Tag: Elijah

Reflections on I Kings 19-22

On By BrianIn OT Reflections

Elijah flees to the desert, and God shows his power.

  • Depression – Elijah is depressed. He has fought hard, and won the battle, but one opponent knocks him down.  Now he is weary and ready to give up.  How does God restore him?  With rest, food, exercise, the presence of God, a renewed purpose, and companionship.  How might these things help you when you are depressed?
  • God over all – The Syrian king thinks God is a God of the hills, but not of the valleys and plains. God shows himself God over all places.  He cannot be contained or limited to one place.  You can never go outside of his sphere of activity.  What struggles are you facing?  God is still God even in your place of struggle.  Trust in him and wait for him to act.

Reflections on I Kings 17-18

On By BrianIn OT Reflections

God raises up Elijah.  Observe:

  • Provision – God provides for Elijah during the drought through a brook and ravens. But then the brook dried up.  Are you trusting in God or the brooks that he gives you?  God then provided for Elijah through a widow in Sidon, the center of Ball worship.  How has God provided for you in unlikely ways?
  • Battle of the Gods – Baal is the god of rain, but God’s prophet Elijah says it won’t rain, and it doesn’t. Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest, and Baal again loses.  There is only one true all-powerful God.  Are you trusting in him or limping between God and something else?

I Kings 17-22: The Days of Elijah

On By BrianIn OT Studies

(17) Elijah announces a drought because of Israel’s wickedness.  How does God provide for Elijah in v2-7?  In v8-16?

What are the miraculous results for the widow and her son (v8-23)?

To what conclusion does the widow come in v24?

How might people see and come to know God through us?

(18) What question does Elijah ask the people in v21?

When are we tempted to limp (falter, waver, hesitate) in this way?

The prophets of Baal literally “limp” around their altar (v26).  Why is trusting in something other than the Lord like limping? How have you seen this in your life or in other people?

Why does Elijah want God to send fire from heaven (v37)?  What happens when the fire falls?

(19) Elijah plunges from the mountain top of success to the valley of depression.  What outward event triggers his depression (v1-2)?

From the text, what do you think is going on inside Elijah that allows this outward event to trigger his despair?

What does God do so that Elijah will know the Lord (v11-12)?

What does God do to shake Elijah out of his depression?

(20) Back in Israel, Syria invades the country twice.  Both times, God defeats the enemy.  Why (v13, 28)?

(20-22) Despite all the evidence and all the opportunities for Ahab to know and follow the Lord, he continues to go his own way.  What are the results for those around him?  For him?