as for the world and the fulness thereof, You have founded them.
Psalm 89:11
Dr. Stanley makes an interesting observation regarding the miracles that accompanied Elijah’s ministry. Miracles are divine acts of God and there are many miracles recorded in this 17th chapter of I Kings. (We know from reading about the response of people who witnessed Jesus’ miracles that most people still refused to believe.) Dr. Stanley writes, “Miracles are great, but they do not produce faith”. We know from our knowledge base of scripture (and the help of a Bible concordance) that faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), and that faith is important because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
In verse 1, of I Kings 17, Elijah reveals the foundation of
his faith. He says to Ahab, “as the Lord
God of Israel lives”, and “before whom I stand”. Elijah knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that
God is who He says He is. He also knew
his position in relation to God, that God is in Heaven and he was on the earth
(Ecclesiastes 5:2). (Read these
scripture references for yourself—look at the words in your own Bible and
consider them on a personal level.)
Elijah was not being “arrogant” when he said, “there shall
not be dew nor rain for these years, except at my word”. He was speaking by the authority of God. The widow correctly recognized Elijah as
being “a man of God”, after her son was restored to life (17:23). Elijah was a man of God, however, James 5:17,
says he was subject to the same passions we are, yet God stopped the rain for 3
½ years and then allowed it to rain—both in response to Elijah’s earnest
prayers. (Prayer and Bible study continually surface in this study.)
God was the Divine power behind the miracles done by Elijah.
Elijah knew God and had a close relationship with God. He admonished the people on Mount Carmel,
“How long will you falter between two opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow Him”! (How
long are we going to not believe God and His word?) The more we read His word, the more our faith
will be increased. It is not “blind
faith” by any means! It is faith in
Elijah’s God—the God of Israel, who performed the many miracles we are reading
about here. He is also the God of David,
who wrote in Psalm 69:32: “And you who seek God, your hearts shall live”!
We recently read about the wisdom and riches of Solomon that
came from God. Through this wisdom of
God, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:27, “He who has knowledge spares his words, and
a man of understanding is of a calm spirit”.
Elijah was filled with knowledge of the Most Holy God. He spared his words—he prayed a prayer that
consisted of 63-64 words in I Kings 18:36-37, and “the fire of the Lord fell
and consumed the burnt sacrifice” (which had been saturated with water). The priests
of the non-existent gods had used a multitude of words and antics, yet their
gods did not answer! Elijah calmly
prayed a short prayer that brought results. (Jesus said not to think we will be
heard because we say a lot when we pray--Matthew 6:7-8).
We have hopefully been inspired (even challenged) today to
seek to know Elijah’s God—the God of the Bible better and to call on Him in
earnest prayer. We have also been challenged to increase our knowledge of Him
so that we “spare our words” (it’s not about us—it’s all about Him). Also, to understand who He is to the point
that we can calmly live our lives trusting in Him. Lastly, we have been challenged and inspired
by the very words of Jesus in John 13:34, to love one another as He has loved
us. He says “By this all will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”!
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