WBS.234
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
OLD
TESTAMENT SURVEY – 14
FROM ELIJAH TO JONAH
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah
the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As Yahuweh,
the Elohim of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word.
Before the name of IAUE could be
entirely forgotten from the house of Israel, the prophets were sent to:
1. Warn the people that if
they do not repent, judgment will come.
2. Warn the people that because they have not repented, judgment is on its way.
3. Inform the people that IAUE will not destroy all. He will retain a remnant among the people.
4. Inform the people that IAUE will raise up one (the Messiah) who will draw all peoples to Him.
2. Warn the people that because they have not repented, judgment is on its way.
3. Inform the people that IAUE will not destroy all. He will retain a remnant among the people.
4. Inform the people that IAUE will raise up one (the Messiah) who will draw all peoples to Him.
The roll of the prophets in Hebrew life was somewhat
subdued until after the kingdom of Israel was divided. The constant need to
call the people to repentance brought the ministry of the prophet to the
forefront.
The Hebrews, for centuries, had moved in and out of
false worship borrowing the gods of virtually every gentile nation around them. The story of the book of Judges demonstrates their
fickle relationship with IAUE; but the establishment of the northern kingdom of
Israel around a unifying national religion of golden-calf worship immediately
corrupted ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Every king of the northern kingdom followed in
"the sins of Jeroboam" (golden-calf worship and rejection of the
promise of Messiah). The remaining two tribes of the southern kingdom of Judah
were not without their own wayward hearts. They constantly were being
drawn into worship of false gods. (You may recall the many references to
"the high places." These were altars to pagan deities where
sacrifices were offered and temple prostitution perpetuated the allure of these
deities. The “high places” are referred to 82 times in the history of I and II
Samuel, I and II Kings, and I and II Chronicles.)
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of
the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As IAUE, the Elohim of Israel,
liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word.
The first, and possibly best known, of these
prophets was Elijah (Eliyah), circa 875 BC. Little is known about this
man before he appears before the king of Israel in this verse. He was
from the city of Tishbe; but the location of Tishbe is not even certain.
That he was known to be a prophet is a certainty. His first recorded act
as a prophet was to give a divine rebuke to Ahab the king, assuring him that there
would be no rain until he (Elijah) personally permitted it. This was not
a punishment that Elijah thought up himself. The prophet understood from
the "curse of the law" recorded by Moses, that the loss of rain would
afflict the people that forsook IAUE.
Deut 28:23 And thy heaven that is over thy head
shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 IAUE will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
24 IAUE will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
For those who knew the Torah, they would have
understood Elijah’s pronouncement could mean the total destruction of their
nation; but his words were quite specific.
He did not say there would be no rain until they were destroyed; but
rather, according to his word. It was obvious to anyone familiar with the
Torah, that Elijah was extending the mercy of IAUE to them.
[The
united kingdom of Israel was divided sometime between 945 BC and 931 BC
(depending upon which source you consult). In the early 900s BC, during
the 38 year reign of Asa of Judah, and during the constant changes of rule of
the northern Kingdom of Israel from Baasha to Elah to Zimri, to Omri to Ahab,
in the background, unobserved by the reader of Scripture, the kingdom of
Assyria was rising to power.]
Elijah selected and trained a protégé, Elisha,
to serve in his stead as the focal prophet of IAUE shortly before he was taken
up to Heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha had asked Elijah for a double-portion of Elijah’s
spirit. This did not refer to twice as
much of the Spirit that was upon Elijah; but rather, he wanted Elijah to regard
him as his firstborn son. The firstborn
was rightful heir to a double-portion of the inheritance. (Interestingly, it is
recorded that Elisha performed twice as many miracles as did Elijah.)
(The history of the divided kingdom to this point in
time is recorded in 1 Kings 12-17 and 2 Chronicles 10-16.)
Yehoshaphat served in Judah after the death of King Asa
(circa 874 BC), and was a contemporary of King Ahab of Israel [who died in
battle (circa 855).]
Ahaziah ruled for two years after the death of his
father Ahab. The Scripture records that Ahaziah fell through the lattice
of his upper chamber and became ill (2 Ki 1:2-4). He sent messengers to
inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron (of the Philistines) whether or not he
would recover from his illness; but Elijah intercepted the messengers and told
them to report to the king that because he conspired to take counsel of a false
god and not of IAUE, that he would surely die. He, indeed, did not
recover from his illness and was succeeded by his brother, Yehoram (circa
856-854 BC), who ruled for twelve years.
It was during the reigns of King Yehoram of Israel,
and, interestingly, King Yehoram of Judah, son of Yehoshaphat, that the prophet
Obadiah
ministered to Israel and Joel (Yo'el) ministered to Judah (circa 845-830
BC). When you read the books of Obadiah and Joel, it is during this time
that they were alive and functioning as prophets to the children of
Israel. In other words, they fit into the timeline contained within 2
Kings 8-12 and 2 Chronicles 21. They were contemporaries of Elijah; but the
attention of the historical record did not turn to them until Elijah’s ministry
was completed.
In the northern kingdom (circa 843 BC), the house of
Ahab was utterly destroyed by Jehu (Yehu) who killed all of Ahab’s sons, and
his sons' sons; and he took the throne of Israel for himself, succeeding
Yehoram. Furthermore, Jehu tricked all the worshippers of Baal in Israel
to attend a gathering that excluded anyone who still served IAUE; and he slew
them all; thus eliminating Baal worship from Israel. For this act, IAUE
promised him four generations to sit upon the throne of Israel. Despite
Yehu's destruction of Baal worship from Israel, he continued after "the
sins of Yeroboam" by allowing golden calf worship to continue.
Yehu was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz (Yehoahaz) in
820 BC (2 Ki 13:1).
Jehoahaz was succeeded by his son Joash (Yoash) in
806 BC (2 Ki 13:10). The prophet Elisha died during the reign of Joash (2
Ki 13:14).
Joash was succeeded by his son, Jereboam II in 790
BC (2 Ki 14:23). [It was during the reign of Jereboam that the prophet Jonah
(Yonah) is called upon by IAUE to minister to Ninevah.]
Now, remember, we stated above that Assyria was
becoming a world power in the early 900s BC. By this time, they were
filled with all manner of idolatries and abominations, and the judgment of IAUE
was close at hand upon them; but he called for Jonah to go and preach
repentance to them. Jonah, of course, fled in the opposite direction; but
his rebellion to the word of IAUE was short-lived (three nights in the belly of
a great fish will tend to make one reevaluate one’s life choices).
Why would IAUE Elohim raise up a prophet among the
children of Israel and then send him to minister to a corrupt idolatrous Gentile
nation? It was because the people of Assyria had become so corrupt that
the judgment of IAUE upon them had become imminent; but IAUE had a purpose for
the kingdom of Assyria which would not be fulfilled if He had to judge them at
this time. The preaching of Jonah turned the hearts of the Assyrians, and their
nation survived.
Jereboam II was succeeded by his son, Zachariah (2
Ki 15:8) in 748 BC.
During this same time that we have recorded for the
northern Kingdom go Israel, in Judah, there was a rapid succession of kings
from Jehoram to Ahaziah to Athaliah to Joash (2 Chron 21-24). (Remember, I and II Kings follow the kings of Israel; and I and II
Chronicles follow the kings of Judah.)
In the 85 years from the introduction of the age of
the prophets, the Hebrews experienced the ministries of Elijah, Elisha,
Obadiah, Joel and Jonah.
Next: We will continue to track the succession
of the kings of Israel and Judah, observing at what time the prophets appeared
to minister the word of IAUE.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers
no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.
No comments:
Post a Comment