February Believers Magazine

ELIJAH (3)
I will send rain on the earth
Elijah the prophet had been told by God, “hide
thyself by the brook Cherith” (1 Kings 17.3), and
when the brook dried up he was told “get thee to
Zarephath” (v.9). God had promised to meet Elijah’s
needs in both these places. God provided for Elijah’s
physical needs in a time of drought and famine and,
as a result of being alone with God by the brook
and at Zarephath, and being led by Him through
changing circumstances, Elijah’s knowledge of God
and His faithfulness increased. His faith was tried
and tested, it was increased and strengthened, and
he did not make any move until God commanded
him to do so. He learned patience, for “the trying of
your faith worketh patience” (James 1.3).
Go, shew thyself
God had been meeting Elijah’s needs day by day,
and “after many days” (1 Kings18.1), that is, after
three years at Zarephath and the time spent at the
brook Cherith, three and a half years in total (Lk
4.25-26; James 5.17), the Lord spoke to him. Elijah
had not wasted the “many days” but had used them
to do God’s will and serve Him. We do not know how
many days we shall live. The Lord Jesus Christ could
return at any moment to take believers to be with
Himself for ever. In the light of these realities, let
us live so that we make the most of every day and
take every opportunity to serve Him. The Lord would
“teach us to number our days, that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps 90.12).
After he had spent many days hiding himself from
men, leading a life which was separated from the
world and unto God, “the word of the Lord came
to Elijah...saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and
I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18.1). By
the time the word of God came to him the famine
was very severe in Samaria. In the past, Elijah,
the man of God, had reacted immediately to the
commands God had given him, and once again he
obeyed without delay and went to show himself to
Ahab (v.2). In the circumstances, this was a very
February 2014
C Jones, Cardiff
dangerous thing to do, but Elijah knew that he was
in the will of God and that all events were under
His supreme control. At their first meeting, Elijah
had said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings
17.1), and now God promised rain, and Elijah was to
inform Ahab of this, thereby showing that the God of
Israel was in complete control of climatic conditions.
Ahab would see Elijah as being responsible for the
duration of the drought and Ahab had the power,
humanly speaking, to do as he wished, and he could
have killed Elijah. The hatred of Ahab and Jezebel
against God and Elijah must have been intense.
Jezebel had slain the Lord’s prophets (1 Kings
18.4), but Elijah knew his God, and his faith was in
the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient One.
Let us live so that we make the most of
every day.
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly
The famine was serious, and Ahab told Obadiah,
who was in charge of his household, to go through
the land and search for grass to feed the many
horses and mules owned by Ahab so that they
might be kept alive. Ahab went in one direction and
Obadiah in another, seeking fodder (1 Kings 18.5-
6). Ahab seems to have been concerned only with
his animals: he had no thought for his suffering
people who were being afflicted as a result of the evil
he had perpetrated under the influence of Jezebel,
his wife, who wanted to supplant the worship of
the God of Israel by worship of Baal, the god she
worshipped. Ahab did not repent and return to God,
despite the chastisement of God suffered by the
people of Israel because of their idolatry.
Believers who are living close to God and seeking
to obey, serve and glorify Him may be chastened by
Him to bring them even closer to Himself than they
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ELIJAH (3)