Hebraic
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Please Note: On this site I will
show the four letter blessed *Memorial Name of
the Almighty in Ivrit - - Y-H-V-H, which we usually
pronounce as Adonai or HaShem.
*This is My Name forever,
and this is My memorial to all generations. Shemot -
Exodus 3:15.
On this site I will
mostly use a version based on the Jewish Publication
Society
Study One
Eliyahu -
This
Study is based on 1 Melachim - 1
Welcome to the Eliyahu -
Introduction:
If we look at the life of that great prophet,
Eliyahu -
We read in Malochi - Malachi 3:23;
Lo, I will send the prophet Eliyahu -
Let me be clear at the outset, that day has not
come to date; however, it could be at anytime soon. It is claimed
by many the Churches that
And they asked him, Are you
This obviously makes it very clear that this
Eliyahu was certainly one of the great men in the Tanakh, as he was a unique character, being vibrant, strong, caring, yet, aggressive. With those qualities he is everything Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, loves in a man, a man He can call into His service. Understand this, Eliyahus greatness was not Eliyahu the man, but his greatness was the Spirit of Elohim working within this faithful servant.
As we study the life of Eliyahu, we are in fact looking at the greatness of the Almighty, and what He did with a faithful servant. In a way Eliyahu was a man like any good and frum (faithful) Jew. This might sound perplexing, for we see him as a great prophet of Elohim, thus we might ask, who are we to compare ourselves to him in any way? Let me answer it in this way. Was Eliyahu perfect? And the answer is, no he was not, for even though the excellent attributes as shown above, Eliyahu was also a man of impatience, loneliness, even a man of fear and anger. In this, we are able to see that Eliyahu was a man very much like us. Thus, if Eliyahu can be used by the Almighty with his shortcomings, then, those who faithfully keep the Torah are also acceptable unto Elohim.
In Ivrit (Hebrew) the name Eliyahu means,
My Elohim is , blessed be His Sanctified Name. This
clearly proves that he was born into a faithful Hebrew family.
Sadly, at a time, many of
I pray that this very powerful study will touch
all who read it, for Eliyahu was a man, who served our Father,
and the way he did that is vey powerful and uplifting!
25 And Omri did that which was evil in the sight of , and dealt wickedly above all that were before him.
26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke , the Elohim of Israel, with their vanities.
27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which
he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of
28 And Omri slept with his fathers, and
was buried in
29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Aisah - Asa king of Judah began Achav the son of Omri to reign over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.
30 And
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Yezebel - Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for
33 And
34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite
build
This reading contains a tragic statement
This is the word of , which He spoke by His
servant Eliyahu the Tishbite, saying: In the portion of Jezreel
shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; and
the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say
here lies Yezebel.
Amazingly Eliyahu came on the scene with
remarkable suddenness. One moment, no one has heard of him and
suddenly the Almighty sends the nation a great prophet, who
leaves an indelible mark on the nation of
Nothing is known of his earlier life, with no record, which tribe he came from or if he had any prior training for his calling. All this proves that can call a man, a man like us, to proclaim His words to an errant people. As shown throughout the Tanakh, Elohim, blessed be He, does not choose great men or woman for His work, but He chooses those He knows who have the heart to become His earthly servant. By Elohims choice, Eliyahu became one of the most unique and dramatic characters in Tanakh history. We know from the Tanakh that he was rugged in appearance and dress. 2 Melachim - 2 Kings 1:8 it states;
He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.
Eliyahu was a native of Tishbe, which is a
village in the rocky and rugged terrain of Gilead north of the
The ruins at
His family, were pioneers, settlers in this
rough and harsh country where they kept a close relationship with
the Elohim of
We have painted a picture of a faithful Hebrew
family and their son, as well as an idolatrous Hebrew king and
his wicked queen. What follows is a mighty story of enormous
faith, of this one man who lived amongst an evil generation.
We now come to the point, where Eliyahu arrives
on the scene and declares one powerful but a short message. We do
not know if Elohim, blessed be He, commanded him to go to
At this point we should understand, when it comes to royal households there are a list of protocols, all of which had to be kept exactly as commanded by the court. If anyone would come before the king, and spoke without consent, that person, according to protocol, would automatically be put to death. Whilst in court, the king would raise the sceptre to give permission to approach him, and only then the appointed person (who would be there by prior arrangement) was permitted to speak. Even the wife of the king would also have to seek prior permission to speak whilst he was in court.
But here we see Eliyahu walking into the court, not asking admission, and he speaks to the king without permission having been given. He proceeds by disgracing and humiliating the king by turning his back on him and as what we could call brazenly walk out. Now, that is what I call Chutzpah (impertinence).
We will now have a closer look at scene one,
and see what Eliyahu said to
As , the Elohim of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
To fully understand what the implications of his statement, we will consider the following.
1
As Elohim of
2 There shall not be dew nor rain these years Then Eliyahu threatens the king.
3 According to my word or Until I say so are his concluding words, in which we see his immense faith.
With Eliyahu saying, before whom I
stand, shows us not only that Eliyahu was standing
before the king without any fear, for he knew that Elohim was
fully on his side, thus he is able to stand before the king and
accuse him. However, the insult also contained the implication,
like it may be said today; Hey king, you might be
sitting there on your grandiose throne, but I am not before you,
as I stand before and with my Elohim. I firmly believe,
as we read of Eliyahus stand before the king that we
The authors book Dutch
Tzedakah, (now sadly out of print) contains countless
inspiring stories, however there is an amazing story, of which a
movie was made, entitled The Hiding Place. The story
speaks of a man, a Christian clock maker who lived in the city of
Long before this family became involved in
building the hiding of Jews, Casper ten Booms father,
Willem, always supported the Jewish people since 1884. His son
and grand children continued to uphold this duty and clearly
showed their stand and strength of their conviction during World
War 2. Just before hiding Dutch Jews from the Nazis, an
interesting event took pace; a Jewish baby was delivered to their
home by the underground for safe keeping until a safe passage
could be found to take the bubeleh to the
Pastor, I am aware that we must obey the
law, unless it contravenes a higher call from G-d. You have asked
for me to remove the star, fine pastor, I will remove it, BUT
we will keep the baby!
Due to their strong stance, the baby was later
rescued, and
On the February 28, 1944 the family was caught
by the Germans, having been betrayed by a traitor. The moment
when Papa ten Boom was being loaded into a truck, a soldier
counted those who boarded, one, two, three, four, five, six.
There are six
Eliyahu stood there, girt with a girdle
of leather about his loins in the splendour of the
kings palace, and with full authority, he proclaims to the
king, that only our Elohim lives, thus saying,
your god
There is no doubt that we have seen a great faith in action here, as a man of Elohim spoke with great authority to this evil pagan king. We should really ask the question did Elohim, blessed be He, command Eliyahu to say these things? Incredibly here is no record of this whatsoever. Thus, where then did he get the idea from, to brazenly walk into the palace, and declare there would be a drought, due to the nations sin?
It is my firm belief that Eliyahu spoke with
this kind of authority, because he knew and understood the Torah.
The truth is that he simply claimed what Elohim, blessed be He,
had said to
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love your Elohim, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied. Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; and the anger of be kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain, and the ground shall not yield her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which giveth you. Davarim - Deuteronomy 11:13-17.
As
We now come to the end of Scene One of Eliyahus life and actions. Each scene is full of thrilling panoramas, which I believe are excellent building blocks for our own lives. For we the House of Israel need to be more like Eliyahu, a people of great faith, a people prepared to do Elohims will as shown to us in His blessed Torah.
This, concludes Scene One, the unheralded arrival of the prophet on the doorstep of an idolatrous king and his announcement of the drought, which was the punishment for idol worship.
This Scene takes place in the wilderness, by the brook Cherith where Eliyahu went by Divine command.
1 Melachim - 1 Kings 17:2 to 6 will set this scene
And the word of came unto him,
saying: Get thee hence, and turn thee
eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith that is before
the
Just as the appearance of Eliyahu was sudden and dramatic, so was his disappearance. With the removal with Eliyahu, the nation would not only have to suffer physically with a three and a half year drought, but also suffer spiritually, with the removal of HaDavar, the Word, of Elohim, blessed be He. The prophet Amos indicated clearly what has happened.
Behold, the days come, saith Elohim, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of . Amnos - Amos 8:11.
Israel suffered both a famine of bread and
water, but more importantly, there was a famine of hearing the
Torah for three and a half long years, being one of the ways,
Elohim, blessed be He, uses to pull
Why did Elohim, blessed be He, remove Eliyahu?
Elohim, blessed be He, uses the word (being the name of a place) Cherith or Kerith but in Ivrit (Hebrew) it means to Separate or Divorce. In light of this, let me briefly look at another Scripture where this same word occurs.
And I saw ... I had put her away, and
given her a bill of Divorcement.
Let us check the word used here for
divorce - divorcement. And we will find that it is
Cherithuth, which literary means to
separate or divorce. Interestingly, the Tanakh
also uses another Hebrew word for divorce and that is
Garash, meaning, to be utterly removed -
divorced, cut off forever, much like a scab being dead
tissue, when it falls off it can never be restored. Thus,
Garash, - divorce means to be utterly
removed and cast away forever.
He (Elohim) hath remembered His covenant for ever. Tehillim - Psalms 105:8.
Thus, after Eliyahu gave his declaration to the
king, Elohim, blessed be He, commanded him to Go to the
brook of Cherith, which is directly related to the
word Cherithuth, What a wonderful picture we see here.
Because of
In
And that was the reason for Eliyahu to go and
hide at the brook of Cherith! It would be there and later
when he would go to Zarephath that Elohim would prepare this
rugged faithful man, for the task that laid ahead of him at
Elohim, blessed be He, prepared many prophets
in this manner, the like of Avraham, Yitzchak,
Ravens are well known to be thieves as they rather steal then than give. Eliyahu knew this, yet he trusted his Elohim regarding this miracle. And everything is based on this truth, a truth that applies to us all.
There are three important things for us to remember
1 Be where the Almighty wants you to be!
2 Be at the right place, at the right time.
3 Only at the right place, can miracles happen.
Eliyahu followed Elohims command, Go to for it would be only there where the Almighty was going to control the foul of the air, in order that ravens would bring food to Eliyahu daily. I believe that Eliyahu clearly understood the words in Tehillim - Psalms.
Trust in and do good, so shall you live in the land, and you shall be fed. Tehillim - Psalms 37:3.
Even in the receiving of this food, once again we see Eliyahus faithfulness.
1 He remained until the brook dried up, and received the command to leave.
2
Imagine eating the same food day
in, day out? We would get sick of it, just as
No doubt, we would not eat, even the food we really love, every morning, noon and night, for lets say even a year. Some might say, but ravens are not kosher. True, however we should keep the following points in mind.
1 Eliyahu was not commanded to eat the ravens, only the food they carried to Eliyahu.
2 If Elohim, blessed be He, commanded you to accept food from the ravens, would you say no to the Almighty, rather than thank Him for this provision during a great drought.
Eliyahu was grateful to Elohim for this miraculous provision. However, his greater test was yet to come, as we will discover in Scene 3, which will be in the next powerful study Eliyahu Part Two.
What has the message of Eliyahu taught us?
We have learnt so far that Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name, is able to take a man (or a
woman), a person much like you and me into His service! If we
feel in our heart that Elohim desires us to go on Aliyah, home to
Eretz (the Land of))
In addition, we know, from the Torah regarding
This is the message we should learn today Live in His will! Like Eliyahu, we must live in the will of Elohim, according to the blessed Torah which He has given us, and learn the answer to this provocative question. How will I know Elohims will for my life, in this or that situation?
I suggest that you use what I call Elohims Three Harbour Lights of Guidance.
1 Is it in accordance with the Torah?
2 Do you feel in your heart that it is right for you, and are your family happy for you to do so?
3 Is it the right time? Are the all the circumstances in line?
Lets learn the story about three harbour lights.
There is a port in
However, to guide ships into the harbour safely, the port authorities strategically placed three beacons of light at certain points, and when the ships pilot is able to line these three lights up so that they appear to be as One Single Light, only then will the ship be on the correct course and can safely enter the port. But, if the pilot sees two or more lights, disaster will surely follow.
What do we learn from this, all lights, all circumstances must line up, or our venture will be doomed for disaster.
Like Eliyahu, we must Live in the light of the Torah - like the pilot setting his course, you should have the assurance that all the circumstances line up, then you will be in the harbour you know and that you are at the right place, at the right time, be it physically or spiritually, for it is there where the Almighty, blessed be He, will provide and bless you. For there would be a woman awaiting Eliyahu at well in Zarephath, just as Elohim had told Eliyahu back at the brook of Cherith that she would be there. Not just any well, but only at this very well, as He had pre-appointed!
Eliyahu is a man who gave His life in the service of His Elohim, not living in the self, or the I, me, and myself as so many did then, and still do to this very day. This is a world that is full of the self and so much evil and sin but let us strive to uphold the mitzvoth our beloved Elohim has blessed us with!
I trust that you have gained much from Eliyahu Part One being a very special study, but please read Part Two, which contains a very powerful story and a remarkable conclusion in the life of the woman and her sons life!
May the Shalom (Peace) of Elohim fill you, your
family and your home!
Rabbi
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Shemot - Exodus 3:15.