Week #1- 1 Kings 17- Elijah

Welcome to our Biblestudy blog!  For the rest of the summer, we are challenging you guys to read one chapter out of 1st Kings, a book that tells the story of Elijah, per week; we as a staff will be sharing our thoughts and questions on the verses you all are reading.  Cant wait to hear your thoughts on Elijah!

I Kings: Elijah

Setting-  Elijah is one hardcore prophet in the ancient country of Israel, and he’s against this equally hardcore yet totally evil king named Ahab.  This ranks right up there with the strongest nemesis of all time; Think Harry Potter/Voldermort, Batman/the Joker, Texas/Oklahoma- they are both huge, and larger than life, and sold out to destroying each other.  The size of their opponent just drives them to even greater heights.  

The books of 1 & 2 Kings are both historical and didactic – that means they not only tell us what has happened in the past, but also teach us something about the present and the future; by teaching us about what has happened, they tell us what will happen and what we can expect from God as well. 

Eijah is a prophet- means that he has the tremendous power and responsibility to speak for God.  This gets him into trouble when he lives in a country run by a very evil king- a king who wants to do just about everything except follow God.  Ahab is doing everything he can to draw the people of Israel away from god, and Eijah is doing all he can to draw them to god- its an epic tug-of-war match for the heart and soul of the entire nation.  

In the process, Elijah ends up in a few truly epic moments- at one point he has a showdown with 450 false prophets - and he defeats (read: kills in an epic divine grudge match) all of them. 

In spite of all his highlights, Eijah is also a real person- he does absolutely huge things, but he has very real emotions.  He trusts God, but sometimes he gets scared.  He believes in God, but sometimes doubts arise. He follows God, but sometimes he gets tired and wants to quit (and even asks for God to kill him).  He definitely lives it out, but he definitely expresses genuine, raw emotion at times, and that gives me a little hope that ordinary humans can live extraordinary lives through god.  

-Bill