Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Kings 17:1

"And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." — 1 Kings 17:1 (ASV)

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to 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.

How abruptly this man breaks in upon the scene! He leaps like a lion from the thicket. There is no previous announcement of his coming; but here he stands, God's own man ordained to bear witness in evil times—to stand like a brazen pillar when everything around him seems to be moving from its place. Ahab had not been accustomed to be spoken to in this fashion.

Mark how personal is Elijah's message; he does not begin even by saying, as the prophets usually did, "Thus says the Lord." There is something that at first seems almost audacious about his expression: There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

A man may sometimes seem self-assertive when, really, he has so completely lost himself in God that he does not care what people think about him, whether they regard him as an egotist or not. Some men appear to be modest because they are proud, while others seem to be proud because they have sunk themselves, and only speak so boldly because they have their Master's authority at the back of their words. Bravely did Elijah say, There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.