The Five Miracles of Elijah
Elijah, originally from the town of Tishbe, is one of the prophets of the Old Testament. His story is told to us in the First Book of Kings and the Second Book of Kings. He is the origin of five miracles. His complete trust and devotion to the Lord are remarkable. He thus shows divine power through his actions. Let's discover his five miraculous actions.
Miracle of the Brook
Elijah appears in the First Book of Kings when he came to visit King Ahab to warn him that a drought was coming: “‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’” (1 Kings 17:1). With these words, Elijah went away to retreat in prayer near the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. He drank water from the brook to quench his thirst and ravens brought him food, as the Lord had announced to him. After some time, the brook dried up. This is the beginning of the announced drought. So Elijah left for the town of Sidon.
Miracle of the Provisions
In this town, Elijah met a widow from the town of Zarephath. She welcomed him into her home and fed him. But the woman was very poor and she feared that the supplies would run out. But a miracle happened: the provisions never ran out, until the rain returned three years later.
“Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the ground.’” (1 Kings 17:13-14).
Miracle of the Resurrection of a Child
The widow had a son. One day, the boy became ill. His illness quickly worsened and no one could heal him. He succumbed to his illness. Then, Elijah took the child in his arms and went to pray. His prayer was fervent and confident. He begged Heaven to hear and answer his prayer. Then the Lord heard him and brought the child back to life.
“Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’
The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.” (1 Kings 17:21-22).
Miracle of the Offerings
After three years of drought, Elijah returned to the palace of King Ahab. He reprimanded him for offering sacrifices to the god Baal. So the king challenged Elijah. He summoned the people and all the prophets to Mount Carmel. Elijah was alone against 450 prophets of Baal. They each built an altar on which a bull was placed. All they had to do was set it on fire. But none of the 450 priests succeeded. The fire did not consume their offering. Then, Elijah approached, raised his altar, placed his offerings on it, and drenched everything with water, three times. Then he prayed, and the altar caught fire.
The priests of Baal are all arrested and put to death.
“Then he said, ‘Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.’ ‘Do it again,’ he said, and they did it again. ‘Do it a third time,’ he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” (1 Kings 18:34-38).
Miracle of the Rain
Finally, Elijah announced the return of the rain to King Ahab, telling him to drink, eat, and set out for the town of Jezreel before the rain returned. The latter did so.
Then, Elijah went back up to Mount Carmel and began to pray to give thanks to God.
Then, simply starting to run, he also set off for Jezreel. But, because the Lord was with him, he caught up with Ahab and arrived before him.
“Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:45-46).
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