01/14/2005: "Elijah: Personal Holiness through Obedience"
Hey team,
This is a Bible study that I wrote and lead a few years ago and I thought It was probably even more relevant today. Read the text carfully and study with great diligence. Let the Holy Spirit do His work with you. As usual goto http://www.biblegateway.com/ to read all the Bible references.
Elijah Personal Holiness through Obedience 1 Kings 16 – 18
Condition of Israel Time in History (After the division of the kingdom in 930bc and before Samaria fell in 722bc.)
1. Divided Kingdom READ (1 Kings 12:20-24) • Tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin to the South. • Other ten tribes of “Israel” to the North • “This is to fulfill the prophecy from 1st Kings 11:9-13 announced as punishment on the house of David for Solomon’s idolatry and breach of the covenant.”
2. We are focusing on the Northern Kingdom
3. Ahab is King/ Jezebel is his wife. READ (1 Kings 16:29-33) • Ahab was evil • Jezebel was evil. Promoted Baal worship (1 Kings 16:32-33). Killed prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 13). Opposed Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-2) • The people were worshiping Baal
Elijah Who is he? 1. Name Means “The Lord is my God” 2. Prophet to the Northern Kingdom (Before 853 bc)
Elijah’s Obedience READ (1 Kings 17:1-6)
1. “Elijah … said to Ahab … neither dew nor rain” (1 Kings 17:1) • He went Boldly • He went without hesitation • He told Ahab what the Lord said
2. “Leave… and hide in the Kerith Ravine” (1 Kings 17:2-6) “The fact that Elijah was sustained in a miraculous way apart from living among his own people demonstrated that the word of God was not dependent on the people, but the people were dependent on the word of God.” • He obeyed unquestioningly again. • Do we know the voice of the Lord in our lives? • Do we even hear the voice of the Lord telling us to go out to the Desert? • Do we obey? • The Lord sustained him… • Do we appreciate each and everyday how the Lord sustains us?
3. The Widow at Zarephath. Elijah’s Obedience allows others Faith and Obedience to grow READ (1 King 17:7-24) • He obeyed unquestioningly again. • V 12 “As surly as the Lord your god lives she replied…” Yahweh is not here god. • V 13 “Don’t be afraid” When your trust is in the Lord there is not room for fear. • Elijah speaks a promise to the woman. The flour and oil will not be used up. Do we study, know and accept the promises of our Lord? Do we take comfort in these promises? These promises are what help build our faith. • V 15 “She went away and did what Elijah had told her.” She (a non-Jew) had faith. The promise was fulfilled immediately. • V 17-18 “Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” or Why did God who promised life bring death instead? Or the age old question Why does bad happen to good people? • V19-23 “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry and the boy’s life returned to him”. Elijah’s faith moved the Lord. “This is the first instance of raising the dead recorded in Scripture. This non-Israelite widow was granted the supreme covenant blessing, the gift of life rescued from the power of death. This blessing came in the person of her son, the only hope for a widow in ancient society.” • V 24 “The word of the Lord from you mouth is truth.” Now she has complete faith in God from Elijah’s faithfulness.
The big showdown: The stark contrast between Elijah’s obedience and Ahab’s and the people’s disobedience
1. “Go and present yourself” Read (1 Kings 18:1-2) • Again God gives Elijah a difficult task. • There has been no rain for 3 years. Do you think the people would have been a little cranky? • He knew Ahab wanted to kill him. • He went anyway. • This sounds like the 80 20 rule. 20 % of the people do all the work. Or If you want something done, give it to the busy guy. In this case if you want someone to be obedient, give it to the guy that has shown himself obedient. • Again Elijah went without question…
2. The Challenge and the taunting Prophet. Read (1 Kings 18:16-29) • Elijah was willing to confront hatred. Have you ever noticed that if you speak the name of Jesus boldly in public you will experience hatred. The Lord told us that we would. (John 15:18-19) • V 17 Ahab blames Elijah for the trouble that the country is experiencing. • V 18 Elijah points out clearly why they really have trouble. “You have abandoned the Lords commands and followed the Baals”. • Are we willing to stand up boldly for God and against Idolatry? • V 21 “How long will you waver between two opinions?” What a powerful question. How long will you have a divided mind? When will you commit your life fully to the God of Creation? If the Lord is God Follow him. Are you double minded? Are you fully committed? • V 24 “The god who answers by fire – he is God”. Elijah knows “Both the Lord and Baal were said to ride the thunderstorm as their divine chariot (Ps 104:3); thunder was their voice (Ps 29: 3-9) and lightning their weapon (Ps 18:14). Elijah’s challenge is direct.” Elijah is setting up the people. He knows that God answers. He knows we will answer in this case. Do we really have this type of knowledge of the Lord? Do we have this type of faith? If not, how do we get it? • V 25 – 29 The prophets of the Baals tried to get an answer • V 26 “They called on the name of Baal from morning till noon.” There was no response. There was no sign of god like abilities yet the prophets still continued. They slashed themselves. This is a great picture of what the world does today. Frantically running after gods, trying to get an answer. They pierce all kinds of body parts. They keep crying out. Even after all of this there is no answer yet they still keep trying to do the same thing. It is very interesting how people will keep trying to get different results by using the same wrong method every time.
3. Elijah is ready to show them the power of the real God. Read (1 Kings 18:30-40) • V 30 “Come here to me” Elijah is calling the people to him as a symbol of God calling us to himself. Elijah desired to show the people, to reacquaint them with the power of the Lord. • V 36 –37 “Elijah’s Prayer” This prayer is an incredibly powerful prayer. This prayer is just as relevant today as it ever has been. Do you pray powerful prayers like this? Project: Type prayer out on a card and post it on your refriger4ator and use it in your daily life. Better yet memorize it. • V 38 God answers. With an immediate and powerful answer. God answers the prayers of the righteous. Pr 15:29 “The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” • V 39 The people believed… People are so fickle. We like these people can be easily convinced by a great show of power that our God is God. But then we forget. Don’t you wish that God would show such feats of power now to convince the people that he is God? Isn’t the Resurrection of Christ a big enough feat? Remember the rich man and Lararus in Luke 16, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead”. A show of power can be a great reminder to the believers but my not be an effective convincer of the lost. So, Why did God choose to have such a grand show of power in this case? • V 40 The prophets of Baal were slaughtered. In our day this death sentence sounds so horrible. Elijah sounds like such a peaceful guy. Why was it carried out? “Elijah was acting on the authority of the Lord who sent him. He carried out the sentence pronounce in the Mosaic Law for Prophets of pagan deities. (Dt 13:13-18 17:2-5)” Is the Mosaic Law still worth while in our lives today?
Group Questions 1 Do you know anyone today that obeys like Elijah? 2 Are you that type of person?
