Theme: A True Prophet's Characters, Elijah.
Story from1 King 19:1-7 and 1 King 19:8-14,18. See part 2 for reading.
King Ahab returned home to tell his wife, Jezebel, the Queen all that Elijah had done. This anger Jezebel which she wanted to kill Elijah because he had all 850 false prophets killed. Elijah escaped from her and went on a long trip to south. This story is interested because there is a difference between the false prophets and the true prophet, Elijah. What kind of a person was the Old Testament prophet like? Since we read the story of Elijah, I would like to share few of the examples, the kind of character the true prophet have.
First, Elijah was a person who had a close relationship with God and Elijah became God’s confident. God could trust Elijah to do the job He asked him to. Secondly, since Elijah was close to God, Elijah was in sympathy with God because God was suffering because of the sins of His people. Elijah not only heard God’s voice but also felt His heart, and experienced His emotional reactions of anger toward sins. Elijah understood God’s purpose, will and desires. Thirdly, Elijah like God, deeply loved the people of Israel. When the people were hurting, the true prophet felt the deep pain. The true prophet wanted God’s best for them and the messages was not only a warnings but also words of hope and comfort. Fourth, Elijah put his complete trust in God and he was loyal to God. A true prophet warned against trusting in other things, such as human wisdom, wealth, power, or other gods. Elijah, like a true prophet continued to encourage the people to live by God’s covenant in order to receive God’s redemptive blessings. Fifth, Elijah, the true prophet had a deep sensitivity to sin and evil. A true prophet shared God’s love of righteousness and His hatred of iniquity or sins. Sixth, Elijah was totally dedicated to God and he hated halfhearted commitment, shunned the middle road, and demanded complete faithfulness to God. Elijah, constantly challenged the people of Israel to worship only God of Israel and not turn to other gods. Seven, Elijah was in conflicts with false prophets who often predict peace, prosperity and security for God’s sinful people. Elijah was often a man of loneliness because he was willing to stand alone for God. Finally, Elijah had succeed changed the hearts of people to choose God only. That is a character of a true prophet of the Old Testament. Since 2000 years ago, it still applies to a “true prophet, true preacher, true teacher and a true Christian who helped others to turn their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.”
The purpose of these characters of a true prophet helped us to see the difference between the false prophets, and false teachers. Jesus spoke a lot about them. So I pray that the Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes to be able to compare our characters with Elijah's characters and be changed through the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. Amen! God loves you and so do I.
