Introduction:

1. All that is known of Elijah’s origin is his father’s name and his tribal identification (1 Chronicles 8:27; 1 Kings 17:1).

2. His name means “Jehovah is God” or “Jehovah is my God.”

3. Fourteen dramatic scenes (one postmortem) tell his story and reveal his character (1 Kings 17:1-2 Kings 1:11; Matthew 17:3).

Discussion:

I. Early Tests (1 Kings 17)

A. Every servant of God faces challenges.

B. Elijah’s story is filled with challenges from the beginning:

1. His first appearance was confronting the king (vs. 1).

2. He had to depend on ravens to bring him food (vv. 2-7).

3. Then he had to depend on a widow at Zarephath (vv. 8-16).

C. This was the result of speaking truth to power, as he had to do again.

II. Victory on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18)

A. God sent him back to Ahab after three years to announce the end of the brutal drought was coming (vv. 1-6).

B. Ahab had been seeking Elijah’s life (vv. 7-14).

C. Elijah challenged and defeated Ahab and 850 prophets (vv. 15-40).

III. Despair in the Cave at Horeb (1 Kings 19)

A. Jezebel put out a hit on Elijah for his mountaintop victory (vv. 1-2).

B. He succumbed to fear and depression (vv. 3-10; cf. James 5:17).

C. God’s solution was companionship and work (vv. 11-21).

D. He then confronted Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21:17-24).

1. We too can be faithful to God under fire (Luke 9:23-27; 2 Timothy 3:12).

2. All of life cannot be mountaintop moments, so we must know how to be faithful in the low points as well as the high.

3. Truth always triumphs over error in the end.

4. Even the strongest among us have moments of weakness.

5. God will provide the strength we need to overcome such times.

6. If we endure, we too will be taken up with the Lord someday (2 Kings 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Timothy 2:10-13).