Elijah: Facing Our Fears

The prophet Elijah began his ministry as a prophet at a time when the Northern Kingdom was facing a religious crisis. The deplorable conditions of the nation were caused by the policies of Ahab, king of Israel. The biblical evaluation of Ahab is very negative: “Ahab, son of Omri, did what is displeasing to Yahweh, and was worse than all his predecessors” (1 Kings 16:30 NJB). The reason Ahab was judged to be an evil king was because of the policies of his father Omri,

During the reign of Omri, Israel was a divided nation. When Omri was anointed king, “the people of Israel were divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri” (1 Kings 16:21). In order to secure his throne and strengthen the economic conditions of his kingdom, Omri established several political alliances. One of his most important alliances was the alliance with Ethbaal king of the Sidonians (1 Kings 16:31). This alliance was sealed by the marriage of Ahab, Omri’s son with Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal.

The Phoenicians were a sea-fearing people and Omri believed that he could bring great economic prosperity to his kingdom by participating in the unrivaled commercial activities of the Phoenicians.

Ethbaal was both a king and a priest in the worship of Baal and Asherah. Jezebel was a member of the royal family and she also served as a priestess of Baal. The worship of Baal in Israel was a deliberate effort of Ahab to please his wife.

In order to please Jezebel, Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria. He erected an altar for Baal and made sacred poles dedicated to Asherah, the fertility goddess and the consort of Baal (1 Kings 16:32–33).

Baal was worshiped as a storm and fertility god. According to Canaanite religious belief, Baal was the bringer of rain, thunder, and bountiful harvests. To people like the Israelites, who lived in an agrarian society, rain and dew were essential elements that served as the basis for survival and prosperity.

To faithful worshipers of Yahweh, the dethronement of Yahweh as the only God of Israel was offensive. It was total apostasy and a violation of the covenant Israel had established with Yahweh on Mount Sinai. The covenant required Israel to have no other god except Yahweh (Exodus 20:3). When Elijah appeared before Ahab, the prophet was declaring the primacy of Yahweh as the God of Israel by declaring that Baal would be unable to produce rain for three years: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’” (1 Kings 17:1).

Jezebel, as the daughter of Ethbaal and a priestess of Baal, inherited the religious fervor of her father. She was a powerful woman who was strongly committed to bring the worship of Baal and Asherah to her new country. Jezebel brought with her four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah, all of them supported by her (1 Kings 18:19). In order to implement her religious reforms, “Jezebel butchered the prophets of Yahweh” (1 Kings 18:13 NJB) and used political power to accomplish her goals.

Both Ahab and Jezebel found in Elijah strong opposition to their religious innovations. Elijah’s name means “My God is Yahweh.” Whether this was his real name or a “nom de guerre,” Elijah was determined to show to Jezebel and to the people of Israel that Yahweh, not Baal, was the true God of Israel.

During his confrontation with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal, Elijah challenged them by putting Baal and Yahweh to the test. They would prepare a sacrifice and each would call on their God. The God who would consume the sacrifice by fire would be acknowledged as the true God.

Elijah said to them, “You must call on the name of your god, and I shall call on the name of Yahweh; the god who answers with fire, is God indeed” (1 Kings 18:24 NJB). The prophets of Ball prayed to their god from morning to evening, but Baal never answered their prayers.

When the time came to present the evening offering in the temple of God, Elijah repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been torn down, prepared the sacrifice, and put the sacrifice on the altar. Then Elijah prayed, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let them know today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, that I have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Yahweh, answer me, so that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God and are winning back their hearts” (1 Kings 18:36–37 NJB).

Elijah prayed to Yahweh before the people who were waiting to see whose God would respond with fire. As Elijah finished his prayer, “Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and licked up the water in the trench” (1 Kings 18:38 NJB).

When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces. “‘Yahweh is God,’ they cried, ‘Yahweh is God!’” (1 Kings 18:39 NJB).

But what seemed to be a great victory for Elijah turned out to be a threat to his life. When Jezebel heard what Elijah had done to the prophets of Baal, she sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them” (1 Kings 19:2 NLT).

When Elijah heard what Jezebel was planning to do to him, panic seized him. Elijah fled for his life because he knew that Jezebel had the power to do what she said she would do to him.

Elijah’s confidence was not restored until he came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. When God appeared to Elijah, twice God asked him. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:13). When Elijah presented the reason he was there, that Jezebel had killed all the prophets and that he was the only one left, Yahweh said to him, “Go back the way you came” (1 Kings 19:15 NIV).

There are many lessons Christians may learn from the life and ministry of Elijah. Elijah believed that he was the only prophet left alive in Israel. His loneliness caused him to be depressed until he came to God in prayer and discovered that he was not alone. Another issue that affected Elijah’s life was the exaggerated expectations he placed upon himself. He believed that his victory on Mount Carmel would eliminate the worship of Baal in Israel. But when Jezebel threatened his life, Elijah believed that his work was in vain and that his life had no purpose. Elijah said to God, “I have had enough. Take my life” (1 Kings 19:4 NJB).

Elijah was discouraged because the people returned to the worship of false gods. Elijah was afraid because Jezebel had threatened his life. Facing discouragement and fear, Elijah fled from Jezebel, afraid for his life. In the midst of fear and despair, Elijah met God and discovered many things about the God in whom he believed.

In the midst of his fear and despair, Elijah discovered that God cared for him, that God provided for his needs. Elijah discovered the importance of going to God in prayer because through prayer, God encouraged and restored Elijah by re-commissioning him to finish the mission which was entrusted to him.

My pastor, Jeff Griffin will begin a series on sermons on Elijah entitled, “Elijah: Facing Our Fears.” I will be using Jeff’s sermons to develop a series of studies on Elijah. Jeff’‘s sermons and my posts will be titled as follows:

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Cares for Us” – 1 Kings 17:1–6

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Provides Our Needs” – 1 Kings 17:7–16

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Desires Our Prayers” – 1 Kings 17:17–24

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Demands Devotion” – 1 Kings 18:16–46

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Restores Us” – 1 Kings 19:1–9

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Encouragers Us” – 1 Kings 19:9–21

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Makes Us Brave” – 2 Kings 1:1–17

Elijah Facing Our Fears: “God Loves Strong Finishes” – 2 Kings 2:1–15

Beginning next week, I will publish a new study on Elijah. Jeff’s sermons are very inspiring. Each sermon has a message for the church today. I am sure that you will learn much about facing your fears by learning how Elijah faced his own fears.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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