S139P5 – Profiles in courage: Elijah
1 Kgs. 18:22-24
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
If we examine the scriptures, we will see that it was not unusual for a prophet of God to stand alone. Elijah was no different. Being one standing against many, no one had his back. The people were of one mind and one belief, and Elijah was the sole outlier. It appeared as if he had no one to defend him or show that he was right. To everyone else, it might have looked like he was stubborn or crazy or both for standing his ground. The lone man outnumbered by so many did not wither but posed a challenge. That challenge, however, was not against a people. The challenge posed by Elijah was against their false god. He was really challenging the enemy to produce a counterfeit move of God.
Elijah knew that any apparent divine product resulting from the people’s idol worship was in fact a work of the devil. As such, the courage he displayed here was not necessarily courage in the face of those people. He was standing up to the demonic forces in spiritual places operating in the land. This challenge was not about proving that he was right in his beliefs. Subsequent verses detail how Elijah taunted the false prophets, but he was really taunting the god they served. We might see this as a man standing up against other men, but this is about a man standing up against spiritual forces of darkness. He could do this only because he was not alone as it seemed. His stand against darkness was just a proxy for God standing against that very darkness.
When the light appears, the darkness must flee. It has no other choice. The boldness of Elijah is the same boldness we can expect from anyone who knows that truth. The spiritual forces of darkness should not frighten us because we are not the ones waging the battle against them. We are merely the vessels, and it is for the one true God to show his power and proof through us. Elijah simply created an opportunity for this to happen. We also can be just as bold and create the same kinds of opportunities today. Father, give us the courage to stand alone against darkness and be used as vessels by You to show your power.