His Background

by Toms, A. F. | Category: Elijah | Jan 1993

Elijah was a unique man, intro~ duced to us in 1 Kings chapter 17 without any record of his parents or his tribe. We are simply told he was a Tishbite from the mountainous country of Gilead which is on the east side of the Jordan. That part of the land belonged to Manasseh and Gad, so possibly he came from one of those tribes. And he had a nature which seemed to correspond with the rugged hills from which he came.

His name is remarkable too. My God is Jah is its meaning, and surely God must have guided his parents when they chose such a name for their boy. On Gilead's hills, maybe as a youth, he decided he was going to live up to his name and he presented himself to God. To that point we must all come if we wish to be used by God. In the spirit of Paul's entreaty in Romans 12 we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Elijah did just that, and God took him at his word and used him in an outstanding way.

Let us remind ourselves of the days in which he lived. We first read of him during the reign of wicked king Ahab. About 60 years before, when Reho~ oam came to the throne, the kingdom was divided into two tribes and ten. Rehoboam was king over the tribes of

Judan and Benjamin, and God raised up Jeroboam to be king over the ten tribes of Israel. But he was not a good king. Time and again the divine record says he made Israel to sin. He intr~ duced a spurious worship setting up a golden calf in the north and south of his land and he persuaded his people to worship in these places rather than going to God's house in Jerusalem. He was afraid, of course, that if they went into Judan's territory to worship he might lose them altogether. He set a bad example and the kings who followed him in quick succession were all wicked men, and Ahab was the worst; God distinctly says so. He married Jezebel who was the daughter of the king of the Zidonians and she was even more wicked than her husband. Through her influence the worship of Baal was introduced and this idol worship led Israel far away from God.

It was during Ahab's reign that a man called Hiel rebuilt the city of Jericho against God's explicit instructions. Did he not know what God had said? Surely he did, but he chose to ignore it, and his attitude was characteristic of those days. They were rebellious days. The people were going their own way and deliberately defying God and His Word. The result was fearful sin,

such as God must judge. He therefore chose Elijah from the hills of Gilead to he His mouthpiece.

Those who love the Lord may well be concerned about the days we are living in, for in many respects they are similar to the days when Elijah served the Lord. All around us in our nations there is a disregard for God's Word and oftentimes an open defiance of God, which results in lawlessness as it did in Elijah's day. We emphasize the similarity for our encouragement, for as we study the life and times of Elijah we shall be strongly reminded that God was still on the throne, and still in complete control. So He is today. It remains for those of us who love Him and honour His Word to be true to Him at all times. Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, was Paul's word to Timothy from his Roman prison, and it is his word to us

also. Let us ask God for courage to stand bravely for what is right and true and then we shall find that God will lead us in triumph in Christ.

When Zacharias and Elisabeth were told they were going to have a son in their old age, God's message through His angel was that he would use him to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, and also that he would go before His face in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lttke 1:5-25). So we find many similarities in these two great leaders. Both served at times of national crisis. Both were used to call the people back to God and the remarkable power evident in their service could only have been by the Spirit of God. We serve by the help and power of the same gracious Holy Spirit. That is one reason why the lessons from Elijah's experiences can be so helpful to us.

By grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, that no man should glory ~ph. 2:8,9).

Toms, A. F. | Jan 1993
Elijah