1 Kings 17:1- 7 – Where are the Elijahs of God!

In the Bible, we see two classes of prophets. Firstly, we have the non-writing prophets and Elijah is a classic example of one. Then we have the writing prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor prophets like Hosea, Joel, Amos, etc who wrote the shorter prophetical books. But whichever class of prophets each one hailed from, he would be the instrument and messenger of God with the aim of bringing kings and people into alignment with His will.

Elijah was a non-writing who burst into the scene unannounced. His name means Yahweh is my God. And as his name suggests, he was all at once a preacher, a prophet, a political reformer as well as a miracle worker of Yahweh. He was certainly the most outstanding of God’s prophets, who arose at a time to challenge the wicked Ahab and Jezebel, his pagan wife. First Kings 17:1 identifies him as a Tishbite, a settler of Gilead.

In the opening verse of 1 Kings 17, Elijah with the authority of God came announcing a season of drought in Israel. He did it to challenge the power of Baal, the Canaanite’s fertility god which Ahab and his wife embraced and gave unflinching allegiance to. Baal was believed to be in control of nature and the rain. In declaring an impending drought, Elijah was calling Baal’s power into question. He boldly claimed that in fact, it was the God of Israel who has total control of nature and the rain. To authenticate what he said as God’s prophet, he announced that there would be a season of drought. He boldly asserted that there would be neither water from the dew nor the rain in the ensuing years, except by his words.

God then instructed him to move eastward to hide in the brook of Cherith, promising him supernatural sustenance. His meals in the morning and evening would be brought by a raven. Besides, he could also drink the water from the brook of Cherith. This reminds us that God does provide for his servant supernaturally in times of need. So the raven was God’s arrangement to bring Elijah his meals twice a day. Verse 7 tells us that after a while due to the drought, the brook of Cherith also dried up.

Lessons to glean from these seven verses. Firstly, with so many disobedient kings, an obedient prophet bursting into the scene is a breath of fresh air. All God needs is one obedient servant who dares to confront the status quo of his day. And He would use him to bring a message that would challenge the evil regime and circumstances. Can God see in us such a servant? Secondly, we see that God will protect those who dare to do his bidding in the face of mounting opposition. When He finds one, He will supernaturally undertake to protect His servant like he did Elijah in the season of drought. Thirdly, God is still raising servants whom He can use in the most challenging of times to do the most needed work. In testing time, the question people often ask is where is the God of Elijah? But the question God would rather that we ask is where are the Elijahs of God? Can God see in each one of us the spirit of Elijah that would be fearless to do His bidding? Be bold to stand and serve God!