Elijah

Definition and Meaning

Elijah is a prophet who appears in the Old Testament. A prophet is one who speaks the word of God on His behalf. Elijah is understood to have ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel around the ninth century BC. His name means "My God is the LORD" in Hebrew. His deeds are recorded from 1 Kings 17 through 2 Kings 2.

Biblical and Historical Background

Elijah appears during the period when King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were spreading the worship of Baal, a Canaanite god. The principal episodes are as follows:

• He proclaims a drought and, by the brook Cherith, eats food brought to him by ravens (1 Kings 17).
• He stays in the house of a widow of Zarephath and raises her dead son to life (1 Kings 17).
• He confronts the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and fire falls from heaven (1 Kings 18).
• Fleeing from Jezebel, he asks to die beneath a juniper (broom) tree. He then encounters God on Mount Horeb in "a still small voice" (1 Kings 19).
• He calls Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:19).
• He goes up into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11).

Malachi 4:5 prophesies that God will send Elijah "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." The New Testament links John the Baptist with this prophecy (Matthew 11:14; Luke 1:17). At the Transfiguration, Elijah appears with Moses and talks with Jesus (Matthew 17:3). James 5:17–18 presents Elijah as an example of prayer. Some interpreters associate the "two witnesses" of Revelation 11 with Elijah and Moses, though views on this differ.

Practice in Korean Churches

Passages about Elijah are frequently addressed in preaching in Korean churches. The Mount Carmel narrative is often cited at revival meetings and prayer gatherings under the theme of "the God that answereth by fire." Some churches and prayer retreat centers bear the name "Carmel." The juniper tree scene is used as a text to comfort weary believers and pastors suffering from burnout.

Interpretive emphases vary by theological tradition. Churches in the Pentecostal stream, such as the Full Gospel churches, tend to emphasize Elijah's prayer and the fire from heaven in connection with the power of the Holy Spirit and answered prayer. The Reformed tradition of Presbyterian churches places weight on redemptive-historical interpretation. This approach reads Elijah, within the history of salvation unfolding across the whole of Scripture, as a figure who anticipates John the Baptist and Christ. Within the same tradition, some voices caution against preaching that treats Elijah's actions directly as a model for believers. These are, however, differences of emphasis, and approaches vary among preachers even within a single denomination.

In churches that follow the church year, Elijah is sometimes mentioned on the last Sunday after the Epiphany (Transfiguration Sunday), when the Transfiguration passage is read.