The Lord did this in order to save Elijah from being killed by Jezebel, so that Elijah would not die from hunger, and in order, through the ravens and the Horath stream, to arouse in Elijah compassion for people suffering and dying from hunger and thirst. Crows, in comparison with other birds, have a special property (): they are very voracious and do not have any feeling of pity even for their chicks, for the raven as soon as it hatches its chicks, leaves them in the nest, flying to another place and dooming the chicks to death from hunger . Only the Providence of God, taking care of every creature, saves them from death: flies fly into their mouths of their own accord, which the chicks swallow. And every time the ravens, at the command of God, flying every day to the prophet, brought him food - bread in the morning, and meat in the evening, the conscience in Elijah - this inner voice of God in man - cried out to his heart:
- Look, crows, being wild in nature, dainty, voracious, not loving their chicks, how they care about your food: they themselves are hungry, but they bring food to you. You, a man yourself, have no compassion for people, and you want to starve not only people, but also cattle and birds.
Also, when after some time the prophet saw the stream dry, God said to him:
“It’s time to have mercy on the tormented creature and send rain to it, so that you yourself don’t die of thirst.”
But the zealot of God remained strong; on the contrary, he prayed to God that there would be no rain until those who had not yet been punished were punished, and until all the enemies of God perished on earth. Then again the Lord, wisely inclining His servant to mercy, sent him to Zarephath of Sidon, which was not under the authority of the king of Israel, to a poor widow, so that he would reflect on himself what disaster he had caused not only to the rich and married people, but also to the poor. widows, who not only during famine, but also during the years of grain harvests and all earthly abundance, often do not have daily food. The Prophet, having arrived at the gates of this city, saw a widow carrying firewood, no more than two logs; for she had only a handful of flour in the tub and a little oil in the jug. Since Elijah was tormented by hunger, he asked the widow for a piece of bread. The widow, having told him about her extreme poverty recently, said that she wanted to cook dinner for the last time for herself and for her son from the flour that remained with her, and then they would die of hunger. The man of God could be touched by this and take pity on all the poor widows suffering from hunger; but great zeal for God conquered everything, and he showed no mercy to the perishing creature, wanting to glorify the Creator and show the whole universe His omnipotent power. Having from God, according to his faith, the gift of miracles, Elijah created such that the flour and oil in the widow’s house remained inexhaustible; and he was fed by the widow until the famine ceased. The Prophet also resurrected the widow’s deceased son through prayer, combined with blowing three times on the deceased, as it is written in the Word of God. There is a legend about this resurrected son of a widow, that his name was Jonah, that it was he who, having come of age, was awarded the prophetic gift, and was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance; being swallowed up in the sea by a whale and thrown out by it three days later, he prefigured the three-day resurrection of Christ, as is narrated in detail in the prophetic book and in his life.
After three rainless and hungry years, the all-good God, seeing His creation completely destroyed on earth from hunger, had mercy and said to His servant Elijah:
- Go and appear to Ahab; I want to have mercy on My creation and, at your word, send rain to the parched land, water it and make it fruitful. Ahab is already inclined to repentance, is looking for you and is ready to obey you in everything that you command him.
The Prophet immediately went from Zarephath of Sidon to Samaria, the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. King Ahab at that time had as his steward a certain Obadiah, his faithful servant and a God-fearing man. He hid one hundred prophets of the Lord from being killed by Jezebel, placing them in two caves, fifty in each, and feeding them with bread and water. Having called this steward to him, King Ahab (even before Elijah came to him) sent him to look for grass among the dried streams so that there would be something to feed the few horses and other livestock that were still alive. As soon as Obadiah left the city, he met the holy prophet Elijah, bowed to him to the ground and said that Ahab had carefully searched for him throughout his entire kingdom. Saint Elias answered Obadiah:
- Go, tell your master: here I am, Elijah, coming to him.
Obadiah refused, saying:
“I’m afraid that when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to another country, and then I will turn out to be a liar before my master, and he, angry with me, will kill me.” Elijah answered:
“The Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand!” Today I will show myself to Ahab!
Obadiah returned and told the king. Ahab hastened to meet the man of God. When he saw Elijah, because of the anger hidden in him towards the prophet, he could not resist a cruel word and said to Elijah:
“Is it you who corrupts Israel?”
The Prophet of God fearlessly answered Ahab:
“It is not I who corrupt Israel, but you and your father’s house, who have forsaken the Lord your God and worshiped the vile Baal.”
After this, the prophet of God, as having within himself the power of Divine help, began to command the king with authority, saying:
“Send immediately and gather all ten tribes of Israel to me on Mount Carmel, bring four hundred and fifty wicked prophets serving other idols on the high mountains and in the groves eating from the table of Jezebel; let them enter into a dispute with me about God, and we will see who the true God is.
Immediately the king, having sent messengers throughout the entire land of Israel, gathered countless people, and called all the wicked prophets and priests to Mount Carmel, and he himself came there.
Then the zealot of God, Elijah, standing before those gathered, addressed the king and the entire Israeli people with these words:
- How long will you limp on both your knees? If the Lord God, who brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand, is God, then why do you not follow Him? If Baal is your god, then follow him.
The people were silent, and could not answer anything, for every Israeli was convicted of error by his conscience. Then Elijah continued:
- This is what: in order for you to know the true God now, do what I command you. You see that I am the only one in all Israel who remains a prophet of the Lord; But you killed all the other prophets; You also see how many prophets of Baal there are here. So give us two bulls to sacrifice, one for me and the other for the priests of Baal; but we don’t need fire. On whose sacrifice fire falls from heaven and consumes it, his god is the true God, and everyone must worship Him, and those who do not recognize Him shall be put to death.
Having heard these words, all the people approved the decision of the prophet of God and said:
- So be it; your word is good.
When the calves were brought into the midst of the meeting, Saint Elijah said to the wicked prophets of Baal:
- Choose one calf for yourself, and you will be the first to prepare the sacrifice, for there are many of you, and I am one, and I will prepare it later. Having placed the calf on the wood, do not light the fire, but pray to your god Baal to send fire from heaven and burn your sacrifice.
The shameless prophets did just that. Having cast lots, they took the calf, divided it into parts, placed them on the altar on top of the firewood, and began to pray to their Baal to send fire on their sacrifice. They called on his name from morning until noon, shouting:
- Listen to us, Baal, listen!
“Shout louder,” he said, “so that your God will hear you; He must be not free now: either he is busy with something, or he is talking with someone, or he is feasting, or he has fallen asleep; scream as loud as possible to wake him up.
- Shut up and stop; It's time to be my victim.
The worshipers of Baal stopped. Then Elijah, turning to the people, said:
- Come to me!
Everyone approached him. The prophet took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel, built an altar to the Lord from them, then, putting firewood on the altar, divided the calf into parts, put them on the firewood, dug a ditch around the altar and ordered the people to take four buckets and pour water on sacrifice and for firewood; so they did. Elijah ordered it to be repeated; repeated. He ordered the same thing to be done a third time, and they did it. Water flowed around the altar and the trench filled with water. And Elijah cried out to God, turning his gaze to heaven, saying:
- Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Hear now to me, Your servant, and send fire from heaven for the sacrifice, so that all these people will now know that You are the only God of Israel, and I am Your servant, and I have offered this sacrifice to You! Hear me, Lord, answer me with fire, so that the hearts of these people turn to You.
And fire fell from the Lord from heaven and destroyed everything that was burned - wood, stones, ashes, and even the water that was in the ditch - the fire consumed everything. At the sight of this, all the people fell face down on the ground, crying out:
– Truly the Lord is one God, and there is no other God besides Him!
Elijah said to the people:
“Detain the prophets of Baal so that not one of them escapes.”
The people fulfilled his order, and Elijah led them to the stream Kishon, which flows with its waters into the Great Sea. There he stabbed them with his own hands and threw their wicked corpses into the water so that the earth would not be defiled by them and so that the air would not become infected with the stench from them. After this, Saint Elijah ordered King Ahab to quickly drink and eat and harness the horses to the chariot to set off, because soon there would be a big rain that would wet everything. When Ahab sat down to eat and drink, Elijah went up Mount Carmel. Bending down to the ground, he put his face between his knees and prayed to God to send rain to the earth. Immediately, through his prayer, the heavens opened, as if with a key, and a great rain fell, which wetted everyone and gave the thirsty earth plenty to drink. Then Ahab, realizing his error, mourned his sins on the way to Samaria. Saint Elijah, having girded his loins, walked on foot ahead of him, rejoicing in the glory of the Lord his God.
The wicked queen, Ahab's wife, Jezebel, having learned about everything that had happened, was terribly angry with Elijah for the destruction of her shameless prophets and, swearing by her gods, sent to tell him. that tomorrow, at the very hour in which Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, she would kill him. Saint Elijah was afraid of death, for he was a man with all the infirmities characteristic of people, as it is said about him: “Elijah was a man like us (). Because of Jezebel's threats, he fled to Beersheba, in the kingdom of Judah, and went into the wilderness alone. After walking through the desert for one day, he sat down under a juniper bush to rest. Tormented by sadness, he began to ask God for death for himself, saying:
- God! It is enough for me that I have still lived on earth; take now my soul; Am I really better than my fathers?!
The Prophet said this not out of grief from persecution against him, but as a zealot of God, who does not tolerate human malice, the dishonor of God and the reproach of the most holy name of the Lord: for him it was easier to die than to hear and see the lawless, despising and rejecting their God. With such a prayer on his lips, Elijah lay down and fell asleep under a tree. And then the angel of the Lord touched him, saying:
- Get up, eat and drink.
Having risen, Elijah saw warm unleavened bread and a jug of water at his head, got up, ate, drank water and fell asleep again. The angel of the Lord touched him a second time, saying:
“Rise, eat and drink, for you have a long journey ahead of you.”
Elijah, getting up, ate more, drank water and, refreshed with this food, walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God Horeb, where he settled in a cave. Here his interlocutor was the Lord God Himself, who appeared to him in a light wind, quietly blowing in the clean air. When the Lord approached him, terrible signs of His appearance preceded him: first there was a strong storm, destroying mountains and breaking rocks, then fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire there is a breath of light wind; here was the Lord. When Elijah heard the passage of the Lord, he covered his face with his cloak and, leaving the cave, stood near it. He heard the Lord saying to him:
-What are you doing here, Elijah?
Elijah replied:
“I was jealous of You, the Lord Almighty, for the children of Israel forsook Your covenant, destroyed Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are looking for my soul to take it away.
The Lord, comforting Elijah in his sorrow, revealed to him that not all the people of Israel had abandoned Him, but He had seven thousand His secret servants who did not bow their knees to Baal. At the same time, the Lord announced to Elijah about the imminent destruction of Ahab and Jezebel and their entire house, and commanded Elijah to appoint some worthy man to the kingdom of Israel. by the name of Jehu, who was about to destroy the entire family of Ahab, and to anoint Elisha as a prophet. So, having comforted His servant, the Lord departed from him. The saint of God, at the command of the Lord, left Horeb, and on the way he met Elisha, the son of Saphat, plowing the land with twelve pairs of oxen; Having laid his cloak on him, Saint Elijah declared the will of the Lord to him, called him a prophet and ordered him to follow him. Elisha said to Elijah:
“I beg you, let me go for a short time to beg with my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”
Saint Elijah did not prevent this. Elisha, having come home, killed a pair of oxen, which he himself plowed, gave a treat to neighbors and relatives, and then, saying goodbye to his parents, went to Elijah and followed him everywhere, being his servant and his disciple.
At this time, King Ahab, under the influence of his wicked wife Jezebel, added a new and following to the previous iniquities.
One Israelite, named Naboth, had a vineyard near the possession of King Ahab in Samaria. Ahab suggested to Naboth:
“Give me your vineyard so that it can serve as a garden for me, for it is located near my palace.” I will give you another, much better than this; and if this does not please you, then I will pay you with money for your vineyard.
Naboth answered:
- Lord preserve me, so that I give you the inheritance of my ancestors.
Ahab returned to his house, embarrassed and offended by Naboth's answer, and could not eat bread out of frustration. Jezebel, having learned the reason for his sadness, laughed at him saying:
“Is your power, King of Israel, such that even on one person you are not strong enough to demonstrate your will?” But stop grieving, eat the bread and wait a little time: I myself will give Naboth’s vineyard into your hands.
Having said this, she wrote an order on behalf of the king to the oldest citizens of Israel and attached the royal seal to it. It was written that they would bring a false accusation against Naboth, that he had slandered God and the king, and, presenting false witnesses, they would stone him outside the city. And that unjust murder was committed on an unlawful order. After executing the innocent Naboth, Jezebel said to Ahab:
“Now inherit the vineyard without money, for Naboth is no longer alive.”
Ahab, hearing about the murder of Naboth, was a little saddened, and then went to the vineyard to take it into his possession. On the way, at the command of God, the holy prophet Elijah met him and said to him:
“Since you unjustly killed the innocent Naboth and illegally took possession of his vineyard, therefore the Lord says: in the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood; Likewise, your wife Jezebel will be eaten up by dogs, and your whole house will be destroyed.
Ahab, hearing these words, began to cry, took off his royal clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and imposed a fast on himself. And Ahab’s small repentance before the Lord had such power that the execution of the appointed punishment for his entire household was postponed until after Ahab’s death. For the Lord said to His prophet Elijah:
- because Ahab resigned himself. then I will not bring trouble upon his house during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime.
After this, Ahab lived for three years and was killed in battle. From the scene of the battle he was taken by chariot to Samaria, and his blood flowing from the chariot was licked by dogs, as the prophet of God had predicted. Also, everything that was predicted about Jezebel and the entire house of Ahab was later fulfilled in due time, after Saint Elijah was taken to heaven ().
After the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah reigned in his place, who turned out to be the heir to both the throne and his father’s wickedness, for, listening to his wicked mother Jezebel, he worshiped and made sacrifices to Baal, which greatly angered the God of Israel. One day, due to carelessness, Ahaziah fell from the window of his house and became very ill. He sent ambassadors to the false god Baal, in fact to the demon who lived in the idol of Baal and gave false answers to those who turned to him with questions. He sent to that demon to ask about his health, whether he would recover from his illness. When the ambassadors of Ahaziah were going to Baal, on the way, at the command of God, the prophet Elijah appeared to them and said:
– Is there no God in Israel, why are you going to ask Baal? Return and tell the king who sent you, thus says the Lord: you will not rise from the bed on which you lie down, but you will die on it.
Having returned, the messengers conveyed these words to the sick king. The king asked them:
-What is the appearance of the person who said these words to you?
They answered:
- That man is covered in hair and is girded around his loins with a leather belt.
The king said:
- This is Elijah the Tishbite.
And he sent the oldest captain of fifty and with him fifty men to take Elijah and bring him to him. They went and saw Elijah on Mount Carmel, for he was accustomed to dwell primarily on this mountain. When the captain of fifty saw Elijah sitting on the top of the mountain, he said to him:
- Man of God! come down here; the king orders you to go to him.
Saint Elijah answered the captain of fifty:
“If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and fifty of your men.”
And immediately fire fell from heaven and burned them. The king sent another captain of fifty with the same number of people, but the same thing happened to them: fire that fell from heaven burned them too. The king sent the third captain of fifty with fifty men. This captain of fifty, having learned what had happened to those sent before him, came to Saint Elijah with fear and humility and, falling on his knees before him, begged him, saying:
- Man of God! here I and these thy servants who came with me stand before thee; have mercy on us: we did not come of our own free will, but were sent to you; Do not destroy us with fire, as you destroyed those sent before us.
And the prophet spared those who came in humility; He did not spare those who came before because they came with pride and power, they wanted to take him as a prisoner and lead him with dishonor. The Lord commanded Saint Elijah to go with these others fearlessly and tell the king the same thing that he had said before. Therefore the man of God came down from the mountain and went with the captain of fifty and his men. Having come to the king, Elijah said to him:
“Thus says the Lord: since you sent to ask Baal about your life, as if there was no God in Israel whom you could ask, then for this you will not rise from the bed on which you lie, but you will die.
And Ahaziah died according to the word of God spoken by the lips of the prophets. After Ahaziah, his brother Joram took over the kingdom, because Ahaziah had no sons. On this Jehoram the line of Ahab ceased, having been destroyed by the wrath of God in the days of the holy prophet Elisha, as it is written about in his life.
When the time approached at which the Lord determined to take Elijah to Himself alive, in the flesh, Elijah and Elisha walked from the city of Gilgal to the city of Bethel. Knowing from the revelation of God about his impending ascension to heaven, Elijah wanted to leave Elisha in Gilgal, humbly hiding from him his upcoming glorification from God. He said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” Saint Elisha, who also, by the revelation of God, knew about what was about to happen, answered:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you,” and both went to Bethel. The sons of the prophets who lived in Bethel approached Elisha alone and said to him:
“Do you know that the Lord will take from you your master over your head?”
Elisha answered:
- I know too, but keep quiet.
After this Elijah said to Elisha:
- Stay here, the Lord sent me to Jericho.
Elisha answered him:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you,” and they both came to Jericho. The sons of the prophets, who were in Jericho, came to Elisha and said to him:
“Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master over your head from you?”
Elisha answered:
- I already found out, shut up.
Saint Elijah again said to Elisha:
“Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
Elisha said:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you,” and let’s go together. Following them, at a distance from them, went fifty men from the sons of the prophets; when both holy prophets reached the Jordan, Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and hit the water with it; the water parted on both sides, and they both passed through the Jordan on dry ground. Having crossed the Jordan, Elijah said to Elisha:
“Ask me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
Elisha answered:
“I ask that the spirit that is in you be in me twice as much as in you.”
Elijah said:
- You decided to ask something difficult; but, however, if you see how I will be taken from you, it will be according to you; if you don’t see it, you won’t receive it.
As they walked and talked like this, suddenly a chariot and horses of fire appeared and separated them from each other, and Elijah was taken into heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha looked and exclaimed:
- Father, father! The chariot of Israel and his cavalry! (With these words he seemed to be saying: you, father, were all the strength for Israel: with your prayer and zeal you helped the kingdom of Israel much more than a great many military chariots and armed horsemen helped it). Elisha no longer saw Elijah. Then he took hold of his clothes and tore them in grief. Soon Elijah's cloak, thrown from above, fell at his feet. Having picked him up, Elisha stopped on the bank of the Jordan and, like Elijah, divided the water on both sides, he crossed the dry land and became the heir of the grace that acted in his teacher. The holy prophet of God Elijah, taken together with his flesh to heaven on a fiery chariot, is still alive in the flesh, preserved by God in the villages of paradise. He was seen by the three holy Apostles during the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tabor (), and again ordinary mortal people will see him before the second coming of the Lord to earth. Having escaped death from the sword of Jezebel, he will then suffer from the sword of Antichrist (
This Week on August 2 we celebrate the day of remembrance of the Prophet Elijah
The Holy Prophet Elijah, one of the greatest prophets and the first virgin of the Old Testament, was born in Thesbia of Gilead in the tribe of Levi 900 years before the Incarnation of God the Word. Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus reports the following legend about the birth of the prophet Elijah: “When Elijah was born, his father Sovakh saw in a vision that handsome men greeted him, swaddled him with fire and fed him with a fiery flame.” The name Elijah (the fortress of the Lord) given to the baby determined his entire life. From an early age he devoted himself to the One God, settled in the desert and spent his life in strict fasting, contemplation of God and prayer.
Called to prophetic service under the Israeli king Ahab, the prophet became a fiery zealot for true faith and piety. At that time, the Israeli people fell away from the faith of their fathers, abandoned the One God and worshiped pagan idols, the veneration of which was introduced by the wicked king Jeroboam. The wife of King Ahab, the pagan Jezebel, especially supported idolatry. The worship of the idol Baal led the Israelites to complete moral decay. Seeing the death of his people, the prophet Elijah began to denounce King Ahab of wickedness, urging him to repent and turn to the True God. The king did not listen to him. Then the prophet Elijah announced to him that, as punishment, there would be no rain or dew on the earth for three years and the drought would end only through his prayer. And indeed, through the prayer of the prophet, the sky closed, and drought and famine occurred throughout the entire earth. The people suffered from unbearable heat and hunger. The Lord, in His mercy, seeing the suffering of the people, was ready to spare everyone and send rain to the earth, but did not want to violate the words of the prophet Elijah, who was burning with the desire to turn the hearts of the Israelis to repentance and return them to true worship of God. Preserving the prophet Elijah from the hands of Jezebel, the Lord sent him during the disaster to a hidden place near the stream Cherith. The Lord commanded the predatory crows to bring food to the prophet, thereby instilling in him pity for the suffering people. When the stream of Choreth dried up, the Lord sent the prophet Elijah to Zarephath of Sidon to a poor widow who suffered with her children in anticipation of starvation. At the request of the prophet, she prepared him unleavened bread from the last handful of flour and the rest of the oil. Then, through the prayer of the prophet Elijah, flour and oil from then on did not run out in the widow’s house throughout the famine. By the power of his prayer, the great prophet performed another miracle - he resurrected the dead son of this widow. After three years of drought, the Merciful Lord sent a prophet to King Ahab to end the disaster. The Prophet Elijah ordered all Israel and the priests of Baal to be gathered to Mount Carmel. When the people gathered, the prophet Elijah proposed to build two altars: one from the priests of Baal, the other from the prophet Elijah to serve the True God. “On which of them fire falls from heaven, that will be an indication whose God is true,” said the prophet Elijah, “and everyone will have to worship Him, and those who do not recognize Him will be put to death.” The priests of Valla were the first to begin the sacrifice: they called out to the idol from morning to evening, but in vain - the sky was silent. In the evening, the holy prophet Elijah erected his altar of 12 stones, according to the number of tribes of Israel, laid the sacrifice on the firewood, ordered a ditch to be dug around the altar, and ordered to water the sacrifice and firewood with water. When the ditch was filled with water, the fiery prophet turned to God with a fervent prayer and petition, so that the Lord would send fire from heaven to admonish the erring and embittered Israeli people and turn their hearts to Himself. At the prayer of the prophet, fire came down from heaven and burned the sacrifice, wood, stones and even water. The people fell to the ground, crying out: “Truly the Lord is One God and there is no other God besides Him!” Then the prophet Elijah killed all the priests of Baal and began to pray for the sending of rain. Through his prayer, the sky opened and abundant rain fell, watering the thirsty earth. King Ahab realized his error and mourned his sins, but his wife Jezebel threatened to kill the prophet of God. The prophet Elijah fled to the kingdom of Judea and, grieving over his powerlessness to eradicate idolatry, asked God for his death. An Angel of the Lord appeared to him, strengthened him with food and commanded him to go on a long journey. The prophet Elijah walked for forty days and nights and, having reached Mount Horeb, settled in a cave. Here, after a terrible storm, earthquake and flame, the Lord appeared “in a still wind” (3 Kings 19:12) and revealed to the grieving prophet that He had preserved seven thousand faithful slaves who did not worship Baal. The Lord commanded the prophet Elijah to anoint (or dedicate) Elisha to the prophetic ministry.
For his fiery zeal for the Glory of God, the prophet Elijah was taken to Heaven alive in a fiery chariot. The prophet Elisha witnessed the ascent of the prophet Elijah to heaven in a fiery chariot and received, along with his fallen mantle (cloak), the gift of a prophetic spirit twice as great as the prophet Elijah had.
According to the tradition of the Holy Church, the prophet Elijah will be the Forerunner of the Terrible Second Coming of Christ to earth and will suffer bodily death during the sermon. The life of the holy prophet Elijah is described in the Old Testament books (3 Kings; 4 Kings; Sir. 48, 1-15; 1 Mac. 2, 58). During the Transfiguration of the Lord, the prophet Elijah talked with the Savior on Mount Tabor (Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30).
Materials from the site pravoslavie.ru were used for this article.
One of the most revered Old Testament saints in Christianity is the prophet Elijah, whose life is widely known throughout the world. His memory is celebrated on August 2 (July 20, old style).
Prophet Elijah was born in 900 BC. in the city of Thiswah (now the territory of Jordan). He came from the tribe of Levi. When the prophet was born, his father, the priest Sovakh, had a vision: some men joyfully welcomed the newborn, fed him with fire and swaddled him in the flames. This symbolized his future fiery sermons and ascension into the sky in a fiery chariot.
In contact with
Classmates
Life of the Prophet Elijah
Childhood and youth
Elijah grew up in an atmosphere of piety and purity, often going into the desert and offering prayers to God. The Lord loved the young man and answered his prayers. The future prophet saw idolatry and debauchery around him. The true God was forgotten by the Israelites. Those few who did not bow to the pagan gods and openly opposed this were killed and driven away.
Reproof of the King and Famine in Israel
Elijah began his active work during the reign of Ahab in Israel. He was married to the Phoenician Jezebel, who adhered to the cult of the pagan gods Baal (Baal) and Astarte (Asherah). She had a huge influence on her husband, and under the pressure of his wife, the king, who himself worshiped golden calves instead of the Most High, built a temple to Baal. The veneration of God in the kingdom of Israel was practically stopped, and the zealots of piety were expelled from the country. The priests of the pagan temple were kept at the ruler's palace. For all this, Elijah denounced Ahab.
To bring the king to reason, Elijah performed many miracles, but Ahab remained indifferent to them. Moreover, the worship of idols spread more and more and soon reached absolute limits. The prophet predicted to the king that the price for Israel for this would be a terrible famine that would last several years. But even here Ahab did not heed the prophecies of Elijah.
In the kingdom of Israel, the prophet's prediction would soon be fulfilled. Per country a terrible drought occurred, leading to famine. According to legend, the Lord, out of His mercy, would have liked to send rain to the exhausted Jews, but did not do this, so as not to violate the words of Elijah, who wanted the Israelis to repent and turn to the true God. The prophet himself was at that time in the desert. Every morning and evening for a year, ravens would fly to him and bring him food.
The prophet then went to Zarephath of Sidon (today's Lebanon) to visit a poor widow whose son Jonah had just died. She gave the last flour and oil that she had at home for Elijah. For this, through the prayers of the prophet, these products never ran out. Moreover, he resurrected a newly deceased child. Subsequently, Jonah also became a prophet. Ilya spent another two years with this woman.
Competition with idolaters and bringing down rain
After all this time, Elijah finally came to Samaria and showed himself to Ahab. It was decided that The sacrifice will take place on Mount Carmel, which will determine who is more powerful - God Yahweh or Baal.
First, the priests placed a butchered calf on the altar of the idol and began to ask Baal to send them fire and burn their sacrifice. The pagan god turned out to be weaker, and the priests could not force him to show his strength. Then it was Elijah's turn.
He also placed a calf on the altar and dug a ditch around it, and then asked the people to fill both the ditch and the altar along with the calf with water. The people did just that. After this, the prophet prayed to the Lord, and he sent fire from heaven onto Elijah’s sacrifice. Seeing this, the people submitted to the greatness of God.
Elijah ordered the people to take the priests to the mouth of the Kishon River, and there the prophet dealt with them with his own hands. Then he again offered a prayer to God, and heavy rain fell on the ground, for whom all the people yearned.
Jezebel was angry with the prophet for the murdered priests and swore that she would destroy him. Elijah received instructions from God to take refuge at the stream Horath, where the Lord Himself was his interlocutor.
Last years on earth
And at this time King Ahab wanted to take possession of a vineyard, located next door to his palace. However, Naboth, the owner of the vineyard, refused to sell it to the king. Jezebel decided to arrange her unjust trial of Naboth and persuaded the elders of the city to confirm that the vinedresser allegedly blasphemed. The trial took place, and the slandered owner was taken out of the city and stoned to death.
Having learned about this, Ahab was upset, but still went to the garden, which became his property for free. However, on the road he met Elijah, whom the Lord directed there. He told the king that he, Jezebel, and his entire family would soon perish. Ahab then found the strength to repent, and God forgave him and averted the punishment, saying that troubles would befall the royal family only after the death of the ruler himself.
Three years later, Ahab died in battle, and the throne was occupied by his son Ahaziah, who was also a worshiper of Baal. One day, the king was injured by falling from the roof of the palace, and sent assistants to the idol of the pagan god so that they would know when Ahaziah would recover. However, Elijah met them and said that for worshiping demons the young king would die in his illness, and this soon happened. Joram, the brother of Ahaziah, became the ruler. Under him, God's punishment was fulfilled, and the entire royal family was destroyed. Jezebel also died - she was thrown out of the window, and the corpse was torn apart by dogs.
After choosing a successor according to the will of the Lord in the person of the prophet Elisha, Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. In Orthodox theology, there is a point of view according to which the prophet was not taken to heaven, but to some hidden place, where he will remain until the Second Coming.
The book of the prophet Malachi says that the Lord will again send Elijah to earth before the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. However, there is an opinion that we were talking about John the Baptist, who appeared in the spirit of Elijah before the First Coming of Jesus. However, most Christians believe that Elijah will come to earth again to expose the Antichrist and convince the Jews to believe in God.
Miracles Performed by the Prophet
In the Third and Fourth Books of Kings, which describe the life of the prophet Elijah, the following miracles performed by him are told:
- lack of rain and hunger due to his prayers;
- feeding the prophet by ravens according to the word of God;
- resurrection of the son of the Sarepta widow;
- through his prayers, the widow’s house never ran out of food;
- bringing down fire on the altar;
- rainfall after three years of drought;
- communicated with the Lord face to face, while covering his face with his hands;
- hitting the Jordan River with clothing, he divided it in two, like Moses;
- ascending alive to heaven.
Veneration in Rus'
In Rus' The prophet Elijah has been revered almost since his baptism. The first temples in his name appeared during the time of Prince Askold. This is due to the fact that missionaries on the territory of Rus' were, like the prophet, to destroy the sin of idolatry in people. Other temples in his honor were located in cities such as:
- Kyiv;
- Velikiy Novgorod;
- Pskov.
Also, droughts often occurred in our country, but through the prayers of Elijah the Prophet, rain descended on the earth.
Today it is best known in our capital - Moscow at 6 Obydenny Lane, built back in 1592. During the Time of Troubles, the clergy within the walls of this church asked for God's help against the Polish occupiers.
On March 1, 1930, the Soviet authorities closed the temple, but two and a half months later, on May 20, it was returned to believers. The second attempt to close the church was scheduled for June 22, 1941, but this was prevented by the Great Patriotic War that began on that day.
Another temple in honor of Elijah the Prophet built in Northern Butovo since 2012 on Kulikovskaya street. Services are currently being held in a temporary building, but the richness of parish life will be the envy of other large churches: there is a consulting organization on church service issues, a Sunday school, an Orthodox club and a sports section.
The image of a prophet in our time
Today, Elijah the Prophet is no less revered by the Orthodox. Talented icon painters create wonderful works dedicated to various pages of the life of the prophet. Elijah is considered the heavenly patron of the airborne troops, as well as the air force. On August 2 of every year, services in honor of the prophet are held in churches at airborne units.
He is one of the revered saints of the Orthodox Church. This is God's saint who was ascended to heaven during his lifetime. I wondered what you could ask a saint for, and does Elijah the prophet respond to the requests of modern people? Previously, people were afraid of thunder and lightning, associating them with the wrath of Elijah the prophet. As a child, my grandmother forbade me to swim after the second of August and did not advise me to anger Ilya. In the article I will tell you about the life of the saint, his righteous service to God and the day of veneration of Elijah by the Orthodox Church. I will also tell you what they pray to the prophet for, what prayers he answers.
Elijah the prophet was born almost 1000 years before the birth of Christ in Thesbia of Gilead. Before the birth of little Elijah, his father had a strange dream: men of prayer came and fed the baby with fire, swaddling him in fiery swaddling clothes. When the boy grew up, he became an ardent servant of God and devoted his whole life to him. Elijah lived in the desert, constantly fasting and praying.
He was a zealous servant of God, as evidenced by his name - “My God is the Lord.” These were the times of the spiritual fall of the kingdom of Israel, when an idolater sat on the throne. The king's wife convinced him to believe in idols and forget the true God. Elijah closed the heavens with a prayer of faith and caused a drought for three years so that people would come to their senses and repent of their sins. People did not have enough bread, and Elijah called them to repentance.
To avoid the king's wrath, Elijah hid in the mountains near the Horab stream. The Bible says that ravens brought meat and bread to the prophet to support his spirit. The people suffered greatly from lack of food, and God was ready to have mercy on them. But seeing the stubbornness of his prophet, he did not dare to go against his will.
One day Saint Elijah came to the house of a poor woman, who did not spare him the last handful of flour and olive oil - she baked flat cakes. This miracle is described in the Old Testament: since then, the poor woman’s house has never run out of oil and flour. The prophet also resurrected the suddenly deceased son of a widow, sympathizing with her grief.
Elijah and the idolaters
The prophet Elijah performed many miracles, but was still persecuted by the authorities for his preaching and exposing the sins of the rulers. Then the holy righteous man decided to arrange a competition with the priests of Baal, the idol of the Israelites. He suggested casting lots - on whose altar the heavenly fire would fall, that god was the right one.
All day long the priests performed ritual dances in front of Baal and stabbed themselves with knives. But fire did not fall from heaven in response to their calls. In the evening, Elijah built an altar of twelve stones (according to the number of tribes of Israel), and cried out in fervent prayer to the true God. He asked to send fire to the altar to admonish the lost. At this time, heavenly fire fell on the altar and ignited the sacrifice. After this, the people again believed in one god, and the priests of Baal were killed. God sent rains to the earth and the drought ended.
This miraculous event was witnessed by his disciple, to whom the prophet threw off his outer garment from the chariot. Elijah became the second saint of God, ascended alive into heaven, after the righteous Enoch.
Icons and prayers
The icon of Elijah the Prophet is very revered by Orthodox Christians. The Prophet Elijah is most often depicted either with a raven or on a heavenly chariot. There are other images, but these two appear all the time. What do believers ask God's saint for? Mainly about a good harvest and weather.
Requests also concern:
- strengthening faith in the heart;
- awareness of one's sinful nature;
- restoring peace in the family;
- protection from bodily infirmities and wounds;
- overcoming poverty and lack of money;
- marriages of girls;
- help in any matter.
In Rus', religious processions were always performed in Ilyinsky churches if drought came to the land. This was a centuries-old tradition. People have always believed in the prophet's control of the weather, which was mentioned more than once in the Bible. Nowadays, August 2 is celebrated as Air Force and Airborne Forces Day, since Ilya is considered the patron saint of air forces and sailors.
Prayer to Saint Elijah:
When can you pray to Elijah? This is done at any time if the need arises, as well as on August 2 in the temple.
Day of Honor
On August 2, the Orthodox Church honors Elijah the prophet. It is believed that the saint strikes demons and people who disobey God with fiery lightning. This brought fear and horror to people, and from August 2, people were forbidden to swim in rivers and lakes. It is on this day that most often there are thunderstorms with heavy rains, and swimmers can simply die or drown.
In the old days in Rus', during a thunderstorm on August 2, the shutters on the windows were tightly closed, and a lamp was lit in the rooms. It was considered a great sin to run through puddles, sing songs and shoot a gun.
Instructions of the Prophets
What do the biblical prophets teach us? They show believers the right way to serve God, to live in purity and holiness. In biblical times, all prophets were persecuted, as Christ confirmed in the Gospel: “There is no prophet in his own country.” Persecution was caused by the word of truth and conviction of sins, because people did not want to hear the truth about themselves. But the prophets were always accompanied by the grace of God, which strengthened their spirit in opposition to sin.
The Lord specifically sends prophets to earth so that they testify to his power and authority. People often forget who their true father and creator is and start creating idols. This was the case during the time of the prophet Elijah, when the king of the Jews fell into idolatry. This was also the case in the time of Jesus Christ, when the position of high priest was bought for money. The Baptist became the last prophet on earth, announcing the coming of the Savior of the world.
Jesus was the last messenger of heaven, he redeemed the human race from sins and gave all people on earth the opportunity to gain the kingdom of heaven. After Jesus Christ, God did not send prophets to earth as unnecessary. Now all Christians on earth are awaiting the second coming of Christ in order to see with their own eyes the glory of God on earth.
