Even though Elijah had times of failure his heart was committed to God. In this lesson, we are going to learn about our commitment to different things in our lives.

1. Do as the Lord says

1 Kings 17:1-6
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:
3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah's initial time in the ministry started off with famine. He was asked to go to a distant place high and drink from a brook probably dirty, and eat what the ravens (crow) bring. We are not sure where the ravens brought bread and meat. Yet Elijah grew up to become a great prophet of God.

Imagine yourself being in this situation. Would you be doing what the Lord says? Would you want to do things only when it is conducive and comfortable.

2. Do Good to your Family

1 Kings 17:7-24
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him:
9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.
18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.
20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?"
21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"
22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived.
23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

God sent Elijah to a widow in Zaraphath. God sent Elijah to a very difficult situation again. The widow had only a handful of flower and little oil. Elijah cared for this widow and took care of her family. The widow's son became ill and dies. Even though the widow was upset, Elijah still helped her. Elijah do not cry for himself but cried out to the Lord for the widow. The Lord heard Elijah's cry. Elijah's stretched himself out on the boy 3 times. Nose to nose, mouth to mouth. The boy's life returned to him.

Can you imagine yourself lying on top of a dead body, nose to nose, mouth to mouth? Even though it was not a comfortable thing to do Elijah did it to do good to the family. Are we earnest (sincere) with our family? Are we staying with our family without helping them. Are you not paying your family because you are not working?

2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

So let us not burden our families.

3. Do your best for the Lord

1 Kings 18:16-46
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"
18 "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals.
19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire--he is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire."
26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins.
31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel."
32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time.
35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is God!"
40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Ahab did not like Elijah's commitment to the Lord. Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel. Elijah devised a plan to get rid of the Baal prophets. He challenges Ahab to bring 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah so that he could prove that the Lord is God. Elijah was alone. Even the people did not support him. He said he was the only prophet but baals prophets were 450. He told them to prepare two bulls on top of wood and not to set fire. He announced to the people that the God who answers by fire is the true God.

The people agreed. They shouted to Baal to answer, they even danced around the altar. Elijah ridiculed them and told them to shout little more. Nothing happened. The Bible says there is no response, no one answered, and no one paid attention. So Elijah asked them to pour water on the altar of the Lord 3 times.

Elijah prayed to God and asked God to turn back the hearts of Israelites back again. Elijah with the help of the people killed all the Baal prophets. Then rain came after many years of famine because of sin. Share about someone in your Family Group who is an example in faith.

4. Do not run away

1 Kings 19:1-18
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you."
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."

Elijah was afraid of Jezebel, a woman, immediately after the victory he had at Mount Carmel. Elijah did not want to take failures he wanted to die. He fell asleep under a broom tree. The angel woke him up and gave him food. He went back to sleep again after eating because he was discouraged. The angel came second time, gave him food again and told him to go to Horeb. Elijah traveled 40 days and 40 nights.

God asked Elijah what he was doing there. Elijah was complaining and grumbling about his situation. God wanted to talk to him personally. Elijah thought God is going to rebuke him like the wind. It did not happen. Then Elijah thought God is going to rebuke like an earth quake. But God talked to Elijah in a gentle whisper. God told him to go back and anoint kings, God promised that he would reserve 7,000 Israelites whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.

If God is going to ask you, "What are you doing here?" What will be your answer? How is your Christian life? Is it a joy or is it a burden? Have you been running away from God, disciples and discipler? Do not stay in the cave for a long time. Come out of the cave. Let God talk to you. He will not rebuke you like the violent wind or like an intense earthquake but He will talk to you gently.

Conclusion

Let us be earnest in doing what the Lord says, being good to the family, doing the best for the Lord and not run away from the Lord. Let us be committed in all circumstances till Jesus comes back.