Lessons
From the Time of Elijah
In the days
of Elijah there was great apostasy in Israel. Ahab, the king, had
connected with himself men and women who had departed from the living
God, and turned to the service of idols. The king should have been loyal
to God, one who by both influence and example would have bound his people
to God; but instead of this, he joined with apostates, and led the people
into idolatry. Leading men are endowed with great influence for good or
evil, and their responsibility is very great. Ahab had used his influence
to propagate evil, and Israel sank deeper and deeper into sin.
Elijah was
a worshiper of the living God, and his soul was stirred within him as he
saw apostasy prevail, and the people of God follow the customs of the
nations around them. He was a man of prayer, and he sent up fervent
petitions that God would arrest the tide of evil that seemed about to
sweep Israel into perdition. God regarded his prayer, and he was
commissioned to announce to Israel, in the presence of the king, that God
would bring chastisement upon his people. They had dishonored God in the
sight of the nations, and as a result, darkness as a thick cloud
enveloped them, and abominations accumulated within their borders. In
every direction they had reared the temple of idolatry, the altar of
profanity, before which prophets and loyal men, servants of the God of
heaven, had poured out their blood. Satan swayed his scepter over Israel,
and the moral atmosphere was clouded with the smoke of national idolatry.
In this
time of great depravity, Elijah made his way to Ahab, the leader of the
apostasy. In his presence he reached forth his hand to heaven, and
declared, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,
there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."
In making such an announcement it might seem that Elijah was taking great
risk. If dew or rain had come with no command from Elijah, the king would
have represented him as a false prophet, and the priests of Baal would
have attributed the blessing to a deliverance wrought by their idol, and
would have exalted Baal as triumphant over Jehovah.
The
judgment threatened was so unexpected, so terrible, so sudden, that Ahab
seemed paralyzed, and he did not realize that the prophet had left his
presence unrebuked, until the man of God had gone beyond recall. Then the
king roused his servants, and called for the man who had declared that
heaven was shut up according to his word. But Elijah was not to be found,
and neither dew nor rain fell upon the land of Israel for three years and
a half.
The object
of this affliction was to arouse Israel to a realization of their sin, to
bring them to repentance, and turn them to God, that they might honor
Jehovah as the only true and living God. After three years and a half of
drought, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I
will send rain upon the earth." "And it came to pass, when Ahab
saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's
house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou
hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel
unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and
the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's
table." The king obeys this command as though he were the servant,
and Elijah the king. Then Elijah orders them to bring two bullocks, one
for the prophets of Baal, and one for himself, and he bids the prophets dress
their bullock and put it on the altar, and call upon Baal for fire. He
says, "Call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name
of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all
the people answered and said, It is well."
The priests
of Baal called aloud, and cut themselves, even unto the going down of the
sun, but there was no response from their idol; for "there was
neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said
unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto
him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the
sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall
be thy name: and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the
Lord." Then he had the people pour on twelve barrels of water.
"And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening
sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God
in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these
things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know
that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back
again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice,
and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that
was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their
faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the
God."
Before the
sacrifice, Elijah had said, "How long halt ye between two opinions?
If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." After
the destruction of the prophets of Baal, Elijah said to Ahab, "Get
thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain."
After the king's departure, Elijah went up to the top of Carmel;
"and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his
knees." When he had bidden Ahab go up and eat and drink, did he have
an evidence that the showers were about to fall? Did he see the clouds in
the heavens? Did he see the rain, or hear the thunder?--No; he spoke
these words because the Spirit of the Lord moved upon his mind, and led
him to believe that his prayer would be heard. He had done all that was
possible to make manifest his faith, and now he began to pray for the
outpouring of the abundance of rain.
He
"said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went
up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven
times." The servant watched while Elijah prayed. Six times he
returned from the watch, saying, There is nothing, no cloud, no sign of
rain. But the prophet did not give up in discouragement. He kept
reviewing his life, to see where he had failed to honor God, he confessed
his sins, and thus continued to afflict his soul before God, while
watching for a token that his prayer was answered. As he searched his
heart, he seemed to be less and less, both in his own estimation and in
the sight of God. It seemed to him that he was nothing, and that God was
everything; and when he reached the point of renouncing self, while he
clung to the Saviour as his only strength and righteousness, the answer
came. The servant appeared, and said, "Behold, there ariseth a
little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say
unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop
thee not. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black
with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went
to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah; and he girded up
his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."
There are
many lessons to be drawn from the experience of Israel and of the prophet
of God. We are living in a time of apostasy similar to the time of which
we have read; for there is great religious declension in the churches,
among the professed people of God. The children of God should have a
realization of their accountability, and should direct their hearts
toward God, seeking for strength and grace with an earnestness which they
have never before manifested. There never was a more solemn time in the
history of the world than the time in which we are now living. Our
eternal interests are at stake, and we should arouse to the importance of
making our calling and election sure. We dare not risk our eternal
interests on mere probabilities. We must be in earnest. What we are, what
we are doing, what is to be our course of action in the future, are all
questions of untold moment, and we cannot afford to be listless,
indifferent, unconcerned. It becomes each one of us to inquire,
"What is eternity to me?" Are our feet in the path that leads
to heaven, or in the broad road that leads to perdition?
All around
us the world is manifesting intense activity. There is a feeling of
apprehension among all people; they are looking for some great event, but
know not what it is to be. The state of affairs in Europe excites men's
fears, and all are looking for those things that shall come upon the
earth, and their hearts are failing them for fear. The nations are filled
with anxiety, and there is a spirit of unrest and tumult on every hand.
If ever there was a time when men should know their position, it is now.
No man can afford to go on blindfolded, not knowing in what road he is
traveling, but careless and hoping to come out right in the end; for
great and disastrous will be his awakening. Those who do not appreciate
eternal life enough to work diligently for it, will never obtain it.
Those who are seeking earthly pleasure, worldly gain and honor, will
never make a success of winning eternal life, unless they repent, and
turn to God with all the heart.
How many
seek their pleasure in the gaming-table, in attending the theater, while
thoughts of God and eternity are put far from their minds! They think
more of what they shall eat, what they shall drink, and wherewithal they
shall be clothed, than of the salvation of their souls; and can these
expect to gain heaven when they neglect the great salvation purchased for
them at infinite cost? They give no proof that they love God, no proof
that they love the atmosphere of heaven. By the characters they develop
they say distinctly that they are in the broad road that leads to ruin.
Those who
make a success of the Christian life will count all things as loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Only those who are abiding in
Christ, can know what true life is. They realize the value of true
religion. They have brought their talents of influence and means and
ability to the altar of consecration, seeking only to know and do the
will of him who has died to redeem them. They know that the path they
must travel is strait and narrow, and that they will have to meet many
obstacles and temptations, as they resist the enticements of the broader
road that leads to ruin; but they will discern the footsteps of Jesus,
and press onward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in
their Lord and Saviour. They will choose the royal way that leads to
heaven, although it is strait and narrow; for they have respect unto the
recompense of the reward.
By: Ellen
White
Review and
Herald, May 26, 1891
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