Anna’s having seen the promised Saviour, departed from the house of God rejoicing and she told others about Christ and the redemption found only in Him.
As Anna worshipped to the Lord was persistent because night and day she came into the temple the house of God to fast and pray waiting for the promised Saviour to come.
The Ministry of Emmanuel is to save and comfort His people by coming into this world to honour God by living, dying and rising again for sinners He came to save.
As Elijah’s prays He uses the name LORD GOD, a name that God choose to reveal Himself as the God who keeps His promises. Every believer has this assurance and confidence that God keeps His promises.
The sacrifice offered on the altar of the Lord was offered at the time of the evening sacrifice, which was given by God to Moses in the building of the tabernacle. However, the time of the evening sacrifice was also the time Christ was sacrificed on the cross. Elijah’s sacrifice was offered by faith as the same time Christ offered Himself.
On Mt Carmel. The prophet Elijah approach God in prayer on the basis of sacrifice accepted by God to symbolically teach that sinners can only approach God and find acceptance with God on the basis of sacrifice that He accepts who is the Lord Jesus Christ. To make any other approach to God is to be rejected.
The contents of the altar was an animal sacrifice and water. The animal given for sacrifice followed the pattern laid down in Leviticus to teach that God will only be pleased to forgive sin on the basis of sacrifice that He accepts. The water poured over the wood, sacrifice and ground, taught the people that God answers without the intervention of man, meaning forgiveness of sin is by God alone not man’s influence.
The altar was made form twelves stones to symbolise the 12 sons, tribes of Israel. Though the nation or tribes where divided, yet Elijah shows that in Christ there is forgiveness, there is only one Saviour of sinners and only one way to worship God, by faith in the promised Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Altar was constructed by the Lord’s command to teach God’s work must be done God’s way to enjoy God’s blessing.
The Condition or state of the altar that was broken down, was a reflection of the lives in the nation, in that they had forsaken the Lord.
The Altar is a place of sacrifice, communion and fellowship, where God meets with His people to fellowship. Such fellowship is on the basis of a sacrifice accepted by God. God’s terms of fellowship is by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is through Christ precious blood, God will restore and fellowship with sinners.
The Altar of the Lord has been broken down and forsake due to false worship. God leads Elijah to restore and rebuild the altar for blessing to fall upon the land once more. The altar symbolises fellowship with God, and if that fellowship has been forsaken then it must be restored to enjoy blessing.
God used the prophet Elijah to expose the false teaching of Baal and show the misery and impact of false religion in a life and nation. However, Elijah proclaimed the gospel that Jehovah alone is the true and living God.
The proof that sins are forgiven is seen by the change there is in the life whose sins have been forgiven.
The power to forgive sins and the power of sins forgiven is not the power of men or the church for such are powerless, rather the power rests in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Saviour of sinners.