Our text, as I mentioned, is from 1 Kings chapter 17 and verse 1. This morning we want to begin a mini-series of messages on Elijah and perhaps stretching to Elisha. Most of you will know that we'll be considering the discouragement and deliverance of Elijah during our church camp in December. That is based on 1 Kings chapter 19. Today we are looking at the first verse of 1 Kings 17. So from the looks of it, we will not be able to get to the immediate background of 1 Kings 19 before the camp. But not to worry, God willing, we will have an opportunity to bring ourselves up to speed with the opening address at the camp. If not, Pastor Stewart will no doubt give an adequate background during his addresses. Furthermore, if you have studied or heard or read messages on Elijah, you will quickly realize that you can start anywhere in the life of Elijah and find many edifying lessons. I say this so that we may not be too distressed by the fact that though this series is related to what we'll consider in the camp, it is not so fitting in a way they do not fit in as smoothly as we would like them to. But in any case, we want to do three things this morning. First, we want to consider the times of Elijah. Secondly, we want to consider how ordinary Elijah was. Thirdly, we want to consider how extraordinary he was. First then, consider the times of Elijah. Elijah lived around 900 to 850 BC. It would be another 850 years before the Lord Jesus Christ was born. A century earlier, King David had come on the throne. He was not the first king, nor was he perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart, and so he became the gold standard against whom all other kings in God's kingdom were measured. David's son, Solomon, was wise and powerful. Under his reign, many building projects, including the temple and the palaces, were undertaken. The kingdom of Israel was at the height of her glory. But Solomon was led astray by his many, many idolatrous wives and concubines. Soon, idolatry flooded the land. Solomon thought that he was loving his wives and so doing what they like to do, letting them worship according to the gods that they worship. But that was a foolish decision. Idolatry flooded the land so that Israel became the most idolatrous place in the whole region. Because in other regions, they have hidden it, Hinnodistic gods, that's gods of the land. They observe their own gods. But Israel, everything crowded in. God was greatly displeased and was determined to chastise the nation for Solomon's sin. There was a mighty man by the name of Jeroboam. Solomon saw how well he did his work and decided to appoint him over the entire workforce of Israelites from the northern tribes. They were engaging in the building projects of Solomon. But after Solomon died, his son Rehoboam came on the throne. You read that in 1 Kings 12. Now you must not confuse Rehoboam with Jeroboam. Rehoboam is the son. Jeroboam is the leader of the workforce in the north. Rehoboam was far from being wise, unlike Solomon. Jeroboam, the leader in the north, came to Rehoboam to ask if he could lighten the workload of the men he represented. The wise men who served Solomon advised Rehoboam that he should accede to their requests so as to maintain unity and peace. But the young men who grew up with Rehoboam suggested to him instead that he should show them who is the boss. For daring even to ask for a lighter burden, they should have their loot increased and punished much more severely when they fail, they insisted. Foolishly, Jeroboam decided to listen to their stupid jabber. As a result, Jeroboam, as prophesied by the prophet Ahijah, led the 10 northern tribes of Israel to rebel against Jeroboam and to break away from him. From then on, God's kingdom was split into two. In the north were ten tribes. They were known as the Kingdom of Israel. In the south were two tribes. They were known as Judah, the Kingdom of Judah. The two tribes are Judah and Benjamin, but Benjamin is smaller, so the south is known as Judah. Now Jeroboam, being an astute politician, knew that if he were to maintain the independence of the Northern Kingdom, he could not afford to have his people come down to Jerusalem three times a year to worship in the temple at Jerusalem. So he devised a plan. He built two shrines, one in the northern part of the kingdom in Dan, just above the Sea of Galilee, the other in Bethel, in the southernmost part of the kingdom, about 30 kilometers north of Jerusalem. He installed a golden calf in each of these two shrines. And he told the people that that golden calf represented Jehovah. They no longer needed to go down to Jerusalem to worship Him. They could worship Him in den or in battle. And they even had an image to look at when they worshiped Him, unlike in Jerusalem where there's no images. At this time, most of the Levites who were faithful to Jehovah left the northern kingdom for Judah. Jeroboam couldn't care less. He appointed the lowest of the people to serve as priests in the two shrines he installed. The Northern Kingdom did not completely renounce Jehovah, but they refused to worship him in the way that he had appointed. All the kings in the North followed Jeroboam to require the people to worship Jehovah through the golden calves. This became known as the sin of Jeroboam. Every king in the north departed not from the sin of Jeroboam. That is, their most righteous act of worship in the north was to worship Jehovah according to the way that Jeroboam appointed, using golden calf. After Jeroboam died, his son Nadab took over as king. He did not depart from the sin of his father. Then Baasha conspired against him and became king. He exterminated Jeroboam's dynasty, but did not depart from his sin. When Baasha died, his son Ila reigned in his stead. And again, he did not depart from the sin of Jeroboam. Then Zimri conspired against him and reigned for seven days. Then Omri came on the throne. And Omri continued the sin of Jeroboam, only worse. In fact, we are told in verse 25 of chapter 16, that Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all that were before him. When Omri died, his son Ahab came on the throne. Now we have arrived at around 870 BC. All the kings in the north since Jeroboam were very wicked, but none was as wicked as Ahab. We read about Omri doing worse than all the kings before, but now we read in verse 33, in chapter 16, Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. and as if the sin of the golden calf worship was not wicked enough, Ahab took to wife the bloodthirsty daughter of the Sidonian king, Esbaal, Zidon, the kingdom of the Phoenicians, right up north from Carmel, towards the coast, up by the Mediterranean Sea. Those days, they were a very powerful people. Capital was entire. just north of the land of Israel. Ahab must have thought that it would strengthen his kingdom to marry the daughter of the Sidonian king and form an alliance with him, a political alliance. But the Sidonians were worshipers of Baal, the pagan idol associated with harvest, with weather and fertility. And the daughter of the Zenodian king, Jezebel, is a very evil woman, who is also particularly an ardent worshipper of Baal, and an associated goddess known as Asherah, or Astereth. Astereth was worshipped using grooves. Grooves are tree trunks that is carved at the top into an image that look like that goddess. From all accounts, the worship of these two deities involved not only abominable immorality, but unspeakable violence, including child sacrifice. Because of Ahab and Jezebel, Israel is being flooded with gross idolatry. It was already bad enough in the days of Solomon, but now it has become worse. Worse than ever, on every hill there is a high place dedicated to Baal and Asherah, and some sordid ritual is conducted regularly. Samaria became the religious center of the north, like Jerusalem was the religious center in the south, only that Samaria was the center of idolatry of the most egregious sort. Jezebel even employed 400 prophets of Ezra out of her own pocket. She's determined to steer the kingdom of Israel in the way of wicked idolatry, and her husband, that spineless man, was happy to go along with what she was doing. Under the reign of Ahab, the kingdom of Israel became apostate. As a whole, she ceased to live according to the principles of God's Word and instead became a cruel, immoral, wicked, Jehovah-hating country. Anyone who still worshipped Jehovah was put to death or driven underground. It is into such a time that Elijah was born. Elijah would shine as a bright light in these dark days. So bright was his testimony that years later, when the Lord Jesus was doing extraordinary work in the land of Israel, many people thought that he was Elijah, that Elijah has come back. Elijah was regarded as the greatest of the prophets. So great that when the Lord was on the cross and he cried, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabatani, they thought he was crying. unto Elijah. Elijah was truly a brilliant light in the darkness of the kingdom of Israel. God does not leave his people in darkness. Wherever his people are, he will send light. He may let darkness descend for a season, but by and by he will raise a light for the glory of his name. Thus, the rallying cry of the 16th century Protestant reformers post-Tenebrous looks. after darkness, light. The darkness that God's people experience, we must remember, is always like that of an eclipse rather than a snuffing out of all lights. No, no, the lights of God, the lights that God sends in His land are always reflected light. When darkness descends, it is not because the lights are snuffed out, But because the sun of righteousness is eclipse, but the eclipse lasts only a little while, soon the darkness will be lifted. Elijah was sent at a time of darkness to serve as a reflector for a season. He was being prepared to be a light, a reflector, so that as the sun of righteousness begin to peek out of those dark clouds, he reflects that light and shines forth in the land. Oh, will the Lord, will not the Lord raise some in our midst for this same purpose? Will you, beloved brothers and children, beloved sisters, be that reflector to reflect in the darkness that will come upon our land? But you say, but I'm not like Elijah. Well, you are every bit like Elijah. For consider now the ordinariness of Elijah. Elijah, who is he? What kind of person is he? Well, he's a Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, as we read in verse one. This epithet has puzzled commentators all through the centuries. Who is a Tishbite? A Tishbite could refer to one who is born in Tishbe, So our sister Sugi is a Sri Lankan, though she is a Singaporean citizen and now staying in the States. On the other hand, a Tishpai could refer to someone who has taken up residence in Tish Bay. So my brother Andrew is an Australian, but he was not born there. To make matters worse, Tishbe is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. No one knows where it is. Something that has a different meaning, that we must consider the meaning of it. It could mean settler or inhabitant. Or it could be a place. Well, if it is a place, it is unknown. We don't know where, but probably in Gilid. Where is Gilid? Well, Gilid is a mountainous region, a windswept, forsaken wilderness of a place. just towards the southeast of the Sea of Galilee. So if you imagine in your mind, or you can look at a map that's drawn there, so the Sea of Galilee is right at the top, the River Jordan runs down, and the Dead Sea is at the bottom. To the east of the River Jordan is Transjordan. The northern part of Transjordan, just southwest of the Sea of Galilee, is where Galit is. It's a wilderness, rugged place, not known for anything special. In fact, it is like Galilee in the New Testament, a place where only the poor and forsaken people live. It's a place despised by the rich and cultured, just like Galilee was despised during the days of the Lord. It's a place where those who are exiled for some reason are sent. Elijah grew up in this rather isolated place where he no doubt spent much of his time in the wilderness looking after cattle and sheep. He was an ordinary boy growing up in a relatively unknown and insignificant place. James, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, specifically highlights that he was a man subject to like passion as we are, as in James 5. Now if you read what James is saying in the context, you will see that he is specifically wanting us to take note of Elijah's ordinariness. He is like one of us. He's not of royal blood. He's not from a special family. He did not carry any supernatural genes or ability. He's not even amongst the privileged people who grew up in the capital of the cities of the days like Jerusalem or Bethel or Samaria. He did not receive a special education. We may say that it's even more ordinary than most of us. Is it not true that most of us are amongst the richest and most privileged people in the world? You just need to travel around a little, the poorer countries, and you realize that this is so. One time I was in Malawi and was asked, what would you like for breakfast? And I said, I'm easy. Anything simple will do. Bread will be good. My host was a little amused. Look at me and say, bread? We can't get bread here. Only in the cities. Don't you eat bread? I ask. Well, sometimes, but usually only the rich people will eat bread. I was suddenly quite embarrassed. Then I realized just how privileged and spoiled I had been. Elijah, that great prophet, stood amongst His people of the land, and stood almost on par with Moses, was an ordinary man. He was an ordinary man amongst the common people in Israel. And as we will see during the church conference and later in our series, he's quite a timid man. He seemed quite easily frightened and discouraged, and even suicidal. I don't know if his parents even had the faintest idea that one day he would be somebody great. But they were obviously God-fearing, for they named him Elijah. Elijah, what a beautiful name. It means Jehovah is my God. His parents no doubt felt keenly the troublous times that they dwelt in. Jehovah is the living and true God, and he brought Israel out of Egypt almost 750 years ago, but the Lord has changed since then. While the temple has been established in Jerusalem, God's people in the north have steadily drifted away from Him. Initially, they worshiped him using golden calves and other ways not appointed by him. But with Omri and Ahab, the nation has essentially apostatized. Instead of serving Jehovah, the people were pursuing after Baal and practicing all sorts of deplorable, idolatry, and living superstitiously and immorally. Elijah's parents wanted him never to forget that Jehovah is his God. He must live for Jehovah. He must worship and serve Jehovah. He must believe in and hope in him. They must have taught him and trained him from young to know God's word and to seek him in prayer and to look forward to the coming of the Messiah. Elijah, in other words, grew up as an ordinary covenant child. But he was destined for greatness. Parents, you don't know what the future will hold for your children. Who knows if the Lord will call them to be like Elijah, to serve him as a bright star, or if you like, a bright reflector in the dark and wicked world that they will grow up in. The way you bring them up and the principles you ingrain in them will make a great difference, as it no doubt did with Elijah. Some of you may be thinking, this passage says nothing about the parents. Who named the child? Some commentators will say, well, Elijah, this name says a lot about him. Well, it says a lot about him, retrospect. But it says more about his parents, doesn't it? Because they were the ones who named him. So don't name your children Jezebel, for example, or his derivative. But it's not just the name that matters. It is how you bring up the child. Young people, don't despise the day of small things. Who knows what the Lord has in store for you? Who knows if you too will become extraordinary like Elijah? Consider then the extraordinariness of Elijah. It seems quite contradictory to say that Elijah is ordinary and then to say that he's extraordinary. But it's not, because all you need to become extraordinary is to add the extra to the ordinary. Then you stand out. By the way, the days of Ahab and Jezebel, in those days, Elijah was already extraordinary. Why? Because he dared to bear his name. Remember that Jezebel really hated Jehovah worship. She slew all the prophets of Jehovah that she could capture. No doubt she would kill or torment anyone who dared to say publicly that Jehovah is God. Elijah is, as it were, wearing a sign that says, shoot me. Everywhere he went, he carried that unashamed of his name, unashamed of Jehovah. Now we are not in a situation presently where Christianity is hated and persecuted, not that much in our land yet, but if it comes to that, will you still be willing to testify that you are a follower of Christ openly? If you will, you too will be an extraordinary witness for the Lord. But Elijah was not just extraordinary by name, he was so by faith. We read in our text, and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, 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. This confrontation with Ahab is remarkable in itself. We'll talk about it in a moment. But for now, we need to talk about how Elijah came to confront Ahab. Why is he so confident that it will not rain and there will be no dew in the land until he gives his word? Notice how the text does not say, until God gives his word, but according to my word. That's Elijah's word. How can he be so sure? Well, thankfully, we are not left to guess or speculate. The answer is actually given by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Well, turn now to James and chapter five. James, chapter five. Hebrews James James 5. And look at verse 17. Now here in your Bible it says Elias, but Elias is a Greek transliteration. Elias is essentially Elijah. So Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not in the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. In other words, the drought that Elijah announced to Ahab was a result of his prayers. Elijah was not merely making a prophecy to Ahab. He was telling him about answer to his prayer. How did Elijah, an ordinary man of like passion as we are, find such confidence that God will indeed answer his prayer? Well, I believe the answer is found also in the Scripture. Elijah, no doubt, knew the Word of God from very young. He knew it well. As a God-fearing Israelite, Elijah's father would have taught him God's Word carefully. Now, turn to the Old Testament, to Deuteronomy 11. Deuteronomy, fifth book in the Bible. In Deuteronomy 11, and look at verse 18. Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them, your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down and when thou risest up. Notice these words in verse 18. Lay out these words. But the question is, what are these words? Well, everything before. But look at the two verses just before, verse 16. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them. And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit, unless ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. Elijah grew up in an environment where idolatry was sweeping across the land rapidly. It had become common. One day, as Elijah witnessed the Israelites engaging in gross and wicked idolatry, the Spirit of the Lord brings to mind the words that he has been taught. Words which he had memorised from young. That's what it means by buying them on your hand. It's frontless in your eyes. Memorise them. He had memorised these things. And he remembered what the Lord had threatened. God has said that when His people turn away from Him to serve other gods, He will shut up the heavens against them. Elijah was deeply grieved in his heart that the people had turned away from Jehovah. So he begins to pray. He's convinced that the solution to idolatry in the land can only come through God's intervention. So he prays earnestly, according to the threat of God's word, that he will indeed withhold the rain. for the people has indeed turned away from him. He understands that God's promises and threats are often carried out only when God's people pray according to what God has said he will do. He knows that when he prays according to God's will, he will have what he desired of the Lord. So he prays, God gives him a firm conviction as he prays that he will indeed withhold the rain from the nation according to his plea. But now he must go and confront Ahab to tell him that the drought that is to come is not a coincidence, but a judgment of God against the idolatry in the land, that he and his evil wife were guilty of bringing about idolatry in the land. So the moment arrived for Elijah to confront Ahab. Where it occurred, we don't know. Were they in Jezreel, in Samaria? Was Ahab on a hunting trip near Gilead? We don't know. Perhaps the Lord, by spirit, revealed to Elijah where Ahab would be, and he goes to look for him. Just imagine what was in his heart as he's thinking of the message that he's going to bring, as he walks those green luster of pasture, and everything is nice and beautiful. And there he's going to bring a message of doom. But now standing before Ahab. Can you imagine the scene? Elijah is wearing a cloak of hairy camel hair, or hairy camel skin, rather. So he has a leather girder wrapping that. Our translation speaks of him as a hairy man, but I don't think he looks like Orang Utang. Most likely it's camel's hair, right? So there he is, and the king of Israel is in front of him. How is he dressed? Even if he's hunting, he'll be dressed with some splendor. and Ahab no doubt looking at Elijah with some disgust in his eyes. I wonder if Elijah did not feel a little terrified, intimidated. After all, Ahab is known to hate those who serve Jehovah, especially the prophets. Whatever trepidation Elijah may have been surprising in his heart, he does not show it. He wastes no time with pleasantries. 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, he says. Now notice how Elijah is making an oath. Notice also the words he used to introduce his oath. As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, Packed into this phrase are four important thoughts. First, Jehovah is God, not Baal or anything else. Secondly, Jehovah is the God of Israel. He redeemed Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and Israel has covenanted to be his people. Thirdly, Jehovah lives despite Ahab and Jezebel's attempt to blot his name out of Israel. He cannot be destroyed, for he is the living and true God, unlike the dumb idols that they have introduced throughout the land. But fourthly, Jehovah is omnipresent and his presence is even more real to Elijah than that of Ahab. Now this last point is striking, isn't it? Elijah is standing before Ahab, the tyrannical king of Israel, who could by a single flick of his finger command him to be executed on the spot, but Elijah tells him, I'm standing before Jehovah, God of Israel, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and I have a message for you, Ahab, whose power and very presence is utterly dependent on him. I wonder if Ahab caught the full significance of what Elijah is saying. But even if he did not, he could not miss the announcement that Elijah made. There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Elijah is not only pronouncing judgment on the land for Ahab's sin, but declaring that the implementation of judgment has been committed to him, a mere man in camel skin. Don't know how Ahab reacted. We are not told. But we can imagine him pouting and angry. How dare this scruffiness of a man stand in my presence, not only fail to acknowledge me, but rudely declare judgment against me. Ahab was about to learn a powerful lesson that nothing good will come of anyone who stands in stubborn opposition against Jehovah. This will become clear as our story proceeds. Elijah was an ordinary man and remains ordinary in many ways. But what an extraordinary person he has become because of the word of God and the spirit of Christ in him. Yes, though we have not mentioned Christ explicitly, he is in everything we have spoken thus far. We can never isolate Christ from Jehovah, for Christ is Jehovah. One may argue that Christ is really the second person of Jehovah who took on human nature, for Jehovah is God triune. And that's true. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one God, same in substance, equal in power and glory. But Christ indeed is Jehovah, for in him the fullness of the Godhead dwells. But more specifically, the prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah included, could do what they did only because of the Word of God indwelling them. The Apostle Peter makes this clear as he speaks about the salvation of our soul in 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1 verse 10 to 11, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when he testified beforehand the suffering of Christ and the glory that should follow. Elijah was a servant of Christ, motivated in all he did because the Spirit of Christ was in him. Because of the Spirit of Christ in him, Elijah not only prayed for the people, but courageously confronted Ahab for the glory of God. This extraordinary ministry of Elijah makes him a type of Christ. For what he did reminds us of Christ, who also laid down his life to confront sin, to reconcile us to God, and also to intercede on our behalf. If that is the case, then we who are ordinary, like Elijah, can also be extraordinary by faith, for Christ also dwells in us by his Spirit. We may not have the gift of prophecy or the ability to do miracles which God gave to Elijah, but we can meditate on God's word. We can pray. We can believe. We can bear forth powerful testimonies to powerful persons as Elijah did. God's work must be done by God's power, but they are rarely ever carried out without the contribution of frail and ornery men and women like Elijah and like you and me. Therefore, beloved brethren, let us not be dismayed by the dark and discouraging times that we are in. Are we not in dark times when we see faithful churches which desire the glory of Christ limping along, while churches which make major compromises growing in leaps and bounds? Are we not in dark times when our Parliament just repealed a law that is consistent with God's Word? And what an irony that at the same time, one of our neighbouring countries, which is supposedly more backward, more idolatrous, is poised to make sexual immorality outside of marriage illegal. Oh, will you not pray for our nation lest this downward slide continues unabated? But dearly beloved, remember that every dark night in the kingdom of Christ will be followed by a bright light as the eclipse of the sun of righteousness is lifted. But this lifting of the eclipse always begins with the prayer of ordinary men, women, and children. As they pray, these same men, women, and children, which have been prepared as reflectors, become extraordinary lights as they reflect the light of Christ in the world. Let us therefore seek to be among these extraordinary saints by making sure we are ready to reflect the glory of Christ day by day. Let us therefore see to it that we walk by faith, not by sight. Let us make use of the means of grace, of reading, of prayer, of meditation on the Word of God. But especially, let us pray as Elijah did. Pray with faith and according to the promises of God. Pray for our nation, for our church, for our children. The Lord will hear our cries, for Christ is our intercessor. He has promised. He has shown that he will keep his promise. Oh, may the name of Christ be highly exalted through our testimonies and our prayers in this dark and depressing world of worldliness, idolatry, and hypocrisy that we dwell in. Amen. Shall we look to the Lord in prayer?