Elijah – the man
I Kings 17:1a
Who is this man, who suddenly appears on the scene as the crisis prophet, with thunder of his brow and tempest in his voice. (J Sidlow Baxter commentary on Elijah). Judaism is being dismantled by Ahab and now stands up this man Elijah, challenging the establishment.
He appears out of obscurity. What is important with Elijah and should be with us – Is that we have a clear understanding of who God is and we are His servants. When John the Baptist was asked “who are youâ€, he simply replied “I’m just a voice.â€
Elijah’s name means, “my God is Jehovahâ€, and as such it declares where his allegiance is and that he stands in contrast to those who follow the god Baal. Our lives need to reflect this same truth, that God is really our God from the standpoint of our attitudes, priorities and behavior.
His character was developed by the circumstances in which he lived. The area in which he lived was a rocky region, in which one had to be rugged and determined in order to live there. The clothing that he wore, II Kings 1:7-8, symbolized his character. Material things were not high on his priority list, he was not controllede by the life style of the world. God places us in circumstances that mold our character. We need to examine ourselves to make sure that we are committed to God rather than to the comforts of society.
Elijah is a commentary against our excuses and fears of standing up to denounce sin. Was he any different than you and me? No. According to James 5:17, he was a man of like nature. Elijah was a man who saw the difficulties but also saw the Lord’s resources and chose to make himself available to the Lord and live accordinly.
So he goes and confronts King Ahab.
May we do the same against evil in our land.