Elijah's meteoric career

If getting God to let fire from heaven consume people signifies getting rid of error, Elijah did a mighty job in II Kings, Chapter 1 verse 10: “If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.” And another fifty, and another fifty.

And yet, was Elijah “putting on a show” to hide his fears? For in verse 15 we find: “And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.” Remember back in I Kings where there was reiteration of Elijah’s doubts, “And he said, I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (Chapter 19:10 and 14). And this after the episode of the earthquake, wind, and fire.

Joyce Voysey

Ed. I like that, despite his occasional doubts, Elijah gets back up again. Those angel messages kept coming and he did respond to them. The pagan gods demanded attention and were thought to govern every aspect of life. So Elijah's God was presenting a whole different concept of power. 

Thomas Leishman speaks eloquently of Elijah, whom he considers superior to his pupil Elisha. He writes ("The Prophets of the Ninth Century BC" in the July 1939 issue of The Christian Science Journal, available from your local Reading Room, or by subscription at JSH-online.com):

"At times Elijah was faced with discouragement, as when he asserted that the people had forsaken God's covenant, and slain his prophets, and concluded, "I, even I only, am left" (19:10); yet, when the "still small voice" (verse 12) informed him that there was yet much work for him to do, and that he was not alone in his loyalty, he went forward with renewed resolve (verses 15-19). Not only did he fearlessly denounce Ahab's judicial murder of Naboth (I Kings 21:22-24), but also censured Ahab's successor Ahaziah for failing to turn to God in time of sickness (II Kings 1:1-4). It is surely typical of Elijah's meteoric career that when his work was complete he should have ascended "by a whirlwind into heaven" (2:11)."

I like the description of Elijah given in the Living Bible II Kings 1: 8-9: "He was a hairy man, " they [King Ahaziah's messengers] replied, "with a wide leather belt." "It was Elijah the prophet!" the king exclaimed.  

Elijah must have distinguished himself in many ways, including the way he dressed.

Taking note.

After a little hiatus, I need to remind myself:

Jeroboam is king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He's a bit of a bad egg.

Rehoboam is the son of Solomon and he is king of the southern kingdom of Judah and he is not much better.

The time is around 931 - 910 BC and during this period Jerusalem is attacked by the King of Egypt and the treasures of the temple looted. Additionally, there was rivalry between the two kingdoms and they mostly seem to have forgotten about the one God.

A couple of generations later King Asa rules Judah for 38 years and King Ahab takes over in Israel for 22 years, in the meantime marrying Jezebel. 

Finally, in I Kings chapter 17 we meet up with the mighty prophet Elijah. His story is like a shiny light in the midst of so much gloom. Of course, not all is rosy for Elijah. His advice about the pending drought is not well received at the royal court so he clears out in fear for his life. However, his life's work is just beginning and soon we see him helping out a local family in Zarephath. 

As we know, his disciple or pupil Elisha soon appears on the scene. He must have been an excellent student, paying attention to all that Elijah practiced. In the meantime, Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, moves into the palace in Judah and the Syrians are giving them grief, including the death of Ahab.

And that pretty well takes us to the end of I Kings.

It's interesting that Jewish boys like Jesus would have read all these stories too. And taken note.

Julie Swannell

  

New light on Jezebel's demise

When I first read the Bible from the beginning, I noted that it seemed to be very important who the Bible characters married. Most notable, as I see it, were Rebecca and Rachel (See Gen.24 and Gen. 28, 29,30). But on reading I Kings, Jezebel stands out as an example of wives being an evil influence: possibly the overriding influence with Ahab. The manner of her demise was outlined by the Lord – “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.” I Kings 21:23. One has to wait for II Kings to read of the fulfilment of that prophesy – II Kings 9:30-37 to be precise.

But I just turned to something in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy which seems to be relevant to Jezebel’s fate: “Passion, depraved appetites, dishonesty, envy, hatred, revenge ripen into action, only to pass from shame and woe to their final punishment” (188:8).

And so it is with all sin. One thinks of the Tenets of Christian Science, especially the third tenet: “We acknowledge God’s forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.” (Science and Health 497:9)

Joyce Voysey

Ed: Friends, we will be continuing with I Kings and then get on to II Kings for the month of February.