Haftarah Ki Tisa Part Four

“Elijah said, ‘As God, Master of Legions, lives, before Whom I have stood, today I will appear to him!” Why does Elijah refer to God in this statement as “Master of Legions?” Why does he insert the phrase, “before Whom I have stood?” When did Elijah stand before God?

“Master of Legions,” indicates that Elijah is stressing that he too is only one of God’s servants. Although Ahab and perhaps many others blame him for stopping the rain and causing the drought, and they will soon witness great miracles and, the gift of rain, leading many to believe that it is Elijah who has the power over rain, therefore Elijah must stress that he is only one of the legions of God.

“Before whom I have stood,” I believe refers to the moment when he restored life to the dead child. Why at this moment? I believe that Elijah understands that in order to achieve what he desires, to bring Israel back to God, he will need a miracle as great as resurrecting the dead. He is telling Obadiah that would ever will follow will be as great as that awesome miracle.