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LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ELIJAH
I Kings 16:28 - II Kings 2:11
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
I. Israel
A. 900 B.C.
B. Seven wicked kings in a row with Ahab being the worst.
C. Samaria was established as the capitol of the northern kingdom, Israel.
D. Declined into idolatry and wickedness for 50 years.
E. Kingdom had been divided 58 years before, following Solomon's death.
II. Ahab
A. He was king from 919 to 896 B.C.
B. He brought Baal worship into Israel.
C. He married Jezebel, a pagan woman.
D. He killed the prophets of God.
E. Ahab refused to repent.
F. He was killed by a chance arrow.
III. Elijah
A. He was a prophet from Tishbe, somewhere in Gilead, east of the Jordan River.
B. No background of Elijah is given in the Scriptures.
C. His name means "God is powerful."
D. He trained Elisha and other prophets.
E. He was rejected by Israel later. Jesus was thought to be Elijah resurrected.
F. He is spoken of in the New Testament: Luke 4:25; 9:28-35; James 5:17.
G. He defied king Ahab and destroyed the prophets of Baal.
H. He was raptured to heaven.
I. He appears with Moses and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
IV. Jezebel
A. Her name means "chaste".
B. She came from Tyre, a Phoenician city.
C. She brought the worship of Ashteroth to Israel.
D. She replaced the godly prophets with her own false prophets.
E. She was a violent woman with a violent goddess.
F. She attempted to kill Elijah.
V. Baal
A. A Caanite god, the "storm god", he was believed to be the god of weather and crops.
B. Temples to this pagan deity were erected throughout Samaria.
C. Baal worship involved both male and female prostitution.
D. Baal worship included human sacrifices.
E. Followers believed that Baal controlled the sun and rain.
VI. Ashteroth
A. Ashteroth was a Phoenician goddess, "star". To the Assyrians she was known as Ishtar, to the Greeks and Romans, Astarte.
B. She was the goddess of sex and violence.
C. Together with Baal, she was believed to control fertility in both fields and flocks.
LESSON ONE: THE LESSON OF OBEDIENCE
I Kings 17: 1-7
HOW TO REACH A NEW LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE
I. Exposition: Elijah Becomes a Prophet
A. The Entrance 17:1
1. God always has His man for the moment
2. There is no record of Elijah's parents or previous life.
3. The first mention of Elijah is 900 years before Christ.
4. Elijah means "My God is Jehovah" or "My God is Powerful".
5. Elijah came from Tishbe, somewhere in Gilead, east of Jordan.
6. The Scriptures picture Elijah as a lonely prophet.
7. His job was to teach Israel that God alone is Lord. No other gods exists.
8. The New Testament mentions Elijah. Luke 4:25, 9:28-35, James 5:17.
9. Elijah's message as a prophet: God will judge Israel for it's idol worship by withholding rain until Elijah asks for rain.
10. God had promised lack of rain as punishment for idol worship. Deuteronomy 11:16-17, 28:23.
11. The rain was withheld for three years and six months. Luke 4:25 It had not rained for six months before Elijah spoke to Ahab. James 5:17.
12. God often suspended moisture for corrective purposes.
13. Elijah's ability to withhold rain was only because God miraculously empowered his office of prophet.
B. The Exodus 17:2-7
1. God's instruction to Elijah was to "go hide thyself" and "go show thyself".
2. The prophet's predicament was his prediction.
3. The brook Cherith means "cutting place". It may have been near Jericho.
4. Here God promised to feed Elijah, but nowhere else!
5. The raven was an unclean bird which lived off dead animals. What Elijah received for meat were scraps of rotting flesh-garbage. Genesis 8:7.
6. The prophet's provisions kept him alive until God dried up the brook.
7. Elijah went where God commanded him to go, even though it was lonely, hot, dry, and a cutting place.
8. Elijah was aware of God's presence when he was in a desert as he was when he stood before the king.
9. When the brook dried up, it was evidence that God had another place for him. His condition did seem to go from bad to worse.
10. Elijah was in hiding three years.
II. Application: Obedience is Trusting in God Even When the Circumstances Are Bad
A. God's word is God's will.
B. God's people are often rejected by the unsaved because of God's word.
C. Every Christian needs to achieve a higher level of obedience to God.
D. There is often a Cherith before there is a Carmel in our lives.
E. Our message must wait on God's action.
F. The problems of the world often affect the believer. The difference is the presence of God to help the believer during the problems.
G. Affliction often refines faith.
H. Evil government causes suffering to all its' people.
I. God's only promise to Elijah was that the ravens would come.
G. When it is midnight, remember, morning is coming!
LESSON TWO: THE LESSON OF PATIENCE
I Kings 17 8:24
HOW TO BECOME AN ENDURING CHRISTIAN
I. Exposition: Elijah Becomes a House Guest
A. The Place 17:8-9
1. Zarephath was near Jezebel's home of Sidon. It means "refining."
2. Elijah was hated in this Phoenician town.
3. Ashteroth was the principal Phoenician goddess. Jezebel brought the worship this goddess to Israel.
B. The Person 17:10
1. One of many widows in the area. Luke 4:25.
2. Elijah was to spend the remaining part of the three years with this person.
3. A gentlewoman was to care for God's prophet.
4. This woman most likely worshipped the pagan goddess.
5. The woman's source of food was less than that of the ravens.
6. God judged anyone who imposed upon a widow. Exodus 22:22-24.
C. The Problem 17:11-13
1. Elijah needed to learn that his needs could not fully be met by any person.
2. The widow did not have food for herself.
3. The woman did not have enough to spare nor share.
D. The Promise 17:14-16
1. By putting Elijah first, the widow trusted that God would supply her daily need.
2. Elijah saw God "refine" his life by causing him to daily trust in Him.
E. The Precept 17:17-24
1. Both the widow and Elijah now trusted God for life, but they also needed to trust God at the point of death.
2. The rising of the widow's son is the first ressurection in the Bible.
3. Elijah learned to keep trusting God at a brook, in a room, on a mountain, and in a cave.
II. Application: Patience Is Continuing to Trust God Even When Problems Grow
A. God's resources are never exhausted.
B. Grief requires grace.
C. We must trust God with the very hardest problems.
D. God will often let us come to the end of our resources.
E. A little given to God yields much to the giver.
F. Everyone has a past and a potential.
G. Life may be rough, but the rapture is coming!
LESSON THREE: THE LESSON OF FAITH
I Kings 18
HOW TO DEMONSTRATE OUR FAITH IN GOD
I Exposition: Elijah Becomes a Contestant
A. The contest with Ahab 18:1-16
1. Elijah was a man of God, Ahab, a man of the world, Obadiah, a man of compromise.
2. Elijah's meeting with Ahab displayed unfaltering faith.
3. Obadiah's secret faith is not commendable. He still feared Ahab more than God.
4. As long as Ahab was secure in the world, he cared little about God.
5. The meeting produced fear in Obadiah, faith in Elijah, and frustration in Ahab.
6. Elijah had waited three years to preach his message.
B. The contest with the priests of Baal 18:17-41
1. Ahab failed to see the real trouble in Israel.
2. There is a penalty for forgetting God.
3. The test to see what kept back the rain was actually a test to see who is the prime mover of the universe.
4. The joining of the worship of the true God to the worship of idols causes "tottering," (KJV "halt" v.21).
5. The contest was to bring about a definite decision.
6. When put to a test, false ideas fail to do the supernatural.
7. Elijah could do no more than God's word.
8. God answered by fire when water was needed.
9. The destruction of the prophets was no more than what the prophets themselves had done.
C. The contest with faith 18:42-46
1. The depth of faith is shown by Elijah's position of prayer and his confidence that rain would come when he asked for it.
2. Great events often start small.
3. Elijah outran Ahab to Jezreel.
II. Application
A. Faith is day by day living without the loss of a goal oriented life.
B. Faith is waiting on God to act, knowing all the time that He will.
C. A man of faith will have faith, courage, power, prayer, and patience.
D. Elijah was wrong in thinking he was the only believer left.
E. Before we can call fire down from the heaven, we must repair the altar.
F. Idols, like all human philosophies, are gods without answers to the dilemma of life.
LESSON FOUR: THE LESSON OF FELLOWSHIP
I Kings 19
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE IN A SPIRITUAL SLUMP
I. Exposition: Elijah Becomes a Hermit
A. Causes of a spiritual slump 19:1-7
1. Fear of people. 1-2
2. Looking at problems without God's viewpoint. 3
3. Emotional exhaustion. 4
4. Rest and food help to cure depression. 5-6
5. Elijah saw himself as a failure. 4
6. Great leaders often want to die. Moses, David, Jonah
B. Cures of a spiritual slump 19:8-21
1. Identify the problem (loneliness). 8-10
2. Listen for a message from God (it will come). 11-12
3. Expect to be used by God again (God uses only imperfect people). 13-15
4. Fellowship with God's people (7,000 still loved God). 18-19
5. Declare yourself to be living for God (You still have a life left). 19-21
II. Application: Fellowship with God may require a new beginning
A. Everyone has a past and potential.
B. Never mistake the man for the moment.
C. Great failures often follow great successes.
D. Loneliness and despondency go together.
E. Misery needs mercy.
F. God receives us with full knowledge of what our failures will be.
G. The God of the Bible is also a God of second chances.
H. God wants to start us at zero.
I. A personal word from God is all we ever need.
LESSON FIVE: THE LESSON OF INVOLVEMENT
I Kings 21
HOW TO BECOME PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN DEFENDING PERSONAL RIGHTS
I. Exposition: Elijah Becomes a Champion of the Poor
A. The source of suffering: Ahab 21:1-4
1. Ahab the king wanted Naboth's property.
2. Naboth's property was under divine protection. Numbers 36:7-9 3. Naboth, the godly, was resisting the transfer of his possessions to Ahab, the ungodly. 4. Every believer should follow Naboth's example. 5. Those who govern are not free to legislate as they will. 6. The laws of a single person's rights is really everyone's loss. 7. Ruling by circumstance will always be blind to divine truth.
B. The suposed success: Jezebel 21:5-16
1. Baal worship was as strong as ever. 2. Jezebel was still controlling the king. 3. To get a vineyard for a vegetable garden, Jezebel would kill a man and all of his sons. II Kings 9-26. 4. Often suffering and death are caused without guilt, fear, or regret. 5. The believer has no promise of preservation from calamities. 6. The saint's blood cries to heaven for vengeance. 7. If ruling powers are against God, then the believer is against those who rule. C. The silent Savior: God 21:17
1. No act of evil can escape God's attention. 2. God's patience has an end. 3. Ahab could not escape the judgement of God. 4. The glory of a crown may vanish in an instant. 5. One word from God can bring down the proud. 6. God's amazing grace explains His patience. D. The sobering surprise: Elijah 21:18-29 1. Elijah had first spoken to Ahab ten years before, but had been absent for seven years. 2. Elijah reappeared without any sign of fear of Jezebel. 3. Ahab would rather have seen an army. 4. There is a rightful prerogative to speak against bad government. 5. Ahab's end came over a small piece of property. 6. Ahab repentance only changed the time and location of God's judgement from Jezreel to Samaria 22:38. Jezebel's end came as Elijah said. II Kings 9:30-37.
II. Application:
A. Never be indifferent to the rights of others or to suffering.
B. Resist the seizing of property and the loss of soul liberty.
C. God always acknowledges repentance and only punishes when sin persists.
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