Dr Paul Allen

Elijah taken up into heaven, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883), based on story in Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 2:11. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken ( 2 Kings 2:22). Elijah ’s departure out of the land was in a sense a judgment. He led Elisha, his protégé, out of the land with him and into the wilderness. Since Elisha represented all the prophets, who in turn represented all the faithful, we can see in this a new departure from Egypt , so to speak. Ahab and his dynasty were like Pharaoh, Israel was like Egypt, and God’s people had to make an exodus. Moses died in the wilderness without seeing the conquest of the land, and Elijah also departed in the wilderness. No one knows where God buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6), and in the same way, the prophets searched for Elijah’s body but could not find it (2 Kings 2:16–18). Later Elisha returned to Israel. Keep in mind that Elisha was to Elijah what Joshua w...

The Transfiguration Lodovico Carracci 1594 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." ( 1 Kings  19:12 )   Elijah was in hiding for his life, even though God had spectacularly answered his prayer with fire from heaven. Jezebel , however, had not been intimidated by Elijah's victory and swore she would kill him. He fell into such depression that he wanted to die. If Jezebel could not be impressed with fire from heaven, how could Elijah ever hope to defeat her and her armies? Not even an angel could remove his doubts.   But then was sent "a great and strong wind," and "after the wind an earthquake" ( 1 Kings  19:11 ). But the Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. God finally reached Elijah with "a still small voice," and that voice assured him that God was well in control of all circumstances. Similarly, Moses told the ch...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia "So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage , that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God , there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof." ( 2 Kings 4:40 )   The "sons of the prophets" studying under Elisha became hungry, so Elisha told them to "see the pottage" ( v. 38 ), evidently a soup primarily made of lentils. However, one of the young students proceeded to gather some wild gourds and grind them into the pottage, carelessly assuming that their attractive appearance and taste would spice up the otherwise dull meal. When the more mature students took the first sip, however, they realized the alien ingredient was poisonous , and cried out, "There is death in the pot!"   There is a parable in this experience. Modern Bible scholars often want to spice up the old truths of Scripture with some new and superficially attractive concoction...

Image via Wikipedia "And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God , which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee , on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither." ( 2 Kings 4:9-10 )   This sparsely furnished little room, built by a kindly woman and her elderly husband, was the prototype of all the so-called " prophet 's chambers" that have been built for traveling teachers and evangelists ever since.   Little did this simple farm couple anticipate what fruit their kindness would bear one day in this very room. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers" the Bible says, "for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" ( Hebrews 13:2 ). In the first place, to show his appreciation, Elisha prayed that the Lord would give them a son, and God miraculously an...

Image via Wikipedia   “Take the helmet of salvation ” (Eph. 6:17). Your helmet of salvation protects you from discouragement and despair. We’ve seen how Satan attacks believers with his two-edged sword of doubt and discouragement. But he doesn’t stop there. He tries to take you beyond discouragement and on to despair by robbing you of hope. Unless you’re careful, his attacks will be successful when you’re battle-weary. The prophet Elijah is an illustration of that truth. The highlight of his ministry came atop Mount Carmel , where he slew 450 prophets of Baal ( 1 Kings 18:40). And yet immediately after that great victory, he fled for his life because Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him (1 Kings 19:1–3). He ran from Mount Carmel into the wilderness of Beersheba , where he “sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers’” (v. 4). He went on to moan, “...