Today’s reading is mostly about the work of one great prophet, the prophet Elijah. His ability to hear God, discern his will, and work on his behalf is stupendous. Elijah seems to have operated on a supernatural level most of the time.

What is a Prophet?

In his series The God Who Speaks to Man on Bible.org, Matthew Finlay defines what a prophet is. Here are a few of a prophet’s responsibilities.

1. A prophet tells people about God’s nature and attributes.
2. He or she makes God’s laws known and calls people to obey them.
3. A prophet warns people about Divine judgment for sin.
4. Prophets sometimes foretell future events.
5. They record what God says as well as the history of his dealings with mankind.

A true prophet exalts the name of God, agrees with Scripture, and proclaims accurate prophecies that come to pass. True prophets focus entirely on God and his glory. They are willing to suffer, live in poverty, and be personally humiliated for the sake of proclaiming the message God has given them. They are tough and obedient.

Some people assign the role of prophet to himself or herself and become false prophets. You can recognize false prophets when they glorify themselves and love personal security and wealth. God hates false prophets and condemns them.

Elijah the Prophet

God called Elijah out of Gilead, made him a prophet, and sent him to King Ahab with a message.

“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except by my word.” 1 Kings 17:1

Then God whisked Elijah away to the east, to a ravine with a brook running through it. Elijah lived there and was fed by ravens until the drought took effect and the brook dried up. Then God sent Elijah farther north to Sidon where he met a widow who gave him a place to live.

The widow and her young son were on the brink of starvation when she met Elijah, but he asked her to bake bread for him from the handful of flour she had left. When she shared the little she had, God multiplied it so her household had an abundance of flour and oil for the next three years.

Later when the widow’s son became deathly ill the widow blamed Elijah.

“What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 1 Kings 17:18

Elijah cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” and the boy came back to life. He carried him back to his mother and she said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” 1 Kings 17:24

Elijah proved he was a prophet by speaking God’s words, foretelling events that came to pass, and calling upon God’s power to do miracles.

The Contest on Mount Carmel

Three years after Elijah told King Ahab that the drought was coming, God sent him back to Ahab. Things were bad in Israel. Queen Jezebel had established Baal worship as the national religion and killed every prophet of God she could find.

King Ahab had been searching frantically for Elijah as the drought got worse. Ahab’s servant Obadiah finally found Elijah and told Ahab where he was. When they met up they each accused the other of causing trouble for Israel. Elijah proposed a showdown between himself as God’s prophet and the 850 prophets of Baal. Ahab agreed and gathered all of the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel.

The contest was simple. Each side would build an altar and place a sacrificed bull on it. Then they would ask their God to send fire to consume the sacrifice. Whichever God answered was the true God of Israel. Elijah graciously allowed the prophets of Baal to go first. If Baal responded, the contest would be over.

The prophets cried to Baal all morning but nothing happened. At noon Elijah taunted them to shout louder. They danced and cut themselves with swords until their blood flowed. By evening they were exhausted and Baal had not responded.

God Answers Elijah

Elijah then repaired the altar of God, dug a trench around it, and placed the sacrificed bull on top of the wood, ready for the fire. He had the people drench the altar with water, until the water ran down and filled the trench.

Elijah stepped forward and prayed a prophet’s prayer, giving God the glory and calling the people back to him.

“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:36-37

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!’” 1 Kings 18:38-39

At the end of the contest Elijah had all the prophets of Baal put to death.

Elijah Flees

Elijah told King Ahab to hurry home because the rain they had been waiting for was on its way. Ahab jumped into his chariot and rode off to Jezreel, but Elijah ran ahead of him and got there first. Elijah couldn’t stay in Jezreel, though, because when Queen Jezebel learned what he had done to her prophets she threatened to kill Elijah. So he took off running again.

He ran south, all the way to Beersheba, where he left his servant and then he traveled another day’s journey into the wilderness. Elijah covered about 130 miles in that long run. He lay down under a broom bush and fell into an exhausted sleep. An angel woke him up once and gave him some food and water, then he slept some more.

The angel of the Lord woke him a second time and gave him a second meal. On the strength of that food and water Elijah traveled forty days and nights, about 260 miles, until he arrived at Mount Horeb where he went into a cave for the night.

Mount Horeb is also known as Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. This was an awesome place for a faithful but discouraged prophet to end up.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

The last time God met Israelites at Mount Horeb he told them why they were there: They were there to receive the Law of God.

This time he asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9

Why did Elijah travel 370 miles on foot to this mountain? Was he running away from – or running to – something?

The Lord treated Elijah as if he had run to be with God, and he let him experience what Moses experienced on the mountain almost 600 years earlier. A rock-shattering wind roared past; then an earthquake shook the mountain, followed by a fire. When Moses saw that display, he knew he was in the presence of Almighty God.

But this time God was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire. This time it was a gentle whisper that drew Elijah into God’s presence.

“When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” 1 Kings 19:13

Elijah stuck to his story: He had done what God asked him to do and got into trouble for it. He was now under a death threat and he alone was faithful in all of Israel.

Elijah’s Next Mission

God answered Elijah’s complaints with a new assignment. He was to go back the way he came, but then go a lot farther, all the way to Damascus, to find a man named Hazael and anoint him king of Aram. Along the way he would anoint the young man Elisha to take his place as the next prophet.

And, by the way, God still had seven thousand other faithful people in Israel.

Elijah is the perfect example of how an imperfect person can be a prophet. He performed amazingly, then he collapsed, and God still loved him and treated him gently. But he didn’t hold back on tough assignments for him.

Elijah went to Mount Horeb to connect with God and pick up new orders. That’s something to remember when we feel like life is too hard. Go meet with God; let him love you; then get ready for new orders.

Here is the link to Matthew Finlay’s article on prophets.

https://bible.org/seriespage/3-what-prophet