Elijah
1 Kings 19:3-14
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.
The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, came a fire but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Who is Elijah?
Elijah was a prophet from Tishbeh in Gilead. His name means "my God is the Lord". He was a faithful servant of God but this didn't stop him from falling into depression and persecution.
Elijah was God’s prophet during the reigns of Israeli kings Ahab and Ahaziah. During this period, the Israelites had turned away from God and were worshipping the idol Baal. God repeatedly used Elijah to communicate with His people as well as Ahab, but they didn’t listen to him. Elijah performed many miracles in the name of God. One miracle that he performed was calling God’s fire down to burn up his offering and the altar it was on after he had soaked it with water. In doing so, he showed the Israelites that God was real and brought them back to Him. This ended a drought that had been going on for 3 years.
Elijah is possibly one of the most relatable characters of the Old Testament. He experiences triumphs, disasters, spiritual depression and fearfulness. But through it all, he knows that he is called by God and his life is marked by prayer and praise, even in hardship. Through Elijah, we are reminded of the power of prayer; the things Elijah prays for are by no means small (he prays for resurrections and fire to rain down from heaven to name a few), but we see that God does not desert him. But for all the extraordinary things Elijah does, he is just an ordinary man with a huge amount of faith. Elijah teaches us that God is always calling us to fulfil His plan and that He uses us to do incredible things in his name.