Elijah the Prophet (1 Kgs 17:1)

The northern kingdom of Israel had known over 60 years of wicked rulers, marked by assassinations, mass murders, idolatry and suicide. Now during the reign of the most wicked king yet, with an even more wicked queen the de facto ruler of the land and the crown patroness of Baalism, Israel was covered by a thick mantle of idolatry and spiritual darkness. Every point of light had been seemingly extinguished, with every voice proclaiming the teachings of Yahweh, the God of Israel, silenced. Israel was a land under occupation – under the rule of the most hideous and depraved form of idolatry the world had ever seen. With Jezebel as the queen and Ahab her puppet king, Baal was the god of the land and Satan appeared to have effectively eradicated all signs of righteousness. Onto the stage of this abject spiritual and moral decay, perhaps the darkest hour in Israel’s history, burst a thunderbolt from the hand of Yahweh, a solitary but striking witness to and for the living God.

1 Kings 17:1 “Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’.” (NASB)

The prophet bursts onto the scene unannounced and without the formulaic “The word of the Lord came to…” Without any introductions and no mention of his family, tribe or occupation, the only identifying characteristic given is that he’s from a district mentioned just once in known literature, a district scholars cannot locate with any certainty. An unknown quantity from an uncertain locality, Elijah is, without question, one of the most distinctive and infamous individuals in biblical history, though scant little is known of him at this stage.

His entrance onto the OT stage is abrupt, bold and dramatic, completely lacking in any form of salutation, greeting and introduction. His blunt and terse style utterly lacks any fear or reverence for an autocratic king and his instigative queen, who has clearly evidenced no qualms for killing to meet her ends. His departure is likewise abrupt and without any explanations or any indication of when he could be expected again. In short, his sudden burst upon the stage and equally abrupt disappearance likely left everyone stunned and wondering, “Who was that masked man?” “Like a meteor, he flashed across the inky blackness of Israel’s spiritual night.” J. Oswald Sanders.

Unlike Moses, whose heritage is given in great details, this is all we are given regarding Elijah, who except for Moses, more is written of him in the New Testament than any other prophet. Yet only six chapters in the Old Testament record Elijah’s life and ministry. More than just another prophet, he is considered to be the greatest prophet, the one who stands as the pattern for all other prophets:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Mal 4:5-6)

Considered the “forerunner of the Messiah,” references to him in Jewish and rabbinic literature abound; and by his Greek name “Elias,” he is mentioned 28 times in the Gospels, once by Paul (Rom 11:2), and once by James (Jam 5:17). Jewish tradition exalts Elijah to levels bordering on blasphemy, just short of the degree of elevation of Mary in Catholicism. Rabbinic teachings express the belief God had delegated to Elijah His omnipotent powers, particularly two of the three keys: those of rain, of children, and of raising to life. The extreme reverence for Moses and Elijah is amplified in the belief these are the two prophets mentioned by Hosea:

“By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.” (Hos 12:13)

So deep was the impression of Elijah made on the mind and culture of the Jews, that he became the comparison for future prophets – even in the New Testament. John the Baptist was spoken of as the one who would go before the Messiah “in the spirit and power” of Elijah (Luke 1:17), and John was asked if he was the reincarnated Elijah (John 1:21,25); while others considered Jesus to be the return of Elijah (Matt 16:14; Mark 6:15).

Elijah appeared along with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, where Peter suggested that three tabernacles be built, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah (Matt. 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33).

The two witnesses referred to in Revelation 11:3-12 are not identified by name, but because the judgments inflicted by Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament are similar to those of these two witnesses, many conclude they are Moses and Elijah. Along similar lines, others believe these are Enoch and Elijah, as they are the only two humans to never die.

Called by some as the grandest and the most romantic character that Israel ever produced, Elijah is further revered in history and religion:

At the observance of the Passover, orthodox Jews leave the door open so that Elijah may enter if he should suddenly come. Also orthodox Jews reserve a vacant chair for Elijah at the circumcision of a child. And some Jews honor Elijah in that when lost goods are discovered and the owner cannot be found, they are set aide until Elijah comes to identify the owner.

Muslims likewise hold great regard for the prophet Elijah in their teachings, as well as the Baha’i faith.

Some in the Roman Catholic Church claim Elijah was the actual founder of the barefoot Carmelite order of monks, while most view him as the individual in whose honor the order was established.

A mountain in Greece is named after him, and one of Felix Mendelssohn’s greatest oratorios is entitled “Elijah.”

Despite his often superhuman abilities and character, however, Elijah is clearly a very human figure. We’ll see he can be afraid, running for his life, and he can become extremely discouraged, wanting even to die. Elijah is clearly no superman. He is, however, a shining example for all of us of how mightily God can work in and through an individual who is so completely and thoroughly devoted to the Lord – exhibiting a life of efficacious faith and prayer.

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead…” (NIV)

“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead…” (NKJV)

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead…” (ASV)

His first appearance: abrupt, blunt and dramatic, is very emblematic of typical encounters with Elijah, and also in keeping with his environment. No mention of his birth and prior history is found in any extant writings. Josephus generally indicates that the Tishbah which gave him his name lays on the eastern side of Jordan, in the land of Gilead (Ant. 8. 13, 2); and the only other clue to his background, more precise in description, comes from the apocryphal story of Tobit:

“In the days of Shalmaneser king of Assyria, he was exiled from Thisbe, which is south of Kedesh-Naphtali in Upper Galilee, above Hazor, some distance to the west, north of Shephat.” (Tobit 1:2)

This clue would indicate Tobias the elder was taken captive from the very same town Elijah was from: the city of Thisbe (a.k.a. Tishbi, Tishbeth and Tisbeh), in Upper Galilee, within the territory ascribed to the tribe of Naphtali. Based upon the literally rendering that Elijah was merely one of the “sojourners” of Gilead, it appears Elijah had probably come from Tishbi in Naphtali and had taken up residence among the settlers in Gilead. If such is the case, this would be the inverse, though not contradicted by, Jesus being referred to as a “Nazarene,” though He was born in Bethlehem. While Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He spent little time there and spent most of his life growing up in Nazareth. Such nomenclature would suggest Elijah was originally from and grew up in Tishbi, later moving to the Gilead region. Some have suggested that Elijah's family may have been displaced to Gilead during the Aramean (Syrian) Wars during Baasha's reign.

Some have interpreted “sojourners” or “Tishbe” to mean “stranger,” and read the verse, “Elijah the stranger from among the strangers in Gilead.” This designation likely is influenced by the LXX rendering, “Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbi in Gilead” – which itself is likely influenced by the general location given by Josephus. While the reading of “stranger” is a bit of stretch, such an interpretation is used to validate claims of Elijah being a non-Israelite, likely an Ishmaelite, or Arab. Such a theory might help to explain the lack of family lineage or background for Elijah, unusual in Hebrew culture, as well as elucidate as to the Muslim and Baha’i reverence for Elijah.

A Gentile prophet to rebuke the nation of Israel would indeed have been an extraordinary manner for Yahweh to rebuke His wayward people. However, this view garners little support among scholars, and his being a Gentile would have certainly been made more known, if that were indeed the case. Orthodox Jews likely would have tripped over themselves to explain their nigh blasphemous reverence for a Gentile, or at the very least provide some compelling evidence to show how he had converted to Judaism or was otherwise made acceptable. Muslims likewise would have loudly proclaimed him all the more if he truly had been an Ishmaelite.

Regardless, attempts to pinpoint the location of Tishbi have thus far been in vain. A scholar as respected as the late Merrill F. Unger (Unger’s Bible Dictionary) doesn’t hesitate to emphasize the obscurity of the man’s roots: “The term Tishbite refers to a native of a certain town by the name of Tishbeth, or something similar…a site of this name is unknown.” Talk about stepping out of nowhere to become the Lord’s mightiest prophet!

Elijah wasn't a polished preacher like Isaiah and Jeremiah, but was more of a rough-hewn reformer who confronted and rebuked Ahab, challenged and killed the prophets of Baal (who were fed at Jezebel’s table) and confronted and rebuked the people to acknowledge the real God of Israel. Given the extremely pagan and anti-Yahweh culture under the rule of Jezebel, Elijah was undoubtedly courageous and bold, a man of stern character and determined in his zeal for the Lord, and honed and toughened by the rough and harsh environment he called home.

Gilead, in the northern Transjordan area, east of the Jordan River, was a place of solitude and ruggedness. It was never a place of polish, sophistication and diplomacy, an austere land whose people were coarse, crude and harsh. “Gilead… was wild and rugged; its hills were covered with shaggy forests; its awful solitude was only broken by the dash of mountain streams; its valleys were the haunt of fierce wild beasts.” (Meyers)

While the hills of Gilead were sufficiently fertile so that crops and livestock could thrive in the area, it took much hard labor to make the land produce well because of the ruggedness of the land. It was hardly an area for a soft and spoiled person. Rather, it was a place that produced rough and rugged outdoorsmen, accustomed to living in the open and long periods of solitude. Elijah was not raised in softness and ease. He was clearly no wimp. Push-overs do not make good prophets, particularly in the lion’s den of Ahab and Jezebel’s Israel.

The presence of a stern, black camel hair-clad Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8) would have made for a distinctive appearance, to say the very least. As he made purposeful strides up through the terraced streets of prosperous and decadent Samaria, into the presence of the idolatrous Ahab and his richly-garbed and pampered company of courtiers and the vile priests of Baal, in their gaudy uniforms of white linen garments and high-pointed bonnets (2 Kgs 10:22), this rugged mountain man clearly would have been an imposing figure – even before he spoke.

The abrupt, bold, and dramatic appearance of Elijah in verse 1 is much in keeping with the nature and character of Elijah, as evidenced from subsequent appearances. He was not a passive, timid, mild-mannered individual; he was a shock treatment. It was his very nature to bypass the perfunctory pleasantries and get straight to the point, irrespective of the audience and without regard for any danger he might encounter. He was sent by Yahweh – who could trump that? Elijah’s nature fit his calling.

One significant element we do know about Elijah is the meaning of his name;

אֵלִיָּה‎ ’ēliyyâ

If we break his name down, the Hebrew term for “God” in the Old Testament is Elohim, which is often abbreviated, El. The word yah is the short for “Yahweh.” Between them is the small letter i, which in Hebrew has reference to the personal pronoun “my” or “mine.” Putting the three together, we find that “Elijah” means, “Yahweh [is] my God,” read right-to-left in the Hebrew. In the New Testament, his Greek form is “Elias.”

With his name depicting the motto of his life, and his nature befitting the environment in which he lived, such is the prophet who during Israel’s darkest hour, stood in the gap.

“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Eze 22:30)

Now that we have spent so much time on just the first half of the first sentence in verse 1, let’s take a look at what he said:

“As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

What are the five key shots across Ahab’s bow within this sentence?

1) Yahweh, not Baal, is the Elohim of Israel.

2) Yahweh lives.

3) Elijah was Yahweh’s servant.

4) There would be neither dew nor rain – for years.

5) The utter lack of moisture would continue until Elijah said so.

How long had it been since the last time the expression, “Yahweh, the elōhîm of Israel” had been spoken in Israel, let alone in the throne room? Elijah takes wicked Ahab and his idolatrous court back to the call of Moses, and bluntly points out to them their gross departure from where Israel had been called and commanded before:

Ex 3:14-15 “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel,’ ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

Ex 20:1-5 “And elōhîm spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am Yahweh your elōhîm, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other elōhîm besides Me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them …’” (NAB)

Elijah continues his staccato-fire of cannon shots by publicly and boldly declaring himself to be a servant of Yahweh: “before whom I stand.” Considering Jezebel and her minions were hunting down and killing anyone who made such a stand: “when Jezebel was butchering the prophets of Yahweh” (1 Kgs 18:4, NJB), Elijah was throwing his gauntlet right into the teeth of the royal court. Furthermore, based upon his self-proclaimed office as messenger of Yahweh, until Elijah said otherwise (being understood a messenger would only speak when given the words by his master), his prophecy would hold. In other words, nothing that Ahab, Jezebel, Baal, or Baal’s prophets could say or do would have any power against Elijah’s judgment of what was to come.

What is the evidence or support for Elijah’s audacious claims? Yahweh lives and would validate His messenger by withholding dew and rain – not just for a short period, but for years. This would be no natural cessation of moisture that could somehow be explained as a normal or even unusual weather fluctuation, but an utter lack of even a drop for such an extended period of time, that all would have full-knowledge of the chastisement that was upon them.

What was the significance of declaring Yahweh lives, and why choose a drought? Wasn’t there a more dramatic, more dazzling proof this Yahweh still existed and still wielded power? After all, once Elijah left, it’s not like Ahab or his court saw or felt anything different, right? Wouldn’t it have been better to do something that would have awestruck everyone right away? Instead, Ahab and his court could just mock and laugh at the crazy and wild-speaking old coot from the hills.

This wild statement from some camel hair appareled mountain man couldn’t have been made in a more surreal setting. A defiant declaration in the luxury of Ahab’s court, in the decadence and splendor of the capital city, Samaria, with every visible sign of peace and prosperity on all sides. Did Ahab and his court just laugh? What impression did they have of this Elijah? Were they just so shell-shocked by his appearance and crazy talk that he walked away before they recovered, or did they so pity this clearly misguided hayseed from the hills that they let him leave to continue in the ignorance of his ways?

By proclaiming Yahweh lives and choosing a drought as the combined proof and punishment, Elijah was striking at the very heart of Baalism – in the epicenter of Baal worship. His declaration was to emphasize the impotence of Baal and the false prophets and priests – and even Ahab and his evil helpmeet, Jezebel – by meeting them on their ground, at their point of strength. It was a bold challenge, on their terms, their weapons, their location, their timing – if ever a deck was stacked in someone’s favor, this was it. Elijah declares he and his Yahweh is willing to meet with everything stacked in Baal’s favor, everything on his terms and conditions. How is this the case?

Baalism existed as a religion for several centuries in various ancient Near Eastern countries. Its prominence in Canaan and Phoenicia is especially important for understanding most of the Old Testament, since it is from those cultures that the major influence on Israel and Judah came.

The term Ba’al can refer to any god and even to human officials, as it initially meant “lord” or “owner” or even “husband.” In some texts Baal is the term used as a substitute for Hadad, the god of the rain, thunder, fertility and agriculture, the high lord of heaven. As only his priests were allowed to utter his divine name, Baal was used instead of his proper name. The term Baal was also used to refer to any number of local deities worshipped by villagers, so there is seen a proliferation of Baal – X with the x equating to a specific location. This would indicate a local deity, while “the Baal” (with the article) typically would indicate Hadad or his respective name in other cultures, such as Melqart, his Tyrian (Phoenician) name.

In the ancient world, El was the greatest of the gods, also identified with Marduk, the sun god and the high god of the Babylonian pantheon, as well as Dagon. The Hebrews referred to him as Merodach. He was believed to be the Lord of the World and the King of the Land. He was saluted as “the Great Lord, the command of whose mouth cannot be altered and whose grace is steadfast.” His role as chief deity was later supplanted by his particularly heroic son, Baal (Hadad), one of seventy offspring of El and Asherah.

Baal was the grand god of the storms and fertility, controlling the weather and fire. His consort was his sister-wife, Anath (Anat), the erotic goddess of love and war, referred to as “virgin” (how ironic for a sex goddess) and “holy.” She is also known by her Greek name Astarte (identified with Aphrodite and Venus) and her Babylonian identity is Ishtar. She is generally referred to in the Old Testament as Ashtaroth or Ashtoreth. Her Roman form was Easter, whose fertility signs, interestingly, were a rabbit and an egg.

From this unholy union arose the most debauched, degrading and vile fertility religion the world has ever seen, carried out on “every high hill and under every green tree” (2 Kgs 17:10,11). Their images typically had grossly exaggerated sexual features, with Anat a multi-breasted female fertility deity, whose worship often included bizarre sexual practices. Their rites included frenzied dances, ritual mutilations, male and female prostitution (heterosexual, homosexual and wild orgies), and human sacrifices (usually the live first-born child of the sacrificer).

Referred to as “the prince lord of the earth,” Zaphon was Baal’s mythical mountain home, the counterpart to the Greek Olympus. From there he was thought to bring productivity to crops, animals and humans. His voice was believed to be the thunder heard in storms, with lightening the bolts thrown from his hands. Images of Baal holding such bolts led to his being referred to as the “god of fire.” Thus he was believed to control the very forces of nature – supreme over agriculture and all forms of fertility.

Dry years or years of drought and famine were attributed to his temporary captivity and even death at the hands of Mot, Baal’s chief rival and sibling offspring of El. Sacrifices to Anat would arouse her to do battle with Mot, and as the goddess of war, she would eventually defeat Mot, resulting in her reunion with the revived Baal. Their joyous coming together resulted in the rains, crops and offspring for both animals and humans. Thus the equating of fertility with the presence of a live and vibrant Baal, who as the storm god sent the life-preserving rains onto the land, and the equating of drought and famine with his periodic death.

Additionally, as the god who wielded the lightening bolts, he was both beneficent and destructive. While he could provide light and warmth to his worshippers, he could also bring the fierce heat of summer that brought about the destruction of the vegetation that he himself had brought into being. Accordingly, human sacrifices were made to appease his anger in times of plague or other troubles (Jer 19:5). The Old Testament often refers to such sacrifices as the victim being “passed through the fire.” (2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6).

Reflecting back to our text, it has been written, “The land was ruled by Ahab; Ahab was ruled by Jezebel; Jezebel was under the control of idolatry to Baal and Ashtoreth; and Baal and Ashtoreth were gods of cruelty and uncleanness.” (Scroggie)

Why Yahweh lives and a drought? Unlike Baal, no power can overcome Yahweh, so there is never a time when He is captive or dead. As He is alone is supreme, and Baal is a false god, even in “Baal’s land” and completely on which should have been Baal’s terms, conditions and strengths, Yahweh is able to withhold the dew and the rain, the very blessings supposedly held by Baal.

In an agricultural land completely dependent upon the seasonal early rains of October and November, and the latter rains of March and April, the utter lack of rain and dew spelled doom. Why drought? Because the Lord had warned the Israelites repeated that if they departed from Him to idolatry, He would withhold His blessings of rain and dew from them:

“I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.” (Lev 26:19-20)

“Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and He will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.” (Deut 11:16-17)

“The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.” (Deut 28:23-24)

“Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains…” (Hag 1:10-11)

In Palestine the dew can often fall as heavily as drizzle, and it was viewed as a sign of blessing:

“So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob’s spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.” (Deut 33:28)

“Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.” (Psa 110:3)

“It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.” (Psa 133:3)

“A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.” (Pro 19:12)

“I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily…” (Hos 14:5)

Conversely, “neither dew nor rain” was the absolute worst expression of tragedy and curse. Consider David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan’s death:

“O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields that yield offerings of grain.” (2 Sam 1:21)

While Ahab, Jezebel and their Baal prophets proclaimed the glories of Baal and promoted his vile religion, Elijah boldly declared the Yahweh is truly God and as proof would make nothing of Baal’s supposed strengths and powers. Not only would Yahweh prove it just once, He would prove it for a long-enough period of time that there could be no other explanation and no doubt as to who is truly Lord.

With his blunt, shocking message tersely delivered, Elijah walked out, just as abruptly as he appeared.