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The Story of Elijah – The Prophet Who Was Taken Up to Heaven · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: In a time when darkness consumed the land and false
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  Speaker 1: gods ruled the hearts of a nation, one man stood
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  Speaker 1: alone against an empire of evil. His name was Elijah,
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  Speaker 1: a mysterious prophet who appeared from nowhere, with no family lineage,
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  Speaker 1: no credentials, only the burning fire of God's word on
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  Speaker 1: his lips. He spoke in the heavens closed for three years,
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  Speaker 1: he prayed and fire fell from the sky. He confronted kings,
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  Speaker 1: raised the dead, and challenged an entire kingdom to choose
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  Speaker 1: between life and death. But this fearless warrior of faith,
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  Speaker 1: who seemed invincible, would also know the depths of despair,
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  Speaker 1: hiding in caves and begging God to let him die.
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  Speaker 1: His story is one of supernatural provision, impossible miracles, and
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  Speaker 1: divine encounters that defy explanation, and in the end, Elijah
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  Speaker 1: would not taste death like other mortals. His departure from
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  Speaker 1: this world would be unlike anything witnessed before or Since
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  Speaker 1: this is the epic journey of the prophet who rode
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  Speaker 1: a chariot of fire into heaven, leaving behind a legacy
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  Speaker 1: that still echoes through eternity, prepare to witness a story
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  Speaker 1: of faith power and destiny. The Kingdom of Israel had
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  Speaker 1: fallen into the darkest period of its history. King Ahab
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  Speaker 1: sat on the throne, and under his rule the nation
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  Speaker 1: was heading towards spiritual destruction. The Bible doesn't hide the
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  Speaker 1: truth about this king. In bres King sixteen thirty we
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  Speaker 1: read these strong words, Ahab's son of Omri, did more
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  Speaker 1: evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of
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  Speaker 1: those before him. This wasn't just about making bad political
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  Speaker 1: decisions or being an unkind ruler. Ahab had taken evil
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  Speaker 1: to a new level that no previous king had reached.
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  Speaker 1: The real problem began with a marriage decision that would
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  Speaker 1: change everything. Ahab married a foreign princess named Jezebel, the
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  Speaker 1: daughter of Ethbal, who was the king of the Sidonians.
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  Speaker 1: She wasn't from Israel, and more importantly, she didn't worship
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  Speaker 1: the God of Israel. The scripture tells us in First
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  Speaker 1: King sixteen thirty one that Ahab not only considered it
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  Speaker 1: trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
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  Speaker 1: but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbail, king of
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  Speaker 1: the Sidonians, and began to serve Bail and worship him.
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  Speaker 1: The marriage wasn't simply a political alliance between two nations.
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  Speaker 1: It brought foreign gods and foreign worship right into the
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  Speaker 1: heart of God's chosen people. Jezebel was a strong and
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  Speaker 1: determined woman who had deep beliefs in her god Bal.
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  Speaker 1: She wasn't content to worship her God privately. She wanted
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  Speaker 1: everyone in Israel to bow down to Bal, and King Ahab,
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  Speaker 1: instead of standing firm for the God of his fathers,
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  Speaker 1: gave into her completely. The Bible continues in verses thirty
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  Speaker 1: two and thirty three explaining exactly what Ahab did. He
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  Speaker 1: set up an altar for Bal in the temple of
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  Speaker 1: Bal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an
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  Speaker 1: ashera pole and did more to arouse the anger of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, the God of Israel than did all the
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  Speaker 1: kings of Israel before him. Think about what this meant.
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  Speaker 1: The capital city of Israel, Samaria, now had a temple
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  Speaker 1: dedicated to a false God, not just a small shrine
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  Speaker 1: in some one's back yard, but an official temple with
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  Speaker 1: an altar where people came to worship. The king himself
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  Speaker 1: was leading his people away from the truth. The ashera
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  Speaker 1: pole mentioned here was connected to worship of a female goddess,
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  Speaker 1: adding yet another layer of idolatry to Israel's sin. But
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  Speaker 1: the situation grew even worse. Jezebel wasn't satisfied with just
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  Speaker 1: building temples and altars. She wanted to completely erase the
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  Speaker 1: worship of the True God from the land. She began
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  Speaker 1: as sister somatic campaign of terror against the prophets of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. These were men who spoke God's word to
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  Speaker 1: the people, and she hunted them down and killed them
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  Speaker 1: one by one. The voices that called Israel back to
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  Speaker 1: God were being silenced. The altars where people had once
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  Speaker 1: offered sacrifices to the Lord were being torn down and destroyed.
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  Speaker 1: The people who had grown up hearing stories about how
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  Speaker 1: God delivered their ancestors from Egypt, how he parted the
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  Speaker 1: Red Sea, how he gave them the Promised Land. These
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  Speaker 1: people were now bowing down to carved images and praying
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  Speaker 1: to gods made of wood and stone. The spiritual darkness
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  Speaker 1: covering Israel was thick and heavy. False prophets who spoke
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  Speaker 1: whatever Ahab and Jezebel wanted to hear were rewarded and honored.
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  Speaker 1: True prophets who dared to speak God's truth, were living
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  Speaker 1: in fear for their lives. The nation that was supposed
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  Speaker 1: to be a light to the surrounding peoples, showing them
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  Speaker 1: what it meant to serve the Living God, had become
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  Speaker 1: just like all the other nations, worshiping idols that couldn't see, hear,
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  Speaker 1: or do anything at all. Into this darkness, without any warning,
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  Speaker 1: came a man named Elijah. His arrival in the Biblical
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  Speaker 1: story is sudden and dramatic. We don't get chapters about
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  Speaker 1: his childhood or his training. We don't learn about his
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  Speaker 1: parents or how he became a prophet. He simply appears,
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  Speaker 1: like a bolt of lightning splitting a dark sky. The
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  Speaker 1: Bible introduces him in First King seventeen one with these
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  Speaker 1: direct words. Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishby in Gilead
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  Speaker 1: said to Ahab, as the Lord, the God of Israel
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  Speaker 1: lives whom I serve, there will be neither do nor
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  Speaker 1: reign in the next few years, except at my word.
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  Speaker 1: Just imagine that scene for a moment. Here was King Ahab,
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  Speaker 1: the most powerful man in Israel, sitting in his palace,
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  Speaker 1: surrounded by his advisers and guards, and this man from Gilead,
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  Speaker 1: a rough area east of the Jordan River, walked right
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  Speaker 1: up to him with a shocking announcement. No formal introduction,
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  Speaker 1: no request for an audience, no diplomatic language or careful
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  Speaker 1: political phrasing. Elijah just declared what was going to happen.
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  Speaker 1: He swore by the Living God, the God of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: and announced that the rain would stop. Not just a
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  Speaker 1: little drought, but a complete stopping of rain and even
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  Speaker 1: dew for years, and it wouldn't rain again until Elijah
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  Speaker 1: himself said it could. The prophet was declaring that he
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  Speaker 1: held the keys to the sky, that he could shut
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  Speaker 1: up the heavens and open them again by his word.
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  Speaker 1: But this message was about much more than weather. It
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  Speaker 1: was a direct challenge to everything Ahab and Jezebel stood for.
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  Speaker 1: You see, Bail was supposed to be the storm god,
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  Speaker 1: the god who controlled rain and fertility. The whole reason
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  Speaker 1: people worshiped bah was because they believed he made their
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  Speaker 1: crops grow and their live stock multiply. Farmers prayed to
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  Speaker 1: Bao for rain. They built altars to Bao, hoping he
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  Speaker 1: would bless their fields. Jezebel had brought hundreds of Baal
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  Speaker 1: prophets to Israel, and they all claimed that Baal was
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  Speaker 1: the source of all agricultural blessing. Now this prophet was
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  Speaker 1: saying that Baal had no power at all. The rain
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't come from Baal's hand, the jew wouldn't fall because
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  Speaker 1: of Bao's blessing. Instead, the God of Israel, the Lord
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  Speaker 1: whom Elijah served, was shutting up the sky, and it
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  Speaker 1: would stay shut until the Lord's prophet spoke the word
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  Speaker 1: to open it again. Notice how Elijah identified himself in
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  Speaker 1: that verse. He said, the Lord, the God of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: lives whom I serve. He was making it clear that
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  Speaker 1: he wasn't acting on his own authority. He wasn't trying
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  Speaker 1: to impress any one with his own power. He was
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  Speaker 1: a servant, a men messenger, delivering the word of the Master.
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  Speaker 1: The Living God had spoken, and Elijah was simply announcing
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  Speaker 1: what the Lord had decided. The challenge was set. The
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  Speaker 1: test was beginning. In the coming months and years, everyone
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  Speaker 1: would see whether Bile could bring rain or whether the
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  Speaker 1: Lord God was the only one with real power over
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  Speaker 1: the heavens and the earth. The entire nation was about
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  Speaker 1: to learn a lesson about who the true God really was.
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  Speaker 1: After Elijah delivered his shocking message to King Ahab, he
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  Speaker 1: couldn't just stay in Samaria. Jezebel would certainly want him
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  Speaker 1: dead after such a bold declaration against her. God, the
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  Speaker 1: king and Queen now knew that a terrible draft was coming,
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  Speaker 1: and they knew who had announced it. Elijah needed to
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  Speaker 1: disappear and quickly. But God already had a plan for
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  Speaker 1: his profit In first King seventeen two three, we read
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  Speaker 1: these words. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah.
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  Speaker 1: Leave him turn eastward and hide in the Kereth Ravine
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  Speaker 1: east of the Jordan. God didn't tell Elijah to just
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  Speaker 1: run and hide anywhere he could find. The Lord gave
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  Speaker 1: specific directions, go east, find the Keareth Ravine, hide there.
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  Speaker 1: This location was significant. East of the Jordan meant leaving
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  Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Israel completely. Elijah would be crossing over
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  Speaker 1: into the wilderness area, away from cities and towns, away
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  Speaker 1: from Ahab's soldiers who might be sent to find him,
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  Speaker 1: away from Jezebel's assassins. The Keareth Ravine or valley would
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  Speaker 1: provide shelter and concealment. It was a place where a
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  Speaker 1: man could disappear from the world. But there was a
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  Speaker 1: practical problem. If Elijah was hiding in a remote ravine
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  Speaker 1: during a drought that he himself had announced, how would
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  Speaker 1: he survive, Where would he get food? Who would bring
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  Speaker 1: him water? God addressed these concerns in verse four with
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  Speaker 1: instructions that must have seemed very so strange. You will
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  Speaker 1: drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens
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  Speaker 1: to supply you with food. There ravens bringing food. These
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  Speaker 1: weren't gentle friendly birds. Ravens were scavengers, birds that ate
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  Speaker 1: dead things, birds that were actually listed as unclean in
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  Speaker 1: the laws God had given to Israel. They weren't known
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  Speaker 1: for being helpful or caring. They weren't the kind of
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  Speaker 1: birds you'd trained to do tricks or to bring you things.
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  Speaker 1: But God said he had commanded them to feed his profit.
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  Speaker 1: Elijah didn't question these unusual instructions. Verse five tells us
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  Speaker 1: simply so he did what the Lord had told him.
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  Speaker 1: He went to the careth ravine east of the Jordan
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  Speaker 1: and stayed there. The prophet obeyed immediately and completely. He
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  Speaker 1: left whatever safety or comfort he might have had and
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  Speaker 1: went to this isolated place to wait and see if
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  Speaker 1: God would really do what he promised, and then the
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  Speaker 1: miracle began. Verse six describes what happened day after day.
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  Speaker 1: The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning,
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  Speaker 1: and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank
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  Speaker 1: from the brook. Every single morning. These birds appeared with
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  Speaker 1: bread and meat. Every single evening they came again with
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  Speaker 1: more food. Where did ravens get bread, how did they
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  Speaker 1: carry meat? Where were they getting this food to bring
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  Speaker 1: to Elijah? The Bible doesn't explain any of that, and
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  Speaker 1: that's exactly the point. This was supernatural provision. This was
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  Speaker 1: God doing something that made no natural sense, showing his
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  Speaker 1: profit that he can provide in any way he chooses.
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  Speaker 1: Elijah couldn't take credit for feeding himself. He couldn't go
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  Speaker 1: out and earn money to buy food. He couldn't hunt
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  Speaker 1: or gather during a drought. He had to depend entirely
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  Speaker 1: on God, and God chose to use unlikely messengers ravens
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  Speaker 1: to bring what he needed. Think about what this meant
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  Speaker 1: for Elijah. Every morning when he woke up, he had
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  Speaker 1: to trust that the birds would come. Every evening. As
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  Speaker 1: hunger set in, he had to believe they would appear again.
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  Speaker 1: He couldn't stockpile food, he couldn't make plans. He simply
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  Speaker 1: had to wait and receive what God sent. And God
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  Speaker 1: proved faithful. Day after day after day, the ravens came,
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  Speaker 1: the food appeared, the brook provided water to drink. The
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  Speaker 1: prophet had everything he needed in that hidden ravine. Time passed,
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  Speaker 1: and the drought that Elijah had announced was taking its
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  Speaker 1: toll on the entire region. Water sources everywhere were drying up.
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  Speaker 1: Even the brook Cherith, where Elijah had been drinking, couldn't
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  Speaker 1: last forever without rain. Verse seven of chapter seventeen states
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  Speaker 1: the simple fact. Some time later, the brook dried up
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  Speaker 1: because there had been no rain in the land. Elijah's
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  Speaker 1: water sauce was gone. The place where God had told
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  Speaker 1: him to hide was no longer sustainable. What would happen now?
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  Speaker 1: Would Elijah die of thirst in that ravine? Would he
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  Speaker 1: have to come out of hiding and risk being captured.
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  Speaker 1: But God had another plan, and he spoke to his
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  Speaker 1: prophet again. Verses eight and nine record the new instructions.
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  Speaker 1: Then the word of the Lord came to him, Go
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  Speaker 1: at once to Zaraphath in the region of Sidon, and
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  Speaker 1: stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply
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  Speaker 1: you with food. This command must have seemed very strange
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  Speaker 1: to Elijah. First of all, Sidon was Jezebel's homeland. That's
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  Speaker 1: where she had come from when she married Ahab. That
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  Speaker 1: was Bael territory, the center of Bael worship. God was
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  Speaker 1: sending his prophet right into the heart of enemy territory. Second,
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  Speaker 1: he was sending him to a widow. In that culture,
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  Speaker 1: widows were among the poorest and most vulnerable people in society.
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  Speaker 1: They had no husband to provide for them, no inheritance rights,
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  Speaker 1: no curity. How could a widow supply food for anyone,
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  Speaker 1: especially during a severe famine. But once again Elijah obeyed
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  Speaker 1: without arguing. Verse ten begins, So he went to Zaraphath.
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  Speaker 1: The prophet traveled to this foreign town and arrived at
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  Speaker 1: the gate. When he reached the entrance, he saw exactly
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  Speaker 1: what God had told him about. There was a woman
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  Speaker 1: gathering sticks. Somehow Elijah knew this was the widow God
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  Speaker 1: had mentioned. The prophet called out to her with a
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  Speaker 1: simple request. In the rest of verse ten, would you
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  Speaker 1: bring me a little water in a jar so I
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  Speaker 1: may have a drink. This was a reasonable request, giving
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  Speaker 1: water to a thirsty traveler was basic hospitality in that culture.
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  Speaker 1: The woman started to go get the water, but then
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  Speaker 1: Elijah asked for something more. Verse eleven continues as she
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  Speaker 1: was going to get it, he called and bring me, please,
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  Speaker 1: a piece of bread. Now he was asking for food,
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  Speaker 1: not just water. In normal times, this might not be
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  Speaker 1: a big request, but these weren't normal times. The drought
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  Speaker 1: had caused a famine and food was becoming scarce everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: The widow stopped and turned back to Elijah. What she
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  Speaker 1: said next revealed just how desperate the situation really was.
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  Speaker 1: Verse twelve records her heart breaking words. As surely as
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, your God lives, she replied, I don't have
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  Speaker 1: any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar
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  Speaker 1: and a little olive oil in a jug. I am
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  Speaker 1: gathering a few sticks to take home and make a
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  Speaker 1: meal for myself and my son, that we may eat
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  Speaker 1: it and die. Read those words carefully. This woman had
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  Speaker 1: accepted that she was about to die. She had one
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  Speaker 1: handful of flour left, one small amount of oil, just
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  Speaker 1: enough to make one tiny meal. She was gathering sticks
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  Speaker 1: to build a fire to cook this last bit of
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  Speaker 1: food she and her son would eat. It together, and
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  Speaker 1: then there would be nothing left, no more food, no
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  Speaker 1: more hope. They would simply wait for death to come
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  Speaker 1: from starvation. Imagine being in her position. You have a
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  Speaker 1: child depending on you. You've watched your food supplies get
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  Speaker 1: smaller and smaller, and now you're down to this one
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  Speaker 1: last handful of flour, one last bit of oil. What
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  Speaker 1: Elijah said next must have sounded completely unreasonable to this
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  Speaker 1: dying woman. She had just told him that she was
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  Speaker 1: preparing her last meal before starving to death with her son,
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  Speaker 1: and he was about to ask her to give that
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  Speaker 1: meal away. But listen to the confidence in the prophet's
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  Speaker 1: words recorded in verses thirteen and fourteen. Elijah said to her,
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  Speaker 1: don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said,
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  Speaker 1: But first make a small loaf of bread for me
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  Speaker 1: from what you have, and bring it to me, and
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  Speaker 1: then make something for yourself and your son. For this
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  Speaker 1: is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The
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  Speaker 1: jar of flower will not be used up, and the
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  Speaker 1: jug of oil will not run dry until the day
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  Speaker 1: the Lord sends rain on the land. Put yourself in
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  Speaker 1: the widow's position for a moment. A stranger has just
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  Speaker 1: asked you to use your last bit of food to
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  Speaker 1: feed him first, before you feed your own starving child.
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  Speaker 1: And he's making a promise that sounds impossible, that somehow
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  Speaker 1: your flower and oil won't run out. How would you respond?
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  Speaker 1: Would you trust him? Would you think he was crazy?
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  Speaker 1: Would you be angry that he would ask such a thing.
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  Speaker 1: Elijah started his request with, don't be afraid. He knew
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  Speaker 1: what he was asking was difficult. He knew it seemed impossible,
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  Speaker 1: But he was asking her to trust not in him,
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  Speaker 1: but in the God he served. The promise wasn't coming
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  Speaker 1: from Elijah's own power or wisdom. He specifically said, said,
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  Speaker 1: this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.
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  Speaker 1: The prophet was acting as a messenger, delivering a promise
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  Speaker 1: from the true God. And notice exactly what that promise was.
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  Speaker 1: The flower wouldn't suddenly multiply into a huge storehouse of grain.
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  Speaker 1: The oil wouldn't fill up barrels and barrels. Instead, the
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  Speaker 1: jar of flour would not be used up, and the
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  Speaker 1: jug of oil would not run dry. There would always
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  Speaker 1: be enough. Day by day, meal by meal, there would
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  Speaker 1: be sufficient supply. The miracle would continue until the drought ended.
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  Speaker 1: And rain fell on the land again. Something in Elijah's
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  Speaker 1: words must have reached the widow's heart. Maybe it was
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  Speaker 1: the authority in his voice. Maybe it was the specific
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  Speaker 1: detail of his promise. Maybe she sensed that this God
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  Speaker 1: of Israel was different from the gods she knew. Or
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  Speaker 1: maybe she simply thought, I'm going to die anyway, so
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  Speaker 1: what do I have to lose. Whatever went through her
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  Speaker 1: man Verse fifteen tells us her decision, She went away
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  Speaker 1: and did as Elijah had told her. She walked home.
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  Speaker 1: She took that precious handful of flour, the last food
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  Speaker 1: she had in the world. She poured out that small
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  Speaker 1: amount of oil. She made bread, and she gave it
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  Speaker 1: to Elijah first, just as he had asked. Then she
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  Speaker 1: made food for herself and her son. And when the
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  Speaker 1: meal was done, she went back to check her supplies,
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  Speaker 1: probably expecting to find empty containers. But they weren't empty.
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  Speaker 1: The rest of verse fifteen and verse sixteen describe what happened.
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  Speaker 1: So there was food every day for Elijah and for
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  Speaker 1: the woman and her family. For the jar of flour
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  Speaker 1: was not used up, and the jug of oil did
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  Speaker 1: not run dry. In keeping with the word of the
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  Speaker 1: Lord spoken by Elijah. Every single day, this miracle repeated itself.
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  Speaker 1: The widow would reach into that jar, expecting to find
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  Speaker 1: it empty, and there was flour. She would tip that jug,
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  Speaker 1: expecting nothing to pour out, and oil flowed. It wasn't
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  Speaker 1: a huge amount, just enough for that day's needs, but
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  Speaker 1: it was always there. Day after day, week after week,
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  Speaker 1: month after month. The flower and oil kept coming. Three
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  Speaker 1: people who should have died of starvation were eating every day.
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  Speaker 1: A widow who had given up hope was watching God
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: provide for her family in an impossible way. Life in
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: the widow's house had settled into a rhythm of daily miracles.
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: Every day the flower jar had flower, every day the
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: oil jug had oil. The threat of starvation that had
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: seemed so real and so close was gone. God was providing,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: and they were surviving the famine that was devastating the
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: land around them. Elijah was safe in this home, the
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: widow was caring for her son, and everyone had enough
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: to eat. But then something happen and that shattered this
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: peaceful routine, something that seemed to contradict everything God had
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: been doing for them. Verse seventeen describes it plainly. Some
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: time later, the son of the woman who owned the
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: stopped breathing. The boy got sick. We don't know what
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: illness struck him. The Bible doesn't give us those details.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: What we know is that his condition deteriorated rapidly. Day
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: by day, he grew worse. His mother must have tried
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: everything she knew to help him, but nothing worked. And
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: then the worst possible thing happened. He stopped breathing. The
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: child died right there in the house where God had
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: been performing a daily miracle of provision. Think about the
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: widow's emotions at this moment. God had saved her from starvation.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: She had seen the impossible happen every single day in
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: her flower jar and oil jug. She had trusted and
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: obeyed when Elijah asked her to give away her last meal,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: and now her son, her only child, was dead. In
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: that culture and time, a widow with no son had
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: no future, no security, no hope. Her child was everything
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: to her, and she blamed Elijah for what had happened.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Her grief poured out in words recorded in verse eighteen.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: She said to Elijah, what do you have against me?
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: Man of God? Did you come to remind me of
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: my sin and kill my son? Listen to the pain
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: in her question. She called him man of God. She
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: recognized that he represented the divine, but she thought his
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: presence had brought judgment instead of blessing. She believed that somehow,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: by having this holy man in her house, God's attention
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: had been drawn to her, and when God looked at her,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: he remembered some sin from her past, something she had
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: done wrong years ago, and decided to punish her by
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: takeing her son. This is what grief can do to us.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: It makes us search for reasons, for explanations, for someone
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: or something to blame. The widow thought there must be
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: a cause for this tragedy, and she concluded it must
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: be her own sin. She thought God was paying her
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: back for something. She couldn't understand why the same God
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: who had miraculously fed her family would now take her
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: child's life. Elijah didn't argue with the grieving mother. He
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: didn't try to defend himself or explain theology, or tell
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: her she was wrong to feel what she was feeling. Instead,
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: he simply spoke the words in verse nineteen, give me
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: your son, abdud The scripture continues, Elijah took him from
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: her arms, carried him to the upper room where he
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: was staying, and laid him on his bed. The prophet
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: gently took the dead boy from his mother's arms. He
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: carried the lifeless body upstairs to the room where he
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: had been living during his time in this house. He
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: laid the child on his own bed, and then alone
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: with this terrible situation, Elijah began to pray. But this
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: wasn't a calm, peaceful, formal prayer. This was raw. This
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: was desperate. This was a man crying out to God
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: with confusion and pain in his heart. Verse twenty records
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: Elijah's words, he cried out to the Lord, Lord, my God,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: have you brought tragedy even to this widow I am
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: staying with by causing her son to die. Elijah was
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: wrestling with God. He was asking the hard question that
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: was surely on the widow's mind and on his own
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: mind too. Why Why would the Lord perform daily miracles
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: to feed this family and then let the boy die?
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Why would God save them from starvation only to bring
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: this new tragedy. It didn't make sense. This widow had
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: shown faith and obedience when she gave her last meal
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: to Elijah. She had trusted God's promise about the flower
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: and oil, and now her son was dead. The prophet
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: wasn't pretending to understand. He wasn't giving easy answers. He
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: was honestly openly asking God to explain what was happening.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: This shows us something important about prayer. We can be
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: real with God. We can ask him our honest questions.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: We can express our confusion and pain. Elijah didn't hide
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: his feelings or try to be super spiritual. He cried
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: out to the Lord with the weight of this tragedy
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: heavy on his heart. But Elijah didn't stop with questions.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: He moved from asking why to asking for action. Verse
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: twenty one describes what the prophet did next. Then he
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: out to the Lord, Lord, my God, let this boy's
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: life return to him. Three times. Elijah laid his own
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: body on top of the dead child's body three times.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: He prayed for life to come back. He was physically
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: involved in this prayer, putting himself in direct contact with
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: death itself. This wasn't some distant, detached request. The prophet
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: was literally covering the child with his own body, as
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: if trying to transfer his own life force, his own breath,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: his own warmth to this cold, lifeless boy. And his
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: prayer was simple and direct. Let this boy's life return
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: to him. Elijah was asking God to do something that
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: had never been recorded in scripture before this moment. He
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: was asking for resurrection. He was asking God to reverse
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: death itself, to bring back something that was gone, to
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: restore life where there was only lifelessness. This took enormous faith.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Death was final. Everyone knew that when someone stopped breathing
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: that the end. There was no bringing them back. But
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Elijah believed that the God who could make flour and
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: oil appear every day, could also make life return to
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: a dead body. God heard his prophet's desperate prayer. The
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: answer came, and it's described simply and powerfully in verse
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: twenty two. The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: life returned to him, and he lived just like that.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: In response to Elijah's cry, something impossible happened. The child
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: who had stopped breathing began to breathe again. The boy
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: who had been dead was suddenly miraculously alive. We can
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: only imagine what Elijah felt at that moment. He had
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: stretched himself over the boy three times, praying with everything
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: in him, and now life was flowing back into this
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: small body. The child's chest began to rise and fall.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Warmth returned. The boy opened his eyes. He was alive.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: Elijah didn't waste a single moment. Verse twenty three tells
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: us what happened next. Elijah picked up the child and
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: carried him down from the room into the house. He
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: gave him to his mother and said, look, your son
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: is alive. Can you picture that scene. The widow had
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: given her dead son to Elijah earlier, her heart completely broken,
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: her world destroyed, and now Elijah was coming down those
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: stairs carrying her boy. But this time the child was
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: alive and moving. He placed the living, breathing boy into
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: his mother's arms. The child she thought she had lost
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: for ever was back. Her son, who had stopped breathing,
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: was now warm and alive in her embrace. The simple words, look,
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: your son is alive must have been the most beautiful
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: words that mother had ever heard. Just hours before, she
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: had been preparing to bury him, to say good bye forever.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Now she was holding him, feeling his heartbeat, seeing him
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: look at her with living eyes. The tragedy had been
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: completely reversed. Death had been defeated. But something deeper than
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: just relief happened in that moment. The widow's response shows
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: that this miracle had changed her understanding of who God
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: was and who Elijah was. Verse twenty four records her declaration.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: Then the woman said to Elijah, now I know that
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: you are a man of God, and that the word
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: of the Lord from your mouth is the truth. Notice
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: her words carefully. She said, now I know, not I think,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: or I believe, or I hope. She said, she knew
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: with certainty. Before this, she had seen the daily miracle
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: of the flower and oil. She had experienced God's provision.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: But this resurrection of her son moved her from witnessing
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: miracles to having absolute, unshakable knowledge. She declared that Elijah
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: was truly a man of God, not just someone with
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: unusual powers, not just a lucky prophet who made good predictions.
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: He was genuinely representing the true God, speaking for the Lord,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: acting as his messenger. Everything about Elijah's identity and calling
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: was confirmed in her mind, and she said that the
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: word of the Lord from Elijah's mouth was truth. This
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: meant she believed everything Elijah had told her. When he
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: had promised that the flower and oil wouldn't run out,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: that had been true when he had prayed for her
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: son to live again. God had answered, she could trust
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: that whatever this prophet said came from God and would
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: prove reliable. This woman from Sidon, this foreign widow, who
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: hadn't grown up knowing the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: had come to know him through these experiences. She had
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: seen his provision in the daily supply of food. She
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: had witnessed his power over death itself in her son's resurrection.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: The drought had been going on for a long time. Now.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: Three years had passed since Elijah first announced that the
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: rain would stop. The land was suffering terribly. Animals were dying,
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: crops had failed completely, and people were desperate for water.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: But God's word through Elijah was proving true. Not a
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: drop of rain had fallen. Then, in the third year
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: of the drought, God spoke to Elijah again. In First
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: King's eighteen one, we read after a long time, in
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: rain on the land. This was a major shift. For
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: three years, Elijah had been in hiding, first at the
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: brook and then with the widow. Now God was telling
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: him it was time to come out of hiding and
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: face the king again. The message was clear and direct.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: Elijah needed to present himself to Ahab. He needed to
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: show up and make himself visible to the very man
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: who had been searching for him all this time. And
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: God made a promise he would send rain on the land.
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: The drought was about to end, but first something important
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: needed to happen. Verse two tells us what Elijah did.
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab once again.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: The prophet obeyed immediately. He didn't ask for guarantees of safety.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: He didn't negotiate terms, He simply went. The same verse
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: also tells us how severe the famine had become. Now
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: the famine was severe in Samaria. The capital city itself
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: was suffering greatly. This wasn't just a problem for farmers
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: in the countryside. Everyone was affected by the lack of rain. Meanwhile,
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: King Ahab had been desperately searching for water. Verse five
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: describes what he was doing Ahab had said to Obadiah,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: go through the land to all the springs and valleys.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: and mules alive, so we will not have to kill
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: any of our animals. The situation was so bad that
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: even the king's own animals were at risk of dying.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: Ahab and his palace administrator were personally going out to
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: search for any remaining water sources or patches of grass.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Verse six continues, so they divided the land they were
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: They split up to cover more ground, each man taking
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: a different route through the country, hoping to find something
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: that could help save the animals. The king himself was
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: out walking the land looking for grass. That's how desperate
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: things had become after three years without rain. As Obadiah
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: was traveling on his search for water and grass, something
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: unexpected happened. Verse seven tells us as Obadiah was walking along,
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground,
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: and said, is it really you, my Lord Elijah? Right
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: there on the road, Obadiah came face to face with
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: the prophet. Everyone had been looking for. But who was Obadiah?
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: The Bible tells us something very important about this man.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: In verse three, Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. Here was
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: a man who worked directly for King Ahab, yet he
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: secretly worshiped the True God. He held a high position
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: in a government that was actively promoting bile worship and
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: killing God's prophets. But his heart belonged to the Lord,
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: and Obadiah had been doing more than just privately believing.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: Verse four reveals his secret ministry. While Jezebel was killing
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: off the Lord's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: had supplied them with food and water. This is remarkable.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: While Jezebel was hunting down prophets to murder them, Obadiah
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: was using his position and resources to save them. He
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: had found one hundred prophets and hidden them in caves,
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: fifty in one cave, fifty in another. And he wasn't
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: just hiding them. He was bringing them food and water regularly,
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: keeping them alive. During this terrible famine. This would have
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: required great courage and careful planning. If Jezebel had discovered
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: what he was doing, she would have killed him too.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: But Obadiah believed in God enough to risk everything to
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: save his prophets. Now this same man was standing before
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: Elijah on the road. After recognizing him and bowing down,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: Obadiah listened as Elijah gave him instructions. In verse eight, yes,
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: he replied, go tell your master Elijah is here. The
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: prophet was sending Obadiah back to tell Ahab where to
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: find him. This was the moment God had promised. Elijah
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: was presenting himself to the king, but Obadiah was afraid.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: He knew the danger involved. In verses nine through fourteen,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: he explained his fear to Elijah. He said, in verse nine,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: what have I done wrong? Asked Obadiah, that you are
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death.
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: He was worried that something would go wrong and he
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: would be executed. Obadiah went on to explain in verses
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: ten and eleven, as surely as the Lord your God lives,
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: there is not a nation or kingdom where my Master
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: has not sent some one to look for you, and
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there,
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: he made them swear they could not find you. But
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: now you tell me to go to my master and say,
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: Elijah is here. King Ahab had been searching everywhere for Elijah.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: He had sent people to every surrounding nation asking if
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: they had seen the prophet. When they said no, he
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: made them swear an oath. The search had been exhaustive
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: and international. Obadiah's fear was specific, and he spelled it
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: out in verse twelve. I don't know where the spirit
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: of the Lord may carry you when I leave you.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you,
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: he will kill me. He was worried that as soon
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: as he left to tell the king, God would miraculously
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: transport Elijah somewhere else, and then Ahab would think Obadiah
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: was lying and execute him. Then Obadiah reminded Elijah of
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: his faithful service in verse thirteen. Haven't you heard, my
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: Lord what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. I hid a hundred of the Lord's
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: with food and water. He was saying, I've been faithful
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: to God. I've risked my life to save his prophets.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: Please don't put me in a position where I'll be killed.
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: Elijah understood Obadiah's fear and gave him a solemn promise.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: In verse fifteen, Elijah said, as the Lord Almighty lives
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: to day. The prophets swore by the Living God that
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: he would not disappear. He would be there when Ahab came.
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: Obadiah could safely deliver the message without fear of being
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: caught in a lie. Reassured by this oath, Verse sixteen
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: tells us so, Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. The message was delivered.
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: The king was on his way. After three years of searching,
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: Ahab was about to come face to face with the
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: prophet who had shut up the heavens. When Ahab saw Elijah,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: his first words were an accusation. Verse seventeen records their encounter.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: When he saw Elijah, he said to him, is that
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: you you troubler of Israel? The king blamed Elijah for
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: all the suffering the nation was experiencing. In his mind,
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: the prophet was the one causing problems. The drought, the famine,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: the dying animals, the desperate people. All of it was
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: Elijah's fault. But Elijah didn't accept that blame. He immediately
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: turned it back on the king with powerful words. In
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: verse eighteen, I have not made trouble for Israel, Elijah replied,
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: but you and your father's family have. You have abandoned
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: the Lord's commands and have followed the bales. The prophet
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: made it clear that the real trouble maker was Ahab himself.
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: By abandoning God and worshiping bal the king had brought
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: judgment on the nation. Elijah was just the messenger announcing
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: what God had decided to do. Then Elijah issued a
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: bold challenge. Verse nineteen contains his instructions to the king, Now,
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: summon the people from all over Israel to meet me
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: on Mount Carmel and bring the four hundred and fifty
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: prophets of Bail and the four hundred prophets of a
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: sherer who eat at Jezebel's table. This was an audacious request.
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: Elijah was telling the king what to do gather all Israel,
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: bring all the prophets of Bail and a sharer, and
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: meet at Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel was a mountain on
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: the coast, a significant location, and Elijah wanted everyone there,
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: the whole nation, and all the false prophets. He specifically
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: mentioned that these prophets ate at Jezebel's table, meaning they
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: were supported by the Queen herself. There were four hundred
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: and fifty prophets of Bile and four hundred prophets of
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: a sharer, a total of eight hundred and fifty false prophets,
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: and Elijah was going to face all of them. Surprisingly,
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: Ahab agreed. Verse twenty tells us so Ahab sent word
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: The king did exactly what Elijah asked. He sent messengers
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: to every part of the country, calling the people to gather.
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: He assembled all the prophets of Baal. Everyone came together
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: at Mount Carmel for what was about to become the
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: most dramatic confrontation in Israel's history. The people gathered on
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were there. King Ahab
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: was watching and Elijah stood before them all with a
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: message that cut straight to the heart of Israel's problem.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: Verse twenty one describes this powerful moment. Elijah went before
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: the people and said, how long will you waver between
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: if Baal is God, follow him? But the people said nothing.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: This was the central issue. The people of Israel were
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: trying to worship both God and Bal at the same time.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: They hadn't completely abandoned the Lord, but they hadn't fully
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: committed to him either. They were wavering, limping between two
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: different opinions, trying to have it both ways. Elijah was
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: forcing them to make a choice. Either the Lord is
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: God or Bal is God. Pick one and follow that
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: one completely. The people's response was silence. They said nothing.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: They didn't defend Bal, they didn't declare loyalty to the Lord.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: They just stood there quietly, unable or unwilling to make
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: a decision. This silence revealed the confusion and spiritual paralysis
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: that gripped the nation. Then Elijah made an observation that
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: highlighted how outnumbered he was. Verse twenty two records his words.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: Then Elijah said to them, I Am the only one
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: of the Lord's prophets left, but Bail has four hundred
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: and fifty prophets. Of course, Elijah knew about the hundred
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: prophets Obadiah had hidden, but as far as any one
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: could see publicly, Elijah stood alone, one prophet of the
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: True God against four hundred fifty prophets of Baal. The
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: odds could not have been more one sided. But Elijah
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: proposed a simple test that would settle the question once
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: and for all. Verses twenty three and twenty four lay
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: out his challenge. Get two bulls for us. Let Baos
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: into pieces and put it on the wood, but not
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: and put it on the wood, but not set fire
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: to it. Then you call on the name of your God,
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: and I will call on the name of the Lord,
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: the God who answers by fire, he is God. This
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: was brilliant in its simplicity. Each side would prepare a
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: sacrifice a bull, cut into pieces and laid on wood,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: but neither side would light the fire. Instead, they would
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: pray to their God, and whichever God sent fire from
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: heaven to burn. The sacrifice would be proven to be
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: the true God. It was a clear objective test that
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: everyone could witness. The people's response came at the end
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: of verse twenty four. Then all the people said, what
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: you say is good. They agreed to the test. This
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: was fair, This made sense. Let the gods prove themselves
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: through action. Whoever could send fire from heaven was obviously
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: the real God. Elijah gave the prophets of Bahal the
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: first chance. Verse twenty five records his words. Elijah said
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: to the prophets of Baal, choose one of the bulls
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: and prepare it first. Since there are so many of you,
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: call on the name of your god, but do not
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: light the fire. He even gave them the advantage of
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: going first, and remind minded them that they greatly outnumbered him.
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: So the prophets of Bail got to work. Verse twenty
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: six describes what happened. So they took the bull given
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: them and prepared it. Then they called on the name
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: of Baal from morning till noon, Bal answer us. They shouted,
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: but there was no response. No one answered, and they
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: danced around the altar they had made from morning until
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: noon that several hours, they called out to Baal. They
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: shouted his name. They begged him to answer. They danced
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: around their altar, performing their rituals, but nothing happened. There
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: was no response, No one answered. The sky remained silent,
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: the wood remained unlit. At noon, Elijah began to mock them.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: His words in verse twenty seven drip with sarcasm. At noon,
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: Elijah began to taunt them, shout louder, He said, surely
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: he is a god. Perhaps he is deep in thought,
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: be awakened. The prophet was pointing out the absurdity of
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: their situation. If Bile was really a god, why couldn't
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: he hear them. Maybe he was thinking about something else.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Maybe he was busy with another task. Maybe he went
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: on a trip. Maybe he was taking a nap and
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: needed them to wake him up. This mockery pushed the
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: profits of Bail to increase their efforts. Verse twenty eight
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: tells us what they did next. So they shouted louder
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom,
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: until their blood flowed. They became frantic and desperate. They
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: cut their own bodies with weapons, causing themselves to bleed.
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: This was apparently part of their worship practice, but it
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: showed their desperation. They were willing to harm themselves, thinking
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: that perhaps their suffering would get Bile's attention. But still
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: nothing happened. Verse twenty nine describes their continued failure. Midday
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: passed and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response. No
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: one answered, no one paid attention. They kept going all afternoon,
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: right up until evening. They prophesied, frantically, worked themselves into
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: a frenzy, maintained their desperate rituals for hours and hours,
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: but the result was the same. No response, no answer,
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: no attention from Bail, the god they served, could not
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: hear them. The god they worshiped, could not respond. After
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: an entire day of calling out, dancing, cutting themselves, and prophesying,
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: they had absolutely nothing to show for it. Bal was
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: silent because Baal was not real. Now it was Elijah's turn.
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: Verse thirty begins. Then Elijah said to all the people,
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: come here to me. They came to him, and he
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: There had once been an altar to the True God
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: on Mount Carmel, but it had been destroyed, probably during
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: Jezebel's campaign against the worship of the Lord. Elijah was
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: going to rebuild it. The way he built this altar
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: was significant. Verse thirty one tells us Elijah took twelve stones,
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: whom the word of the Lord had come, saying your
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: name shall be Israel. He used twelve stones to represent
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: the twelve tribes of Israel, even though the nation was
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: currently divided into two kingdoms. Elijah's altar symbolized the unity
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: of all God's people. He was reminding them of their
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: identity and their covenant with God. Verse thirty two continues
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: with the stones. He built an altar in the name
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it,
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: large enough to hold two seas of seed. He constructed
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: the altar and then dug a trench all the way
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: around it. This trench would become important in a moment.
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: A sear was a unit of measurement, and two siars
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: of seed would be quite a bit. The trench was substantial,
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: then Elijah arranged the wood and prepared the sacrifice, as
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: described in verse thirty three. He arranged the wood, cut
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: the bull into pieces, and laid it on the wood.
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: Everything was ready, just as he had said it would be.
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: The bull was prepared and placed on the wood, ready
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: to be burned. But now Elijah did something that seemed
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: to make the task impossible. The second part of verse
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: thirty three records his unusual command. Then he said to
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: them fill four large jars with water and pour it
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: on the offering and on the wood. Water. In the
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: middle of a three year drought, when water was the
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: most precious resource in the land, Elijah ordered them to
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: pour water all over the sacrifice and the wood. This
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: would make it much harder to light on fire. But
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: he didn't stop with just one round of water. Verse
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: thirty four continues. Do it again, he said, and they
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: did it again. Do it a third time, he ordered,
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: And they did it the third time. Three times. They
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: poured four large jars of water over the offering. That's
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: twelve jars total. The wood was soaking wet, the meat
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: was drenched. Everything was saturated with water, and there was
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: so much water that Verse thirty five tells us the
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: The water didn't just wet the sacrifice. It ran down
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: the sides of the altar and completely filled the trench
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: that Elijah had dug around it. The entire area was
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: flooded with water. Why would Elijah do this? He was
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: making it absolutely impossible for anyone to claim trickery. There
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: could be no hidden fire, no natural way for this
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: to burn. When God sent fire, everyone would know it
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: was genuinely from heaven, because there was no natural explanation
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: for how soaking wet wood and meat could suddenly burst
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: into flames. Everything was ready. The altar was built, the
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: sacrifice was prepared, the wood was soaked with water, the
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: trench was full. The prophets of Baal had failed completely.
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: After a full day of trying. Now Elijah stepped forward
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: to pray. His prayer was nothing like the frantic shouting
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: and cutting of Bale's prophets. Verse thirty six describes the
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: moment at the time of sacrifice. The prophet Elijah stepped
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: forward and prayed, Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: let it be known to day that you are God
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: in Israel, and that I am your servant and have
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: done all these things at your command. Notice how calm
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: and confident this prayer was. Elijah addressed God using the
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: names of the patriarchs, reminding every one of God's covenant
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: with their fathers. He asked God to demonstrate clearly that
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: he alone was God in Israel and that Elijah was
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: acting under divine orders. Then, in verse thirty seven, Elijah continued,
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: their hearts back again. The prophet's concern wasn't about winning
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: an argument or proving himself right. He wanted the people
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: to know the truth about God. He wanted their hearts
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: to turn back to the Lord. This was about their
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: salvation and restoration, not about Elijah's reputation. The prayer was simple, direct,
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: and relatively short. Elijah didn't have to work himself into
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: a frenzy. He didn't have to beg or plead for hours.
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: He just spoke to God with confidence and faith, and
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: God's response was immediate and overwhelming. Verse thirty eight gribes
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: what happened next. Then the fire of the Lord fell
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: Fire came down from heaven. Not just a small flame
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: that slowly grew, not just enough fire to burn the sacrifice.
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: The fire of God fell with such power and intensity
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: that it consumed everything. It burned up the sacrifice, the
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: bull that had been cut into pieces, It burned up
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: the wood, the logs that had been soaking wet moments before.
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: But it didn't stop there. It burned up the stones
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: of the altar itself, It burned up the soil around
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: the altar, and it even evaporated all the water that
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: had filled the trench in one moment, in one powerful
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: display of divine fire, everything was consumed. The people's response
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: was immediate and definitive. Verse thirty nine tells us when
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: the Lord he is God, The Lord he is God.
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: They didn't stand around discussing what they had seen. They
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: didn't debate whether it was real. They fell on their
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: faces before God and declared the truth. The Lord is God,
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: not bail, not our sherer. The Lord alone is God.
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: They said it twice emphasizing their certainty and conviction. The
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: test was over. God had proven himself, but there was
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: still something that needed to be done. The false prophets
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: who had been leading Israel astray needed to face justice.
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: Verse forty records Elijah's command. Then Elijah commanded them seize
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: the prophets of Bail. Don't let anyone get away. They
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. This was severe, but it
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: was in accordance with God's law. False prophets who led
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: people away from God were to be executed. The four
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty prophets of Baal were taken to the
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: Kishon Valley, which was at the base of Mount Carmel,
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: and they were put to death. The judgment that had
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: been announced was carried out. After this was done, Elijah
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: turned his attention to the rain that God had promised.
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: He spoke to Ahab in verse forty one, and Elijah
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: said to Ahab, go eat and drink, for there is
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: the sound of a heavy rain. The prophet could already
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: hear what was coming, even though the sky was still clear.
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: Elijah knew that rain was on its way. He told
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: the king to go and eat and drink to celebrate
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: because the drought was about to end. Verse forty two
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: tells us what happened next. So Ahab went off to
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: bent down to the ground, and put his face between
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: his knees. While the king went to have a meal,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: the prophet went to pray. Elijah climbed back up to
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: the top of Mount Carmel and bowed down in a
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: position of intense prayer, his face between his knees. Then
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: he sent his servant to look toward the sea. Verse
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: forty three describes what happened. Go and look toward the sea,
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: There is nothing there, he said. Seven times, Elijah said
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: go back. The servant went and looked at the Mediterranean
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: Sea in the distance. Nothing, no sign of rain, no clouds.
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: Elijah sent him back again. Still nothing. This happened seven times.
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: Each time the servant returned with the same report. There
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: was nothing to see. But Elijah didn't give up. He
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: kept praying and kept sending his servant to look, and
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: on the seventh time, something changed. The end of verse
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: forty three and verse forty four tell us the seventh
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: time the servant reported a cloud as small as a
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: man's hand is rising from the sea. So Elijah said,
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: go and tell Ahab, hitch up your chariot and go
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: down before the rain stops you. Finally there was something.
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: A tiny cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, appeared
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: on the horizon over the sea. To most people, this
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: would seem insignificant, but Elijah knew what it meant. That
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: small cloud was the beginning of the storm God had promised.
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: He immediately sent word to Ahab to get in his
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: chariot and start traveling because a major rainstorm was about
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: to hit, and that's exactly what happened. Verse forty five
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: describes the sudden change. Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds,
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling, and Ahab
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: rode off to Jezreel. Within moments, the sky filled with
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: dark clouds, wind began to blow, and then the rain came,
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: heavy rain, the first rain in three years. The drought
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: was over. God had kept his promise. The rain was
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: falling on the land again. But the story has one
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: more surprising detail. Verse forty six tells us the power
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: of the Lord came on Elijah, and, tucking his cloak
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: way to Jezreel. God gave Elijah supernatural strength and speed.
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: The prophet ran and ran faster than the king's chariot.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: He arrived in Jezreel before Ahab did, even though the
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: king was riding in a chariot pulled by horses. The
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: same God who had sent fire from heaven and rain
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: from the sky now empowered his prophet to run with
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: extraordinary speed. When Ahab returned to Jezreel, he told his
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: wife everything that had happened on Mount Carmel. He described
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: the contest, the fire from heaven, and what happened to
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: her prophets. Verse one of chapter nineteen tells us, now
• 59:05
  Speaker 1: Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: had killed all the prophets with the sword. The king
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: gave his queen a full report about the day's events,
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: including the execution of the four hundred and fifty prophets
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: of Baal. Jezebel's response was immediate and fierce. She wasn't
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: impressed by the miracle. She wasn't convinced by the fire
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: from heaven. She was furious about her prophets. Verse two
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: records her reaction. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: to say, may the gods deal with me, be it
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: not make your life like that of one of them.
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: She sent a direct threat to Elijah. She swore by
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: her gods that within twenty four hours she would kill him,
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: just like he had killed her prophets. This is interesting.
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: Jezebel didn't send soldiers to arrest him immediately. She sent
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: a messenger with a warning. Maybe she thought threatening him
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: would be enough to make him flee. Maybe she wanted
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: him to run so she could hunt him down. Whatever
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: her reason, Elijah received a clear message the Queen wanted
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: him dead, and she had set a deadline. Something unexpected
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: happened when Elijah heard this threat. This was the same
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: man who had just stood alone against four hundred and
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: fifty prophets. This was the prophet who had called down
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: fire from heaven. This was the servant of God who
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: had just witnessed the most incredible miracle. But when he
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: heard Jezebel's threat. Verse three tells us what he did.
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: came to Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there.
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: Fear gripped the prophet after everything he had experienced, after
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: seeing God's power displayed so dramatically, Elijah was suddenly terrified
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: of one woman's threat. He ran. He fled south as
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 1: fast as he could go, all the way to Beersheba,
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: which was at the southern border of Judah. This was
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: as far from Jezebel as he could get while still
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: being in Israelite territory, and when he reached Beersheba, he
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: left his servant there and continued alone into the wilderness.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: Elijah kept going beyond Biersheba deeper into the desert. Verse
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: four describes where he went and what he did. While
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, he
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord,
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 1: he said, take my life. I am no better than
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: my ancestors. The prophet traveled a full day into the
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: wilderness until he found a broom tree a desert shrub
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: that provided a small amount of shade. He sat down
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: under it, exhausted and broken, and then he prayed for death.
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: These weren't the confident words of the man who had
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: prayed on Mount Carmel. This was despair speaking. I have
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 1: had enough, Lord, He said he was done. He couldn't
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 1: take it any more. He asked God to take his life,
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: to let him die right there in the desert. He
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: felt like a failure, saying, I am no better than
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: my ancestors, as if all his efforts had accomplished nothing.
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: Think about the contrast. Just hours earlier, the entire nation
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: had declared that the Lord is God. Fire had fallen
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: from heaven, rain had ended the drought, the prophets of
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: Bale were gone. It seemed like a complete victory. But
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: now Elijah was alone in the desert, depressed, exhausted, and
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: wanting to die. Sometimes our lowest moments come right after
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: our greatest victories. After praying this desperate prayer, Elijah did
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: what exhausted people do. Verse five begins. Then he lay
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 1: down under the bush fell asleep. He simply collapsed into sleep,
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: right there under that desert shrub. His body and his
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: emotions were completely drained. Sleep was all he had left.
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: While Elijah slept under the broom tree, something wonderful happened.
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: The rest of verse five tells us all at once
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: an angel touched him and said, get up and eat.
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: An angel appeared and gently woke the sleeping prophet, telling
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: him to get up and eat. This wasn't a rebuke
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: or a sermon. It was a simple, caring instruction. Eat
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: some food. When Elijah opened his eyes and looked around,
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: Verse six describes what he saw. He looked around, and
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: there by his head was some bread baked over hot
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank,
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 1: and then lay down again. Right next to where he
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 1: was lying, he found fresh bread that had been baked
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: over coals and a jar of water. If someone had
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: prepared a meal for him, the angel had brought him
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: exactly what his body needed. So Elijah ate the bread,
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: drank the water, and then lay back down to sleep
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: some more. But the angel wasn't finished. Elijah needed more
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: than just one meal to recover from his exhaustion. Verse
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: seven continues, the Angel of the Lord came back a
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: second time and touched him and said, get up and eat,
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: for the journey is too much for you. The Angel
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: returned and woke him again with the same instruction, get
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: up and eat, but this time there was an explanation.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: The journey is too much for you. There was a
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: long journey ahead, and Elijah needed to be strengthened for it.
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: So Elijah ate and drank again, and this time something
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: remarkable happened. Verse eight tells us. So he got up
• 1:04:52
  Speaker 1: and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: forty days and forty nights, and till he reached Horeb,
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: the Mountain of God. That meal gave him supernatural strength.
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: He walked for forty days and forty nights, over a
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 1: month of traveling all the way to Horeb. This was
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: the same mountain where Moses had received the Ten Commandments.
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: It was also called Mount Sinai, hundreds of miles south
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 1: of where Elijah had been. The food the Angel provided
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: wasn't ordinary food. It sustained Elijah for an incredible journey
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: across the desert for forty days. He walked, following the
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 1: same path that the Israelites had taken centuries earlier when
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: they left Egypt. He was going back to the mountain
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: where God had first established his covenant with Israel. When
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: he finally arrived at Horeb, Verse nine tells us there
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 1: he went into a cave and spent the night. Exhausted
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: from the long journey, Elijah found a cave and settled
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: in for the night. This might have been the same
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: cave where God had hidden Moses when he asked to
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 1: see God's glory. Now another prophet was taking shelter in
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: this sacred place. While Elijah was in the cave, God
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: spoke to him. The end of verse nine records the
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: Lord's question, and the word of the Lord came to him.
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: What are you doing here, Elijah? It was a simple question,
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 1: but it carried weight. Why had Elijah come to this mountain?
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 1: What brought him to this place? Elijah poured out his
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 1: heart in response. Verses ten says he replied, I have
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 1: have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: your prophets to death with the sword. I am the
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 1: only one left, and now they are trying to kill
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: me too. The prophet explained his situation. He had been
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: completely devoted to God. He had worked hard for the Lord,
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 1: but the people had rejected God's covenant, destroyed his altars,
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: and killed his prophets. Elijah felt alone. He thought he
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 1: was the only faithful one left, and now even he
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: was being hunted. God's response was unexpected. Instead of answering
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: Elijah's complaint directly, he gave him a command. In verse eleven,
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: the Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 1: about to pass by. God was going to reveal himself
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: to Elijah. He told the prophet to leave the cave
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: and stand on the mountain to witness what was about
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: to happen. Then came a series of dramatic events. The
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 1: rest of verse eleven describes the first one. Then, a
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 1: the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: in the wind. An incredibly strong wind struck the mountain.
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 1: It was so powerful that it tore at the rocks
• 1:07:59
  Speaker 1: and broke them apart. But God told Elijah that he
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 1: wasn't in that wind. This wasn't how God was choosing
• 1:08:05
  Speaker 1: to speak. Next came an earthquake verse twelve begins. After
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: not in the earthquake. The ground shook beneath Elijah's feet,
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: the mountain trembled, but again God said he wasn't in
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: the earthquake. This also wasn't his chosen method of communication.
• 1:08:28
  Speaker 1: Then fire appeared. The verse continues. After the earthquake came
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: Flames blazed on the mountain. This must have reminded Elijah
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: of the fire that fell on Mount Carmel, but God
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: said he wasn't in the fire either. Finally, something completely
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: different happened. The end of verse twelve and the beginning
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: of verse thirteen describe it. And after the fire came
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he put pulled
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: his cloak over his face and went out and stood
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: at the mouth of the cave. After all the dramatic displays,
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 1: the wind, the earthquake, the fire, came a gentle whisper.
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: Some translations call it a still small voice or a
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: soft murmuring sound. It was quiet, gentle, almost inaudible, And
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: this was where God was. When Elijah heard that quiet voice,
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: he covered his face with his cloak out of reverence,
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: and went to stand at the cave entrance. God wasn't
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: in the powerful dramatic displays. He was in the gentle whisper.
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: Sometimes God speaks in the quietest ways. Standing at the
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: cave entrance with his face covered, Elijah heard God's voice again.
• 1:09:49
  Speaker 1: The rest of verse thirteen says, then a voice said
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 1: to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? It was
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: the same question God had asked before, what brought him
• 1:09:59
  Speaker 1: to this mountain? Elijah gave the same answer he had
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 1: given earlier. Verse fourteen records his words. He replied, I
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and
• 1:10:14
  Speaker 1: put your prophets to death with the sword. I am
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 1: the only one left, and now they are trying to
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 1: kill me too. Who Nothing had changed in his perspective.
• 1:10:24
  Speaker 1: He still felt alone, still felt like all his work
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 1: had been for nothing, still believed he was the last
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: faithful person in Israel. But now God gave him a
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 1: new assignment. Verses fifteen and sixteen contained God's instructions. The
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: Lord said to him, go back the way you came,
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there,
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi,
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: king over Israel. And anoint Ilisha, son of Shafat from
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. God gave Elijah
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 1: three specific tasks. He needed to travel to Damascus and
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: anoint a man named Hazel to be the next king
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: of Aram. He needed to anoint Jihu to be the
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: next king of Israel. And he needed to anoint Elisha
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: to be the next prophet, the one who would take
• 1:11:19
  Speaker 1: over Elijah's ministry. This was God's answer to Elijah's despair.
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: The prophet thought his ministry was over and had failed,
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: but God was giving him new work to do. God
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 1: was already planning the next phase of his work in Israel,
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: and Elijah had a role to play in it. Then
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: God explained what would happen through these three men. Verse
• 1:11:43
  Speaker 1: seventeen says Ji, who will put to death any who
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 1: escaped the sword of Hazael, and Elishah will put to
• 1:11:49
  Speaker 1: death any who escaped the sword of Jihu. These three
• 1:11:53
  Speaker 1: people God was commissioning would bring judgment on the evil
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: in Israel, those who escaped one would face enough, God's
• 1:12:01
  Speaker 1: justice would be accomplished through them. But then God revealed
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: something that completely contradicted Elijah's belief that he was alone.
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: Verse eighteen contains this stunning statement, Yet I reserve seven
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 1: thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: to bile and whose mouths have not kissed him, seven
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 1: thousand faithful people. Elijah thought he was the only one.
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: But God had preserved seven thousand people in Israel who
• 1:12:29
  Speaker 1: had never worshiped Baal. They hadn't bowed to the false God,
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: they hadn't kissed his idol. They had remained faithful to
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: the Lord. Elijah wasn't alone at all, he never had been.
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: While he was feeling isolated and defeated, thinking he was
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 1: the last believer, God had thousands of faithful servants scattered
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: throughout the nation. The prophet's perspective had been completely wrong.
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 1: So Elijah left Mount Horeb and headed back north to
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: carry out God's instructions. The first task he completed was
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: finding Elisha. Verse nineteen of chapter nineteen describes their first meeting.
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: So Elijah went from there and found Elisha, son of Shafat.
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha was a
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: farmer and clearly from a wealthy family. He was plowing
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: with twelve pairs of oxen, which meant this was a
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: large farming operation. Elishah himself was working with the last pair,
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: the twelfth team. He was out in the field doing
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: hard physical work when Elijah found him. The prophet walked
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 1: up to this young man and threw his cloak his
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 1: mantle around his shoulders. This was a symbolic act that
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 1: meant Elisha was being called to follow Elijah and eventually
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 1: take his place as profit. Elisha immediately understood what was happening.
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 1: Verse twenty tells us his response. Elisha then left his
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: oxen and ran after Elijah. Let me kiss my father
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: and mother good bye, he said, and then I will
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: come with you go back. Elijah replied, what have I
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: done to you? Elishah left his work right away and
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: ran after Elijah. He asked for permission to say goodbye
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: to his parents first, which was a reasonable request. Elijah's response,
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: what have I done to you seems to have been
• 1:14:27
  Speaker 1: his way of telling Elijha that he was free to
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: make his own choice. Elijah had issued the call, but
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: Elisha had to decide how to respond. Elisha's decision was
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 1: immediate and total. Verse twenty one describes what he did.
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 1: So Elisha left him and went back. He took his
• 1:14:45
  Speaker 1: yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 1: people and they ate. Then he set out to follow
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 1: Elijah and became his servant. This wasn't a temporary commitment
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 1: or trial period. Elisha killed his oxen, his means of
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: making a living. He burned his plowing equipment, his tools
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: for farming. He used them to cook the meat and
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: through a feast for the people. He was burning his bridges,
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: making it impossible to go back to his old life.
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: Then he left everything and followed Elijah, becoming his servant.
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: From this moment on, Elisha would be learning from Elijah,
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 1: serving him, and preparing to take over his ministry. The
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 1: older prophet had found his successor. Years passed and the
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: time came for God to take Elijah to heaven. Chapter
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: two of Second Kings begins with this statement. In verse one,
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 1: Heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: way from Gilgal. Both prophets knew something significant was about
• 1:15:55
  Speaker 1: to happen. They were traveling together from Gilgal, beginning what
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: would be alone Elijah's final journey on earth. As they traveled,
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 1: Elijah tried to get Elisha to stay behind. Verse two
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: records their conversation. Elijah said to Elisha, stay here. The
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: Lord has sent me to Bethel. But Elisha said, as
• 1:16:17
  Speaker 1: surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I
• 1:16:21
  Speaker 1: will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel.
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 1: Elijah told his servant to stay in Gilgal while he
• 1:16:28
  Speaker 1: went on to Bethel, but Elisha refused with a strong oath.
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 1: He swore he would not leave Elijah's side, so they
• 1:16:36
  Speaker 1: traveled together to Bethel. At Bethel, there was a group
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: of prophets who knew what was about to happen. Verse
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: three says the company of the prophets at Bethel came
• 1:16:46
  Speaker 1: out to Elisha and asked, do you know that the
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 1: Lord is going to take your master from you today? Yes?
• 1:16:52
  Speaker 1: I know, Alisha replied, so be quiet. These prophets asked
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 1: Elisha if he knew that the Lord was taking Elijah
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 1: away that very day. Elisha confirmed that he knew and
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 1: told them to be quiet about it. He didn't want
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 1: to discuss it. The same pattern repeated. Verse four continues.
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 1: Then Elijah said to him, stay here, Elisha. The Lord
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: has sent me to Jericho. And he replied, as surely
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 1: as the Lord lives and as you live, I will
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: not leave you. So they went to Jericho. Again. Elijah
• 1:17:30
  Speaker 1: tried to leave Elisha behind, and again Elisha refused to stay.
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: They traveled on to Jericho together. In Jericho, another group
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: of prophets approached Elisha with the same question. Verse five
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: says the company of the prophets at Jericho went up
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: to Elisha and asked him, do you know that the
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: Lord is going to take your master from you today? Yes?
• 1:17:54
  Speaker 1: I know, he replied, so be quiet. The prophets at
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: Jericho also knew what was coming, and they asked Elisha
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: about it. His answer was the same, yes he knew.
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: Now please be quiet. One more time, Elijah tried to
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: go on alone. Verse six records then Elijah said to
• 1:18:14
  Speaker 1: him stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan,
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: and he replied, as surely as the Lord lives, and
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 1: as you live, I will not leave you. So the
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 1: two of them walked on. For the third time, Elijah
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: told Elisha to stay behind. For the third time, Elisha
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: swore he would not leave. They continued together to the
• 1:18:35
  Speaker 1: Jordan River. Fifty prophets followed them and stood watching from
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 1: a distance. Verse seven tells us fifty men from the
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: company of the prophets went and stood at a distance,
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: the Jordan. These men wanted to witness what would happen.
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: They kept their distance but watched carefully. When Elijah and
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: Elisha reached the Jordan, some something amazing happened. Verse eight
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: describes it. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and
• 1:19:07
  Speaker 1: struck the water with it. The water divided to the
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 1: right and to the left, and the two of them
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 1: crossed over on dry ground. Elijah took his cloak, rolled
• 1:19:16
  Speaker 1: it up and hit the water of the Jordan River
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 1: with it. The water separated, creating a dry path through
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: the river, just like when Joshua led Israel across the
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: Jordan centuries earlier. The two prophets walked across on dry
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: ground on the other side of the Jordan. Elijah turned
• 1:19:34
  Speaker 1: to his faithful servant. He knew this was his last
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 1: chance to do something for Elisha before leaving. Verse nine
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 1: records their conversation. When they had crossed. Elijah said to Elisha,
• 1:19:47
  Speaker 1: tell me what can I do for you before I
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: am taken from you. Let me inherit a double portion
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 1: of your spirit, Elisha replied. Elijah asked what he could
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 1: do for Elisha. The younger Prophet's request was significant. He
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 1: asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. This was
• 1:20:07
  Speaker 1: the inheritance of the first born son, the main heir.
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 1: Elisha was asking to be Elijah's true successor, to carry
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: on his work with even greater power. Elijah's response showed
• 1:20:21
  Speaker 1: that this wasn't something he could simply give. Verse ten
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 1: contains his answer. You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah said,
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: Yet if you see me when I am taken from you,
• 1:20:33
  Speaker 1: it will be yours. Otherwise it will not. The request
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 1: was difficult, not something Elijah could grant on his own,
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 1: but he gave Elisha a condition. If Elisha actually saw
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 1: Elijah being taken away, then he would receive what he
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: asked for. If he didn't see it, he wouldn't receive it.
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: So they continued walking and talking together. Verse eleven describes
• 1:20:57
  Speaker 1: what happened next. As they were walking along and talking together,
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 1: suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared
• 1:21:05
  Speaker 1: and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up
• 1:21:09
  Speaker 1: to heaven in a whirlwind. Without warning, a chariot made
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 1: of fire appeared, pulled by horses made of fire. This
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 1: incredible sight came between the two prophets, separating them, and
• 1:21:21
  Speaker 1: then Elijah was caught up to heaven in a whirlwind.
• 1:21:25
  Speaker 1: Elisha saw it all happen. Verse twelve records his reaction.
• 1:21:29
  Speaker 1: Elisha saw this and cried out, my father, my father,
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  Speaker 1: the chariots and horsemen of Israel, and Elisha saw him
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  Speaker 1: no more. Then he took hold of his garment and
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  Speaker 1: tore it in two. Elisha cried out, calling Elijah his
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  Speaker 1: father and declaring him to be like the chariots and
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  Speaker 1: army of Israel, the nation's true strength and defense. He
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  Speaker 1: watched until he could no longer see Elijah. Then he
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  Speaker 1: tore his own clothes in grief. A traditional sign of mourning,
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  Speaker 1: but something had fallen to the ground during Elijah's ascension.
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  Speaker 1: Verse thirteen tells us Elisha then picked up Elijah's cloak
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  Speaker 1: that had fallen from him and went back and stood
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  Speaker 1: on the bank of the Jordan. Elijah's cloak, the same
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  Speaker 1: mantle he had thrown over Elishah years earlier when he
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  Speaker 1: first called him, had fallen from heaven. Elisha picked it
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  Speaker 1: up and returned to the Jordan river with it. Now
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  Speaker 1: came the test. Did Elisha receive what he had asked for?
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  Speaker 1: Would he have the power that Elijah had? Verse fourteen
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  Speaker 1: gives us the answer. He took the cloak that had
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  Speaker 1: fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. Where
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  Speaker 1: now is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He asked.
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  Speaker 1: When he struck the water, it divided to the right
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  Speaker 1: and to the left, and he crossed over Elishah. Took
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  Speaker 1: the cloak and hit the water, calling out to the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: the God of Elijah. The water divided, just as it
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  Speaker 1: had for Elijah. The power had been transferredd Elisha crossed
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  Speaker 1: back over the Jordan on dry ground. The fifty prophets
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  Speaker 1: who had been watching saw what happened. Verses fifteen says
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  Speaker 1: the company of the prophets from Jericho who were watching, said,
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  Speaker 1: the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. Turn they
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  Speaker 1: went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
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  Speaker 1: They recognized that God's spirit, which had empowered Elijah, was
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  Speaker 1: now on Elisha. They came and bowed before him, acknowledging
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  Speaker 1: him as the new prophet of the Lord. If this
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  Speaker 1: story has inspired you, moved you, or deepened your understanding
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  Speaker 1: of God's power and faithfulness, please take a moment to
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  Speaker 1: dedicated to exploring the rich stories and timeless truths of Scripture.
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  Speaker 1: And don't forget to share this video with your friends, family,
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  Speaker 1: and anyone who would benefit from hearing about the prophet
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  Speaker 1: who rode into heaven on a chariot of fire. Helps
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  Speaker 1: us continue bringing these powerful biblical narratives to life. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for watching, and may the God of Elijah be
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  Speaker 1: with you on your own journey of faith.