New Days, Old Demons: A Study of Elijahናሙና

Are the Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel Spirits Active Today?

In the midst of dark and demonic decline, one man stepped onto the stage of history from prior obscurity. We are not told about Elijah’s parents, upbringing, education, or much of anything else. All we are told is that he was from “Tishbe in Gilead”. Tisbhe is apparently such a small ancient town that, to this day, we don’t know exactly where it was. Elijah started as literally a no one from nowhere. His name means, “My God is Yahweh”. He was a rugged mountain man and looked every bit the part.

A man of few words, he makes it clear that a battle is brewing between the powerful demon Baal worshipped by king Ahab and the One True God. Elijah prophecies that rain will not fall for three years, at which time he will pray to God for rain to fall again.

Throughout his ministry, Elijah was cut off from the rest of society in solitude. There is a major difference between isolation and solitude. Isolation is bad for us, as we are avoiding the people and circumstances God has called us to, which causes us to be unwell because it is not good to be alone, as God said. Solitude, however, is where we are separated from people for a period so that we can be present with God in a more-focused and less-distracted way. This is precisely what Elijah was doing – he was not alone, he was alone with God, which is clarifying, healing, and strengthening. Jesus, we are told numerous times in the four gospels, “withdrew”, often from crowds. Luke 5:16 (NIV) says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

During these times, God supernaturally sustained Elijah. Like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for forty years, God provided him bread. Nonetheless, eventually, the lack of rain caused even the brook Elijah drank from to dry up as crisis had hit the nation under God’s judgment. This is a complete crisis, as the entire nation is under the judgment for sin as a reminder of the universal curse everyone is under because of sin. A person can go a few weeks without food, but only a few days without water, especially in a desert climate. Everything from crops to animals and people would be dying slowly and painfully. God is patient, but His judgment is certain. During this entire time, king Ahab did not repent, and so it did not rain.

At points in our life, we all have our brook dry up. The business that paid us goes broke, the church that we loved falls apart, the marriage we committed to comes to an end, the city we’ve lived in is no longer our home, etc.

What is perhaps most surprising about Elijah is that he was an ordinary person that God used in an extraordinary way. Elijah was not a superhero with special powers, but a mere mortal like the rest of us. James 5:17 (NLT) says, “Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!” In the next section, we will see this miracle occur.

When have you had your brook dry up? How did you respond and what can you learn from Elijah’s response to his brook drying up?