Holy Spirit said the words "Elijah 8", when praying for him to give me a word in the Bible which would help me deal with a situation happening in our family. At first I thought it was reference to scripture for study. I went to Ezekiel and thought, oops, that wasn't the right one. I then looked up Elijah in the accordance and Elijah is mentioned in I Kings but I wasn't able to check it out at that time. Then a week later, He said "Elijah 8" again after I was seeking help for another situation. I then started reading I Kings, but again didn't get time to read it all before going out of town. While visiting my sister, I told her what the Holy Spirit had told me and asked if she knew what he meant by Elijah 8. We both went to I Kings, and then like a light bulb came on, she said, He could have meant "Elijah Ate" and there I was thinking in numbers, and agreed it made more sense that it was the word "ate". It has been 2 months since we had talked about Elijah, and I am now taking the time to post it. Focus will be on scripture which includes what "Elijah Ate".
Elijah stands out in the Old Testament as the great Spiritual Warrior. He was the prophet to Israel during the Baal counterattack when only 7,000 believers were left in the Northern Kingdom. He opposed the Evil King Ahab and Jezebel, his wife, the foremost example of the Prostitute of Babylon. Elijah and Moses are believed to be the two witnesses who will be called back to serve in the Tribulation in Israel's darkest hour. And Elijah's prophecy of no rain for 3.5 years will become the standard for the division of the seven years of the Tribulation in half to mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Elijah stands out in the Old Testament as the great Spiritual Warrior. He was the prophet to Israel during the Baal counterattack when only 7,000 believers were left in the Northern Kingdom. He opposed the Evil King Ahab and Jezebel, his wife, the foremost example of the Prostitute of Babylon. Elijah and Moses are believed to be the two witnesses who will be called back to serve in the Tribulation in Israel's darkest hour. And Elijah's prophecy of no rain for 3.5 years will become the standard for the division of the seven years of the Tribulation in half to mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Elijah's Early Life
All that is known of Elijah's early life comes from one verse of scripture.
Elijah, the Tishbite, from the settlers of Gilead said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be these ensuing years dew nor rain except at the word of my mouth." (1 Kings 17:1)
The name Elijah in Hebrew means whose God is Jehovah. Elijah is called "the Tishbite," which means a person from the town of Tishbeh. He was born in Tishbeh. The only known reference to Tishbeh is Tobit 1:2, which is not part of the accepted Hebrew Bible. Tishbeh is said to be in Naphtali in the Upper Galilee south of Kedesh, which is on the west side of the Jordan.
Elijah was one of the "settlers of Gilead." Gilead is the mountainous region west of the Jordan. "Settler" is the Hebrew toshab, which refers to a person who left the place of his birth and lived in another tribe as a foreigner. A settler, however, differs from a Gentile from a foreign country. Gilead means hill of witness. It is the mountain region east of the Jordan to the south of the River Jabbok. In a city of the region, Ramoth Gilead, there are two mountains, Jebel, and Jelud. The two mountains signify a witness. Moses and Elijah are believed to be the two great witnesses of the Old Testament, who will be resuscitated during the Tribulation to evangelize Israel. They are symbolized by two olive trees and two lampstands and have the power two stop rain, to turn water into blood, and send plagues (Revelation 11:2-12).
Elijah lived in Gilead until he had grown spiritually. Then Elijah crossed the Jordan River to confront King Ahab, the Evil King, in Spiritual Warfare. Ahab lived in Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He also had a castle, which was a summer residence, in Jezreel (1 Kings 21:1). He prophesied to Ahab that it would not rain for the next years until he (Elijah) gave the word. From history it turned out that it didn't rain for 3.5 years (Luke 4:25; Jas 5:17-18). The end of rain signaled the beginning of the Second Cycle of National Cursing, which included drought and economic recession in an agricultural economy (Deut 28:23-24; Lev 26:18-20; Jer 14:1-6).
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Suffering
Without rain the land of Israel along with the people and livestock in the agricultural economy entered suffering. The nation had entered the Second Cycle of National Cursing. The Lord commanded Elijah to go back to the Jordan and hide out because his life was in danger.
The decree of the LORD came to him commanding, "Depart from here. Turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook Kerith, which is in front of the Jordan." (1 Kings 17:2-3)
Elijah was commanded to hide out by the Brook Kerith, which empties into the Jordan. Whether the Brook was on the east or west side of the Jordan is not clear. Tradition has it on the west side. The name, "Kerith" is from the Hebrew verb karath, meaning to cut off. Elijah must separate and cut his ties with the evil administration of King Ahab.
And it shall come to pass that you shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the crows to provide food for you there. (1 Kings 17:4)
The Lord provides food, clothing, and shelter in Logistical Grace. Elijah would be able to drink water from the Brook Kerith, and the crows would bring him food. Here the Hebrew `oreb, which means literally to be black, refers to a raven or crow. The word may also be onomatopoetic. The crow or raven usually symbolizes a demon commander, such as Baal. Since it is one of the unclean animals, it is not usually a sign of God's Grace, but in this time of national degeneracy God sent Elijah's daily food via the crows.
Therefore, he went and performed according to the decree of the Lord, i.e. he went and dwelt by the brook Kerith, which is before the Jordan. The crows brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and out from the brook he drank. (1 Kings 17:5-6)
The Lord did not provide Elijah with garbage or carrion to eat. He gave him fresh bread and meat in the morning and evening. The word, "meat," is the Hebrew basar, meaning the flesh of bulls or animals, beef-steak, or meat. While Elijah lived alone in the swamp and the rest of the land suffered, the Lord provided him good food twice a day.
It came about after a time the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. (1 Kings 17:7)
Since there was no rain, the brook eventually dried up. So, the Lord sent Elijah to Zarephath. Elijah traveled to Zarephath and lived with a widow and her son (1 Kings 17:8-16). She was down to a handful of flour and a little olive oil when Elijah arrived, but the Lord provided. The flour and oil did not run out as long as Elijah stayed with her. Zarephath (Hebrew tsarephathah) means smelting place and refers to Fire Testing. As the land was scorched in the summer heat, Elijah was given food along with a widow and her son.
While they were living comfortably, the widow's son became sick and died. The widow became bitter and blamed Elijah. However, Elijah prayed for the boy, and the Lord resuscitated him (1 Kings 17:17-24).
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Flight to the Wilderness
As soon as Ahab got home, he told Jezebel about all that Elijah had done on Mt. Carmel and how he had slain all of the prophets of Baal. Jezebel was enraged. She sent a message to Elijah that she would take revenge on him.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” (1 Kings 19:2)
Jezebel had stayed home when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. She was negative to any hope of salvation. When Ahab told her about the Lord answering with fire from Heaven, she was still negative. She expressed her negative volition in animosity toward Elijah. God is fair. He gave Jezebel a chance to believe along with all the others in the land. He even revealed Himself by fire, but Jezebel stayed home and refused to listen. She made her decision to burn in the Lake of Fire forever. She was one of the most evil people who ever lived. In her violent death, the dogs ate her corpse and licked up her blood.
Elijah's grace victory on Mt. Carmel stopped Satan's plan to purge all believers from Israel. Elijah was in Spiritual Maturity and was the recipient of grace blessing in bearing the fruit of Eternal Life. He stood alone with the Lord against 450 prophets of Baal and destroyed the Cosmic stronghold in Spiritual Warfare. After the great victory, it appeared he would receive glory and enjoy the fruit of his labors in a nation that was on the road to recovery of its Spiritual heritage. However, Satan was sure to counterattack, and God was not finished with Elijah. So Elijah's victory celebration was short-lived. Satan was given permission to cross-examine Elijah, and within a day Elijah was staring in the face of death at the hands of Jezebel, the Prostitute of Babylon and Satan's host.
In Spiritual Maturity Elijah had the power to withstand the counterattack of Baal, but he lacked the power to deal with Satan, who empowered Jezebel as the Prostitute of Babylon. Elijah was not a coward. He was not afraid, but he lacked the Spiritual power to stop the threat from Jezebel.
When he saw the situation, he arose, and went for the sake of his soul-life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. (1 Kings 19:3)
When Elijah saw the situation, he fled "for the sake of his soul-life." Here the Hebrew el (for the sake of) plus nephesh (soul-life) does not mean that he was running in fear for his life, but that he was seeking solitude and safety to deal with this life or death situation. Elijah's normal method for dealing with a crisis was to isolate himself and humble himself before God. He needed a refuge in the storm.
Elijah fled to Beersheba, which was in Judah. More precisely, it was in region allotted to the Tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2), which was in Judah. Simeon was the criminal, and Elijah was fleeing as a fugitive from the criminality of Jezebel, who was a murderer like Satan.
Elijah left his servant in Beersheba and went a day's journey into the desert of Paran. He sat down under a broom tree, a striking desert shrub that affords natural cover for camping. He was exhausted and totally demoralized. He realized that he was in a helpless and hopeless situation and offered his soul to God that his life might be taken. He had his eyes on himself and his problem and not on the divine solution. Of course, he didn't know the divine solution yet. Elijah was facing a paradigm shift in the Spiritual Life. The things that worked before would not solve this problem. He was facing the angelic power of the Throne Angel, Satan, in the person of the Prostitute of Babylon.
Elijah was using his normal methodology for dealing with a crisis. He humbled himself before God to receive God's grace. He had humbled himself to the point of death, but that paradigm would not work against a Satanic counterattack. He needed to resist the devil in Spiritual Warfare. It was not the time to be humble and turn the other cheek. Jezebel ruled her wimp husband, and now she was trying to conquer Elijah. Elijah was facing the same type of darkness that Adam faced in Eclipse Testing when his wife sinned in the Garden. He was facing the same kind of testing that Job faced and David faced in the Absalom rebellion. This was also Evidence Testing in the Appeal Trial of Satan. The testing was designed to promote Elijah to Spiritual Rapport.
Exhausted, Elijah fell asleep under the broom tree, and an angel touched him and said, "Arise, eat!" He looked and saw at his head a bread-cake, fresh baked over red-hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.
The Angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, else the journey will be too great for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:7-8)
The Angel of the LORD was a preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord provides food, clothing, and shelter in Logistical Grace. Elijah was given some very high energy food to last 40 days and 40 nights for his journey through the desert to Mt. Horeb, "the mountain of God." Mt. Horeb is where the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and where Moses received the tables of the Law. Since it is also called Mt. Sinai as the specific mountain where the Law was given to Israel, Horeb was probably the name of the mountain range and Sinai was a specific mountain.
The Lord demonstrated His power in three Judgments, a storm, an earthquake, and fire. The three Judgments were a summary of God's Judgment upon people and the Client Nation. The storm was Judgment from above. The earthquake was Judgment from below. It symbolized Judgment of the Land of Israel, since earthquakes judge the land. And fire consumed what was left. It symbolized Fire Testing and the Holocaust.
The three Judgments were followed by "the sound (whisper) of a gentle breeze." This was the sound of peace and calm to symbolize God's compassion and Gracious Love in Spiritual Rapport. The gentle breeze symbolized the Lord's compassion when He appeared to Moses on the mountain the second time to confirm His Covenant.
Elijah on Mt. Horeb
Elijah came to the cave on Mt. Horeb and lodged there (1 Kings 19:9-10). A definite article before "cave" in the Hebrew indicates a specific cave, such as the cleft in the rock where Moses watched the glory of the Lord pass (Exodus 33:22). The Lord said to Elijah, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah answered.
Then the LORD passed by in front of him (Moses) and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in Gracious Love and truth; (Exodus 34:6)
The "sound of a gentle breeze" is just three words in the Hebrew: qol (sound) + demamah (silence, whisper, calm of winds) + daq (gentle). Although there are various interpretive translations, the gist is the sound of a gentle breeze blowing. In music this would be the piano that followed the fortissimo. The contrast reveals a love relationship, like the cooing of a dove or soft melody of woodwinds in contrast to blasting brass. The sequence of Judgments represents the testing in Elijah's life of his Spirituality (wind, Z-axis), his faith (earthquake, X-axis), and integrity that separated him from the dross of the prophets of Baal (Fire Testing, X, Y, Z axes). The gentle breeze symbolized the promotion to Spiritual Rapport. It was a gentle sound, which Elijah heard.
The Lord asked Elijah a second time what he was doing there. Elijah had not yet understood the meaning of this symphony. He had been selected for promotion to Spiritual Rapport. Like Moses, the Lord appeared to him on Mt. Horeb and confirmed his covenant. Elijah had reached the final color in the rainbow in his Spiritual Growth. He was symbolized by green for fruit bearing and blue for Spiritual Maturity on Mt. Carmel. He was symbolized by indigo in Eclipse/Evidence Testing from Jezebel and for the covering in the cave and his cloak covering his face. The symphony of Judgments on the mountain were symbolized by violet for Justice, Justification, and royalty. And the gentle breeze was symbolized by white for the Love and Sanctification of Spiritual Rapport.
The Lord then commanded Elijah to return by his way to the Desert of Damascus and anoint Hazael king over Syria and Jehu king over Israel and Elisha as prophet in his place (1 Kings 19:15-16). "By your way to the Desert of Damascus" refers to the road Elijah will take, the King's Highway, because it was the only Highway to Damascus. The highway goes up to Damascus and symbolizes a new strategic direction for Elijah's life, the path of life. The Desert of Damascus is southeast of Damascus.
“It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. (1 Kings 19:17)
The sequence of Judgments upon Israel begins with an attack from King Hazael's army from Syria (the fire). The invasion by the foreign army will begin the destruction of Israel (the earthquake). Those that are left alive in the Land of Israel will then face the judgment of Jehu. And the remainder will die the sin unto death from the Spiritual advance of Elisha (the windstorm). Elisha did not literally slay. He used the word of God as in (2 Kings 2:24).
The Lord further explained to Elijah that He would preserve 7,000 as the remnant in Israel. There were 7,000 believers in Israel whom the Lord would preserve through the destruction of the nation under the Fifth Cycle of National Cursing. This was "the remnant according to the election of grace" (Romans 11:4-5). The number, 7,000 symbolizes categorical punishment.
Elijah's Spiritual Growth Colors
The key to understanding Elijah is his Spiritual growth according to the pattern of the rainbow. Elijah's travels in the geographical will of God reveal the steps in his Spiritual growth. He wasn't born in Maturity, and he didn't die by accident. He was born for a purpose to confront the greatest evil in Israel up to that time. In his early life he was a recluse who lived spiritually after learning the Law, which is all the Bible that he had. He then lived by Grace through faith and obeyed God.
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Consequently, the Lord promoted Elijah through all the phases of the Spiritual life from Salvation to Spiritual Rapport. He died gloriously in Dying Grace and has a special place in Biblical prophecy.
