16. ELIJAH
Elijah was a prophet for twenty years in the northern section of divided
Israel about 870 years before the birth of Jesus.
THE MIRACLE OF FLOUR AND OIL. Elijah visited a widow in the costal town
of Zarephath ten miles south of Sidon. He asked her for a cup of water to drink
and for some bread to eat. She lamented that after the very little flour and a
drop of oil she had used, she and her son would die of hunger. Elijah assured
her that she would have enough flour and oil for the three of them to live for
a year. True to his promise, the flour and oil never ran out.
THE SACRIFICE ON MOUNT CARMEL. The
great sin of the people was to worship the false god Baal instead of the true
God. There was a contest between a group of four hundred false prophets
and Elijah on Mt. Carmel to prove who was the true God. A young bull was placed
on an alter and the false prophets prayed to Baal but nothing happened. Then
Elijah prayed to God to destroy the bull and fire immediately destroyed it
proving that Elijah was the true prophet of the true God.
THE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD. Elijah fled Israel for fear of being killed by
the evil queen. He walked for forty days and nights to Mount Sinai where Moses
received the Ten Commandments. God appeared to him not in a strong wind, earthquake,
or fire but in the gentle breeze. God told him to return home and anoint Elisha
as his successor. God informed him that 7,000 faithful followers would remain
in Israel.
Elijah provided food for the widow and proved his God was the true God.
He met God on Mt. Sinai and anointed Elisha as his successor.
