Highlights in the life of Elijah
Elijah the Tishbite. Tishbeh is a village in Gilead on the east of the River Jordan. Gilead is a very mountainous and hilly area with countless little brooks and streamlets and caves and trees. One of the major products from Gilead was a resin-type medicinal spice called a balm. It was believed to have healing characteristics. There was a hymn in the1949 LDS hymn book titled There is a Balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole, There is a Balm in Gilead, To heal the sin sick soul. That balm was Jesus Christ.
Elijah sealed the heavens during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, that there was no rain for three and a half years. Ahab was king of the northern kingdom called Israel. Elijah fled to the Brook Cherith, undoubtedly one of the little tributaries to the Jordan River. It was a desolate place void of food resources requiring Elijah to be totally dependent upon the Lord. He was fed twice a day by ravens. Eventually the Brook Cherith dried up and the Lord told Elijah to go Zarephath. This was a humble village near the Mediterranean Sea between Tyre and Sidon. It was located in present day Lebanon and anciently in Phoenicia. It was at Zarephath that Elijah invited a widow to prepare him a little morsel of fried bread when all she had was less than enough for her and her son. This was a test of faith for the woman which she passed. Elijah promised her that her earthen pot would not lack for flour nor would her clay bottle (cruise) lack for [olive] oil. Jesus referred to the gentile widow’s faith as being greater than those from his home town of Nazareth (Luke 4:25-26). It was her son who later died that Elijah brought back to life.
Obadiah was the governor of Ahab’s house and may have been the same Obadiah who was the author of the Book of Obadiah that prophesied the destruction of Edom at the base of the Dead Sea. Jezebel was actively killing all the prophets and spiritual leaders in Israel. Obadiah at his life’s peril hid 100 prophets in caves and fed them. The famine was so acute that Ahab and his chief servant Obadiah had to personally go out into the fields to find water and grass to save their horses and mules. (1 Kings 18:5). Ahab went one way and Obadiah went another way and Obadiah encountered Elijah who asked him to set up a face to face meeting with Ahab that very day. Elijah challenged Ahab to bring to Mt Carmel the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal and the four hundred priest of the groves [sexual fertility cult] who were supported by Jezebel for a contest to see whose God held the power of heaven. When the people and priests were gathered together Elijah asked, “How long hop ye upon two boughs?” meaning settle down and make a choice. The King James scholars translated the sentence to read, “How long halt ye between two opinions? The priests of Baal should have felt good about fire from heaven since Baal was the god of the Sun. The priests of the groves worshipped Ashtoreth known as Venus to the later Romans. She was the goddess of erotic behavior.
The contest entailed the challenge as to whose god could bring down fire from heaven and consume a bull that had been sacrificed and was lain upon an altar. Elijah gave the priests of Baal the first opportunity and the priests prayed from morning until noon about six hours. It was at that point that Elijah began to mock them with these words, “Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing [gone away], or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” 1 Kings 18:27. In response to his mocking the hundreds of priests began to jump up and down on the bull and the altar and cut their own bodies so that blood gushed out everywhere. Their wailing and beseeching continued until evening after which they were exhausted.
Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord at Mt Carmel and commanded that a trench or furrow be dug around the altar two measures wide sufficient to seed about five gallons of seed. That would be a very wide ditch. Elijah had them fill four barrels with water and empty them over the altar three times until the trench was filled with water. Fire came down from heaven and burned up the bull, the wood on the altar, the stones that made up the altar, the water in the trench and even the dust about the altar.
The people fell to the ground proclaiming, “The Lord, He is God, the Lord He is God!” Elijah commanded that all four hundred of the priest of Baal be slain and they were. Elijah then told King Ahab to eat and drink for there would soon be an abundance of rain. Elijah then sent his servant seven times to see if rain clouds were forming over the Mediterranean Sea. After the seventh time a small rain cloud could be seen. Ahab took a chariot to Jezreel and Elijah outran him on foot.
When Jezebel heard what had happened to the priests she vowed to kill Elijah by tomorrow. Elijah fled to Beersheba about 100 miles to the south of Jezreel in the kingdom of Judah. Elijah left his servant at Beersheba and went into the wilderness and asked God if he could die. The Lord sent an angel who commanded Elijah to eat and prepare for a two hundred mile journey to Mt Horeb (Sinai) where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was a forty day journey across an incredible desolate terrain. When Elijah arrived at Mt Horeb he abode in a cave until the Lord told him to come before him. “And the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire: but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” Elijah was told by the Lord to anoint three people. Two of them were to be kings. Hazael was to be anointed as the King of Syria, so Elijah went to Damascus and anointed him. Jehu was anointed to the King of Israel. The third one to be anointed was Elisha (Jehovah is my Salvation). He was anointed to be a prophet and to replace Elijah as the Lord’s mouthpiece on earth. Elijah passed by Elisha and cast his mantle upon the shoulders of Elisha.
Elijah told Ahab and Jezebel they would die a horrible death and be eaten by the dogs which they were. Another event in the life of Elijah involved King Ahaziah of Israel. Elijah told the king he was going to die and not recover from his illness. Ahaziah sent three captains with fifty men to take Elijah. The first two captains and their fifty were consumed with fire from heaven. The third captain was humble and an angel from the Lord told Elijah to go with the third captain. Shortly after Elijah met with Ahaziah, the king died.
Elijah was to be taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and carried away in a whirlwind. This event is why the Jews believe that Elijah is to return to the earth and prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Each Passover a place is set at each Jewish table for Elijah and the door is left open for him to return.
The very last words in the Old Testament are about Elijah. The Prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would return before the “Second Coming” of the Lord. As a part of the wonderful plan of Salvation Elijah would restore the sealing keys to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he had to Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration. For the members of the Church understanding the mission of Elijah has been enhanced by modern day revelation. Elijah held the sealing keys to bind on earth and to have whatsoever he bound by the power of the Holy Priesthood to be recognized as valid by Heavenly Father for all time and eternity. The vision in which these events occurred in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 was also Easter Sunday. This was the very day that celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The doctrine referred to by Paul in asking the question, “Why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:29), is answered. Ordinances such as baptism can be performed vicariously for and in behalf of a deceased person. They must exercise faith and repentance in the Spirit World but these holy ordinances including marriage for eternity are part and parcel of what was meant by binding on earth that which would be bound as well in heaven. We refer to this as doing the work for the dead. In so doing the hearts of the children are turned to their forefathers and mothers in fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy.
The story of Elijah can be found in 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2. Also 2 Chron. 21:12-15. There are references to Elijah in Matt. 16:14, 17:3, 27:47-49; Mark 6:14-15, 9:4, 15:35-36, Luke 4:25-26, 9:30; James 5:17, 3 Nephi 25:5; D&C 2:1, D&C 27:9, D&C 35:4, D&C 110:13-14, D&C 128:17, D&C 132:55, JSH 2:38.