The Days of Elijah were the years when the Lord raised a prophet against Ahab, Jezebel, and the worship of Baal in Israel.
Famine closed the sky. Fire fell on Carmel. A still small voice spoke at Horeb.
Malachi said Elijah would come before the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Jesus said Elijah had come already in John, and He also spoke of a future restoring work. The days of Elijah are history, warning, and hope.
Elijah the Tishbite stood in the court of a king who had sold himself to do evil. He prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three years and six months. He was fed by ravens and by a widow. He called down fire so that the people cried, The Lord, He is God. He ran from Jezebel, hid in a cave, and heard the Lord not in wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a low whisper. He passed his mantle to Elisha and was taken up in a whirlwind. Those days taught Israel that Baal does not send rain, that a remnant remains, and that the Word of the Lord is not bound by a throne. Later Scripture picks up his name. Malachi promised Elijah before the day of the Lord, to turn hearts of fathers and children. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. On the mount of transfiguration Elijah stood with Moses and talked with Jesus. James holds Elijah up as a man with a nature like ours whose prayer was powerful. The phrase “days of Elijah” therefore names a real stretch of history and a pattern God still uses: drought of truth, a lone voice, fire that answers, and a people called to choose.
- Elijah’s days were not golden years. They were years of drought, fear, and a remnant.
- The issue was who is God, not who has the larger crowd on Carmel.
- A man like ours prayed, and the sky shut and opened.
- Elijah comes again in the sense Malachi and Jesus named: turning hearts, preparing a people.
- John was Elijah who was to come, and the day of the Lord is still ahead.
- Fire, whisper, mantle, and whirlwind all belong to those days; none of them replaces the Word.
- These days teach the church to stand when Baal looks normal.
- Drought – Rain withheld at the prophet’s word until the Lord was confessed.
- Carmel – Two altars, one answer by fire.
- Remnant – Seven thousand who had not bowed the knee.
- Horeb – Wind, quake, fire, then a still small voice.
- Mantle – The work passed to Elisha; the Lord had more to do.
- Promise of Elijah – Before the great and awesome day, hearts turned.
- John and the Mount – Spirit and power of Elijah; Moses and Elijah with the Son.
- 1 Kings 17:1 – “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 18:21, 39 – “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’… And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.’”
- 1 Kings 19:11-12, 18 – “And after the fire the sound of a low whisper… ‘Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal…’”
- 2 Kings 2:11 – “And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
- Malachi 4:5-6 – “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
- Luke 1:17 – “And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children… to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
- Matthew 11:13-14 – “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
- Matthew 17:3, 10-13 – Moses and Elijah appeared; the disciples asked about Elijah; Jesus said Elijah does come, and Elijah has already come; they understood He spoke of John.
- James 5:17-18 – “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”
- Revelation 11:3-6 – The two witnesses have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying—language that recalls Elijah.
- Romans 11:2-4 – God has not rejected His people; Elijah’s complaint and the answer of the remnant.
- 1 Kings 18:1 – “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
- 2 Kings 1:10 – Fire came down from heaven at Elijah’s word when the king sent a captain.
- Sirach is not needed; keep to the canon.
- John 1:21 – They asked John, “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” The Gospels hold both John’s denial of the name and Jesus’ identification of the role.
- Mark 9:12 – “Elijah does come first to restore all things.”
How long will you go limping between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He prayed, and the sky shut and opened.
The Lord has reserved a remnant. He is not only in the fire. He speaks in a low whisper.
I will send you Elijah before the great and awesome day of the Lord.
John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. Jesus stood on the mountain with Moses and Elijah.
These days are not nostalgia. They are a call to stop limping, to pray, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The Lord, He is God.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.