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If you have already read the article entitled, “Elijah and The Widow,” then you have already seen the parallels between this prophet of Yah and John the Baptist, who came first to prepare the people for the arrival of Christ. I have tried to show how this same spirit must be ours also, as we make ready to meet with our Redeemer, and as we prepare others for the same.

Both Elijah and John the Baptist struggled with similar doubts, the former when the child of the widow whose care he was under died, and the latter when he was cast in prison by Herod. In both these cases, an audience with God (a prayer by Elijah and a message sent from John to Christ) served to strengthen them for the trial just before them. John the Baptist faced his imprisoner, and was honored with a martyr’s death. Elijah was to face the king and condemn the monarch’s idolatrous practices to his royal face, and for both, these tests were vital in providing them with the strength to obtain the victory.

We have similar burdens to bear in regards to the unholy apostasy now seen in the ranks of those once honored by Yah to bear His message of salvation to the world, for soon will we be called to face the unjust authorities of the earth and to answer for our faith. It is indeed a heavy responsibility, and these are perilous times, as surely as if before Herod or Ahab, for these “kings of the earth” have truly benefited from the unfaithfulness of the fallen woman, and their wrath will surely be as hot against us as when Elijah was called “he that troubleth Israel” (1 kings 18:17) and was sought by soldiers sent to attack him, or when the Baptist was executed by the king of his age. (Matthew 14:10)

But let us not be discouraged, for we have before us two very good examples of how Yah will preserve His people against even the most forbidding of circumstances. John’s death was a true tragedy, but he was assured of his life eternal before it occurred. Elijah was protected still longer, for he had a work yet to do for the Lord. In fact, one of this prophet’s great trials had to do very much with a case of the “few” vs. the “many” and is a perfect parallel with what we witness unfolding before us in these desolate times.

Now, as I had mentioned in my previous article on Elijah, Ahab’s queen Jezebel had led the nation into idolatry, and as such, attempted to destroy all the messengers of the one true God. The king’s Governor Obadiah was a man who knew the Father, however, and he took a hundred of the prophets and hid them in safety from the evil rulers. To be a true follower of Yah in those times was a capital crime.

The drought that Yah had allowed through the prayer of His servant was still in effect, and for this reason, Ahab took his servant Obadiah and had them split up to search the countryside to find water and food for the livestock. While this was going on, Elijah was told by Yah that his respite was over, and he was to again present himself before the king. It was Obadiah who actually encountered the prophet, and it took Elijah some doing to convince the fearful governor that the king would not seek his life for announcing the wanderer’s return.

Finally, though, Elijah convinced Obadiah that he would surely present himself to the king, to ensure that he would not be accused of bringing a false report. “So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.” (1 Kings 18:16) In response to the king’s accusation that he had brought evil upon the land, a reference to the awful drought, the prophet responded, “I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed Ba’alim (false gods).”

And was this not true? Yah could not allow the people to continue under the leadership of an idolatrous house. The Israelites were to be an example to the nations around it, and this most base affront to His holy authority was a vast force for evil. Without His chosen people to reveal His mercy and love, His disdain for spiritual uncleanness... then how would anyone ever learn the truth of love and sin? How could any human be saved from judgment and death?

Had the great wrongs of the king gone unpunished, the citizens would have had no concept of the necessary justice involved in the perfect Kingdom. This was no mean or cruel act by the Father, but a necessary and painful decree. And yet, at any time, Ahab could have spared himself and his people the wasting death of the drought by turning away from his sin. His stubborn persistence in not putting the Lord first was the reason for all the nation’s suffering, and could have been put away right then and there, for the benefit of his subjects.

Before the mighty and proud monarch, the wanderer commanded, “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 very next line declares, “So Ahab sent unto the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.” (1 Kings 18:19, 20) He did not protest, he did not even hesitate. So are we to be when we are called to answer for the mission our Father has given us.

Elijah boldly asked for water and food from the starving widow, an effort to draw out of her some precious faith. He had given assurance to Obadiah that his life would not be forfeit by carrying out his request for an audience with the king. And now, before the king himself, he called for a gathering of all the people with all the authority of Heaven. Even this evil and idolatrous ruler hastened to do his will, for he was powerless, even in his fallen state, to resist the will of the Almighty. So it was with Christ when He called His disciples. They saw in the Anointed One the majesty of all Heaven in His human flesh, and they did not hesitate to comply.

And so it will be for us as well, when we are drawn into the last battle before the kings of the earth. No fear, no hesitancy will darken our spirits. When the innocent are thrown in prison, when the faithful are persecuted for clinging to their beliefs in the assurance that no earthly suffering can compare to those things which lie ahead – when we see this, we must stand up and be counted. We must have the boldness of Elijah, and all the powers of the earth will be helpless to stand before the authority of Yah as represented in us, His servants. We will go forward, and prepare ourselves and others for the coming of our Lord.

Before all the assembled citizens, and before the prophets of Baal, Elijah lifted his voice and said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people answered him not a word. (1 Kings 18:21) This was evidence of the just dealings of Yah with the people of Israel. They had indeed fallen prey to the corrupt example set by their ruler, so much so that they could not even speak to defend the name of the One who had so graciously chosen them and led them out of slavery in Egypt with many tokens of love and power. The drought was a necessary step in bringing the weak-willed, erring nation to this great day of decision.

The chosen people needed to learn reverence for their true Leader, or else their own souls were in peril, as well as the eternal destinies of every nation unto which they were called upon to be an example. Just as the nation of Israel had been few, and their enemies many, so Elijah next directed the eyes of the people to the prophets of Baal, saying, “I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.” (1 Kings 18:22) So it will be in the last days as well, with only a few remaining faithful to the Law of the Most High in both their deeds and their inner-most spirits. They will be despised for their number, for truly, the wisdom of men will say, how can so small a company be true to Yah? How can so few know the will of the Father when all the great minds of earth do not?

But the righteousness that comes by faith is a gift. It does not depend upon any merits of a human being. It cannot be earned by wisdom or riches. In Christ, all are equal. The rich have no advantage, nor do the poor. The genius and they of less impressive intellect are equally able to understand and grasp the mercy of the Father’s love. “How can so few be an example to all the world?” the scientists and politicians and theologians will declare. Yet we have the assurance of Yahshua Himself, for He said, “But straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14)

And how will we know ourselves to be they that follow the true God? To this also, Christ answered, for in verse 16 He says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” A life of victory over sin and self, a life of reliance upon the righteousness and strength of Yah alone will characterize these chosen few. They have died to self, nevertheless they live, as Paul declares in his letter to the Galatians.

Elijah stood before the nation of Israel. Before a people called to be holy, he stood alone as a faithful servant. And moreover, he knew it. We are called to be modest, and humble, yes – this is essential for our relationship to our Holy Father, but pride disguised as a lowly spirit is a seeping disease that will eat us up from the inside out. Let those who are pure of heart and clear of conscience not be afraid to declare the joy of their deliverance to those thirsting for understanding. Not with arrogant boasts are we to speak, but with true humility, honest tongues... and a firm and unshakable reliance on the promise: “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

The prophet of Yah proposed a test. Let there be chosen two animals to sacrifice. Let each faction prepare the offering and lay it upon the altar, but light no fire. If Baal were truly Lord, let him accept the bullock of his own power, and if Yah was the true Lord, let Him consume the animal Himself. And the people said, “It is well spoken.” The Israelites agreed to the test. They were in sin, to be sure, but they were willing to accept evidence of the power of Yah. What an infinite blessing that they had not yet gone so far in their horrible idolatry that they were hardened against His love!

The prophets went first and, taking their sacrifice, they dressed it, lay it on the altar, and began to pray to their demonic deity. Could the rebellious angels have set fire to the animal upon the slab? Oh, yes. The beings who were witnesses to the birth of the world and all its forces are more than capable of manipulating nature to their own ends. But in this case, they were restrained by One far greater in might than they. From morning until noon the prophets of Baal made their requests known – but the demons to which they were bowing were bound.

“Oh, Baal, hear us,” they called out, even leaping upon the altar, as if by some misdirection to kindle the logs which were below the slain offering. But there was no reply. At noon, after many hours of waiting, Elijah began to make fun of the heathen priests. “Maybe he is talking, or on a journey,” he said, “or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened.” Truly, the worship of idols is no laughing matter, but even in this dark hour, humor found some use. The people needed to see how absurd it was to worship a false god. How contrasting this scene was from the majesty that went before them in the desert as a pillar of cloud by day and a column of fire by night! How unlike their mighty and loving God of Israel was the entity which favored the worship of these chanting, leaping, unruly priests.

An even more disgusting scene followed. Yes, the priests knew well the meaning of true sacrifice. The slain animal was to point forward to the time when Christ would hang upon the cross. By HIS blood was man to be redeemed, for it is not in burnt offerings or sacrifices that the Lord delights, says David in his 51st Psalm, but in a broken spirit, and a contrite heart. Yet ever has Satan sought to twist the blessings that Yah has given us into a curse. The priests then began to cut themselves with knives, and to loose their own blood as if to appease their unholy god with their own merits.

What blindness! What utter madness! And yet we see the same crass spirit manifest even today in those who claim to follow the living God. Whether it be in the spurious observance of a day never declared by Yah to be a requirement, or by the efforts to protect the name of a Church by man’s power: all of these are evidence of a spirit not of Yah. The works of man can NEVER be pleasing to the Father. Only character is important; and the works which result from a renewed spirit, these only will Christ smile upon – for they are done with a clean motive, not relying on self, but on Him who gave Himself for us. By no effort of our own, no shedding of tears, sweat or blood can we “do God a favor.”

He alone can vindicate His name. He alone is the husband and defender of His bride. “Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Beelzebub the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed upon which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” (2 Kings 1:6) Woe unto those already ill, who worsen their condition of spiritual disease by turning even further away from the Mighty Yah to seek a cure! Let all in error turn to God, let them go “boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Those who do this will not be turned away. But it is a blind guide indeed who will not turn back from his idolatrous course when faced with the choice Elijah gave the people of Israel that day. If Yah be God, follow Him, but if Baal (the world/the civil courts/greed for money/illicit sex/traditions of men), then follow him instead. But whatever you do... choose. The blood of these awful men did nothing to heat the wood under their sacrifice, and the efforts of corrupt leaders today to secure the favor of God will avail them not any more than this.

When the day drew long, and the proper time of the evening sacrifice drew near (such simple order and faith were made clear in even these small matters), Elijah called to the people in a tender, patient voice, “Come near unto me.” And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. (1 Kings 18:30) How touching and sad a scene: the lonely altar of the only true source of salvation lay in disrepair. With pleadings and warnings by the persecuted prophets were the people petitioned to acknowledge the Most High for their own benefit, yet they were driven off, and it took a devastating drought and a rude display of power to get their attention.

Yah had already done so very much for the erring nation, yet they demanded a sign for their loyalties, and with infinite pity and loving condescension, the Father had consented to meet these people where they were. But let us not look down upon faltering Israel either, for their hardness of heart and disbelief. Let us not make the mistake of thinking ourselves better! Take a walk down any street in these dark days and you may be sure that some evidence of accepted sin will filter into your senses. The people demanded a show, and Yah, knowing that there was no other way than this base display, gave them just that.

Upon the renewed altar, repaired by twelve stones – one for each tribe of Israel: “Remember His marvelous works which He has done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth; O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen,” (Psalms 105:5) – upon this he lay the sacrifice. And, to show that no trickery was involved, that NO MAN may kindle the fires of Yah’s favor, he instructed the people to fill four barrels with water, and pour them over the offering and the wood under the altar. The bullock and that upon which it lay was fully drenched, and water ran off of it and filled the trenches which Elijah had dug there.

When the time of the evening sacrifice was fully come, the prophet prayed this simple request, with no leaping, or excitement of spirit, but with perfect love and trust, “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.” (1 Kings 18:37) Such amazing faith! Not that the Lord should turn the hearts of the people back again, but that “thou HAST” turned them back again. In unfaltering confidence, Elijah claimed victory for Yah, and went forward in faith, no sign having yet been given that his words were acceptable unto the Lord.

But then... in answer to this righteous man’s prayer, “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.” (verse 38) Can anything defeat the purposes of the Living God? We can be a part of the blessed work, or we can get out of the way, but His purposes will NOT be hindered. No stone barrier can withstand His glory, no dust can obscure His truth... no water can quench the fire that lives within us, His servants.

When the people saw this miracle, they fell on their faces. “Yah, Eloi; Yah, Eloi,” they said. “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God,” they confessed. Amusingly, they were saying Eli-Yah’s very name, but with the syllables reversed. And Elijah said unto them, “Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there. (1 Kings 18:40)

So dangerous is idolatry, so disastrous is loving something more than the principles of righteousness, that a seemingly stern example was to be made of the priests of Baal. And yet how many more would suffer and be eternally lost if their corrupting influence was allowed to remain within the borders inhabited by the chosen people? Oh, the extent to which we as a race have grieved our Loving Father! What weeping must fill the Heavenly courts whenever any such awful decision must be made for the good of the many... How much we have needed the blessed Redeemer to save us from ourselves!

And for the good of many it was, for the spell under which Jezebel’s witchcraft had held the Israelites was broken for a time, “and Elijah said unto Ahab, ‘Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain.’” (1 Kings 18:41) Again, the prophet looked with confidence for the end of the awful drought. Seven times was the king sent to search the sky for evidence of the fulfillment of the prophecy, and on the seventh, he saw a tiny white cloud.

But this tiny speck of evidence was a sign of great things to come. The smallest mercy is at times a doorway to the richest of Heaven’s blessings. Though the cloud was small, Elijah said to the erring king, “Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.” The king, humbled for the moment, heeded the words of the prophet and set off at once for home.

It was well he did, for a short time thereafter, “the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.” (1 Kings 18:45) It is raining now, my brother, my sister. The blessings of the Father are being poured out to us even this very day as was promised by the prophet Joel in chapter 2 and verse 28 of his book. Let us put away our reliance upon the false gods of this world, as if man’s works could please the Father, and let our works reflect our inward faith, the faith that overcomes the world and perfects us into the image of Him crucified.

Beat your swords into plowshares, the prophet petitions us, let Yah defend His own name. Do not use the might of the world to defend the might of Heaven. To do this is idolatry as truly as bowing to a golden calf. Rely upon the merits of Christ Yahshua ONLY, “and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 3:32)

David.

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