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Elijah fed by the ravens I Kings 17:6<\/p><\/div>\n
Elijah was a man who reached true greatness in the Lord’s service.\u00a0 He was always ready to go where God would send him (I Kings 18:1; 19:15); to pray whenever prayer was needed (I Kings 17:20, 21; 18:36, 37), and to confront evil whenever confrontation was necessary (I Kings 18:17-24; 21:17-19). He was translated without seeing death, and he, along with Moses, was chosen to appear with the Lord on the mount of transfiguration.<\/p>\n
The remarkable thing about Elijah is that he attained this greatness while living in a wicked and hostile environment. Had he lived in Judah during the righteous reign of Hezekiah or Josiah, we might not be surprised at Elijah’s attainments. \u00a0But he lived instead in Israel during the wicked reign of Ahab.\u00a0 He was subjected to the cruel intents of Jezebel. He was under constant harassment and threat of death. He became so discouraged at one point that he asked to die, but he never denied his God<\/p>\n
In this wicked environment, Elijah was able to influence others. The widow of Zarephath was blessed through Elijah (I Kings 17:8-24). The multitudes on Mount Carmel were led to cry, “The Lord, He is God!” through his courageous efforts (I Kings 18:39). Elisha, his successor, must have been greatly influenced by him.\u00a0 And even Ahab was brought to humility on one occasion, clothing himself in sackcloth as a result of Elijah’s rebuke (I Kings 21:27-29). The message of Elijah is clear.\u00a0 You can live a godly life and influence others for good in a wicked and hostile environment<\/p>\n
When one hears the excuses people make today, it is obvious that Elijah’s message is badly needed in this generation. People excuse their failure to teach others the gospel with, “People are so prejudiced around here they just won’t listen,” when the truth is, little effort has been made. If they are approached about their ungodly conduct, they explain that “You just don’t know how terrible the people are that I have to work around every day.” \u00a0If their children go astray their explanation is, “Our children are faced with pressures that we didn’t have growing up.”\u00a0 Such statements, repeated often enough, become to many a “license” to do wrong and a salve to soothe their troubled consciences.<\/p>\n
We must throw aside our excuses and make up our minds to do right.\u00a0 Elijah could serve God in wicked surroundings. And so can we.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Bill Hall Elijah was a man who reached true greatness in the Lord’s service.\u00a0 He was always ready to go where God would send him (I Kings 18:1; 19:15); to pray whenever prayer was needed (I Kings 17:20, 21; 18:36, 37), and to confront evil whenever confrontation was necessary (I Kings 18:17-24; 21:17-19). He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[405,183,353],"class_list":["post-20813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-elijah","tag-evil","tag-influence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41151,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/elijah\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":0},"title":"Elijah","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 17:1-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible is filled with memorable characters. Among the prophets, Elijah stands out. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t know much about his background. He just suddenly appears on the scene forecasting doom to Ahab - I Kings 17:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His name means \u201cYahweh is my God\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24543,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-was-john-the-baptist-elijah\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":1},"title":"How was John the Baptist Elijah?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! I am wondering if you can please help me understand what the Bible is saying about John the Baptist when it refers to him coming in the spirit of Elijah? In Luke 1:17, it says John the Baptist will come in the \"spirit and power of Elijah.\" In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9015,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-elijah-send-the-servant-back-seven-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":2},"title":"Why did Elijah send the servant back seven times?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did Elijah pray seven times or was he putting his servant through a test of faith for rain? (I Kings 18:41-45) Answer: \"Now Elijah said to Ahab, \"Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.\" So Ahab went up to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54926,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/elishas-commitment\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":3},"title":"Elisha’s Commitment","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 19:19-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elijah had despaired that his work had been for naught - I Kings 19:14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God told him that he had work to do - I Kings 19:15-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elijah thought he was alone, but now he learns Hazael and Jehu are to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9216,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-prophet-objected-to-anointing-a-wicked-man-as-king-but-was-told-to-do-it-anyway\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":4},"title":"What prophet objected to anointing a wicked man as king but was told to do it anyway?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day. Can you please give me the name of the prophet who cried to the Lord not to let him anoint a man king because he was a wicked man but the Lord instructed him to do it anyway. Please let me have the book, chapter and verse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-was-the-lords-reasoning-for-showing-elijah-the-wind-earthquake-and-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":20813,"position":5},"title":"What was the Lord’s reasoning for showing Elijah the wind, earthquake, and fire?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What was the Lord's reasoning for showing Elijah the wind, earthquake, and fire in I Kings 19:11-12? Why does the text say the Lord was not in the wind? 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