His name means Jah is God and would seem to indicate that God-fearing parents had named him. Elijah comes to mind when we read Genesis 49:19 and Deuteronomy 33:20-21.
His tribe presumably would have been Reuben or the eastern half of Manasseh or (I suggest) Gad. He came from Gilead, possibly from a place called Thesbon (Septuagint), a Tishbite. Rather, we are caused to consider the Spirit and power (Luke 1:17) which were manifested in his life. We know very little concerning the background of Elijah. Thus his prayer was answered with a great famine, as the Lord Jesus Himself described it in Luke 4:25. The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust (Deuteronomy 28:14-24). And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken Me. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, discomfiture and rebuke. Elijah had prayed according to the Word of God, knowing the scripture, Thou. There he had learnt God’s Word and had prayed according to the will of God. The man of God whom we see standing before king Ahab had first of all stood before the Lord, the God of Israel (1 Kings 17:1). Men of God must learn to pray privately before they may stand before kings. The story of Elijah’s public ministry begins in 1 Kings 17, but the Holy Spirit complements the Old Testament through the pen of James - showing that his spiritual experience had a private beginning long before. Alan Toms recounts the major events from their lives and brings out some important lessons today for any Christian who wants to serve God like they did - lessons about faith, trust, obedience, knowing God's will in the ups and downs of life.ĬHAPTER TWELVE: ON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATIONĬHAPTER THIRTEEN: AN INTRODUCTION TO ELISHAĬHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE GREAT WOMAN OF SHUNEMĬHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: BOWS AND ARROWS Read more Elijah and Elisha are two of the most significant people in the Old Testament.