091. LXIII. Elijah’s Work As A Religious And Social Reformer
§ LXIII. ELIJAH’S WORK AS A RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL REFORMER
1. Elijah before Ahab (1 Kings 17:1). Now Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, As Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, whom I serve, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except according to my word. . . .
2. By the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-5). Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, Depart from here and turn eastward and hide thyself by the Brook Cherith, that is east of Jordan. Then thou shalt drink out of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and obeyed the command of Jehovah and dwelt by the Brook Cherith that is east of Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread every morning and flesh every evening, and he used to drink out of the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
3. Miraculous provision of food at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-18). Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city a widow was there gathering sticks; and calling to her, he said, Bring me, I pray, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to bring it, he called after her, Bring also, I pray, a bit of bread with you. And she replied, As Jehovah your God liveth, I have nothing but a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the cruse; and now I am gathering a few sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and then die. But Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as you have said, but first make me from it a little cake, and then make for yourself and your son. For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be used up, neither shall the cruse of oil become empty, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the earth.’ And she went and did as Elijah directed. So she and he and her household had food to eat. From that day the jar of meal was not used up, neither did the cruse of oil become empty, just as Jehovah had said by Elijah.
4. Restoring the son of the widow (1 Kings 17:17-24). Now after this the son of the mistress of the house fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. Then she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to remind me of my sin by slaying my son! And he said to her, Give me your son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he was staying, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon this widow, whose guest I am, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah and said, O Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child’s life come back to him again. And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Elijah; and the life of the child came back to him again, so that he revived. Then Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, See, your son lives! And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in your mouth is truth.
5. Elijah’s demand (1 Kings 18:1-2a). Now a long time after this the word of Jehovah came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.
6. Severity of the famine (1 Kings 18:2-6). And the famine was severe in Samaria. And Ahab had called Obadiah, the prefect of the palace. Now Obadiah revered Jehovah greatly; for when Jezebel tried to exterminate the prophets of Jehovah, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave and fed them continually with bread and water. And Ahab had said to Obadiah, Up! let us go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass so that we can save the horses and mules alive and not lose all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass through it: Ahab went in one direction by himself and Obadiah went in another direction by himself,
7. Elijah’s interview with Obadiah (1 Kings 18:7-15). And while Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him suddenly. When he knew him, he fell on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah? And he answered him, It is I; go, tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here.’ And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As Jehovah your God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they said ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that no one had found you. And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here.”’ And as soon as I am gone from you the spirit of Jehovah will carry you to a place unknown to me, and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will put me to death, although I, your servant, have feared Jehovah from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred of Jehovah’s prophets by fifty in a cave and fed them continually with bread and water? And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, Elijah is here,’ that he may put me to death! But Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him to-day.
8. His command to Ahab (1 Kings 18:16-19). So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And as soon as Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you who have brought misfortune to Israel? And he answered, I have not brought misfortune to Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commands of Jehovah and have run after the Baals. Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, together with the four hundred and fifty prophets of the Baal and the four hundred prophets of the asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.
9. Elijah’s address to the people (1 Kings 18:20-24). So Ahab sent to all the Israelites and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long are you going to limp between the two sides? If Jehovah be God, follow him, but if the Baal, then follow him. But the people gave him no answer. Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I only, am left as a prophet of Jehovah, but the Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood without putting on any fire, and I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood without putting on any fire. Then you call on your god and I will call on Jehovah; and the God who answers by fire, he is the God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
10. Failure of the prophets to meet the test (1 Kings 18:25-29). And Elijah said to the prophets of the Baal, Choose one of the bullocks for yourselves and dress it first, for you are many, and call on your god, without putting on any fire. So they took the bullock which he gave them and dressed it, and called on the Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice nor answer. And they limped about the altar which they had erected. But when it was noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud; for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened! Then they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice nor answer nor heed paid to their cry.
11. Elijah’s preparations for the test (1 Kings 18:30,1 Kings 18:32-35). Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which had been thrown down. Then he made a trench about the altar of about the capacity of one and one-fourth bushels of seed. And he laid the pieces of wood in order, cut up the bullock, and laid it on pieces of the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt-offering and on the pieces of wood. And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and they did it also the third time, so that the water ran round the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
12. The sign from heaven confirming Elijan’s words (1 Kings 18:38-40). But when it was time to offer the evening oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Jehovah, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy command. Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of Jehovah fell and consumed the burnt-offering and the wood, the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and cried, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God. But Elijah commanded them, Take the prophets of the Baal; let not one of them escape! So they took them down to the Brook Kishon and slew them there.
13. Coming of the rain (1 Kings 18:41-46). Then Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of a heavy downpour of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and crouched down upon the earth, with his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Now go again seven times. So the servant went back seven times. But the seventh time he said, There is a cloud arising out of the sea as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Make ready your chariot, go down, that the rain may not stop you.’ Then in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode toward Jezreel. And the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah, so that he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
14. Elijah’s flight to Horeb (1 Kings 19:1-9a). Now when Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and all the details of his slaying the prophets with the sword, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, As surely as you are Elijah and I am Jezebel, may the gods do to me what they will, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. Then he was afraid and arose and went for his life. And he came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and there he left his servant. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough; now, O Jehovah, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers! Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Thereupon a divine messenger touched him and said to him, Rise, eat! And when he looked, he saw there at his head a cake, baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. But the messenger of Jehovah came again the second time and touched him and said, Rise, eat, or else the journey will be too long for you. So he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the Mount of God. And there he came to a cave and lodged therein.
15. His complaint (1 Kings 19:9-11a). Thereupon the word of Jehovah came to him. And he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken thee, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I only am left, and they seek to take my life from me. Then he said, Go forth and stand on the mount before Jehovah.
16. Revelation of Jehovah’s true character (1 Kings 19:11-14). Thereupon Jehovah passed by, and a great and violent wind rent the mountain and broke in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low, soft whisper. And as soon as Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And then there came a voice to him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken thee, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I only am left, and they seek to take away my life from me.
17. Directions for the overthrow of Baalism (1 Kings 19:15-18). Then Jehovah said to him, Go, return on thy way to the Wilderness of Damascus, and when thou comest anoint Hazael to be king over Aram. And Jehu the son of Nim-shi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy place. And it shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall slay; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall slay. Yet will I spare seven thousand in Israel—all the knees which have not bowed to Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
18. Selection of a disciple and successor (1 Kings 19:19-21). Now when he had departed from there he found Elisha the son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he was with the twelfth. And Elijah went over to him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother and then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back again, for what have I done to you? So he turned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen and gave to the people to eat. Then he arose and went after Elijah and entered into his service.
19. Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard to Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-4). Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it is more satisfactory to you, I will give you the value of it in money. But Naboth answered Ahab, Jehovah forbid me, that I should give to you the inheritance of my fathers. And Ahab came into his house in ill-humor because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give to you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed and covered his face and would eat no food.
20. Jezebel’s measures to secure Naboth’s death (1 Kings 21:5-10). But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, Why are you so out of humor that you eat no food? And he replied to her, Because I made a proposition to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else if it is more satisfactory to you I will give you another vineyard for if; and he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ Then Jezebel his wife said to him, Is it you who now holds sway in Israel? Arise, eat, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, who presided with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, Proclaim a fast and also place Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then place two base men before him and let them bear witness against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ And then carry him out and stone him to death.
21. Realization of her designs (1 Kings 21:11-16). And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who presided in his city, did as Jezebel had ordered them. As was commanded in the letters which she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast, and put Naboth in a prominent place among the people. And two base men came in and sat before him, and the scoundrels bore witness against him (Naboth) in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones. And they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. And as soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive but dead. And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
22. Ahab’s guilt (1 Kings 21:17-20,1 Kings 21:23;1 Kings 21:27). But the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria; he is just now in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he has gone down to take possession of it. And thou shalt speak to him, saying, ‘Thus saith Jehovah, “Hast thou killed and also taken possession?”’ Moreover thou shalt speak to him, saying, ‘Thus saith Jehovah, “In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth will the dogs lick thy blood also.”’ And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have. And of Jezebel also Jehovah hath spoken, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’ Now when Ahab heard those words he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted; he also slept on sackcloth and went about quietly.
I. The Elijah Stories. The account of Ahab’s wars contains no references to the prophet Elijah. In the extracts from what appears to have been a detailed account of the events of Ahab’s reign, the king is pictured as a brave and benign ruler. The condemnation of his policy in sparing the life of the Aramean king, Ben-hadad, suggests the attitude of the prophetic party. The activity and point of view of Elijah, the great commanding figure of the period, are recorded in the chapters seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty-one of I Kings. In the Greek version of the Old Testament these chapters follow each other without a break. It is evident that they were taken from the same source. That source was evidently an account of the work of Elijah which was current among the prophets of a later day. The abruptness with which Elijah is introduced indicates that the original Elijah history is here quoted only in part. The interest in this Elijah history is religious rather than political and fixes attention on the activity of the prophet rather than of the king. Its point of view is fundamentally different, but its testimony is not contradictory, but rather supplementary, to that of the Ahab history. It reveals the deeper problems and forces in Israel’s life. The prominence of miracles and the exaltation of the authority of the prophet far above that of the king reveal the influence of transmission on the lips of the people or of the later prophets. The stories represent tradition’s remembrance and interpretation of the real character and work of Elijah. To gain a true conception of the actual course of history, it is therefore necessary to make allowance for this traditional element. At the same time there is a freshness and a wealth of detail in each of the narratives which indicate that they come from a period not far removed from the events which they record. As there is in them no condemnation of the high places of Israel and of the rites connected with them, it would seem that these Elijah stories were committed to writing some time before the middle of the eighth century; for at that time Amos, Hosea and Isaiah began to attack these popular institutions.
II. Elijah, the Tishbite. The situation in the days of Ahab required a man of clear vision and of fearless, heroic character to stem the popular tide and to lead the nation back to its simpler and older ideals. Almost unconsciously the king and the people were yielding to the allurements of the agricultural and commercial civilization which they had received from the ancient Canaanites and the neighboring Phœnicians. It was natural that Moses’s successor should come from Gilead, which was the borderland between the desert of Israel’s earlier days and their settled home in Palestine. Elijah’s costume, the rough shepherd’s mantle and staff, his food, and the freedom with which he moves from place to place, all proclaim his wilderness origin. His flight to Horeb in the hour of his great discouragement also indicates that he felt himself to be the champion of the God of Moses and of Israel’s earlier faith. In common with the Rechabites and Nazirites, the representatives of the old nomadic religion, he viewed askance the agricultural civilization of Canaan, with its debasing religious institutions and its gross immorality. By Ahab and the members of his court this prophet of the desert was doubtless regarded as a rude fanatic. The king’s words on meeting Elijah reveal the inevitable hostility which existed between these two strong men.
III. Elijah’s Demand of Loyalty to Jehovah. From his desert point of view Elijah could see no justification of Ahab’s policy in tolerating within the land of Israel the worship of an alien god. His reasoning was simple and incontrovertible: Israel was Jehovah’s people, and Jehovah from the first had demanded their entire loyalty. To share that loyalty with another god was treason on the part of both king and people. Doubtless the prophet was also fully aware of the unspeakably corrupting moral influences of the Baal religion. On the other hand, in the light of conditions in Northern Israel, it is easy to understand why Ahab refused to listen to the prophet. To have acceded to Elijah’s demands it would have been necessary for the king to reverse completely his most cherished policies. It would have meant not only severing foreign alliances, but also throwing off the powerful influence of his own queen Jezebel. Hence the close-drawn issue between king and prophet, and the necessity of Elijah’s public appeal to the conscience of the people. The Greek historians record a famine during the reign of Ittobaal of Tyre which affected Phœnicia as well as Israel; but according to them it lasted but one year. By Phœnicians, as well as Israelites, a calamity of this character was regarded as certain evidence of divine disfavor. It therefore prepared the minds of the people in a most effective manner for the prophet’s message.
IV. Elijah’s Appeal to the Nation. According to the prophetic tradition, Elijah’s appeal to the people was made at a great national assembly, the background and primary occasion of which was a severe and protracted drought. The scene of the assembly was the ancient sanctuary on the eastern heights of Mount Carmel, which projects into the heart of Northern Israel and was easily accessible from all parts of the kingdom. Here, not far from Ahab’s capital, but upon the heights, removed from the Canaanite shrines and civilization, the representatives of the nation assembled to ask divine favor and deliverance. Later tradition has preserved the memory of a lightning flash and the downpour of rain, which were interpreted as divine confirmation of the prophet’s authority; but it has also recorded that which was most significant in the dramatic scene on Mount Carmel—the prophet’s bold demand that the people choose once and forever between Jehovah and Baal. As at all times in their history, however, the people were slow to choose and slower to act. Elijah, like the earlier prophets, appears to have taken the initiative, and, in his consuming zeal, to have given command to slay the hated prophets of Baal. For the moment he seemed victorious and in his enthusiasm ran before Ahab’s chariot across the plain to the entrance of Jezreel.
V. The Revelation at Horeb. Unlike most oriental women, Jezebel was daunted neither by fear nor public opinion. It soon became evident that she was still in control of Ahab and of the capital. Like every enthusiast, Elijah was probably subject to great revulsions of feeling. In his despondency Jezebel’s message to the prophet apparently drove him forth a fugitive, discouraged and in terror. Nomad that he was, he naturally fled along the great highway southward to the sacred sanctuary at Beersheba, and then on alone, a pilgrim to the sacred mountain of Jehovah, the scene, according to the early Hebrew stories, of the revelation to Moses and the nation.
Again popular tradition suggests with wonderful beauty and delicacy the significant facts in Elijah’s experience at this critical period of his life. Man of iron—he had trusted to the public appeal and to the sword to win his people to Jehovah. In the solitude he learned at last that God reveals himself not alone and in highest measure in the tempest and earthquake and flaming fire, but in the low, soft whisper in the heart of man. Although, in the effort to make the narratives clear and dramatic, prophetic tradition long continued to represent God as speaking by audible words to his servants, yet in the ultimate analysis it was always in the heart of the individual prophet that the truths were appreciated which he later proclaimed as the message of God to his race.
VI. The Call of Elisha. Confronted by Jezebel and the diplomacy of the court, Elijah painfully realized his limitations. Reared in the wilderness, he was a stranger to the life of the city. It was probably because he appreciated these limitations and because he was baffled by his new environment that he fled in terror and discouragement back to the desert. In proclaiming to the people the fatal dangers inherent in the policy of Ahab and in showing them the fatal danger in tolerating Baal worship in their midst, he had accomplished his real life work. Some one intimately acquainted with the complex civilization of Northern Israel and in close touch with king and people, was also needed to instil into the popular consciousness the truth proclaimed by Elijah and, in time, to arouse the nation to shake off the pernicious influence of Baalism. Such a man was found in Elisha, the son of a prosperous farmer of central Israel. Elisha’s immediate response to the call of Elijah revealed his sympathy with the point of view of the great prophet and his readiness and fitness to take up his work.
Even in the flickering light of popular tradition, the character and methods of these two prophets are clearly revealed and they stand in striking contrast to each other. The one was the prophet of thunder and the sword; the other was the popular counsellor and diplomat, who attained his ends by persuasion and organization. Elisha’s field of activity was in court and camp. By virtue of his intimate knowledge of men and forces in Israel and his close touch with leaders and people, he saw fruits, where Elijah was only able to sow the seed.
VII. Elijah’s Condemnation of Ahab’s Tyranny. On one other important occasion the flashlight of popular tradition reveals the work of Elijah. This time, like Amos and Micah, he figures as the champion of the oppressed, and voices the deep resentment with which the free, democratic Israelites viewed the encroachments of unscrupulous absolutism. Jezebel had brought to Ahab’s court not only the Baal cults but also the prevailing oriental idea of the relation between a king and his subjects. Ahab himself was an energetic organizer and builder. In extending his palace grounds, he desired to secure the vineyard of a certain Naboth that he might convert it into a vegetable garden. Naboth, however, refused to part with the land, preferring to maintain his ancestral right of inheritance even in the face of the king’s wishes. Ahab recognized that Naboth’s position was impregnable according to the accepted laws and traditions of Israel. Jezebel, however, trained in a very different court, tempted her husband to disregard the most sacred rights of his people and by injustice and murder to secure possession of the coveted vineyard.
Doubtless Ahab’s act in yielding to the temptation was quickly known throughout the land of Israel, for such an act endangered the liberties of all his subjects. It was, therefore, a critical and dramatic moment in Israel’s history, when one of his subjects, Elijah, the Tishbite, dared to stand up before Ahab, as the king was about to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, to denounce the royal culprit and to proclaim in the name of Jehovah the inevitable consequences of this bloody crime.
VIII. The Significance of Elijah’s Work. In later literature and thought, Elijah stands as the classic example of a brave, effective herald of reform. In times of moral and religious degeneracy, later Judaism looked for his return or for the appearance of one who in his spirit would denounce all forms of apostasy and injustice, even though these were intrenched under the shadow of a throne or of a sanctuary.
Elijah’s conception of Jehovah, however, appears to have been the same as that of Moses and the earlier leaders of his race. They were quite willing that Baal should be worshipped in Phœnicia; but in Jehovah’s land there was no place for a heathen god. His recognition of the Arameans as agents in accomplishing Jehovah’s purpose also suggests that broadening conception of the sphere of Jehovah’s influence, which became an accepted fact in the thought of Amos and Hosea.
Elijah’s great work, however, appears to have been done not as a theologian but as a reformer, who stayed the encroachments of Baalism and championed the rights of the people against the fatal tyranny of their king. He was, therefore, the forerunner of the great social reformers of succeeding generations, who defined religion not merely in terms of belief and ritual but also in terms of justice and mercy. While he himself did not see the popular acceptance of the principles which he proclaimed, Elijah was the great informing spirit of his age, inspiring the activity of his disciple Elisha and preparing the way for the epoch-making prophets of the Assyrian period.