The Rainmaker

Little Angel!

Little Johnny's new baby brother was screaming up a storm. 

Johnny asked his mom, “Where’d he come from?” 

 “He came from heaven, Johnny.” 

Johnny responded: “Wow! I can see why they threw him out!”

James 5:17, 18 - Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 

1 kings 18:41 to 46

Biblical Data:

The name means "Yhwh is (my) God," and is a confession that its bearer defended Yhwh against the worshipers of Baal and of other gods. It has therefore been assumed that the prophet took this name himself

Background of the passage 

1 Kings 17-18 New King James Version (NKJV)

Elijah Proclaims a Drought

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

Humor 

God's Creation

In the beginning, God created the earth and rested. 

 Then God created Man and rested. 

 Then God created Woman. 

Since then, neither God nor Man has rested. 

What happened in those 3 years! 

Elijah and the Widow

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

100 prophets were hidden and kept {18:13}

Elijah was declared as the trouble maker {18:17}

Elijah’s Message to Ahab

18 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”

Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory

The Drought

Elijah appeared in the Land of Israel at a most crucial time. The Land of Israel was then divided into two kingdoms: the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. On the throne of the latter sat king Ahab, but the true ruler of the land was his wife, Queen Jezebel, originally a Phoenician princess who never gave up her Phoenician way of life.

The rainmaker is a doctrine of Theodicy 

The divine providence of God was seen through the prayers answered and rains being sent. 

7 represents completion or perfection, good fortune, blessings and seven times shows it was the completion of the famine and cure over the land. 

Elijah was a righteous man of prayer. 

Elijah is a classic example of a man who knew how to pray.  In fact, many centuries before James wrote about prayer in his letter, we find its fulfillment in the prophet Elijah!  The prayers of a righteous man are prayers that are heard and answered by God.  James gives Elijah as his prime example of a righteous man—

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.  (James 5:17, 18)

Elijah prayed in faith 

Elijah prayed in humility 

Elijah prayed persistently 

Elijah prayed definitely 

The latter rain name comes from Joel 2:23, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” The “latter rain” in this verse is interpreted as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The “latter rain” (the end-times outpouring) would be greater than the “former rain.”

But what is the purpose of this baptism of the Spirit’s power? Soon after planting, seasonal rain provided moisture for germination and initial growth. This was called the “early rain.” Later, near the time for harvest, another copious watering was referred to as the “latter rain.”

There will be definitely a latter rain. When the land is cleansed from the evil. 

Joshua b. Levi and Elijah.

None of the pious could boast of such a close relation to Elijah as could Joshua b. Levi, to fulfill whose wishes Elijah was always ready, although he sometimes showed himself very severe toward him (Yer. Ter. viii. 4b; Yer. Sheb. ix. 31a; Mak. 11a). These sacred revelations were the lessons which Joshua received from Elijah, especially the doctrine of the theodicy, (theodicy - the vindication of divine providence in view of the existence of evil.)  which Elijah tried to explain to his friend by means of illustrations. Joshua once asked Elijah to take him along on his journeys through the world. To this the prophet yielded on condition that Joshua should never question him concerning the causes of his actions, strange as they might appear; should this condition be violated, the prophet would be obliged to part from him. Both set out upon their journey. The first halt was at the house of a poor man who owned only a cow, but who, with his wife, received the strangers most kindly, and entertained them to the best of his ability. Before they continued their journey next morning, the rabbi heard Elijah pray that God might destroy the poor man's cow, and before they had left the hospitable house the cow was dead. Joshua could not contain himself, but in great excitement said to Elijah: "Is this the reward which the poor man receives for his hospitality toward us?" The prophet reminded him of the condition upon which they had undertaken the journey, and silently they continued on their way.

Toward evening they came to the house of a rich man who did not even look at them so that they had to pass the night without food and drink. In the morning when they left the inhospitable house, Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would build up a wall which had fallen in one of the rich men's houses. At once the wall stood erect. This increased the agitation of the rabbi still more; but remembering the condition which had been imposed upon him, he kept silent.

 On the next evening, they came to a synagogue adorned with silver and gold, none of whose rich members showed any concern for the poor travelers, but dismissed them with bread and water. Upon leaving the place Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would make them all leaders ("heads"). Joshua was about to break his promise but forced himself to go on in silence again.

In the next city, they met very generous people who vied with one another in performing acts of kindness toward the strangers. Great, then, was the surprise of Joshua when, upon leaving the place, he heard the prophet pray that God might give them only "one head."

Elijah Explains His Actions.

Joshua could not refrain any longer, and asked, Elijah, to explain to him his strange actions, although he knew that by asking he would forfeit the prophet's companionship. Elijah answered: "The poor but generous man lost his cow because of my prayer, for I knew that his wife was about to die, and I asked God to take the life of the cow instead of that of the wife. My prayer for the heartless rich man was because under the fallen wall was a great treasure which would have come into the hands of this unworthy man had he undertaken to rebuild it. It was also no blessing which I pronounced upon the unfriendly synagogue, for a 'place which has many heads will not be of long duration'; on the other hand, I wished for the others, the good people, 'one head,' that union and peace may always be among them." This is a widely circulated legend, first found in Nissim ben Jacob's "Ḥibbur Yafeh," 1886, pp. 9-12, and reprinted in Jellinek's "Bet ha-Midrash," v. 133-135 (vi. 131-133 gives another version). For Judæo-German and other renderings of this legend see Zunz, "G. V." 2d ed., p. 138. The antiquity of the legend may be seen

Leadership lessons 

1. Leaders Know Success Takes Time

2. Leaders Listen

3. Leaders Have Tough Conversations

4. Leaders are mostly alone very few understand them

Summary:

Have you tried and failed? God says, “Get up and try again!”

Have you prayed and received no answer? God says, “Get up and pray again!”

Have you believed for a miracle and nothing happened? God says, “Get up and believe a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th, 7th time!