The Works of the Original Eliyah
What works did the original Eliyah do, and how did Yahchanan's works compare with those of Eliyah's, seeing that Yahchanan came in the spirit and power of Eliyah?
1 Melakhim (Kings) 16: 28 - 17: 1 reads, "16:28So `Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Shomron; and Ach'av his son reigned in his place. 16:29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Yahudah began Ach'av the son of `Omri to reign over Yisra'el: and Ach'av the son of `Omri reigned over Yisra'el in Shomron twenty-two years. 16:30Ach'av the son of `Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh above all that were before him. 16:31It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Yarov`am the son of Nevat, that he took as wife Izevel the daughter of Etba`al king of the Tzidonim, and went and served Ba`al, and worshipped him. 16:32He reared up an altar for Ba`al in the house of Ba`al, which he had built in Shomron. 16:33Ach'av made the Asherah; and Ach'av did yet more to provoke Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, to anger than all the kings of Yisra'el who were before him. 16:34In his days did Chi'el the Beit-Eli build Yericho: he laid the foundation of it with the loss of Aviram his firstborn, and set up the gates of it with the loss of his youngest son Seguv, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Yah'shuah the son of Nun.
17:1
Eliyah the Tishbi, who was of the sojourners of Gil`ad, said to Ach'av, 'As Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.'"It should be noted that Eliyah stood before Yahweh.
How did he stand before Yahweh? What is the meaning of his standing before Yahweh?
1 Melakhim 17: 2-7 reads, "17:2The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 17:3'Get you hence, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Kerit, that is before the Yarden. 17:4It shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.' 17:5So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh; for he went and lived by the brook Kerit, that is before the Yarden. 17:6The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 17:7It happened after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land."
Eliyah Obeyed the Word of Yahweh
It should be noted that Eliyah went and lived by the brook Kerit according to the word of Yahweh. He did not just wake up one day and decide of his own thoughts to go and live by the brook Kerit. No! He was instructed to do so by the word of Yahweh. And so he did. Thus it is seen that Eliyah obeyed the word of Yahweh.
Eliyah Was Not Spared of the Effects of the Drought
It should also be noted that Eliyah was not spared of the effects of Yahweh's word on the environment he lived in. For just as water dried up in other localities of the land, so also did water of the brook Kerit dry up, for there was no rain in the land. It should therefore be noted that when Yahweh issues a judgement on a land, there is NO GUARANTEE that his people will be spared of the judgement afflicting that land. UNLESS Yahweh specifically says so, such as when he made a distinction between his people and the Mitzrim during the days of Moshe when they were in Mitzrayim.
Eliyah's Words to Achav Were at Yahweh's Command
It should also be noted that the word that Eliyah spoke to Achav in 1 Melakhim 17: 1 was by the command of the word of Yahweh. For seeing that Eliyah undertook his actions in response to the command of the word of Yahweh, and he did indeed utter those words to Achav, it is taken that they were uttered at the command of the word of Yahweh.
Eliyah Resides With a Widow in Tzarfat
1 Melakhim 17: 8-16 reads, "17:8The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 17:9'Arise, get you to Tzarfat, which belongs to Tzidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.' 17:10So he arose and went to Tzarfat; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, 'Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.' 17:11As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, 'Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.' 17:12She said, 'As Yahweh your Mighty One lives, I do not have a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the jar. And, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.' 17:13Eliyah said to her, 'Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me, and afterward make for you and for your son. 17:14For thus says Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, "The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth."' 17:15She went and did according to the saying of Eliyah: and she, and he, and her house, ate many days. 17:16The jar of meal didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Eliyah."
Tzarfat Widow Unaware of Yahweh's Command to Her
It should be noted that Yahweh told Eliyah that he had commanded a widow in Tzarfat to sustain Eliyah. Nevertheless, from the behaviour of the widow, seeing that she expected to eat her last meal and die, it is evident that she was not aware that Yahweh had indeed commanded her to sustain Eliyah! It should therefore be noted that Yahweh can indeed issue his word or command to someone, and the person he has so issued the command to may not be aware of it, until much later after the command has been issued. In the widow's case it is seen that she received Eliyah into her house, and sustained him, thereby showing that she did indeed fulfil Yahweh's command, even though she was not conscious of the command at the time it was issued.
1 Melakhim 17: 17-24 reads, "17:17It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 17:18She said to Eliyah, 'What have I to do with you, you man of the Mighty One? You are come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!' 17:19He said to her, 'Give me your son.' He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, where he abode, and laid him on his own bed. 17:20He cried to Yahweh, and said, 'Yahweh my Mighty One, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?' 17:21He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, 'Yahweh my Mighty One, please let this child's soul come into him again.' 17:22Yahweh listened to the voice of Eliyah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 17:23Eliyah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Eliyah said, 'Behold, your son lives.' 17:24The woman said to Eliyah, 'Now I know that you are a man of the Mighty One, and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.'"
Human Beings are Flesh With a Spirit in Each of Them
It should be noted that human beings are flesh, and they have a spirit or soul within them. It is this spirit within them, the spirit of man, that gives them life and sustains their life. When this spirit is in them, in flesh, they live. When this spirit departs from within them, from within flesh, they die.
The Spirit in Man Imparts and Sustains Man's Life
It should also be noted that this spirit in man is also the "breath" that is in man. For when there is breath in man, he lives, and when there is no breath in man, he dies. The "breath" in man is more than just air. For even a dead body has air in its nostrils and lungs. Only that the air in the nostrils of a dead body does not give it life, nor sustain it. Therefore it should be noted that what gives life to man is the spirit in man, otherwise called soul, and also known as "breath".
Eliyah Understood Man's Composition
In the case of the widow's son it is seen that Eliyah understood the composition of man's nature, for he prayed to Yahweh that the child's soul come into him again. Thus to Eliyah the child was the dead flesh before him on his own bed. The child also had a soul, which had been in him, but had departed out of him. Since Eliyah understood that it was this soul, or spirit, that gave life to the child, the flesh before him, he prayed to Yahweh that the spirit or soul of the child come into him again, come into the flesh again, that the child may live.
Each Man Has a Particular Spirit in Man
It should also be noted that each human being, each flesh, has a spirit or soul that is particular to them. For Eliyah prayed to Yahweh that the spirit or soul of the child come into the child again, where it had previously been. He did not pray that another spirit or soul belonging to another dead person come into the child. But the particular spirit or soul belonging to that child is the one that Eliyah prayed to come into the child, the flesh, again. Thus it is seen that each spirit or soul is particular to each human being.
Departed Spirits of Men Go To Some Location
It should also be noted that after the spirit or soul of the child had departed from the child, from the flesh, it must have gone to some location other than that child, that flesh. For it departed out of the child, the flesh. And for Eliyah to pray for it to return into the child implies that it could indeed return to the child, and that it was at some location whereby it could indeed return into the child. It should therefore be noted that once spirits or souls depart from human beings, they do indeed go to a location whereby, should it be necessary, they can return to those human beings, those flesh, that they previously inhabited.
It should therefore be clear that man is flesh, and has a spirit or soul in him, that gives him life, and sustains his life. Without this spirit in man he is just dead flesh. But with it he is indeed living flesh.
Thus, in 1 Melakhim 17: 22, when the spirit or soul of the child returned into him, the child lived!
Yahweh Has Power and Authority Over All Spirits of Men
It should also be noted that the person with the power to place or remove spirits of men in men is Yahweh, and not other human beings. For Eliyah did not have it in himself to give life to the child. What he did was to appeal to the one who had power to give life to the child, appeal to Yahweh the Mighty One. It should therefore be clear that Yahweh the Mighty One is the one with power to give life, and power to take life.
Eliyah Was Unaware of the Child's Impending Death
It should also be noted that Yahweh had not informed Eliyah beforehand that the child of the widow would indeed die while he was living with them. Seeing that Eliyah did not have communication on this matter from Yahweh, all he could do was to appeal to Yahweh, and hope that Yahweh would indeed listen to his voice of appeal. And so he did, and so Yahweh listened.
Why Yahweh Listened to Eliyah's Voice
Why did Yahweh listen to the voice of Eliyah?
It appears, from 1 Melakhim 17: 24, that he so listened to both glorify himself, and also to confirm to the widow, and to others in due course, that Eliyah was indeed his servant, and that his word in Eliyah's mouth was truth. Thus by this act he glorified himself before human beings. Thus by this act he also confirmed to humans that Eliyah was indeed his servant, and that his word in Eliyah's mouth was truth.
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