With me again to 1 Kings chapter 17, we want to continue where we left off this morning, at least part two of the same text. Our text will still be 17 verse 1, but I want to read the first seven verses of this chapter. You'll find that on page 555 of the Old Testament part of your Bible. 1 Kings 17. beginning to read at verse 1. Now, hear the word of God with me now. Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbi in Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives whom I serve, there will be neither dune or rain in the next few years except at my word. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kareth ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there. So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kareth ravine east of the Jordan and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook. The words of our text now are framed in verse 1 of chapter 17. Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead, we heard that this morning, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. May he add his blessing to the hearing, the reading, and the preaching of his word again this afternoon. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ gathered here in Willempoort with me this afternoon. Our text reads, and Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be no dune or rain these years except at my word." And with those few words, we are introduced again to the whole of Elijah. It's a remarkable introduction. The man seems as if he was dropped from heaven in the midst of an unbelieving Israel. We know nothing of his history. We're not told of his mother or his father. And just as with Melchizedek before him, he suddenly appears almost out of nowhere. And when the Lord calls him home, it was even more marvelous and mysterious. He left this earth by way of a flaming chariot. But although we know little of him, we do know that he stood with his God. We will learn that he was virtually the only the only 11 left in the lump that had become corrupt to the very core. The church of Elijah's day had become so corrupt that the Lord comes to execute judgment upon her by way of Elijah's ministry. The very first words of the ministry that is recorded for us is that he shuts up God's heavens. Imagine that. Imagine that. A man no different from you or me, shutting off God's heavens. He had no strength in himself. His strength was in the Lord God. Great deeds would come from his hands, but only because he was commissioned with divine authority and divine power. We will learn that though a man like us, because of the apostasy of God's people in Israel, God gives to Elijah power to open and to shut the heavens, and he has the power to bid the dead to rise. Now from the little that we know of Elijah, it becomes obvious that Elijah's greatness was not due to his high birth or his station in life. He was born, as we see from the text, he was born among the mountains of Gilead on the other side of the Jordan, a region which, though famous for its plants and spices, was mostly inhabited by idolaters and pagan Amorites. Elijah would have been surrounded by pagans in his birthplace. Tishbe was only an obscure village in the mountains, and the prophet and his child who would not have known much of schools of academic learning and he would certainly not have known of such things as schools of theology. He would not have heard of such a thing as a seminary and yet once again we see that it has been the way of God in all ages to take those whom God himself chooses and he himself equips them so that through them he accomplishes his purposes even when his choice of men doesn't comport with what we think are men of proper qualifications. Had we made the choice, I don't think Elijah would have been our choice. And so it was that God prepared, in obscure pagan Gilead, God prepares a man, a man who would be used by God to restore the health of apostate Israel. And there in that den of murderers, there in that country of the Amorites, God raises up a man from Tishbe whom he would use to single-handedly execute judgment upon mighty kings and who in the power of the Lord God would destroy the pagan priests of Baal. I want to administer God's word to you this afternoon using as my theme Elijah the Tishbite, simply Elijah the Tishbite. We want to examine God's reason for raising up Elijah. We want to see the reason for Elijah's concern. And then we want to see the reason for Elijah's courage. So Elijah the Tishbite, and I remind you there will probably be some overlap from this morning, but Elijah the Tishbite, we want to examine God's reason for raising up Elijah. We want to see the reason for Elijah's concern. And then we want to see the reason for Elijah's courage. Elijah appeared on the stage during one of the darkest hours of Israel's history. He's introduced to us at the beginning of 1 Kings 17 and we have to read through the previous chapters to discover what a deplorable state God's people were in then in Israel. Israel had grievously departed from the Lord. Pagan gods were being worshipped in Israel and the godlessness of Israel at that time was unprecedented. Never before had the favored nation of God's own people sunk so low. Fifty-eight years had passed since the kingdom had been torn in two following the death of Solomon. And during that brief period, no less than seven kings had reigned over the ten tribes. And all of them, without exception, were wicked men. And now it was in the midst of that spiritual darkness and apostasy that there appears on the stage, with dramatic suddenness, a solitary, striking witness to God. His name was Elijah. One of my commentaries on my shelf in my library observed in this context that the most illustrious prophet Elijah, the most illustrious prophet Elijah was raised up in the reign of the most wicked of all the kings of Israel. Now, that king, of course, that most wicked king of all was, of course, was Ahab. Under the leadership of Ahab and his wife Jezebel, every spiritual light had been extinguished in Every voice of divine testimony had been silenced in Israel. God's word was no longer tolerated, much less heard in Israel. Spiritual death was rampant, and it looked as though Satan had indeed obtained the victory. And then suddenly we read, and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain these years except at my word. Apparently, God, with a powerful hand, now intervened in this apostasy and raised up a powerful witness for himself. And people, God, through the eyes of our faith, we are called to see the antithesis in this striking narrative. You know what I mean, the antithesis. Antithesis is a word, it is a truth and a concept all but lost among us. You remember, don't you, there in paradise, immediately after the fall, And God said, I will put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. That's what we need to see here. We need to see the forces that are at war here. We need to see that it is spiritual warfare. In Elijah and in Ahab, we are to see the church and the world, the spirit from above and the beasts from hell are locked in combat. A great spiritual battle was being waged here between light and darkness. The name of Ahab and Jezebel have an ominous sound to those who are familiar with Old Testament history. In their wickedness, they went beyond any other king who had ruled Israel before them. So wicked were these two devils, Ahab and Jezebel, that according to Revelation 2.20, even in the time of the New Testament church, the name Jezebel was reserved for those who wished to eradicate the people of the Lord and entice His church away from the service of the Lord through idolatry or godless living. Jezebel's name would forever be associated with all that was evil, while by contrast the name Elijah makes us think of a shining witness to the power of God's love and majesty Light and darkness, people of God. Light and darkness. Ahab and Jezebel and Satan lining up against Elijah and the Lord. And my dear people of God, the amount of space that the Spirit of the Lord devotes to this history of Ahab and his descendants is a clear indication for us that those few years were significant in the history of redemption. The time of Ahab and his sons was a time of great importance and significance in the life of God's people. In temporal terms, it was only a short period, not much more than maybe 30 years. But the description of those few years takes up about one third of all the first and second kings. And that already should show us that the operation of God's word during the days of Ahab's dynasty was of special importance And it is that significance that we need to capture if we want to properly understand and interpret God's dealings with his covenant people then and now. People, capture this with me now for it is critical that we understand that in Ahab's days, there was an important turn in the life of God's covenant people. There was an important turn in the life of God's covenant people, and it was that turn that led to the exile and the destruction of Israel as a nation. And it is important that we understand that. You see, 2 Kings begins with the glorious reign of Solomon. 1 Kings begins with the glorious reign of Solomon and shows us something of the splendor and the greatness of David's dynasty. But at the end of Second Kings, after the 14 generations of kings in David's line, as we read about them in Matthew 1, and I hope to expound on that series for you in the month of December in our Christmas series, but we read the sorry story there in Matthew 1 of the overthrow of this once glorious dynasty which leads to the exile of the nation in Babylon. According to the word of God, but according to the word of the Israel's prophets from Hosea onward, the people of Israel and the ruler would inevitably receive the punishment they deserve for their sins of forsaking the Lord and serving other gods. Time and time and time again, Israel had been warned of the consequences that awaited them if they continued in the idolatry. And now at this time in church history, their chickens were coming home to roost. God promised to bless their faithfulness, but He also promised to punish their unfaithfulness. And that's precisely what happened. The prophecies were accurately fulfilled. Because of their sin, the Lord allowed Israel to fall into the hands of their enemies. And understand this with me now. The point at which Israel deliberately and consciously turned away from their Lord to serve other gods, was under and during the reign of Ahab. I want to repeat that. The point at which Israel deliberately and consciously turned away from their Lord to serve other gods was under and during the reign of Ahab. It was through Ahab's leadership that the decisive turn took place. Before Ahab's time, there was the glory of David and Solomon. And after his time came the dark night of apostasy and finally exile and the destruction of Israel as an independent nation. Ahab did not just happen to come along at a key junction in Israel's history, no. Ahab is important. Ahab is important because Ahab led the nation to the fork in the road and Ahab forced them to take the path of destruction. Oh, indeed, Israel's national religious life was already on the wrong track, but Ahab made matters so much, much worse, and Ahab's apostasy and his alliance with the pagan Jezebel led the charge to destruction for Israel. Ahab's sinful ways took deep root in Judah and Jerusalem, and its consequences could no longer be avoided. However, eagerly pious kings like Hezekiah and Josiah may have tried to bring about reformation, the unholy fires of idolatry flared up again and again and again, and eventually the sinful principle planted so firmly by Ahab managed to again gain control. And then the judgment that had been preached for so long by the prophets of God could no longer be avoided." So what we need to fix firmly in our minds here now, people of God, Ahab's time is of great importance, not only because there was a principal turn on Israel's part, but even more so we need to see that the Lord God, mindful of His covenant, intervened in the life of His people and opposed the sinful forces by raising up His prophet Elijah. You see, God did not simply abandon Israel. No, no. In love. In love. Through mighty deeds, the Lord made his presence felt in order to preserve, in order to protect his redemptive work and to call them to repentance. And it is now in that light that we want to see Elijah appearing on the scene to announce the Lord's dispute with his people by way of this drought. In that context, we read in our text, as the Lord God lives before whom I stand, There will be no rain or dew except at my command." People got nothing as recorded of Elijah's parentage or his history. We don't even know to which tribe he belonged. Though the fact that he was of the inhabitants of Gilead makes it likely that he belonged to either the tribe of Gad or Manasseh for Gilead was divided between them. Gilead lay east of the Jordan. It was wild and rugged and barren country. And the fact that we are told Elijah was of the inhabitants of Gilead is no doubt intended to give us some insight upon his natural training, which would have so powerfully influenced the forming of his character. For you see, the people of those hills there in Tishbe, they reflected the nature of their environment. They were products of their environment, or if you will, The people of Tishbe, in other words, they were as their land. They were a rough and a rugged people. They were solemn and stern, dwelling in crude villages and subsisting by keeping sheep. In other words, if we could have been there, if we would have seen this man from the region of Tishbe, we would have immediately noticed that he was not a well-dressed, refined academic having just graduated from seminary. No, no, no. Elijah, this man of God, was a man of the land in which he lived and in which he was raised. And so consequently, he was hardened by an open air life. He was dressed in a cloak of camel's hair. He would be accustomed to spending most of his time in loneliness, tending his sheep, being possessed of sinewy strength, which enabled him to endure great physical strain. Elijah, my people of God, would have stuck out like a sore thumb there in Palestine. Elijah's appearance presented a marked contrast with the city dwellers as he marched into Ahab's presence. He would have been clearly distinguished from the pampered princes of the palace of Ahab. What a picture, what a picture that scene must have been. What an obvious contrast between light and darkness that must have represented. And now follow with me carefully for there is another great truth encompassed in this narrative. which we need to develop for a moment. You see, although we have no information about his religious training, there is one sentence in a later chapter which enables us to form a definite idea of the spiritual nature and caliber of this man. In 1 Kings 19, verse 10, we read that Elijah, or we hear Elijah saying, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts." And we hear Elijah saying that in those few words speak volumes to us about the spiritual condition of Elijah. For those words can mean nothing other than that the glory and the honor of the Lord God was Elijah's first and foremost concern. Elijah says, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. And therefore, we know that the glory and the honor of God was his first concern. More than anything else, Elijah was determined to defend God's honor among the apostate Israelites. Well, then, knowing that about him, Elijah must have been deeply grieved. He must have been deeply grieved and filled with holy indignation as he became more and more aware of the wide extent of Israel's apostasy. Being zealous for the Lord God, Elijah must have been thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures, especially the first five books of the Old Testament, and knowing from Scripture how much the Lord had done for Israel, knowing the favors that God had bestowed upon Israel, Elijah must have yearned with deep desire that Israel should please and glorify God in thanksgiving. But when he learned that Israel openly mocked the Lord God, as word reached him of how Ahab had allowed his wife Jezebel to throw down God's altars, When in Gilead he had heard how Jezebel had slain God's servants and replaced them with the idolatrous pagan priests, the bell-worshippers, his soul must have been filled with horror and his blood would have been made to boil with indignation because, you see, he was jealous for the Lord God. But what could he do? He was only an uncultured, uneducated, unlearned child of the desert. The more he thought about it, the more difficult the situation must have seemed to him. And no doubt Satan would have whispered in his ear, you can do nothing, man. Conditions are hopeless, man. Forget it. Who do you think you are? Israel has slidden so far. There is nothing anyone can do. What do you think you can do? Who do you think you are against this dynasty of Ahab? But there's one thing he could do. He could pray. And pray he did. As James 5.17 tells us, he prayed earnestly. He prayed because he realized that God is Almighty, and that with God all things are possible. He prayed because he felt his own weakness and his insufficiency, and therefore he turned to the One who is Almighty, Sovereign, and Majestic, He goes to God in prayer. But in order for prayer to be effectual prayer, in order for prayer to be pleasing to the Lord, acceptable by Him, and effectual, it must be grounded on the Word of God. For as we read in Hebrews 11, without faith it is impossible to please God. In other words, without faith it is even impossible to please God. In other words, without faith, even our prayers Without faith, even our prayers are an abomination to the Lord. And now follow closely with me. For as we have said, Elijah would have been familiar with the Old Testament Scripture, and he would have known especially the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. And consequently, Elijah would have known well the text in Deuteronomy 2, verses 16 and 17, where God had explicitly said to Israel, take heed to yourselves. lest your hearts be deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord God's anger be roused against you and, listen carefully, and he shut up the heavens that there be no rain and that the land yield no produce." Did you hear that? Did you catch that? If I was to paraphrase that just a little bit, God had said to Israel, if you turn aside to other gods, I will withhold the rain and bring a drought upon you. That was exactly the crime of which Israel was now guilty. They had turned aside to worship false gods. And God had warned and warned and warned them, but they would not hear. They only transgressed even farther. And God had promised, if they were to do that, that God would shut up the heavens. Well, now suppose then for a moment, people of God, suppose then that God would not have executed judgment. Suppose God were to ignore or forget His promise of drought, would God's Word then not become suspect? If God would not have kept His Word, His promise, would God's cause then not be held up for ridicule? If God had spoken and not carried out His Word, would He then not cease to be God? And now remember, Elijah was very jealous for the Lord God. and motivated by his desire to see God's holy name glorified. We are told in James 5 that he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Elijah prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Elijah did not yet know the Lord's Prayer, people of God, but he certainly knew the principles of prayer. Because Elijah here prayed, Father, Father, may Thy will be done. Oh, my dear precious people, God, capture what's happening here. In essence, Elijah prayed, Father, may Thy will be done. What was God's will? Elijah knew the will of the Lord, and because Elijah knew the Scriptures, and Elijah knew that according to Scripture, God's will was that if Israel were to run after other gods, that God would punish them with drought. And so Elijah prayed, Father, may Thy will be done. Father, close up the heavens and glorify Your name. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain. People of God, imagine that. Imagine that if you can. Elijah prayed and he prayed earnestly that his own people, his brothers and sisters in his own congregation, his own family in the church family would be subjected to drought and poverty, hunger and death. We would almost be inclined to say, and some people do, what a horrible prayer. But think with me. Was it not far more terrible that the favored descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would despise and turn away from the Lord God and blatantly insult Him by worshiping Baal? Did they think that God would ignore their sin and would ignore His Word? Did they think that God would allow his commandments to be ignored and set aside? What were men and women to think of God if God were to ignore their open defiance of himself? People of God, it was those principles that formulated Elijah's prayer. My dear saints of God, in Ecclesiastes 8 we read, because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." In other words, just as any parent can tell you, if sinful conduct, if disobedience is not swiftly dealt with, the perpetrator will continue to sin and become even more sinful. And so, in order that God would be glorified, in order to curb sin in Israel, Elijah prayed that God would show his honor and majesty by punishing the apostate church. My dear people, God, there is something far more dreadful than physical calamity and suffering. We watched, for instance, as the Florida shores were devastated by the Hurricane Michael and as horrible as that destruction was, there is something far more dreadful than, and that is moral delinquency and spiritual apostasy. And tragically, that is so little understood in the days and in the nation in which we live. The papers are full of crimes against humanity, but what are they in comparison with the sins against God in our land? You don't read about that. The news broadcasts are replete with news about the economy, But what is even, if it were the case, what is even a national economic crisis in comparison with the loss of God's favor? We don't read about that. Our television shows us the destruction wreaked by tsunamis and hurricanes and earthquakes. But what are they when God begins to shake the earth in judgment? But we don't hear about that. Oh, Elijah had a true sense of values. He was very jealous for the Lord God and therefore he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Desperate times called for desperate measures. And so Elijah there in the mountains of Tishbe, he prayed as he did. And so the Lord gave him wisdom to know that his petition was granted and that he must go and confront the wicked Ahab. Whatever danger the prophet might personally incur, both the king and his subjects would learn. the direct connection between the terrible drought and their own sin. To that end, to teach Ahab of that biblical truth, to teach Ahab that spiritual apostasy brought with it catastrophic consequences, Elijah marches to the palace. Might have your God capture this well with me. We can readily imagine that the task which now confronted Elijah was no ordinary one and it would have been an understatement to say that Elijah's commission called for more than ordinary courage. For an uneducated man of the hills to appear uninvited before a powerful king who defied heaven and earth, that alone would have been sufficient to unsettle even the bravest of men, all the more so since it was known that the wicked Queen Jezebel was known to murder any and all who opposed her. She had already put many of God's servants to death, so what were the chances that this man, this man from Gilead, this man would escape with his life? But as we read in Proverbs 28, the righteous are bold as a lion. The righteous are bold as a lion. And in Psalm 3, they who are right with God are neither daunted by difficulties nor dismayed by dangers. for though an army would encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid." And in that conference, the righteous Elijah sets out for the palace of Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah leaves his home in Gilead to come and to deliver to Ahab his message of judgment. He sets off towards the palace to pronounce God's judgment upon the apostasy of the house of Israel, beginning with its wicked leaders in the palace. Then finally, what was the secret of his remarkable courage? How are we to account for his strength? After all, the New Testament expressly informs us that he was a man subject to like passions as we are. According to the Bible, he was just an ordinary man, a man no different from ourselves. Yes, indeed, he was but a man. Nevertheless, he trembled not in the presence of Ahab, Though a man, he had the power to close heaven's windows and to dry up the earth's streams. But the question remains, how are we to account for the conviction with which he predicted the drought? And how do we explain his confidence that it would happen in accordance with his word? How was it now that one so weak in himself became so mighty that he pulled down the strongholds of a pagan world? Well, I think we can identify a threefold reason as to the secret of Elijah's strength. First, he was a man of prayer. James tells us Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. People have to note well with me that the prophet did not begin his prayers after his appearance to Ahab, but already six months before. In other words then, Elijah had received strength and confidence in the presence of Ahab because he had first of all already spent at least six months in the presence of God in prayer for this occasion. Second, his knowledge of God would have been a great source of courage and comfort and inspiration for Elijah. And that is also suggested in his words to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel lives. Apparently God was for him a living reality. He was not some vague entity out there someplace. No, he was very real for him. All around him, God was no longer recognized in Palestine. And as far as outward appearances went, there was not a soul in Israel who still believed in his existence. Does it sound familiar? But Elijah was not swayed by public opinion and by public practice. To Elijah, God was real. And that too explains Elijah's courage. And then third and finally, his consciousness of the divine presence would have assured Isaiah of success. As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, Elijah was not only assured of the reality of the Lord's existence, But he was conscious of standing, or if you will, he was conscious of being in the presence of the Lord God. Though appearing before the person of Ahab, the prophet knew he was in the presence of a king infinitely greater than any earthly king. Or he knew himself, Elijah knew himself to be in the presence of the King of Kings, even there in the palace of Ahab. And such assurance, people of God, gives the child of God strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. May it be so for each of us. We too, we live in a very pagan world, surrounded by idolaters. We too live among even so-called Christians who would seek to lead us away from God and His Word. May it be that we too would be jealous and zealous for the truth. And may we speak it boldly as we too confront the Ahabs and the Jezebels of our day, remembering always what Elijah did, namely that if the Lord is with us, who can be against us? If the Lord is with us, of whom shall we be afraid? Amen. Shall we pray? No longer, Lord, do Thou despise me, nor in Thy wrath chide me. Thy mercy I implore. How long thine anger cherish. Consumed thereby I perish. My soul is troubled sore. The Lord my God will ever hear me. And when I pray will be near me to put my foes to shame. Turn back no more to grieve me. They suddenly shall leave me. All glory to his name. Amen.