1 Kings 16:29-17:1
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
We’re first introduced to him as “Elijah the Tishbite” (1 Kings 17:1). Talk about stepping out of nowhere! Elijah came out of this insignificant place—out of nowhere—to make such a significant contribution to God’s plan for His people that he became one of Israel’s most famous heroes. He became what we often call today a legend.
The first thing that commands our attention is Elijah’s name. The Hebrew word for “God” in the Old Testament is Elohim, which is occasionally abbreviated El. The word jah is the word for “Jehovah.” Thus, in Elijah’s name we find the word for “God” and the word for “Jehovah.” Between them is the small letter I, which in Hebrew has reference to the personal pronoun “my” or “mine.” Putting the three together, then, we find that Elijah’s name means “My God is Jehovah” or “The Lord is my God.” No one had a reason to doubt that!
Ahab and Jezebel were in control of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Baal was the god they worshiped. But when Elijah burst on the scene, his very name proclaimed, “I have one God. His name is Jehovah. He is the One I serve, before whom I stand.”
By now, the spiritual chasm between God and His people had reached its widest breadth. Elijah stood alone in that gap.
Today there are still those who stand alone in the gap, those who still strive to shake us awake. A handful of brave students at Columbine High School come immediately to mind. Loaded guns and the threat of death couldn’t silence them. I think of them as modern-day Elijahs, whom God uses to deliver a life-changing message. Men and women of courage, ready to stand and deliver. Authentic heroes.
Our Lord is still searching for people who will make a difference. Christians dare not be mediocre. We dare not dissolve into the background or blend into the neutral scenery of this world. Sometimes you have to look awfully close and talk awfully long before an individual will declare his allegiance to God . . . someone with the courage to stand alone for God. Is that what we have created today in this age of tolerance and compromise?
Elijah’s life teaches us what the Lord requires.
Our Lord is still searching for people who refuse to hide in the background.
— Charles R. Swindoll