GO SHEW THYSELF
1 Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
Elijah’s Appearance
Elijah is motivated by just as strong a spirit of obedience to God to reveal himself, in order to start the rain again, as he was to hid himself in order to stop it! 1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
In fact, in order to convince Obadiah, the White House prophet, that he would not disappear and get him into trouble with King Ahab, he uses the same words that Obadiah had heard him declare in the above listed account at Ahab’s palace. For in verse fifteen of chapter eighteen he says to Obadiah, “As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.”
We learn by this that the supply of a God-called man to provide the glorious gospel of the Lord is every bit as, and even more precious than, the rains upon the earth! To have a man of God among us declaring the revelation of Jesus Christ is essential to the nourishment of souls.
Consider these verses: Deut. 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Just think of those poor souls in the realms of your acquaintance who do not avail themselves to the wondrous word of the Lord. How spiritually unhealthy they are. They neither have the provided nourishment for themselves, nor are they producers of good, nourishing ‘spiritual vegetables’ for the souls of others! Our Lord Jesus, as Bread and the Word, was so nourishing as to be “meat indeed,” for others! (John 6:55).
Matt. 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. To receive the man the Lord sends, is to receive the Lord’s nourishing word! And to receive the Lord’s prophet, acknowledging him to be just that, is to receive the prophet’s reward! And what is that but the receipt of everything that is revealed through him?
The Balm of Gilead
Elijah is not just introduced to us in 1 Kings 17:1 (listed above), as a man from the town of Gilead. But he is listed as a man from among the inhabitants of Gilead! Their conduct and character had an effect upon him as he grew up among them. Hosea 6:8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.
He, like his Lord, was numbered with the transgressors! (Isa 53:12). His soul was formed and shaped by the hardness of those around him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3).
But as the famous healing balm is exuded from the trees of Gilead, so this soul being wounded by their transgressions, brought forth the precious healing medicine of the word of God! Jer. 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
This prophet was only wounded BY their transgressions, but there was another Prophet that would be wounded FOR their transgressions! And by those blessed stripes we shall be healed! He is that Tree of Life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations! (Rev. 22:2).
Restoration of Worship
Those verses in Hosea that reveal the condition of Gilead show how Elijah was brought to see the hypocrisy of both religion and it’s prophets and priests. Therefore we find that he had boldness to even publicly mock the false prophets on Mount Carmel in order to teach the peoples of Israel that these deserved no respect! (1K 18:27).
He not only had discernment to recognize false religion, but we read that he also had the spiritual ability to restore true worship! For he repaired the altar of God and set the wood in order, just as Abraham had done in the offering of Isaac, as recorded in Genesis 22:9!
He also knew the extent of the atonement! For it reveals to us in 1 Kings 18:31 that he worked within the framework of God’s predestinated order for His definite atonement! He repaired the altar according to the number of the tribes of Israel! That is, he repaired the altar with twelve stones! And how many barrels of water did he pour on? Was it not also this same number? He knew that the waters of the masses (Rev. 17:15) poured out upon the altar would not exceed the provision of the altar! 2Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The scriptures speak of the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28).
Pastor Gene Breed
