Mysterious Person (1 Kings 17:1a)
1 Kings 17:1a “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead,“
The lack of information about his background only adds to the Mystery of Elijah`s. Because he suddenly appears on the pages of scriptures many have tried to fill in the blanks and speculate about his background. But it almost seems that the lack of information was for a reason. It seems to point that he came out of obscurity, not with a lot of family connections, not with great education, not someone who was a celebrity. He was a man that did extraordinary things, but he was just an ordinary person. It this not the way that God operates so often. He relishes in taking people who are not know to man and using them in powerful ways. In doing this people will recognize that it is God who is working through man and not a work of man.
Who was this prophet Elijah that made such an impact on history, that he was still talked about hundreds of years later at the cross where Jesus was being crucified (Matthew 27:47-49).
Elijah and his successor Elisha lived in an time when, the miraculous was evident in their life in exceptional ways. Healing the sick, raising the dead and calling down fire from heaven was just some of the powerful supernatural miracles that had not been seen since the time of Moses. It seems that some had even had looked at Elijah as more than a prophet. This is why some had mistakenly thought Jesus would call upon him to help him. Because some had elevated Elijah to more than a man, James address this in the New Testament
James 5:17a “Elijah was a man just like us.“ James 5:17b“He prayed earnestly“
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. He prayed again and the rain came. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. If Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, then we can be men and women with the power of prayer like him.
