1. Before Carmel, there must be Kiri-"Go and hide in Kiri Creek". Waiting for God's supply is more difficult than serving God. However, he confidently grasped God's first promise: "I have ordered the crows to feed you there". Although the water in the stream is decreasing, we learn to be humble and obedient and do everything according to God's will.
2. Practice at the widow's house in Zarephath & the lessons Elijah learned in Kiribati Creek make him worth further practice. When I arrived in Zarephath, I found that the foreign widow designated by God was preparing the last meal for herself and her son, and then she died. However, his experience in Kiribati convinced him that God would do miracles every day to meet the needs of him and his widow and mother. When his faith took a big step forward, God really asked Elijah to say, "The flour in the altar will not be reduced, and the oil in the altar will not be short until the day when the Lord sends rain on the earth. (1 Kings 17: 14) was completely fulfilled.
Practice in the face of the child's death-the widow's son died suddenly, and Elijah, who lives in this house, suffered this accident. This is really a difficult course to learn. However, he knew that since God could not reduce the dough, he would be more able to solve it. The growth and experience of Elijah's faith made him competent for this urgent matter, so the child came back to life.
The fire in Mount Carmel
When the whole country deviated from the right path and the mood of worshipping the Lord fell to the lowest point, God exalted Elijah at such a time. In order to make the whole country understand that there is no room for peaceful coexistence between two opposing religions, Elijah challenged Baal's prophet to test the power of the Lord. "The God Who Reveals Fire is God" is a very simple and fair challenge. Since they think Baal is a Vulcan, let him try his career. The result also clearly stated: "If the Lord is God, you should obey the Lord; If Baal is a god, obey Baal "(1 Kings 18: 23). People will have two kinds of thoughts for a long time. Now it's time to distinguish between black and white and show loyalty.
At this time, Elijah himself faced a severe challenge, but we saw that he successfully asked God and the Lord to send fire from heaven and burn the burnt offerings, firewood, stones and water in the ditch. Besides obeying God's commands, his success can also be seen from several things he did in sacrifice and prayer: 1. Rebuild the damaged altar, and 2. Build an altar with twelve stones-it means that Elijah's prayer was heard by the Lord, fire came down from heaven, the supreme authority of the Lord was established, and Elijah was honored as a servant of God. Elijah prayed earnestly that it would rain heavily to relieve the drought.
Failure after victory
The moment of victory may also be the most dangerous time, and people often fall at the peak of victory. When Elijah was threatened by Jezebel to take his life, his confidence plummeted and the reasons for his failure were as follows:
1. Because of physiological reasons-after he won the battle nervously in the face of many false prophets, he ran to Jezreel thirty miles away in one breath, which affected his relationship with God when he was exhausted.
2. For psychological reasons-feeling of self-pity and superiority made him complain that "I am invincible to my ancestors" and beg for death from God. What made him desperate most was that he said, "I am the only one who is enthusiastic about the Lord." However, God let him know all the truth in a small voice. God left for himself 7,000 people who never bowed to Baal as his backing. God rebuilt his faith again, and graciously entrusted him to anoint three people, continue to face Ahab and Jezebel bravely, and sweep away the shame of previous timidity.
Go to heaven-go to hell.
When Ahaziah was king, he imitated his parents and did evil blindly, ignoring the existence of God. Ahaziah was ill and didn't ask God. God instructed Elijah to preach a warning. Instead of repenting, Ahaziah sent troops to capture Elijah. In the name of God, Elijah showed his ability and ordered fire to come down from heaven and destroy the wicked.
In order to destroy the enemies of the true God, Elijah won the faith of many people, established the school of prophets, and lit the eternal flame of prophets. Finally, he went straight to heaven and was honored at home, fighting for his beliefs all his life. He really deserves to be called "Israel's military vehicle and cavalry". Four hundred years later, the prophet Malachi predicted-"Look! Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, I will send Elijah to you, and he will turn his father's heart to his son, and his son's heart to his father, lest I curse the land "(Malachi 4: 6). It is predicted in this passage that there will be a period of revival similar to that brought by Elijah before the last judgment day of the Lord comes. Elijah's spirit has always remained in the hearts of the Israeli people and has become the object of their imitation.