

Talk about disarmament but

plan to use weapons on those who refuse to accept your agenda. Campaign for individual freedom but plan to eliminate the freedom of those who don’t toe the line. Affirm the value of humanity while at the time you favor the systematic killing of the unborn and eventual death of millions. [5]An Explanation of Baalism Baal, a Semitic word that means “lord, master, or owner,” was the chief god worshipped by the Canaanites at the time of Israel’s entrance into the land.

The head of the Canaanite pantheon of gods was called El, who was regarded as the father of 70 elim or gods. The most popular of these gods was called Baal. Baal was the most popular because he was considered the god of fertility in all aspects of life--human, animal, and vegetable. Production and prosperity were dependent on Baal. The Ras Shamrah text, an important archaeological find, praises Baal as the god who has power over rain, wind, clouds, and therefore over fertility.

Baal was also worshipped as the weather god, the god of storm, of rain and good crops. As you can see, this is very important to the background of 1 Kings 17-19 with the story of the drought and the contest on Mount Carmel. Worship was localized so that each area worshipped its own Baal. A name from the city or place where Baal was being worshipped was frequently added.

This resulted in a variety of names like Baal-Meon, Baal-Hermon, Baal-Hazor, Baal-Zebub, Baal-Marduk, and Baal-Peor. In Elijah’s time, Israel worshipped Baal-Melqart because this was the form of Baalism worshipped at Tyre. Jezebel, a Tyrian princess, introduced the worship of Baal-Melqart into

Israel.Baal worship included the following: (a) The offering of incense and burnt sacrifices (Jer.

7:9); (b) Sometimes the offering of human sacrifices (Jer. 19:5); (c) It especially included licentious sexual activity--including sodomy (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:23-24; 15:12; with 22:46). The slaughter of innocent children and sodomy are sure indications that the foundations of a society have crumbled.

We can obviously see the clear parallel to our country today with the very political gay movement and the slaughter of millions of unborn children (called fetuses by those who call themselves pro-choice). These are two terms designed to hide the fact they are killing babies in the womb and are really anti-life.Remember, in the Old Testament Pentateuch (which was the Bible of Elijah), God had a special purpose for Israel. God had promised blessing for obedience, but cursing for disobedience. The curses included shutting up the heavens and no rain meant no production (Deut. 11:8-17; 28:1f, 23-24).

An interesting historical reference is found in 1 Kings. 16:32-34. First there is the statement of how Ahab provoked the LORD with his idolatry more than all the kings of Israel, This is followed with a seemingly out-of-place reference to the death of the two sons of Hiel who fortified Jericho. All this forms a fitting introduction to 1 Kings 17 and the appearance of Elijah.

It was a reminder that God’s promises and warnings are true. They do come to pass. As Hiel had disregarded God’s sure curse on anyone who fortified Jericho (Josh. 6:26), so Israel had disregarded the promised discipline of God for disobedience (Deut. 11:8-17).

Here God gave Israel a reminder to demonstrate emphatically that not only

is God’s Word true, but God is involved in the life of the nations (including Israel), and Israel was ripe for judgment. That’s not all. With Elijah’s sudden, dramatic, brave, bold entrance and declaration to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my ord,” we have a direct confrontation between Yahweh, the living and true God of Scripture, and Baal-Melqart, one of the heathen deities of ancient Babylon. This confrontation comes about through God’s prophet, Elijah, an obscure prophet who suddenly, like lightening out of the blue, confronted a godless Ahab. God was dramatically challenging Baalism, or the belief of the people in Baal, on the very thing they worshipped Baal for--RAIN! On the one side there was Ahab the King, the ruthless and notorious Jezebel, the impotent and false god Baal, and the Baal priests and priestesses.

On the other side was Yahweh and a single servant, the prophet Elijah, a man of faith, deeply committed to God. It was a question of authenticity and power.Conclusion As we dig into this story, please note that Elijah’s prayer for the cessation of rain in the land was according to the warnings of the Word. Elijah was not going out on a limb.

He was acting on the promises, or in this case, the warnings and principles of the eternal Word of God. He knew God’s Word was true and he was standing firmly on the propositions of Scripture. Furthermore, this prayer for the cessation of rain was designed to bring Israel to repentance, to bring the nation

back to Yahweh, the true God. Elijah burned with concern for God’s glory and for his nation. He was also available to the Lord to be used as part of God’s solution.

Certainly, as Elijah faced the rigors and crumbling foundations of his day, he had his ups and downs as you and I do. It is through God’s work in Elijah, a man of like passions with us, that we can learn how to handle our ups and downs, fears, and times of discouragement in our day of fallen foundations. We can grasp something of what God is calling us to do. Questions: (1) Do we really know God in such a way that, as Daniel declared, we will display strength and take action? (2) Are we willing to pray like Elijah and follow God’s direction? Or are we more concerned for our pleasure and business as usual than we are for God’s glory and revival in our nation? 3) Are we willing to take a stand against the forces stacked against us because we are standing on the promises of God and resting in the assurance of His presence and provision regardless of how overwhelming the situation looks from our viewpoint? (4) Are we like the men of Issachar, who joined with David to form an army of God in a time of national need to serve the Lord and their nation, because we understand the time and know what we should do? Lesson 2: The Man Elijah (1 Kings 17:1) Introduction In our first lesson on Elijah, we looked at the historical setting that formed the spiritual and moral environment into which Elijah

was called of God to minister. It was a time when the foundations of law and order were being systematically dismantled.It was a time when the righteous might well ask as in Psalm 11:3, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? ” From this Psalm, we saw our response of faith is not to run and hide.

Rather, we need desperately to follow examples like David, Elijah and Elisha. We need to learn from their lives and be encouraged so that, as David answered this question in Psalm 11:4, we can live in light of the fact; “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. ” This challenges us to remember the fact that God is not indifferent to people and nations. As the Almighty, He deals with us accordingly.

We need to know and rest in the truth of Psalm 33. Note particularly verses 12-22.We obviously deplore what we are seeing in our nation and in the world. Indeed, conditions are becoming more grotesque every day. It seems that each day brings some tragedy or disaster: murder, serial killings, mass killings, nation-wide corporate fraud--evidence of moral breakdown and rejection of our Christian heritage.

But this is the day in which we live. As it was with Elijah, so God has called us to serve Him and minister to others in times like these. In this lesson we see Elijah’s appearance and dramatic declaration to King Ahab. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning out of the dark clouds of Israel’s spiritual decline, Elijah appears on the scene.Standing

before Ahab, probably in the palace itself, he bravely proclaimed God’s message of judgment to the spineless king. And this was undoubtedly done in the presence of the murderous Jezebel and the prophets of Baal.

The Man Elijah Elijah’s Obscure Beginning “Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead . . . ” (vs.

1a). Notice how Elijah just suddenly appears on the scene. We are told little about him. Much like Melchizedek, he simply emerges out of obscurity from the standpoint of the record of Scripture. Nothing is mentioned about his parents, his ancestry, training, or early life. He is simply called “the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead.

” In other words, he was not on Israel’s “Who’s Who” list.He was known as a prophet, as the account that follows suggests. However, Scripture places very little emphasis on his background. This reminds us that, other than being godly people of faith who are available to be used of God, it is never really who and what we are that count. Here was a man who was close to God, a man to whom God was very real and God used Him. In the final analysis, what really matters is who and what God is.

Knowing who God is should strengthen our faith in Him so that it affects what we are, what we say, and what we do. By contrast, it seems people always want to know, “Who are you? ” “Who is he or she? ” People can look at their accomplishments, as Nebuchadnezzar did (Dan. :30), and proudly credit them to their own brilliance. On the other

hand, as Moses did at the call of God (Ex. 3:11), we often tend to think despairingly, “Who am I? ” In each case, this kind of thinking puts the focus on us, rather than on the sovereign LORD upon whom we are totally dependent and who is always able to do super abundantly above all that we are able to ask or even think. Remember John the Baptist, Elijah’s New Testament counterpart? He was asked, “Who are you? ” His answer was, “I am just a voice! ” He was emphasizing he was merely an instrument of the living God who was there to help them recognize and believe in the living and true God.

We need to also remember what the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians who were so focused on human personalities (1 Cor. 3:4-9; and 4:1-5). How we need the attitudes of John the Baptist and Paul. We tend to be so people-oriented and go to one of two extremes.

Either we run and hide from ministry and witness because we have our eyes on our limitations and on the problems we are facing. Or we do the opposite and glory in personalities rather than in the power and presence of the Almighty. Elijah’s Name Elijah is the Hebrew Eliyahu that means “My God is Yahweh. ” Note several things: In Elijah’s name, given to him perhaps by a godly parent, we can see how the sovereign providence of God is often at work in the historical circumstances of our lives.God picked out, raised up, and used a man whose very name was significant to the religious climate of his day and

the contest that would follow.

The nation was following after Baal who was, of course, no god at all. Elijah boldly appeared and proclaimed the true God of Israel, Yahweh, who was His God. This proclamation was the point of Elijah’s prayer in 1 Kings 18:36-37. As the months rolled by after Elijah’s declaration of no rain, whenever people saw or thought of Eliyahu, they were faced with the message of his name, “My God is Yahweh.

” In other words, my God is Yahweh, not Baal. The prophet’s name, therefore, declared something of who he was.It was a standing declaration of his faith in that it demonstrated his protest against Baalism, his allegiance to God, and the key issue of the day as it is today--who or what is our God? This challenges me to ask some questions such as: (1) Who and what is my God? Do we claim faith in the God of the Bible, but live like practical atheists? Is God really our God from the standpoint of our treasures, attitudes, priorities, pursuits and behavior? Or are we guilty of worshipping other gods like the gods of materialism and the details of life? Is there a way we can tell? Of course! What’s really important to me? How committed am I to getting alone with God so I really get to know Him?Do I allow Him to completely rearrange, redirect, channel, and use me in the issues and needs of our day, and in the lives of others around me? (2) What is my name? In other words, who am I? Like Elijah, God has created each of us for a

purpose. We are each unique with unique potential and opportunities limited only by our attitude, our faith, our awareness of God, and our availability to Him. Let us dream big because we have a big God! Let’s ask the Lord to show us the potential of ministry around us, and to cause us to see the opportunities through the potential of His life and power.

We need eyes to see the fields that are white unto harvest (cf.John 4:35) while I pray focused on the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2). Elijah’s Description and Locality Elijah is called “the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead. ” He is so called because he was likely from a town called Tishbe in upper Galilee known to us from the Apocryphal book of Tobit 1:2. One source says that “Tishbe” means “captivity.

” It certainly is a derivative of shabah, meaning “to take captive. ” In view of God’s warnings in Deuteronomy 28:15-37, this could have stood as a warning of eventual captivity if Israel refused to repent and turn to the Lord. He is called “Elijah, the Tishbite” six times and was well known by this title (cf. 1 Kgs.

17:1; 21:17, 28; 2 Kgs. 1:3, 8; 9:36).This suggests the title was significant. Scholars debate the exact location of Tishbe.

If Tishbe is a town, then he was born in Tishbe, but became an inhabitant of Gilead, perhaps by choice. We are not told why, but since “the settlers of Gilead” really means “the sojourners of Gilead,” it may declare something about Elijah’s character and relationship to God. The name Gilead means “a rocky region”

and refers to a mountainous area east of the Jordan that was comparatively uninhabited. It was an area well adapted for spending time alone with God. The phrase is certainly suggestive of his lifestyle as a sojourner, as one whose focus was on the things of God.

Why is Gilead mentioned?Gilead demonstrates the historical reality of Elijah and throws additional light on Elijah’s background. This gives us more insight into the forces forming the character of the prophet. How should we understand and apply this? It shows us Elijah was not out of the seminary of Samaria. The people of the rocky hill country of Gilead were rough, tough, rugged, and perhaps somewhat solemn and stern.

They dwelt close to God’s creation in crude villages as shepherds rather than in the lavish surroundings of the palace. Such surroundings tend to spoil people’s character and make them soft rather than tough and rugged. The people of Gilead were hardened and disciplined by the weather and walking over the mountainous terrain.They possessed great physical strength, and such a life also gave them character. Remember the contrasts between David and Solomon? Elijah was what we could call a mountain man. But he was a mountain man who walked with God.

Just as David’s character was developed as a shepherd, so this tells us something about the character God had developed in Elijah. He had developed the character of a sojourner, one who was separated from the lifestyle of his day. He was a man with a light grip on the details of life; a man willing and able to pick up and go if God said to go.

He was not bogged down, chained by his comfort zones or by a desire for the material details of life. Like John the Baptist, he was a man of the desert.

Being a desert man he was free from those things in society that so often dominate our hearts and keep us from being free to follow the Lord. This suggests he had denied himself the right to control his own life and, by faith, had submitted to God’s control. The result was a man totally dedicated to God and His service. He was a man of character and strength both physically and spiritually.

Shouldn’t we ask ourselves some tough questions like: (a) How much have I been softened and negatively affected by the comforts of our society? (b) How available am I to serve the Lord if it’s going to cause some kind of hardship or inconvenience? (c) Do I have the heart of a sojourner? Or do I have the heart of an earth dweller? d) Am I more committed to my comfort and pleasure than I am to the Lord? (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13-2:12) Elijah’s Attire and Appearance Elijah stands in striking contrast to the Baal priests and the populace of the city in every way. His dress and appearance, though not mentioned here, are mentioned in 2 Kings 1:7-8. The way they are mentioned suggests the people were a little awed by the prophet’s distinctive looks and manner.

He wore a garment of black camel’s hair girded with a leather belt about his waist to hold in his garment for freer movement. This was to become the official dress of a prophet

(Zech. 13:4) and stood in striking contrast to the affluent inhabitants of Samaria, and especially the Baal priests.His dress was symbolic and stood for: (a) His chosen poverty and priorities--material things were not on his priority list. (b) His separation and denouncement of the world--he was not controlled by the lifestyle of the world.

He was separated to the Lord as God’s servant. (c) His official office and purpose in life--he was a proclaimer of the Word of Yahweh. He knew who he was (God’s representative), where he was (in a sinful world that stood opposed to the purposes of God) and why he was there (to give out God’s message of light to people in darkness). What a contrast Elijah must have been to the people in the rich luxurious city of Samaria, especially the effeminate, perverted Baal priests.Edersheim tells us they wore white linen gowns, high pointed bonnets, and lived on the delicacies of the palace.

[6] This rugged mountain man, dressed in his camel’s hair garment, was the sight that people saw striding down the streets of Samaria, up the steps of the palace right into the throne room and presence of Ahab and Jezebel. Can’t you picture him as a kind of Grizzly Adams or a rugged Abraham Lincoln? I am sure no soldier, priest, citizen, or member of Israel’s secret police dared stand in his way. Elijah’s dress and lifestyle demonstrated his separation and devotion to the Lord. It teaches us that spiritual priorities and values controlled his life. He was a man who was truly free because he was free to follow the Lord.When, in our attempt to be

free or do as we please, we rebel against the Lord’s authority and control of our lives, we experience a sad irony.

We become slaves of our own desires and become what Peter describes as “slaves of corruption” (2 Pet. 2:19). Elijah’s Interview With the King Elijah’s appearance was dramatic and sudden. His message was short, direct, and somewhat curt. Elijah did not follow the political protocol of the day. He did not come bowing and scraping.

He was not full of pious platitudes in order to get the king in the mood for what he had to say. He leveled with Ahab. He laid it on the line and then left just as suddenly as he had come. He said there would be neither dew nor rain for years except by his word.Surely this was added to stress the impotence of the Baal prophets against the Lord whom Elijah represented.

An appearance and message like this fit the circumstance that demanded judgment on an apostate king and his people. It was really the proclamation of God’s judgment as warned in the Old Testament (Lev. 26:19; Deut. 11:16-17; 28:23-24; Amos 4:7). Elijah was not a man of many words; but he was a man of much faith.

He was a man of action because he was also a man of prayer and the Word. His words were few and always to the point, but with them there was always implicit faith in the Lord his God. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise. What effect did Elijah’s pronouncement have upon the King? What

was King Ahab’s answer? I believe it is significant that Scripture is silent here. Why? Perhaps because it demonstrates how the promises and warnings of God’s Word always take precedence over man’s response or opinions. God’s Word is true regardless of how people respond or react.

Mankind or our self-made gods are absolutely powerless to negate God’s purposes. Elijah’s Spiritual Aptitude or Bent In Elijah we see a man of courage and faith, a man available to the Lord and one willing to count for God when the foundations were crumbling all around him. Where did his faith, courage, and commitment come from?Was it because of his particular aptitude for spiritual things? Did he have a corner on spirituality? In other words, was he innately different from you and me? When we read about someone like Elijah, we want so very much to believe such people are inherently different because it soothes our consciences and gives us an excuse for being mediocre or run-of-the-mill. We think it excuses us from tackling tough things for God. However, James 5:16b-17 blows that theory wide open. First, James calls our attention to the fact that the faithful prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much and be used dramatically for God (vs.

16b). Then he reminds us that Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours!Elijah’s dynamic living, his courageous ministry and effectiveness against all odds was not the result of certain innate super-duper qualities, nor was it in the absence of personal weaknesses, temptation, failure, nor even fear. While Elijah was spiritually head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries, he was at the same

time normal and average from the standpoint of innate or natural qualities and abilities. Elijah possessed a sinful nature just like ours with weaknesses, fears and doubts.

He faced the “I can’ts,” the “I don’t feel like it” syndrome just like everyone else. In fact, his humanness will clearly emerge later in the record of his life and ministry (chapter 19).But, by the strength of God through faith, Elijah rose above his weaknesses through the divine resources at his disposal. The same resources are available to us in the Lord in even more abundant ways in New Testament times through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

It’s never seeing the difficulties that prevent faithful action, but failing to see our resources in the Lord. It’s the failure to live by faith and to stay focused on the Lord. Application and Conclusion We are living in a time when the foundations are being systematically destroyed. We see the decadent results of a nation that has turned away from the moral absolutes of the Word and our Christian heritage.In its place we have turned to the relativism of secular humanism with its evolutionary foundation. Many have opted for a New Age philosophy.

As a result, we live in a time that is growing in hostility to the true God and to those who want to follow the God of the Bible. The results are everywhere evident in the decline we see in government, education, the work place, the state of our economy, in the home, in entertainment, and in the church. We find that many churches are apathetic to the Word and the ministry to which God

has called us. I recently heard of a church that specializes in making people laugh. They actually have a comedian for a pastor. Their attitude is “why bore people to death with the Bible? The divorce rate, drugs, crime in the streets, in corporate America and in our government, the violence we see in our society even among small children, the rise of a militant gay movement, and the rise of the occult and the cults give us a frightful and grisly picture.

It’s scary and depressing. How do we react or respond to these conditions in our society? We hear and say things like, “Isn’t it just awful. I think it’s just terrible. What are things coming to? But what can I do about it? I am just one voice. I am nobody important. I can’t preach or teach.

I am just a little old lady, a carpenter, plumber, accountant, school teacher, or a … (you fill in the blank).Sometimes we think if we only had so and so’s brains, money, IQ, memory, personality, or if we had his position or were as articulate as he is, then maybe we could do something. Excuses like these stem partly from the hero mentality we too often use as an escape from responsibility. This mentality says we must have money, reputation or position, etc.

to really count for God. But Elijah had none of that, did he? Like the 7,000 of Elijah’s day who were hiding in caves to escape persecution, we tend to crawl off into the cave of our “business as usual” routine, or into our particular strategy by which we seek to become

narcotized to the problems.Then, out of our minds and mouths flow a river of typical human excuses--enough excuses to lose our nation. Elijah is God’s commentary against the excuses and fears that so often paralyze us. As we have seen, He had none of the so-called advantages of the world. So, what made him tick? What made him such a powerful tool for the Lord? What gave him his courage, and how can we tap in on what he had so God can use us in the way and to the degree He desires? Our next lesson will not only show us what Elijah proclaimed, but it will give us insight into what made him the kind of man God could use.

Lesson 3: The Message of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1) IntroductionElijah is best known as a man of prayer. James, whom tradition tells us was known as “camel knees” because of his own prayer life, uses Elijah as an example of the power of the prayer of a righteous man. James tells us: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months” (James 5:16b-17).

In 1 Kings 17:1b, Elijah boldly declares to King Ahab, “Surely, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. ” Putting these two passages together we know this was the result of Elijah’s prayers.Elijah forms a fitting example of the power of prayer, but effective and meaningful prayer is never an isolated

religious exercise, something unrelated to the rest of a person’s spiritual life and walk with God. The prayer that accomplishes things and gets God’s ear, is the outflow of a vital relationship with God. It is born of one’s burden, concern, and the reality of God in one’s life. It flows from a sense of need, a heart full of faith, and from the desire to see God’s purposes accomplished and His glory manifested.

As we have seen, Elijah lived in a time when the foundations were being destroyed. It was a time of spiritual apostasy and moral decay. The nation had abandoned God’s law and turned to the worship of Baal-Melqart. We saw that Elijah was a common man--a man of like passions as you and me.

He was also a man of uncommon courage--a man willing to risk his life for the glory and cause of God. We saw that out of the blue, Ahab was confronted by this rugged prophet dressed in his camel’s hair coat, who stood in striking contrast to the effeminate, perverted Baal priests. I imagine him looking like an Abe Lincoln in contrast to a Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips. What gave Elijah this uncommon courage? Did the Lord appear to him in a dream, or speak to him from a bush as with Moses? Possibly, but the text doesn’t say that. Rather, I believe his courage came about in a less sensational but even more miraculous way. I believe it came about as the result of a common man being absorbed with the reality of his God.

His courage was the product of intimately knowing God and living

in close fellowship with the Lord through the Word and prayer. In the process, God’s purposes, burdens, values, and desires became engraved on his heart. Being moved by faith, he prayed for the cessation of rain in accord with the warnings and principles of Deuteronomy (Deut. 11:16-17; 28:23-24). Then, convinced of God’s answer, the prophet went forth to declare his message to King Ahab.

In lesson two we looked at the man Elijah. Now we turn to his short, but powerful message. Elijah’s message also sheds light on his theology and his faith that became the root of his courage and actions.Elijah’s message to Ahab in 1 Kings 17:1b divides into three sections, each of which forms a key that gives us insights into this man’s courage and faith.

These words reveal the prophet’s heart. The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. So, if we want to understand this man and learn from his example, we need to examine these powerful, revealing words. (1) The words, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives,” teach us he was convinced and confident in God’s person.

(2) The words, “Before whom I stand,” teach us he was cognizant of God’s presence and committed as God’s representative. (3) The words, “Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word,” reveal the fact he was confident in God’s promises. Keys to Elijah’s Courage and Faith The First Key As the Lord, the God of Israel lives,” show us Elijah was convinced and confident in God’s person. “Living” is the first word in the statement of Elijah in the Hebrew text. It

is emphatic by its position and stresses his faith in the fact of the reality of God.

God was not just a theological idea to him, but a living, and personal God. He did not just know about God, but he knew God in such a personal way that it transformed his life. As Daniel said, “but the people who know God will display strength and take action” (Dan. 11:32). Actually, in the Hebrew text, the words “living” and “LORD” (Yahweh) are bound together rather than separated as in the English Bible.

They are joined by what grammarians call the binding maqqeph and means they are to be pronounced together as one. This combination was a technical device for introducing an oath or a solemn statement of fact. We are to translate it like the NASB with the word “as. ” Literally, it is “As living is Yahweh .

. . so surely there shall be neither be dew nor rain . . . ” The idea is: “Just as sure as Yahweh, the God of Israel is alive and well, so surely there shall be neither dew nor rain .

. . ” To grasp the significance of this, let’s focus in on the name, Yahweh. Yahweh means “I Am that I Am. ” It is derived from the Hebrew verb hayah, meaning “to be, exist. This name itself stresses God’s aliveness, His dynamic and active self-existence, but it also brings into view His eternal existence, sovereignty, and independence.

Further, it is the name by which God revealed Himself to Israel as their redeemer as seen in Exodus 3. It strongly reminds us that He is the God

of special revelation and redemptive love. In summary, this name stands for God’s being, His revelation to Israel, and His redemption of the nation. Elijah’s appearance, his message, and this oath were all based on the vivid reality of all that God was to him. It was based on the fact that the God who had revealed Himself to the nation, was alive and actively involved in the affairs of the nation and His people.As Psalm 33 reminds us: 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; . . . 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, . . .

Ahab, Jezebel, and the Baal prophets thought they had successfully killed, embalmed, and buried the God of Israel along with His worship, His Word, and His representatives. I am reminded of Psalm 50:21, “These things you have done, and I kept silence; you thought that I was just like you, I will reprove you, and state (the case) in order before your eyes. Likewise today, the modern world, the humanists, evolutionists, liberal theologians, cults, and New Agers as a whole, think Christianity, the Bible, marriage, and a morality with absolutes are all but dead. Certainly they think moral absolutes have no place having any impact on the political and moral decisions of our society. They say it’s old fashioned, out-dated, obsolete. People living in immorality are often heard saying, “we’re living in the ’90s,” as though society has outgrown

such foolish ideas. It is as though God has been proven to no longer be an issue in life and people can ignore God without serious ramifications to themselves and society. But individuals, as well as nations, cannot ignore God’s Holy Word without serious consequences, which, like water breaking through a dam, spill over into every aspect of society.Knowing and believing this was the secret of Elijah’s boldness, his presence before King, Ahab, and the reason for the drought that was to follow. It was a judgment from the living God. Elijah had not been infected by the mood of his day nor by God’s silence--what people so often mistake as His indifference or unreality. Rather, Elijah was convinced God was not only alive, but immanent--personally and actively involved in the affairs of both Israel and the nations. Being infused with this reality of God and His person, Elijah acted on God’s promises. He prayed and proclaimed his message to King Ahab. God was not only alive and well, but very much operative in human history.This fact transformed Elijah’s life. By the words, “as living is Yahweh, . . . ” Elijah was not only declaring the reality of Israel’s God as the only true God, but declaring the fact God was superior over the false ideas of mankind and the pagan idols of the nations. Elijah was declaring it was not just any man’s ideas about God that counted, but the revelation of the God of the Bible--he alone is the true God. Likewise, our responsibility is to know God intimately, and then to proclaim the Christ of the Bible as the true Savior and

God. King after king in the northern kingdom of Israel had openly defied Yahweh and ignored Him with no apparent consequences.The idea so prevalent in the thinking of the people (just as it is today) was either Yahweh God had no real existence, or He was not concerned or involved with Israel. This was a subtle form of deism that had crept in since the people had been infiltrated by the idolatrous thinking of the nations. This is evident in a number of passages like Zephaniah 1:12; Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9; Malachi 3:14. Through Elijah’s life and message, the idea of deism was being challenged and judgment declared and experienced. Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 brings home an important lesson for us: Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.Although a sinner does evil a hundred [times] and may lengthen his [life] still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. Likewise, we need to be able to openly demonstrate from the facts how this nation is experiencing the futility of its beliefs. We are experiencing a moral and spiritual drought as a judgment from God because this nation has puts its trust in almost anything but the Lord of the Bible. By the facts I am talking about our past history and heritage as a Christian nation. These are not the figments of someone’s imagination, these are facts of history. But we have jettisoned that foundation and with that change has come the present moral decline and the failure of our

society to deal with its problems.Programs developed by secular humanists and big government to improve society simply have not worked and can’t work apart from faith in the living God. The founding fathers of our Constitution knew this and spoke accordingly. On October 11, 1798, President John Adams stated in his address to the military: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. 7] God’s Word reminds us of this in Psalm 127. “Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1b). Societies need what is equivalent to a watchman--the police and the military. However, when that is not first founded on a deep faith in the Lord, as it was when our country began, then, its confidence will be in vain. The first words of Psalm 127, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it,” remind us the same principle applies to the home. By mentioning the home first, we are shown its priority. The character of a nation’s leaders is formed in the home. As goes the home, so goes the society.This means, we need to be living the kind of Christian lives that clearly declare the reality of God, lives that demonstrate the impotence and futility of the false belief systems of the World. Elijah was declaring that their objects of

worship were lifeless and had no capacity to save or to meet their needs (provide for rain and good crops, etc. ). The Second Key The words, “Before whom I stand,” reveal two things about Elijah: He was cognizant of God’s presence and committed as God’s representative. Elijah was not only convinced of the aliveness of his God, but he was aware of God’s personal presence. He knew God was with him and that he was a personal representative of the Lord--one sent by the living and sovereign God of the universe. Before whom I stand” showed Elijah’s awareness that God was with him, God had sent him. He was under God’s watchful eye, protection, supply, enablement, and orders. This statement also highlights Elijah’s loyalty to the God of Israel in contrast with the disloyalty of the majority in Israel under the false and idolatrous system of Baal. Can people tell we are different because of our relationship with the Lord? Finally, this statement showed that Elijah’s faith was anchored in at least three biblical concepts that were on his mind and in his consciousness, and that motivated and controlled his life. They gave him the courage and motivation to stand before King Ahab.These were: (1) God’s Person: Elijah had God’s omniscience and omnipresence in mind as he spoke these words. He knew that there was no place where he would be absent from the caring and watchful eye of God (Ps. 139; Josh. 1:8). (2) God’s Plan: As a believing Israelite under God’s covenant and as a man with the gift of a prophet, Elijah knew he was a personal representative of the living

God who had the responsibility to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into God’s marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). (3) God’s Power and Provision: With God’s presence and orders, also came God’s power, protection and provision to do what he was called to do.I am reminded of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 who will go forth in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah, and who will be protected until their ministry is over (cf. Matt. 28:18-19). Let’s focus on Elijah’s statement as it pertains to God’s omnipresence. As the transcendent God, He transcends all. He is far above and outside of the universe, totally independent of it. He is totally separate from and outside of time and creation, enthroned on high, and exalted above the heavens. He is the sovereign King, the independent and all powerful God of the universe (Ps. 103:19; 113:4-5; 115:3; 123:1). As such, He is the source of all authority, power, and deliverance. While God is that, He is also the immanent God who operated in time and creation.He created it and He sustains it--every atom and molecule is held together by Him (Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3). God is also intimately concerned with His creatures--particularly with mankind. Though distinct from His creation, God is immanently present everywhere in creation and in our lives. Proverbs 5:21 says, “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths. ” And Psalm 33:13-14 teaches us, “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all

the inhabitants of the earth. ” There is nothing we can do, no thought we can think, no place we can go without God being there and knowing it completely.This means four things: (a) The whole of God is wholly present everywhere at all times, yet, He is separate and independent from the world and the things and creatures in the world. (b) There is no limit to God’s presence and no place is closer to God than another. (c) He does not need to travel and He can act in all parts of the universe at once with all His authority and power. (d) God is above us, below us, at both sides of everything and within all at the same time in some inexplicable way. Elijah was consciously fortified by this truth as he stood before Ahab. He knew he was not alone. He knew it was Ahab, Jezebel, and over 400 Baal prophets against him--plus one. This meant Elijah was in the majority with God who was above, below and everywhere with him.Elijah was living in the light of God’s omnipresence and was practicing the presence of God. He was counting on God’s person and promises according to God’s Word. The person who knows the Lord can never be alone. We often may feel like Elijah’s servant, utterly alone, but we are never alone. Our need is to flee to the Lord, to draw near to Him and know His presence, rather than to flee to our strategies for handling life. But God is not only present as the omniscient one, He is present to manifest Himself on our behalf because He

loves us, has done the most for us in Christ, and has chosen to use us as his vessels to manifest His love (Josh. 1:9; Deut. 1:6-8; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5-6). Consider Elijah’s statement as it pertains to his ministry as a personal representative of the Lord. Here is one of the miracles of the universe, that the infinite, almighty God who is transcendent and completely independent and who can use any means He desires, has nevertheless, created us in His own image that we might be a visible representative of the invisible God. Even after the Fall, He has still chosen to use believers to represent Him to a world fallen in sin (Psalm 8). Elijah understood as a believer and a prophet, he was not on earth merely to have a good time or seek his own satisfaction and comfort.He knew he was there to represent the Lord boldly and courageously in the battle with Satanic forces for the souls of men and for the glory of God. Further, Elijah lived in a time when many believers were hiding in caves, afraid to speak. They were acting as though God was either dead or had taken a vacation. He could have said, “Well, no one else is taking a stand, so I guess I won’t either. ” Today, we live in a time when the world is challenging Christian beliefs and people are crying for answers. It is a time when the fields are white unto harvest. Many Christians, however, are hiding in their caves of materialism and comfort, afraid to risk their lives or reputations for the Lord.Or, rather than representing the

Lord, we are representing ourselves in games of spiritual king of the mountain, defending our own turf, or simply carrying on business as usual without a sense of God’s mission for us in this world. We stutter in fright when confronted with a cultist because we haven’t learned our Bible well enough and aren’t secure enough in our faith. Or, perhaps we are being choked and bound from growth and service by the thorns, thistles, and vines of the details of life--what the Lord called “the deceitfulness of riches. ” But God is still looking for men and women who will count on His presence by faith, represent Him and face the challenges and risks of our day with all its various “isms” (cf. Ezek. 22:29-31). The Third KeyThe words, “Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word,” show he was confident in God’s promises. Elijah stood before King Ahab and made this statement because he was confident in the principles, promises and warnings of God’s Word, and confident of answered prayer when it is based on God’s Word and concerned for God’s glory. Elijah’s prayer for no rain was not just something he cooked up out of his own imagination or because he was angry at Jezebel. Rather, he was acting on the truth of the Word. He was standing firmly on the promises. His prayer and statement to King Ahab were the result of knowing and believing the promises of Scripture (cf. Deut. 1:8-32; 28:23-24 with 1 Kgs. 18:18. This shows that Elijah was relying on the principles of Deut. 11). Remember, the prophets of Baal claimed

Baal-Melqart was the god of thunder, rain, and good crops. Elijah’s declaration in 1 Kings 17:1 strongly challenged the reality of their god and their faith. It showed Baal was false and impotent and that the prophets of Baal were liars. It also showed truth and salvation could only be found in the prophets of Yahweh who alone spoke for God. Likewise today, we have the responsibility to demonstrate by the way we live (our priorities and values), and by our personal testimony, the truth of John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. If you know these things you are blessed if you do them” (John 13:17), and “blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28). It is equivalent to telling people that true happiness and meaning in life come only from the Lord and then demonstrating it by our priorities, faithfulness, integrity, and by biblical pursuits that control and direct our lives. Conclusion Earl Nightingale, a motivational expert, has said, “wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. ” Serving and doing what God has called us to do whether it involves seeking and saving souls, taking a stand against the immoral tide of a society, or challenging a brother or sister in Christ, has always been a risky business.In Kindred Spirit, Larry Dinkins writes: Sooner or later obedience to the Great Commission will involve risk. The buzz word today is not ‘risk’ but ‘security. ’ Risk may be popular as a parlor game but not as a lifestyle. People are interested in social security, home security, secure savings and loans, and especially secure

relationships. The problem is that our security-oriented culture tends to insulate us from the real needs around us while at the same time maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. Recently I heard Chuck Swindoll make this convicting observation. ‘In the process of growing older we lose the desire to risk. It is a tragic loss.We become sophisticated, cautious, careful. We call it wisdom--it is cowardice, that’s all. We are afraid to take giant steps of faith. We’d much rather stay near the shoreline than cast off into the deep. We want to know that our security will be down at the end of the road. ’[8] Dinkins also writes: While on furlough I heard Dr. Keith Phillips, head of World Impact, give his testimony of commitment to the urban poor. For a while Dr. Phillips tried to minister in the Watts area of Los Angeles by commuting. But his slum ministry by long distance was not meeting needs. Finally he moved his family into public housing where he was still residing.During the first three months their apartment was robbed so often that they erected a sign: GO RIGHT IN, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT, PLEASE DO NOT BREAK THE LOCK. Having been robbed repeatedly myself, I immediately identified with the Phillips family and risks they encountered. You may be thinking, ‘That’s fine for missionaries, but I don’t plan to live in a slum, pick up a hitchhiker, or plant a church in hostile soil. How does all of this relate to me? ’ Good question. The first thing is to realize that risks are not confined to slum areas, interstates, or foreign fields. A difficult neighbor or

recalcitrant relative can be just as threatening as a gang member from Watts or hitchhiker along the road.Building a bridge of friendship to someone of a different race or background in your community may be as big a hurdle as translation is for missionaries in Colombia. [9] Again I am reminded of Daniel’s words, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. ” Obviously, the big question is--how well do we really know our God? Lesson 4: Testings By the Brook (Part 1) (1 Kings 17:2-7) Introduction One of the new terms of our day is “virtual reality. ” We live in a day and time filled with imaginary stories, characters and scenes. These transport us into unreality, a world of make believe, even a world of science fiction that catapults us into a another world. Now with modern science, we can experience virtual reality, that which truly seems real, but isn’t.However, when we turn to the Word of God, we are brought face-to-face with reality. Contrary to what the skeptics say, Scripture is not myth or cleverly devised tales. Nor is it some kind of virtual reality, but true reality--realities that teach us about the living God and about fallen mankind living in a fallen world. Nowhere is reality more clear than in the book of the preacher of wisdom, Ecclesiastes. You will find no imaginary character in the book of Ecclesiastes--not one. Instead, Solomon gives us inspired truth about what life is like on planet earth. He shows us what life is like under the sun: it is like chasing after wind, a phrase found eight times in

this book. What is life under the sun?It is life without the dimension of God; life that fails to go beyond the sun into the heavenlies, into the realities of God’s revelation. Chuck Swindoll writes: In this ragged-edged reality called earthly existence, life is somewhere between sad and bad. All it takes is a quick look around to discover why we line up to watch fantasies that take us to galaxies far, far away. Who wouldn’t want to escape from an existence as boring and painful as ours? For many, it’s downright horrid. It’s drug abuse. It’s sleepless nights. It’s headaches. It’s heartaches. It’s hate, rape, assault, jail sentences. It’s sickness and sorrow. It’s broken lives. It’s distorted minds.Mainly, as Solomon discovered long ago, it’s empty. There’s nothing down here under the sun that will give you and me a sense of lasting satisfaction. It is planned that way! How else would we realize our need for the living God? I don’t care how good your professional practice is, much of it is boring. I don’t care how big your house is or how exciting your future is. I don’t care how hard you work or how large your paycheck or how sincere your efforts, when you boil life down to the nubbies . . . when the lights are turned off at night, you’re back to reality--its boring and horribly empty. To quote Solomon the realist, it is like chasing the wind.You work so that you can make money, so that you can spend it, so that you can work and make more money, so that you can spend it, so that you can

get more, which will mean you spend more, and you work harder to make more. So goes this endless cycle called ‘striving after wind. ’ That explains why people will line up by the millions to view a fantasy on film and sit in silent amazement at someone’s imaginary world of imaginary characters who do imaginary things--because life under the sun is so dreadfully, unchangingly boring. To put it bluntly, life on planet Earth without God is the pits. And if I may repeat my point (Solomon does numerous times), that’s the way God designed it. He made it like that.He placed within us that God-shaped vacuum that only He can fill. Until He is there, nothing satisfies. [10] We dare not forget that Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, was a man who had everything. Indeed, he had everything in luxurious abundance. The issue is not more, a great society, or the removal of all the problems of society. When you add the conditions of a society like Elijah faced, or like we face today, then the feelings of futility, pain, frustration, troubled hearts, dashed expectations, the sense of chasing the wind is magnified many times over. Are you sufficiently depressed now? I truly hope so, because this is one of the key themes of Scripture.God has designed it this way in a world that has fallen into sin, particularly, the sin of seeking to live life and find meaning in life without God. Truly, our hope in Christ, like a brilliant diamond, needs the stark, black backdrop of the utter futility of life under the sun to show us our need and drive us

to our knees. Surely, the word of the Lord that came to Elijah, “go hide yourself,” desperately needs to be heard by every one of us. The Communication “And the word of the LORD came to him saying” (vs. 2). To be more accurate with the Hebrew text, the word “and,” is better rendered as the NIV with “then” or by “thereupon” to show the idea of temporal or logical sequence. The communication from the Lord came after Elijah’s faithfulness and obedience (vs. 1).This illustrates that, having ears to hear, obedience and application of the truth we know lead to greater capacity for more insight into God’s truth and sensitivity to God’s direction in one’s life. Obeying the revelation he had and being a man who spent time alone with God, he was prepared for more. In other words, he had ears to hear and to obey the commands of God even though he might not understand the nature of those commands. He was not conducting little debates with God. By contrast, disobedience to the truth has the opposite effect. It hardens our hearts and closes our ears, killing our capacity to hear and respond to the work and ministry God wants to call us to (cf. Mark 6:52; Heb. 3:7-15; 5:11; Ps. 40:6-7). People often complain about how hard it is to know God’s leading.The problem is not God’s leading--He is always ready to lead us. The problem is our listening, and too often, our listening is colored by false expectations and selfish motives. We want the Lord to answer in our way. We want God’s blessing on our will rather than seeking His

will. We tend to make up our list of what we would like to do with our lives, even as it pertains to serving the Lord. We then present that to the Lord for His approval. What the Lord would now tell Elijah was most likely contrary to what he was expecting. After all was he not a prophet, and had he not come to proclaim the Word to Israel? He was there to serve, preach, perform miracles, and to be active for the Lord--right?But please note that the Lord didn’t tell Elijah to do any of these things. In view of this, the command that follows is very interesting and illuminating. It reveals one of the great insights and priorities of the Word, one that busy, self-sufficient, workaholic people who have been bitten by the bug of activism and/or materialism have a hard time grasping. The Command: Retreat, Conceal Yourself 1 Kings 17:3 Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.. The “brook Cherith” (NASB), or the “ravine Kerith” (NIV), was one of the many waddies or ravines that emptied its waters into the Jordan from the mountains to the east.Elijah was commanded to depart from Samaria, to turn eastward across the Jordan, and to hide there. Remember, names in Scripture are significant and often shed additional light on a passage. “Cherith” is the Hebrew kerith that means “a cutting,” a place cut by some type of catastrophe like an earthquake, or more likely, by years of water flowing down from the hills to the Jordan. There were many brooks in this

area to which Elijah could have been sent, but only one that was called by this name. We might note that the Hebrew kerithuth means “a cutting” and was used of divorce, of the cutting of matrimonial bonds. Why is Elijah sent to the place of cutting? Some think for protection from Ahab.Perhaps that was part of it but it was not the primary reason because later God sent Elijah to face the king and the king made no attempt to slay him (1 Kgs. 18:17-20). More likely the reason was seclusion, concealment. (a) The Hebrew word for “hide” is satar that means “to hide, conceal, cover” In the Hebrew text it is a reflexive stem and refers to what one does to and for himself. So it means “to hide, conceal yourself. ” It refers to a deliberate and decisive choice in obedience to God’s command. (b) A main idea of the verb is “to be absent, out of sight. ” Literally it means “absent yourself. ” The noun form, seter, is used of the womb as a secret place, a place of shelter (Ps. 139:15). c) Finally, the verb form is used in relation to God’s presence as the omniscient One who becomes a hiding place, a shelter for the believer. Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide (satar) me in the shadow of Thy wings. Psalm 31:20 Thou dost hide (satar) them in the secret (seter) place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man; Thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. The Challenges or Tests (17:2-3) There are at least four

tests in 1 Kings 17:2-7. The first test comes out of the command to go and hide himself, and in the reasons for this command. It is the test of God’s guidance. The Test of God’s Guidance (vss. 2-3) The testing concerned with God’s guidance is seen in the command for Elijah to leave and hide by the brook east of Jordan.As the Lord works providentially and sovereignly in our lives, we are nearly always faced with a number of tests that challenge our faith, obedience, love for God, our values and priorities, and demonstrate just how real God is to us. What are some of these tests? We can divide them into three aspects: (a) the test related to our need of guidance, (b) the mystery of God’s guidance, and (c) the perplexity of His guidance. Our Need of God’s Guidance We all must recognize how desperately we need the revelation and direction of the living God. After Elijah gave his message, he needed God’s guidance to know what to do next. What is God’s plan? What is my need at the moment?Man’s tendency is to direct his own way, but Scripture firmly warns us against that. Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways

higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. ” James addresses this in his epistle, James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that. ” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. For us to strike out on any venture or task without seeking God’s direction is arrogant independence. It is acting as though we can direct our own way. The test is simply this: Do we recognize our need and prayerfully and studiously seek God’s guidance? Do we wait on the Lord? This first test of God’s guidance is a test of our basic orientation and attitude toward life.Will we follow the command of Proverbs 3:5-6? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ” Or will we turn to our own strategies? (cf. Isa. 50:10-11; Jer. 2:12-13) Do we hunger for God’s Word because we understand our need? Or are we proudly confident in our own resources? (Isa. 66:2b) One of the questions Elijah faced as the Lord revealed His will to him was “why does God want me to go and hide? ” In

answer to that question, the prophet faced two issues--one relating to the nation and one for himself. For the nation it was a judgment.God was removing His instrument of the Word from their midst, at least for the time being, until their hearts could be prepared by the suffering that would follow (cf. Ps. 74:1-11, especially vs. 9, also cf. Luke 4:21-29). When there is no response to His Word, God eventually removes his human messengers, turns people over to their own devices, and replaces the messengers of the Word with His instruments of discipline (cf. Amos. 8:11-14). For Elijah, however, this time by the brook was surely designed to maintain his inner life with God and to further prepare him for the testings and the ministry that would follow. It would become a place of testing but also of spiritual growth. There are at least two reasons why God’s people need this time alone. First, we need, as Elijah did, seclusion.We need time alone, away from the hustle and bustle and the comings and goings of the rest of the society, even from our own ministries to family, church, and friends. Swindoll writes: To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God. To linger in His presence, to shut out the noise of the city and, in quietness, give Him the praise He deserves. Before we engage ourselves in His work, let’s meet Him in His Word . . . in prayer. . . in worship. [11] One of the great commands of Scripture is “Cease striving (be still, KJV) and

know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). How many of us truly hear the inaudible or see the invisible realities of God? What does it mean to have ears to hear?Chuck Swindoll shares a story which illustrates the point: An Indian was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city. Right in the center of Manhattan, the Indian seized his friend’s arm and whispered, “Wait. I hear a cricket. ” His friend said, “Come on! Cricket? Man, this is downtown New York. ” He persisted, “No, seriously, I really do. ” “It’s impossible! ” was the response. “You can’t hear a cricket! Taxis going by. Horns honking. People screaming at each other. Brakes screeching. Both sides of the street filled with people. Cash registers clanging away. Subways roaring beneath us. You can’t possibly hear a cricket! ” The Indian insisted, “Wait a minute! He led his friend along, slowly. They stopped, and the Indian walked down to the end of the block, went across the street, looked around, cocked his head to one side, but couldn’t find it. He went across another street, and there in a large cement planter where a tree was growing, he dug into the mulch and found the cricket. “See! ” he yelled, as he held the insect high above his head. His friend walked across the street, marveling, “How in the world could it be that you heard a cricket in the middle of downtown, busy Manhattan? ” The Indian said, “Well, my ears are different from yours. It simply depends on what you’re listening for. Here let me show you.

And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change--a couple of quarters, three or four nickels, and some dimes and pennies. Then he said, “Now watch. ” He held the coins waist high and dropped them to the sidewalk. Every head within a block turned around and looked in the direction of the Indian. It all depends on what we’re listening to and for. We don’t have enough crickets in our heads--we don’t listen for them. Perhaps, like that crowded street full of people, you have spent all your life searching for a handful of change and you’ve missed the real sound of life? [12] You see, there is no life in any one of those coins, nor can they buy happiness even if you have millions.The only way we find true satisfaction or meaning in life is to hear the invisible, inaudible voice of the living God, the Lord Jesus, through developing our capacity to hear and see Him by spending time alone with Him. Spiritually speaking, God has designed our time alone with Him (a place where we can feed on His Word and think on the Lord) to be a kerith to us, a place of cutting, a place where God can chisel away on our character and cut the world out of our hearts. It enables us to divorce ourselves from the world and its pulls. Without it we become married to the world. We need this time alone that we might draw upon our supernatural resources in the Lord, His Word and prayer for a life of faith. We are to get alone with God, first

to just know and love Him, to develop our dependence on Him, and then to bring order and strength to our inner life.We are to do this to bring God’s control over every area of our lives: our motivations, what moves us, the things that pull us to conform or to compete, our perspective of life, why we are here and what are we seeking, our priorities and values, the use of our time, talents, treasures, and truth, and our thought processes (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Getting alone with God is not optional. If we want true spiritual success it is fundamental. It’s a key part of God’s plan by which our lives are first strengthened by the underground spiritual streams of life in Christ and then changed and cut into the ravine that God wants to use to make us a channel for pouring out the blessings of the Savior on others. Here is the key to power or weakness.While this has varied from age to age, one of the battle grounds of life (especially of this age and of this country) is the inner, private world of the individual and his need to slow down and hide himself alone with his God. It is here that we either experience the power of God or the defeat of Satan and his world system. Our Lord Himself was the perfect illustration of this and He sought to impress this upon His disciples early in their education. Compare two passages. First, note the priority the Savior put on having time alone with His heavenly Father in the midst of a very busy schedule and how this directed

his actions and objectives (Mark 1:29-38).Second, in Mark 3:13-14 when the Lord called the disciples, His call or appointment consisted of three objectives: that they might be with Him (fellowship), that He might send them out to preach (service or ministry), and that they might have authority to cast out demons (victory over the enemy). The first, time alone and in the presence of the Savior, was certainly primary and fundamental to the others. Another reason for Elijah’s time alone was protection. Protection from what? Ahab? No! It was protection from himself, from things like a disordered inner life, spiritual defeat, being fat-headed over accomplishments, selfish living, a spirit of demandingness, from operating by his wisdom, from fear, from nsensitivity to people and to the Lord. Hiding ourselves becomes a protection against burn-out, against lives of futility, against living to please people rather than God, and from becoming preoccupied with this world rather than with our God and what we have in the Lord. This is not a call to monasticism. Hiding ourselves does not mean that we will not be available for Christian service and ministry. If we are truly spending quality time in getting to know our Lord, it will mean special sensitivity to the very things God wants us to do, but it will be accompanied by a growing willingness to serve with the power of God in the ministry God gives.Furthermore, we will certainly be more apt to serve from biblical motives rather than the neurotic motivations of self-centered living or from a misplaced sense of responsibility. Again, compare the Mark 1 passage. Peter sought to put a guilt trip on

the Lord because of the demands of the people, but from His time spent alone with the Father, He knew what He was to do and he moved out in faith, trusting in the guidance of His Heavenly Father. Let’s look at some verses where satar is used. Remember, this word means “to hide. ” I found this not only interesting, but a challenge to my own spiritual life. In Deuteronomy 29:29 it is used of “the secret things (lit. he things hidden) which belong to the Lord. ” Some things God simply has not revealed about Himself and His plan. Much has been revealed, however, and we need time from the hustle and bustle of life to focus our lives on the Lord. In Psalm 119:18-19 the Psalmist prays for illumination that the Word might not be hidden but clearly understood. Through time alone with God, the Psalmist prays concerning the manifestation of God’s presence (143:7-8). It is a request for the manifestation of God’s guidance, provision, and protection that he might know the sustaining power of God within and without. What causes God to hide His presence from our spiritual sight?Why do we lose sight of God’s presence when He has so forcefully promised never to leave nor to forsake us? Why do we sometimes fail to experience the sustaining grace of His presence, strength and support so that we do not burn out, blow up, fall away, or deviate from a productive walk of faith with the Lord? We fail to experience God’s presence and sustaining strength and support because we fail to hide ourselves in His presence to draw upon His

life. We fail to evaluate and reorder our inner life according to the principles and promises of the Word (cf. Ps. 119:30, 105, 130, 147-148; 4:4; 5:3 with Ps. 119:23, 49-52; and 143:4-6 with vss. 7-8). Another reason is because of unconfessed sin.We act as though God does not know nor care about what we do and we ignore our sins (Isa. 29:15; 40:27; Jer. 16:17; 23:24; cf. Isa. 59:1 with vss. 2 and 9; and Ps. 32:1-6 with vs. 7). In addition, we seek refuge in the strategies or resources of our own making rather than in the Lord. Isaiah 28:15 reads, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by; for we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception. ” When people fail to hide themselves with Him, they fail to hide themselves in Him. So the Lord turns them over to their own resources and to their own pitiful ways.They fall apart, burn out, become vexed, frustrated, and they fail--with their children, in their marriages, in their witness, in their ministry, or in their relationships with others. Scripture commands, “go hide, conceal, or absent yourself. ” And this is God’s desire for all of us today. We need time alone with our God to hide ourselves in Him and His presence that we might reorder and strengthen our inner lives for a walk of faith. We live in an extremely busy world, a world where many are compulsive and neurotic activists or workaholics. All around us

voices are clamoring for our attention, time, and service. Have you noticed that you can’t even be put on hold when using the phone without some form of noise intruding on your silence.One of the voices asking for our attention is the Lord’s and in essence He is saying, “come apart, hide yourself, get alone with Me, be still, cease striving and know that I am the Lord. ” He is saying, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear because I am there and I have spoken. ” For the Church of Jesus Christ, the Scripture directs us two basic ways by which we hide ourselves in the Lord to hear his voice. First, there is what we might call the dailies--This is scheduled time for reading, study, meditation, and prayer; but the dailies include moment-by-moment trust wherein we pray without ceasing and seek to relate to and rest our lives on the Lord (Heb. 3:7, but also remember Ps. 5:3; 1 Thess. 5:17, 2 Cor. 5:8).Then there are the weeklies--The times when we stop our regular routines and come together as members of the body of Christ (Heb. 10:23-25). In the final analysis it is not what you hear from the pulpit, a tape, or read in a book. It’s what you hear from the Lord; it’s what really gets through to you and to me as a word from God. So the Psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy Law. ” Seeking God’s guidance is not only a test of our basic orientation in life, but it tests our faith in other ways. The

Mystery of God’s Guidance What God told Elijah to do was no mystery. God’s directions to Elijah were clear, just as the basic principles of God’s moral will in Scripture are for us.But what God is doing in our lives from the standpoint of why certain things are happening is generally very mysterious. God’s guidance usually comes to us one step at a time, which goes contrary to human nature. We want AAA service with an itinerary complete with a marked road map and confirmed reservations at the beginning. We want to know where, when, how long, and why. “God, give me all the details, NOW! ” But to follow the Lord we must learn to simply rest the details of the present and the future to Him. For the most part, God’s plan is one day at a time, i. e. , “give us this day our daily bread. ” But someone may ask, “shouldn’t we make plans and set goals? Yes, but it is helpful to remember two important passages in Proverbs as we do: (a) “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue (their execution) is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:1). (b) “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs (the Hebrew word kun, “establishes, orders aright, provides for, furnishes [cf. vs. 12]) his steps” (Pr. 16:9). “Steps” is figurative of the course of one’s life. This means the Lord not only has the last word, but He always has the wisest word or plan. It also means He is working to enable, build, transform, and furnish what is needed to fulfill his

purposes in and through us (cf. Jer. 10:23 and Ps. 119:133 which also use the Hebrew word, kun). Proverbs 16:3-4 and 3:5-6 give us further instruction.We are to trust, commit, rest in God’s perfect wisdom, loving care, sovereign activity and power, purposes, and plan for each of us regardless of the mysteries of God’s will or how things look to us. Of course, crucial to this is knowing the Scripture that reveals the basics of God’s will. But even then there will be much that will be mysterious. Along this line, and closely connected, comes the third test that we face in God’s guidance. The Perplexity of God’s Plan Sometimes, God’s plan simply doesn’t seem to make sense to us. Think about this in terms of God’s command to Elijah. Elijah was a prophet with the Word, living in times of national decay when people desperately needed to hear the Word. As today, there was so much to be done and so few to do the work. But God did not tell him to go and preach.He told him to go hide by an insignificant brook located east of the Jordan, outside the land of promise, the place of blessing for Israelites. And, as if that were not enough, God would later send Elijah to a poor Gentile widow to provide for his needs. When God’s will is perplexing, the test comes in how we respond. Will we respond in a childlike trust and obedience that rests in what the Lord is doing, or will we become demanding and question the Lord’s goodness? (Prov. 3:5-6) While God does not speak to us as He did

with Elijah, who as a prophet received direct revelation from the Lord, He does speak to us through the Scripture and, in a certain sense, through the events and circumstances of life.Knowing that, we need to remember that nothing happens in our lives apart from His sovereign and providential activity that always include the promise of His presence, supply, and purpose. The following story is told of the unusual circumstances under which William Cowper wrote the hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform. ” Cowper was a Christian, but he had sunk to the depths of despair. One foggy night he called for a carriage and asked to be taken to the London Bridge on the Thames River. He was so overcome by depression that he intended to commit suicide. But after two hours of driving through the mist, Cowper’s coachman reluctantly confessed that he was lost. Disgusted by the delay, Cowper left the carriage and decided to find the London Bridge on foot.After walking only a short distance, though, he discovered that he was at his own doorstep! The carriage had been going in circles. Immediately he recognized the restraining hand of God in it all. Convicted by the Spirit, he realized that the way out of his troubles was to look to God, not to jump into the river. As he cast his burden on the Savior, his heart was comforted. With gratitude he sat down and penned these reassuring words: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform, He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. O fearful saints, fresh courage take,

the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head. (source unknown. Difficult, trying, or unusual circumstances are a part of God’s will, incorporated and orchestrated into the plan of God to accomplish His work in us, with us, or through us even when it is a product of our own rebellion and foolishness. There are a couple of key Scriptures that stress God’s work in the affairs of our lives. This is part and parcel of God’s leading and includes the tests of God’s will. Ephesians 1:11 says, “. . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. ” Who works? God does. What does He work? All things. How does He work?After the counsel of His own will. “Working” stresses the fact of God’s activity in the world; it points to His immanence. “Counsel” stresses God’s omniscience and wisdom; it points to the deliberations and decisions of God based on His wisdom and understanding. “Will” stresses God’s sovereign disposition and purpose; it points to His desire and sovereign choice based on His holy purposes and perfect knowledge and wisdom. “All things” points us to the extent of God’s involvement and sovereign control. He is involved in everything, in every detail! God is not in a state of indifference concerning our affairs. Rather, He is intimately involved and actively at work.Oh how we need to place this truth alongside all our affairs and learn to recognize them as tools and instruments of God in His gracious work in leading, pruning, and

training us. Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. He works together “all things. ” Again God’s Word drives home the extent of His activity, even in our suffering. God is totally involved with the good and the bad, with what hurts and with what is pleasing, with what we understand and with what is often perplexing. What does God work? He works all things together. ” The events of our lives, all of them, do not just happen at random; they are synchronized and utilized by God for a good purpose. None of the events of our lives are isolated from God’s plan, they are orchestrated and integrated. They have a purpose, a divine design. Then, to what goal does God work? He works things together for good. Some of the individual events may not in themselves be good, but in the end, to the believer who loves God and is sensitive to God’s working, a good purpose is achieved, or can be if we will respond biblically--in faith (James 1:2-4). Was it good that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers?No, of course not, but let’s not forget the words of Joseph in Genesis 50:19-21: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good

in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. ’” For whom is God at work? Romans 8:28 adds “to those who love God. ” This does not mean that God only works things together in the life of a believer who loves God. God is at work regardless of our spiritual condition even if He has to discipline a believer with the sin unto death (1 Cor. 11:30-32). Rather, loving God is our subjective response that, knowing and believing that God is at work, enables us to respond to God’s purpose in our affairs in childlike trust. What is God’s final goal? According to His purpose” refers to God’s overall goal or plan in conforming us to the image of His Son--Christlikeness (vs. 29). Remember Joseph’s words in Genesis 50:19-21? This is the perspective of devotion and trust. For nearly thirty years, I was a pastor, teaching the Word in Bible churches in various parts of the country. A couple of years ago, God led us back to the Northwest where I began teaching part-time in a Bible college while pastoring a small Bible church. Due to God’s leading in a number of ways, about a year ago my wife and I became convinced that I should begin teaching full-time at the school, which I began to do. Just before the semester ended, I began to experience pain in my throat.The second week of the new semester I was diagnosed with a vocal cord ulcer, with the result that I was only able to continue teaching one of my three classes. We had been so confident of God’s leading, as

were other close friends. My classes were going great with excellent responses from the students. Obviously we wondered, “Lord, what’s going on? ” But we trusted the God and now, as we look back, we can see the loving hand of our heavenly Father guiding and providing for us. There were other things He wanted me to do that I could not have done had I been carrying a full class load. Lesson 5: Testings By the Brook (Part 2) (1 Kings 17:4-7) Introduction When you think of Elijah, what comes to your mind?Probably the Prophet standing on Mount Carmel challenging the Baal prophets and trusting the Lord for fire from heaven. Or do you think of a man of prayer as spelled out for us in James 5:17-18? Have you ever thought, “I sure wish I had that kind of faith? ” Did you pray, “Father, would you give me the kind of faith Elijah had? ” Then sometime thereafter, did things seem to take a turn for the worse? You began to come under all kinds of pressure and suffering. The pressures built up, problems developed, and many of them without any seeming solutions--at least not in the near future. Did you wonder why and think, “What’s going on here? Why is my world falling apart? ” It may be God was answering your prayer.More importantly, He was simply carrying out His purpose and plan for your life--the purpose of refining you and transforming you into the image of Christ. Before Elijah could stand on Mount Carmel, he needed to sit by the brook. Before the more mature faith and ability to handle

the Mount Carmels of life, there must be the maturing experiences of the Cherith brooks of life and the widow of Zarephath. These are the testings of life that purify and build as they teach us to trust in the Lord and stay occupied with Him. Of course, we don’t like these experiences because they hurt. As the author of Hebrews says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11).Because of our fallenness, even as those who have trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus and have experienced the regenerating work of the Spirit of God, the trials of life are necessary. The Apostle Peter wrote: 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Similarly James 1:2-4 says: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. What’s the problem we face in suffering? We are often more interested in our comfort and pleasure than with genuine, spiritual growth and maturity. We want a carefree life rather than a life with character. We may think we are okay and mature

enough just as we are, but the Lord knows better. We want maturity without the pain, but real growth requires pain. For instance, we may need to lose weight, but we want to do so without the pain of hunger, without the burning of tired muscles caused by exercise, and without the discomfort of changing our lifestyle or eating habits.As a result, people are often suckers for those advertisements that offer painless weight loss, like pills that burn away the fat while we sit on the sofa eating a bag of potato chips. In this lesson, we turn to three more tests Elijah experienced by the brook. The test of God’s promise and supply, the test of obedience, and the test of the dried up brook. The Test of God’s Promise and Supply (vs. 4) In verse 4 God promised to supply Elijah’s needs while by the brook. How gracious of the Lord! It is a wonderful truth to know He never sends us anywhere to do anything without His presence and provision. The promise of Scripture is always “my God shall supply all your need . . . ” (Phil. 4:19), but especially note Hebrews 13:5-6. Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me? ’” As we think about God’s provision, it is helpful to that the supply God gives may be simple as here in Elijah’s life, or lavish

as experienced by Solomon. There may also be in that provision a test of one’s faith--a test of devotion to the Lord and of confidence in who He is and in what He is doing. Is God the object of our devotion or is it in what He supplies? If simple, will we be content or will we complain or be envious of others?If lavish, will we remain loyal, or will we become devoted to the gifts rather than the Giver? Will we keep our values and priorities in line with loving the Lord and putting Him first? There were two elements to the promise to Elijah: “You shall drink of the brook . . . ” God chose to supply Elijah’s needs through a brook, not a river, or a lake, or an artesian well. It was a brook that would dry up very soon and Elijah knew that. Why is God’s provision sometimes just barely enough? And why does God’s supply sometimes dry up? The Lord sent Elijah to a brook He knew would dry up, just as He sent me to teach knowing my throat problems would drastically reduce my ability to teach.God does this to remind us of a number of spiritual lessons like: (a) True joy, meaning and significance in life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15); (b) “better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked” (Ps. 37:16); (c) “better is a dish of vegetables where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Pro. 15:17); (d) “better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice (Pro.

16:8); and (e) “godliness with contentment is great (i. e. , the greatest) gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). History is filled with stories that illustrate this. Recently the headlines have been full of the tragic story of the O. J. Simpson affair.Here is a man who had everything that the world sees as important--fame and fortune. As I was thinking about this issue, I remembered a quote that O. J. made several years ago: I sit in my house in Buffalo and sometimes I get so lonely it’s unbelievable. Life has been so good to me. I’ve got a great wife, good kids, money, my own wealth--and I’m lonely and bored . . . I often wondered why so many rich people commit suicide. Money sure isn’t a cure-all. [13] Whatever our lot, God wants us to learn to be content in whatever state we are in by first learning to rest in Him by faith. Why? That we might experience God’s sufficiency and learn that our greatest need is God (Phil. 4:11-13; John 14:27).I think it is interesting that in the above verses this “better is” concept, is declared around a variety of the details of life people think they need for their happiness. Not only does Scripture warn against seeking our happiness, security, and significance in things like position, praise, applause, prestige, possessions, or pleasure, but God works providentially as here with Elijah to teach us that He alone is our security and true source of joy and peace (John 14:27). I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist writing from exile, “as the deer pants (deeply longs) for the water brooks, so my

soul pants for Thee, O God” (Ps. 42:1). He recognized that his greatest need was not things, not a changed environment, and not people. It was God. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there” First, again we see the principle of Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ” Since God has already done the most for when we were enemies and alienated from God, how much more will He not do for us now that we are His children and have become the special objects of His love and grace (Rom. 5:6-9; 8:32). The following illustrates the point: A consecrated Jewish believer, Dr. Max Reich, gave this testimony: “When my wife and I were first married, we felt called to full-time Christian service, God blessed our ministry and many people accepted the Lord.Although our income was small and we had few worldly possessions, our hearts were full of joy. One day, however, my wife said, ‘Max, there’s nothing to eat for dinner! ’ I didn’t reply at first but stood listening to the bird singing in the trees. Suddenly these words from a well-known Gospel song flashed through my mind: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. ’ Immediately I said, ‘If our Heavenly Father feeds the birds, surely He’ll take care of us! ’ Just then a lady knocked at the door. After introducing herself she said, ‘My husband was a hopeless alcoholic. Every time he got his check he’d spend most of it to get drunk, so the children and I were often

hungry.Recently he heard you preach the Gospel, and the Lord worked a miracle in his heart. Now he’s a changed man! For the first time in years he brought home a full week’s pay, and I was able to get a good supply of groceries. I thought as I was cooking, part of this food really belongs to Brother Reich. I was going to bring you some later, but I felt compelled to do it immediately. Here’s half of the chicken I fried and some biscuits fresh from the oven! ’ We were so happy,” said Dr. Reich, “that we sang, ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow! ’ To this moment the Lord has never failed to give us our daily bread. ”[14] Second, notice the two ways the Lord supplied Elijah’s need.He provided through natural means, the brook, and supernatural means, the ravens. While the Lord does not generally work through the supernatural today (even in Old Testament times it was the exception), there is an important lesson here. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think to meet our needs. He has promised to supply according to His riches in glory--that’s an infinite supply (Eph. 3:20). But if He wants to use supernatural means, He can and occasionally does. Third, the ravens would bring bread and meat to Elijah. Bread is the Hebrew lechem that can refer to food in general and may well have included berries, fruits, nuts, and even eggs. Isn’t this interesting?God could have rained bread from heaven or brought up quails as he did for the Israelites in the wilderness. Instead, He

chose to feed Elijah through the ravens. Why ravens for goodness sake? What did this mean to Elijah? Elijah was a Jew and according to the Law the raven was an unclean bird, one of the species the Jew was not allowed to eat. Though he is not told to eat the ravens, still, God chose an unclean bird to feed Elijah. Why? Perhaps to remind him (and us of course) the Lord is sovereign and supreme and we need to learn to submit to the tools He chooses to use to mold us and to the methods He uses to supply our needs. Here God was nourishing Elijah’s faith, building his confidence, and reminding him of who was in charge.There are no limits to what the Lord can do and His tools are limitless. Are we willing to trust God’s promises and provision no matter how contrary to our ideas His provision seems? He uses all kinds of instruments, all kinds of people, and all kinds of situations. Think about your problems--people, finances, health, family, job conditions, whatever. These are tools, agents of the Lord, like ravens sent to supply certain needs in our lives. So what is our need? Of course, our need is to trust the Lord, but how is that trust to manifest itself? Our need is to follow Solomon’s council in Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 we have an emphasis on the value of biblical wisdom and how God works.Then, in verses 13 and 14 Solomon gives us insight into how God works as the synchronizer and orchestrator of our lives. We are told to “consider the work of God. ”

Does the phrase “work of God” ring a bell? It refers to the concept of Ephesians 1:11 and Romans 8:28-29, and we are told to “consider” it. “Consider” is the Hebrew verb ra`ah that means “to see, look at, inspect, observe,” and then, based on what is seen, “to think on, consider with the mind, understand. ” Knowing and believing that God is involved in the affairs of our lives, we are to observe, inspect and consider these affairs, and then to respond in faith and seek to understand what God is teaching us.The question is then asked, “For who is able to straighten what He has bent. ” Note the connective “for. ” This links the question to the command to consider and points us to the reason or cause. It shows us what God can do and does. He bends the path of our lives. (1) This means the path of life, like a mountainous road, is sometimes bent; it has curves, ups and downs, rough places and smooth places. It isn’t always an interstate highway and along the way it has its brooks that dry up. (2) This means God has not deserted us in those ups and downs or turns in the road. He is involved in our lives. Life is not just a matter of blind chance, or the flip of a coin. 3) This text also teaches us what we cannot do! We cannot straighten what God has bent. When God puts a curve in our road, He is calling us to follow the curve. If, in the providence of God, He allows you to fall and break your

arm, you cannot reverse the film and cut out that part of the film. You must live with the fall and the broken bone. Isn’t this an intriguing way to teach us how God is intimately and lovingly involved in our circumstances?He bends the paths of our lives, but Scripture shows He does so out of love and wisdom. This is followed by instruction that tells us how we are to act and respond to the varied circumstances of life (vs. 14). a) When things are going well, when the road is straight, be happy, rejoice, enjoy the life God gives--though other Scripture warns us to never seek our security in such conditions. (b) In the day of adversity, when God puts a bend in the road, consider, observe, inspect your circumstances, stop, think and learn. Think about what is God telling you? Apply the truth of the fact that a sovereign, all wise, all knowing, and all powerful God is involved; our circumstances are not chance happenings. When things don’t go well, when the car breaks down, when you have a sinus headache, when the package is late, when you hear about the criticism, whatever it is, how do we respond? Do we blow up or stay calm? Do