Elijah the Tishbite, A Man Like Us

Passage: I Kings 17:1-2; James 5:17-18

Try to picture for a minute a stranger, walking unannounced into the White House up to the Second floor, past all the staff and security, and boldly entering the oval office and with authority declaring that all import and export trading will cease for several years until I say it will resume.  And then as suddenly as he appeared, he disappears.

If you are reading along in I Kings, when you turn the page to chapter 17 Elijah the Tishbite steps onto the canvas of Scripture unannounced from out of nowhere.  Like a meteor flashing across a dark sky.  His sudden appearance makes him somehow a grand and romantic figure.  We are drawn to and fascinated by this unique character, and his abrupt declaration underscores his mystery.

Who was that masked man?  Where did he come from, and where did he go?  What did he say?

Where did he get such authority?

People of conviction and passion stand out to us.  Especially in a cultural climate like ours where it was neither comfortable or convenient to take a stand for God.  Everyone fears to get involved.  In an age “moral pygmies” Elijah towers like a giant.

F.B. Meyer called him a “colossus among men.”

Alexander Whyte called him “a Mount Sinai of a man with a heart like a thunderstorm.”

Alexander McClaren called him “the Martin Luther of the Old Testament.”

James says Elijah was a man like us.  Really?  How many of you think that when you think about Elijah?  Let’s talk about spiritual conviction and moral authority.  Where does it come from, how can we get it?  By observing Elijah’s life we can see there is truth in what James says, especially if you notice the qualities and characteristics of Elijah are also the qualities and characteristics that make up a Christian, one like us.