Elijah. Man of Courage, Man of Faith, Man of God.Sample

Elijah announces God’s judgment impartially

The book of Kings has recorded so many of Elijah’s confrontations with king Ahab and his son, that we can understand why Ahab calls the prophet his personal enemy (1 Kings 21:20). But this is not true. The book of 2 Chronicles describes how Elijah also writes a letter to king Jehoram of Judah, who is a descendant of king David and whose forefathers did “what was right in the sight of the Lord”.

Unfortunately, Jehoram has married Ahab’s daughter and sees his father-in-law as a role model. He turns away from the Lord, entices his subjects to do the same and kills all of his brothers to secure his own position. All this evokes God’s wrath. Elijah writes Jehoram a letter to announce God’s judgment: “Behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day” (2 Chronicles 21:14-15).

Jehoram is a descendant of David, and God has promised David not to destroy his royal line. But this does not give Jehoram a blank cheque to sin.

The Lord judges impartially, and so does the prophet Elijah. Do you always treat people equally?