Elijah the Tishbite, went up to King Ahab and challenged him that, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’ (1 Kings 17:1).

After some time there was a severe famine in Israel and Ahab was sent for by Elijah through Obadiah the messenger. When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him – ‘Is it you, the troubler of Israel? Elijah asked Ahab to gather all the prophets, so that he could prove to Israel at Mt. Carmel that the Lord was God of Israel and not Baal (1 Kings 18:17 - 19).

Having proved to all the people and the prophets, that the Lord was God of Israel, Elijah gathered all the prophets of Baal, seized and killed them there at Brook Kishon (1 Kings 18:40).

Then Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and she sent a messenger to Elijah challenging him that by the same time next day, he would be dead like one of the prophets of Baal. On hearing the death threat, Elijah ran for his life, sat down under a broom tree and asked the Lord to take away his life! (1 Kings 19:1 - 4).

Looking back at this death threat, we find that Jezebel could do nothing to Elijah, as God not only protected him from physical death but even made him escape it by getting him caught up in a chariot and horses of fire to heaven (2 Kings 2:11).

Centuries later, Jesus came into the world and chose not to escape death, but offered Himself to die for us on the cross and rise up again on the third day, to establish Himself as the only Champion in life to have conquered death forever!

 Elijah faced death threat but escaped death, while Jesus faced death and conquered it.