Today we meet the prophet Elijah. But before that, it is important for you to know, if you don’t already, that at this point the people of God are separated into two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Each has its own kings, and the dates of the reigns of each are told us based on how many years the other king had been reigning. The Southern Kingdom proceeds down the lineage of David, while we see that the Northern Kingdom is plagued by constant overthrow due to the wickedness of their kings.
Elijah is raised up by the Lord to execute his justice upon the wicked King Ahab and his evil wife, Jezebel. His victory over the priests of Baal is then followed up by great depression, feeling as though he is the only one left to rightly serve the Lord. God gives him comfort, as he comforts us today.
The last two chapters of James recall the story of Elijah, whose powerful prayers were enough to affect the weather. We are likewise exhorted to use this power given us through prayer, but warned that it is only efficacious when done rightly. How do we pray rightly? Well, that’s a huge part of why we are reading through the scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit instruct you in these things as you dwell upon the Word.
1 Kings 16
Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying:
“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins.
So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:
Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city
will be eaten by dogs,
and anyone who dies in the field
will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.
Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.
In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.
So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet.
This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,
and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.
Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.
When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died
because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri.
But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.
For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.
However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.
Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.
1 Kings 17
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel 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 what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.
The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.
Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”
And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”
But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,
for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’ ”
So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.
The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.
“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?”
Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”
And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.
Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.
Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”
1 Kings 18
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.
(Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
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 with food and water.)
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’ ”
But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people did not answer a word.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.
Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.”
And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!”
But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”
And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time.
“Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
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.”
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant.
So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.”
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
1 Kings 19
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 do not make 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 traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
A second time the angel of the LORD returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”
So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.”
And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a still, small voice.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.
Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.”
“Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.
James 4
What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
James 5
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire.
You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
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