One of the mightiest prophets in Israel’s history, who stood virtually alone against the worship of Baal promoted by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a contest, calling down fire from heaven that consumed his sacrifice and proved the Lord alone is God. He was fed by ravens, raised a widow’s son, and was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire without dying—one of only two people in Scripture to bypass death. He appeared alongside Moses at Jesus’ transfiguration.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”1 Kings 18:36-37 · Berean Standard Bible
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!” Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So Elijah did…
Elijah appears from nowhere, shuts up the sky, is fed by ravens, and raises a widow's son. The prophet arrives like a thunderclap.
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them…
One prophet. 450 false ones. A mountaintop. And a God who answers with fire.
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!” And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness.…
After the greatest victory of his life, Elijah runs and hides. God meets him not in the wind or earthquake but in a quiet whisper.
Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” Then the sons of the prophets at…
A chariot of fire. A whirlwind. And a mantle falling to the ground. The passing of a prophet unlike any other.
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