Hills + Valleys | Water in the Wilderness | 1 Kings 17:1-7 | Week 1

If you have a picture in your mind about what a prophet is like, might I suggest to you that the biblical image might ruin your idyllic view. Prophets, in the Scriptures, weren't people who had their own TV show, weren't people who made a lot of money, they weren't people who flew around and had large followings. They were sort of fringe folks. They were the people that were on the outside of the norm, as far as faith went. They were people that took off their clothes and preached naked. They were people who cooked their food over a flaming pile of dung. They were people who married a prostitute to make a point. The prophets were on the fringes of faith. They were sojourners. They were wrestlers. They were people who had to fight for their faith. Far from being stable, they were people who doubted God. If you read through the prophet Isaiah, if you read through Jeremiah, oftentimes you'll get this lament, "God, where in the world are you?" Sojourners---physically and spiritually.
Elijah, who we're starting our series on today, was no different than those other ancient prophets of Yahweh. His life is full of ups and downs, of hills and valleys. We'll see next week that Elijah sees the dead raised. He sees fire called down from heaven to wipe out the prophets of Baal. Then after that, he runs for his life for fear of Jezebel, this wicked queen. He hides in the desert. He laments that he was ever born. He contemplates taking his own life. He's a prophet who tastes joy and sorrow. Immense success and incredible defeat. He is a prophet who has great faith in God and doubts God. He's a prophet of both the hills and the valleys...