Prophet
Elijah
One of the most charismatic figures of the Old Testament.
He was the Lord's prophet and king of Israel and with such strength he claimed the rights of the one God against the infidelity of the people. His memory is faithfully preserved, especially on Mount Carmel.
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Elijah Prophet
According to what we read in the books of kings, Elijah was a great prophet. He served his mission under King Ahab. He resurrected the son of Sarepta's widow while he was their guest during a famine.
When Queen Jezebel exterminated all the prophets of JHWH to establish the worship of the only god Baal, she remained the last faithful to the God of Abraham, but challenged and defeated the 450 prophets of the god Baal on Mount Carmel: here, after they had prayed in vain, their idol all day, demonstrated the power of God by lighting, with prayer, a pyre of green and wet wood. After that, at the Kishon stream, he slaughtered all 450 priests of Baal with the help of the people. To escape the wrath of Jezebel he retired to Mount Oreb, where he spoke with God. He called Elisha to follow him and be her successor. Finally, he ascended into heaven with "a chariot of fire and horses of fire" (2 Kings 2:11). He therefore would not have known death as did the patriarch Enoch, and both are often represented as symbolic figures of an ancient solar deity.
Elijah performed several miracles, some of which - particularly significant - are narrated in the first Book of Kings in chapter 17, from verse 4 to verse 16 "Multiplication of flour and oil", and from verse 17 to 24 (Resurrection of the son of widow).
Elijah was completely absorbed in God, he sought God in prayer and solitude: he is the prophet who lives only of God and for God. His very name, translated, means: "only Jehovah is God". An energetic and combative man (in chapter 21 of the First Book of Kings we see him intervening on a social level against the king and queen Jezebel), supported by his strong experience of God, he will be able to shake the people to bring them to true faith in Jehovah. By his zeal he personifies the prophetic ideal. In chapter 18, for example, the context in which Elijah acts is outlined: The people no longer know what to believe in. He let himself be taken by the cult of Baal (agricultural religion) and Elijah intervenes to make it clear that rain is not a gift from Baal but from Jahvé. In that way everyone discovers the truth: idols are nothing in front of Yahweh.
But, who is Elijah? What does he live on? how do you sustain yourself in the face of such a difficult situation? In chapter 19 we see it after the clash with the priests of Baal, which he supported to save the people. It is the moment of pure faith for God alone, who transcends all that is relative and daily. It is here that his faithfulness as a prophet is born, here his word is born: the prophet is formed and matures in the secret encounter with God, in solitude full of listening and prayer: "Elijah, frightened, got up and went to He came to Beersheba of Judah. There he made his boy stop. He went into the desert a day's walk and went to sit under a juniper tree. Eager to die, he said "Enough now, Lord!
Take my life, because I'm no better than my fathers. He lay down and fell asleep under the juniper. Then, behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat!". He looked and saw near his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. He ate and drank, then went back to bed. The angel of the Lord came again, he touched him and said to him: "Get up and eat, because the journey is too long for you". 'He got up, ate and drank. With the strength given to him by that food, he walked for forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb".
In chapter 19 we understand that Elijah was a prophet different from the others: he is the one who returns to his origins, to the spirit of the desert and, in so doing, retraces the itinerary and experience of Moses: "There he entered a cave to pass through the night, when suddenly the Lord said to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied: "I am full of zeal for the Lord of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, they have demolished your altars, they have killed your prophets by the sword. I was left alone and they try to take my life".
He was told: "Go out and stop on the mountain in the presence of the Lord." Behold, the Lord passed by. There was a mighty wind that would split the mountains and break the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire there was the murmur of a light wind. As he heard it, Elijah covered his face with his cloak, went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. And here he heard a voice saying to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?". "He replied" I am full of zeal for the Lord God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, they have demolished your altars, they have slain your prophets with the sword. I was left alone and they try to take my life".
The prophet lives of only one absolute God, and with the strength he receives from him he can face, even alone, any situation and any kind of difficulty. The true prophet is a "poor man": Elijah is afraid, he feels a failure, loneliness weighs on him; but he lives everything in pure faith. Every man can be a prophet to the extent that he allows the grace of God to work in his humanity and within his limits. He then he becomes a prophet, then he becomes a "living announcement" of the living God.
