ELIJAH – TYPOLOGY PART ONE
While I stood at Tyre, my thoughts went out to a very infamous lady who lived here. Do you remember her name?
Jezebel.
She married an Israelite king who was equally as bad as she. The bible says they had a palace at Jezreel and an ivory palaced at Samaria. Can archaeology confirm these facts? Yes.
The name of Jezebel was discovered at Samaria. If you look at the script, you will notice that it is hieroglyphics.
Evidence that Ahab had an ivory palace was found at Nimrud in Iraq. When Samaria was destroyed by Sargon II in 722 BC. the wealth of city was taken to Assyria. Archaeologists found many piece of ivory, reminding one of the statements in the Bible.
1 Kings 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
THE ELIJAH MESSAGE
You are looking at a place in Jordan called Tishbe. This is where the prophet Elijah lived.
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
This is the gate of Samaria where the judges presided. In my mind’s eye I can see Elijah walking pass the security guards right up to Ahab’s thone. Proclaim the Elijah message and disappear.
Come with me to Wadi Kelt. According to some scholars this is the brook of Cherith where he drank of the water and where the cravens fed him.
1 Kings 17:6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
What happened when the brook went dry? He left Israel and went to a widow at Phonecia, modern Lebanon. If you preach the Elijah message God will provide in all your needs.
Whenever I visit these Biblical sites my thoughts go out to the people who lived here and all that happened to them. The widow of Sarafad
1 Kings 17:9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”
While a visited the Echmoun temple near Zarephath where the widow may have worshipped Phonecian gods in the past, I thought of the way in which God provided in her needs.
Elijah appealed to her to give her all in order for his message to be proclaimed. She did and listen how the Lord provided.
1 Kings 17:16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Next time we are going to visit Mount Carmel where Elijah had a confrontation with the priests of Baal. It was right here that he exposed the false religious system of his day and here he built an altar and offered sacrifices.
We will also be visiting Wadi al Kharar where the second Elijah preached and baptized and where Elijah was transported to heaven.