By Oluwole Josiah
In the Bible book of Malachi we find an interesting prophecy that has created curiosity among ancient Bible scholars. The fourth chapter, the fifth and sixth verses read: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: ”And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
A related scripture is found in Isaiah 40:3-4, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
”Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”
Elijah was a Hebrew prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab and Ahaziah in the 9th Century. His name means “Yahweh is my God” and is spelled Elias in some versions of the Bible.
He is introduced as Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead. Gilead is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, named by Jacob as a “heap of witness” to his treaty with Laban. It was home to the Israelite tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
The city is often referred to as Ramoth-Gilead. It is this city that Elijah flourished and launched his ministry. We are not told how he was called, but he demonstrated that he was truly chosen and went ahead to do as God commanded him.
His story runs through 1Kings 17 until 2Kings 2 where he was taken up to heaven. His encounters pitted him against the sinful and idolatrous leadership of Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
He confronted them courageous with the word of the Lord at the risk of his own life. The people had been deceived to worship Baal. They had torn down the altars of God and raised others to Baal. For their sins, Elijah through God’s anointing declared a drought of three and a half years. While the people pined away in suffering, Ahab searches for Elijah to kill him.
Subsequently, Elijah showed up, called Ahab and the people together, declared a power challenge between the God of Israel and Baal, the idol. He represented God against 450 prophets of Baal, saying they will have to choose the God they would serve. This time only the one that brings fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice on the altar. The people agreed and at the end of the day the God of heaven brought down fire. The people fell on their faces and declared, “the Lord is God.” The 450 prophets were instantly dispatched with the sword. After the cleansing, Elijah declared an abundance of rain. It rained heavily.
All this took place in the absence of the wicked queen, Jezebel. When she arrived and was told what had happened, she was enraged and determined to execute Elijah. The prophet fled to Horeb in search of the presence of God.
Elijah’s mandate was captured in his prayer; “Here me, O Lord l, hear me, that this people may known that thou art God, and that hast turned their heart back again,” 1Kings 18:37. To turn the hearts of the people to God, was his calling. And when Malachi prophesied of his return he emphasised this singular mandate, to turn the heart of the children to the father and that of the father to the children.
Jesus Christ pointed to John the Baptist as Elias. In Mathew 11:12-14, Jesus said John was the Elijah that was to come. The comment by Jesus showed that not many people understood it to be so.
Was Jesus teaching reincarnation? certainly not. The Jews did not believe in reincarnation, they taught and believed in the resurrection. So Jesus was pointing out that John was operating in the spirit and power of Elijah.
The angel told Zechariah, John’s father, that John would go forth “in the spirit and power of Elijah” to prepare the people for the Lord (Luke 1:17). The angel also confirmed that he would “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
John also described himself as the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” to prepare the way of the Lord.
Comparing Elijah and John the Baptist
1. One mandate – to turn the heart of the people to God. Elijah through the power of miracles successful won the hearts of the people from following Baal. They were brokenhearted when they saw the fire of God come to consume the sacrifice and leak the water poured in the trench made around the altar. 1Kings 18: 37-39.
John the Baptist may not have performed any notable miracle, but the power of his preaching did a similar work by breaking through the hearts of the people bringing them to repentance. The Bible says they came confessing their sins, Mathew 3:6.
2. Zeal for the Lord – Elijah the Tishbite demonstrated his zeal for the Lord in confronting the evils of his time. He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts…” 1Kings 19:10. Even though majority of the projects had turned to Baal, Elijah was willing to stand alone. In truth he thought he was the only man standing, but God told him there were others who had not bowed their knees to Baal.
John also was driven by the zeal of the Lord as he cried out against the evil of his day. Even though it made him look different and subjected him to a difficult life, he preached and taught the people the word of God until he paid the supreme price for it. How much of that kind of zeal do we exhibit today for the God of the whole earth!
3. Spoke truth to power – Both prophets preached under similar circumstances, having to confront rulers who sinned and broke the commandments of God. Neither of them had respect of persons. Elijah told Ahab he was the trouble of Israel as a result of his sins and the sins of his household. John the Baptist told Herold it was unlawful to have his brother’s wife. He spared not the mighty and powerful in his message and that cost him his life.
4. Both faced persecution – Persecution awaited all those would live godly in Christ Jesus, so says the scripture. For daring to be zealous for God and standing up for the truth, Elijah faced persecution from the powers and principalities of his day. He fled for many years during the period of drought, he fled from Jezebel after he successfully decimated the prophets of Baal. His life was cut short and had to be taken away to heaven. John the Baptist wore the same shoes. He spent the last part of his ministry in prison and had his head removed for daring to preach the truth that brought peace to the hearts of believers and condemnation to the rebellious.
Conclusion
The spirit and power of Elijah is needed today in the execution of the gospel mandate to turn the drifting world to the God of heaven, to show the people their sinful ways and call them to repentance. The gospel of salvation is scarce – it is the message that has the mandate of Elijah – to turn the hearts of the children to their Father.
Does it not bother you that religion is flourishing but people are moving away from God? The simple reason is the complete absence of the “spirit and power” that moved in Elijah. The preachers are preaching motivations and prosperity gospels, while the souls of men are drifting farther and farther away from God. The society is not recovered and the people are deluded as wickedness overwhelms the polity, the economy and the social lives of the nations.
Our prayer today is to again hear the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” to prepare hearts for the entrance of the glory of God. We pray again for the visitation of the power and spirit of Elijah as the great day of the Lord approaches, to prepare the people for the coming judgment and deliver with power them that are determined for damnation. O God, send us another Elijah!