Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

1 Kings 17:1

I’ve watched my share of action adventure movies where the theme music announces the hero’s arrival just in time to defeat the enemy. That sense of boldness is one of the reasons I like Elijah, but what was the source of his bravery?

In the passage above, the prophet arrives with no fanfare. We know nothing about him before he arrives to challenge the King with a drought as God’s judgement on the kingdom. In the previous chapter, Ahab is described as the king who “did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him”(I Kings 16: 33). Now, that’s saying something since many of the kings led the people away from God to serve false gods like Baal.

The narrative that follows through the chapter chronicles Elijah’s obedience. He didn’t just make bold predictions, he followed up by listening to God’s voice and then responding. First, he was fed by ravens near the book Cherith, near the Jordan river. When the creek eventually dried up due to the lack of rain, Elijah’s faith saved a widow and her son in Zarephath and at a later time, God used Elijah to raise the widow’s dead son back to life. You can read the whole chapter here.

I think it was Elijah’s obedience that led to his willingness to confront the king. There are still obedient leaders in the church today. This afternoon, I listened to a pastor speak with boldness concerning some difficult issues both in our culture and inside the church. There is a time when each of us is called to obedience to stand for what it right. How are we doing?