1 Kings chapter 18. Last time we saw the contest at Carmel when Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal, and certainly we saw the victory of God Most High. So I want to pick up reading in chapter 18 at verse 41. We'll read the entirety of chapter 19, but we're only going to go to verse 8 in chapter 19.
So hopefully that's not too confusing, but beginning in 1 Kings 18 at verse 41, then Elijah said to Ahab, go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing.
And seven times he said, Go again. Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said, There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea. So he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.
So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough. Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's.
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.
So he arose and ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there he went into a cave and spent the night in that place. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? So he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life. Then he said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and a strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind.
And after the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire, a still small voice. So it was when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life. Then the Lord said to him, go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as king over Israel.
And Elisha, the son of Shaphat, of Abel, Mahala, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. And whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that is not kissed in.
So he departed from there and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him, go back again, for what have I done to you?
So Elisha turned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh using the oxen's equipment and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and became his servant. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we've been studying the Elijah narratives, as I said last time, we saw that contest at Carmel, and Elijah prays specifically, and then we see in verse 38, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. Well, we see that that sort of repentance was short-lived, at least it was in terms of Jezebel and Ahab, and we have reason to believe that the people of Israel in the northern kingdom followed suit, and that Baalism was not eradicated from the land. I think that helps us to understand something of Elijah's depression, which we'll look at in a bit.
But
End of the Drought
first of all, we must look at the end of the drought in chapter 18, verses 41 to 46. Then secondly, we'll note the flight from Jezebel in chapter 19, verses 1 to 8. But in the first place, note the end of the drought. Elijah prays to the Lord God to end the drought.
Verse 41, he instructs Ahab to go up and eat and drink. Now this is a legitimate statement because they had spent the day on Carmel and they weren't eating and drinking. But most likely this was to commemorate or celebrate the reality that the drought was going to end. God is going to send rain.
Elijah's Prayer for Rain
Now notice his prayer specifically in verse 42. The order to Ahab in verse 41 assumes an end to the drought. How do we know, or why would Elijah think that this indeed would be the time when the drought would end? He's certainly going to pray according to verse 42, but if you look back in chapter 8, there is a general statement concerning the end of such judgments.
In chapter 8, specifically at verses 35 and 36, the Lord's Or Solomon's prayer of dedication. In verse 35, when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. And then there's a specific statement in chapter 18 at verse 1.
In chapter 18 we read, it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying, go present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah has confidence in the word of God. Now in verse 42, the word prayer is absent, but certainly that is how we are to understand Ahab's actions. in verse 42. It is obvious that he prays.
James' comment in James chapter 5 indicates this is prayer as well. And with reference to this position or this posture, it demonstrates his humility. And I think this is something important for us to appreciate. As we survey Elijah in chapters 17 and 18, we made the observation that he is sort of a larger-than-life character.
I mean, he's a very powerful man in redemptive history. Now certainly, that's going to take a bit of a turn at the beginning of chapter 19. I mean, he's a powerful man, but he is a man nevertheless. And in James, James specifically says that he is a man who has a nature like ours.
It's literally a man with like passions or similar passions. And that's the reason why or how we can relate to Elijah. He's not a perfect man. He's not the ultimate in manhood. but rather he is a man dependent upon the grace of God.
And this humility evidences this as well. John Gill speaks concerning his posture. He says, it's expressive of his humility and of his earnestness and vehement desire and continued importunity that rain might fall. For this was a posture of prayer he put himself into and continued in, and it is certain that it was through this prayer that rain came.
James 5.18. Now, God is going to send rain, but he hears and answers the prayers of Elijah. Thomas Minton expresses it this way, when God means to bestow blessings, he stirs up the hearts of the people to pray for them. I think that's a good way that we ought to view this particular section.
But as I said, he is this larger-than-life figure that goes toe-to-toe with 450 prophets of Baal. but he's a man dependent upon prayer. You see that in chapter 17, back when he's with the widow at Zarephath. When her son dies, Elijah goes to the Lord. He cries out to the Lord and says, O Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge by killing her son?
And then, of course, in chapter 18 at verse 36, when he calls upon God to consume the sacrifice, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. So he's a humble man, he's a godly man, he's a man who depends upon the Lord, and that is expressed through his prayer, and that is precisely what we see here in terms of the end of the drought.
Seven Times: God's Sovereign Timing
Now notice the instruction to the servant in verses 43 and 44. This also indicates something interesting concerning prayer. It says, He said to the servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, There is nothing.
And seven times he said, Go again. Seven times! Now in the previous chapter, or previous section, the prayer concerning God's fire to consume the sacrifice took about a verse and a half. There wasn't seven times in treaty.
There wasn't that importunity. There wasn't that sort of prolonged season. God immediately sent fire and consumed the sacrifice. Here, however, it's protracted.
Here, however, it's a period of time. We don't know how long of a time. Long enough for the servant to go seven times and survey the scene to see if, in fact, the rain was going to come. And this should indicate to us that God does not operate in a box.
God does not operate the same way every time. The Lord God is sovereign. Sometimes He answers prayers right away. Other times He answers prayer after a period of time.
We cannot ever conclude, well, he didn't answer me immediately, so I'm not going to pray anymore. We often convey what we wish or hope or think upon God, and we put a straitjacket upon Him, and we expect Him to perform in a very particular way. Well, in the space of a few verses, God shows us He doesn't always act in a predictable manner. Elijah doesn't say, well, you know, you answered my prayer that first time in verses 36 and 37.
Why do we have to check seven times? The point, brethren, is that God is sovereign. God hears and He answers prayer, but it may not be according to our particular timetable. We need to enter in and we need to hold fast and we need to be a prayerful people.
Well, ultimately the servant goes out and he sees, verse 44, there is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising out of the sea. So he said, go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. So here is the prayer of the prophet, verses 41 to 44.
God's Grace and Mercy in the Rain
Now notice the grace of God in verses 45 and 46. The God contest at Carmel demonstrated that the Lord, Yahweh, was indeed the true and living God. The end of the drought demonstrates that this same Yahweh is a merciful and giving God. You see, the God contest at Carmel didn't answer the problem in terms of the rain.
They still had drought conditions. They still had not seen dew nor rain those three and a half years. So as far as everybody was concerned, it was a beautiful display of the power of Yahweh, but now we see and experience the mercy and the grace of Yahweh in His giving of the gift of rain. This is a blessing from on high.
And as House mentions, it is a complete contrast with Baal. House says, when the rains come, the Lord's victory is complete. God sustains and protects his prophets, while Baal lets his die. Isn't that what happened to the 450?
Baal let them die. Now, we know Baal doesn't really exist. We know that, but the point is to mock and to scorn this whole concept of idolatry. He goes on to say, Yahweh feeds the orphans and widows and raises the dead, while Baal lets the needy suffer and requires Anath to raise him from death.
Remember, we saw that with reference to that widow at Zarephath, that Gentile, that heathen that occupied had her house in Zarephath, which was right in the midst of Baal country, God raised up her son from the dead. Remember that we explained that when Baal was failing to function according to his job, his job was to send rain. If he didn't send rain, the apologist would step in and say, well, Baal has succumbed to Maat, the god of death, the god of the underworld. And after a period of time, Baal's sister, a goddess named Anath, would come and fetch him out of the underworld and restore him to service so that he could provide rain.
That's what he refers to here. He says, Yahweh can send fire or rain from heaven, but Baal cannot respond to his most valiant worshipers. Remember those poor slobs spent the whole day entreating Baal, cutting themselves with lances and knives, bleeding all over themselves? They were in a frenzy and in madness, calling upon Baal, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention, the text tells us.
He goes on to say, a God like Baal is no God at all. A God like Yahweh must be God of all. Rain is not just rain here, but evidence of the Lord's absolute sovereignty over nature and human affairs. And that's how we need to understand. and depreciated after this three and a half year period, which was a direct assault against Baal in the first place, and now finishes the job by God supplying the rain in answer to Elijah's prayer.
Now
Elijah Runs Before Ahab
note the mercy toward Ahab, verse 46. The mercy toward Ahab. Now, as far as anybody knows at this particular point, the God contest at Carmel worked. As far as anybody knows, Ahab and Israel got the message.
Yahweh is the Lord. We ought to bow and serve Him. So I would interpret verse 46 as a bit of a merciful gesture from the hand of our God. It says, Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, And he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." Now, I don't know that that's simply meant to teach us that Ahab was a fast runner.
Certainly he's a fast runner because the hand of Yahweh is upon him. But the point, I don't think, is to just show us that God's man, under God's influence, can best a chariot when it comes to a foot race. Now, I think the point of the particular text is this. If, indeed, Ahab has learned his lesson at Carmel, Ahab needs to follow Elijah.
Ahab, the king of Israel, needs to be submissive to the divine word. Ahab needs to follow the word of the Lord. He doesn't need to try and set himself over the word of the Lord. And so, in this instance, As Elijah runs, he girds up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
It's an active parable, a symbolic thing, that now, Ahab, you are to toe the line following the prophetic word instead of trying to exterminate the prophets of the Lord God Most High.
Flight from Jezebel
And now that brings us to the flight from Jezebel, verses 1 to 8. Now, I'm going to tell you flat out tonight, I'm going to try and defend Elijah. Because I think at times people look at this particular chapter, and while Elijah does not show himself as the sort of man we see him as in Carmel, I think he's gotten a bum rap in terms of much by way of interpretation. I'll share some of that with you tonight.
I have no dog in the fight if there's a bad thing. In Scripture, typically, we point it out. We didn't try to gloss over David's adultery and his murder. We sought to show that that was indeed sin and violation against God.
But some of the commentators, with reference to the questions posed by God, specifically in verses 9, and 13, seem to indicate that Elijah is completely out of place. He had no business whatsoever ever being in Horeb. Well, I think that is a misreading of the text. I'm going to give you some of that tonight, and then we'll focus on the revelation of God to Elijah at Horeb next Wednesday night.
But
Jezebel's Threat
note first the threat of Jezebel in verses 1 and 2. It says, and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Now, all the prophets there means the 450 prophets of Baal. Certainly the prophets of Asherah had stayed with Jezebel.
So the all there doesn't mean every single one. It means that he executed the prophets of Baal. but the contest at Carmel and the consequent execution of these prophets. Now, as much as Elijah despised Baal, Jezebel loved Baal. I mean Jezebel was indeed a Baal cheerleader.
She just esteemed, prized, and praised. Remember back in chapter 16, Ahab takes Jezebel as wife. And in response to that, he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. So Ahab marries Jezebel, Ahab goes and worships Baal with Jezebel, and then Ahab brings the altar and the temple into Samaria so that Jezebel doesn't have to make the long trek to Baal land.
So you see the corruption involved in Jezebel specifically, Ahab as well. I mean, he's just a gutless wonder, and I think we continue to see that as the narrative unfolds. But note the response of Jezebel in verse 2. It says, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so let the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
Now up to this point, Elijah's only dealt with Ahab. He hasn't dealt with Jezebel. He hasn't come face to face with this wretched specimen of a human being. And we see that in chapter 17, verse 1.
He comes to proclaim to Ahab, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word. We see his interactions with Ahab in chapter 18 as well. specifically when Ahab has the gall to call Elijah the troubler of Israel. And Elijah says, no, it ain't me that's troubling Israel, Ahab. It's you, because you're an idolater and you're plunging the nation into spiritual ruin.
Now, the previous context, or what we have seen up to this point, indicates that Jezebel was in fact a true power in the northern kingdom. We'll see that in Naboth's vineyard as well. Ahab wants what Naboth has and then doesn't want to take it. Jezebel basically says, you get right over there and you take that.
I mean, Jezebel's a wretch and we see that up to this point. Notice in chapter 8, specifically at verses 4 and 13, she was the one who massacred the prophets of Yahweh. It wasn't Ahab, it was Jezebel. And then note specifically the identification of the table, the royal table in 1819.
Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table. So Elijah is now coming face to face with, as I said, the true power behind the throne here in Israel. The response that she manifests here is an evidence of total depravity. I mean, the fact is there has been this grand display of the living and true God, and yet everybody, you know, that matters, Ahab and Jezebel, is rejecting this.
Well, Jezebel, and then Ahab's going to follow suit. Davis makes this, I think, quaint observation. So you've got the scene, right? Elijah's running.
Ahab follows up. And then they see sort of the light on in Jezebel's room. And Elijah's hanging out in the courtyard. And Ahab goes in and essentially tells her everything that's happening.
And so Davis puts it this way, Ahab mildly protests, but Jezebel, honey, when Elijah prayed to Yahweh, fire came down and slurped up everything right there in front of our eyeballs. The queen glares through mascara-laden lashes at Ahab, and with that familiar derisive turn of Revlon-tended lips, retorts, so? I think he nails it. That's verse 2, so?
I don't care one bit what Elijah has done. I don't care one bit what false prophets... No, they wouldn't have said false prophets. I don't care one bit what prophets fell to the sword of Elijah.
We're going to kill that man. Davis goes on. This response surprises us if we have swallowed the education fallacy that pervades our culture and governments, i.e., get people the right information and it will change them. So I don't think we ever fully appreciate the depravity of man.
I mean, just go back to the contest at Carmel. The fact that Yahweh had to answer that way. The fact that God had to actually send fire down to consume a sacrifice before 450 false prophets and a nation who had chosen Baal over God. The Lord shouldn't have to do that to get our attention.
We as parents shouldn't have to pull the van over and scream at one of our children. Not that I've ever done that, but we shouldn't ever have to. They should tow the line. They should listen when we speak.
And the same is the case in Israel. The fact is, is that God shows mercy in sending fire to consume the bullet. But the fact is that God does that shows us how wayward and wretched and depraved this people are that he has to do such a thing to grab their attention. And then, lo and behold, you've got Jezebel who says, so I am going to execute this man no later than 24 hours from now.
Elijah's Flight Defended
Elijah then makes, or we then see this response in verse 3, the flight of Elijah. Verse 3, and when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Now there's a translation issue here. If you've got the ESV or the NIV, based on the Septuagint and a few Hebrew manuscripts, it says, and he was afraid.
The beginning of verse 3 says, and he was afraid." Now, if we survey the evidence and we ask the question, which reading would have been more likely, I suggest that verse 3 in the New King James or King James tradition is more likely. And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life. Not when he was afraid. Now, if somebody was going to change it, they would probably change it from, and when he saw that, to, and he was afraid.
Because the idea being, she's full of venom and poison, he's afraid, so therefore he runs to flee in protection of his life. But I just think this is the better reading. When he saw that he arose and ran for his life and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Now, very specifically, this was about 100 miles south of Jezreel.
When he saw that, specifically her royal response to the very situation that they were involved in, this indicated to Elijah that Israel didn't learn its lesson. Not that he was afraid of her necessarily. It's that he saw that the prevailing conditions in Israel had not changed. Things were status quo.
The very fire from the presence of God Most High consuming the sacrifice still didn't convince the royal court who ultimately would lead and call the shots for the rest of Israel, it didn't convince them that Yahweh was in fact God. So Elijah sees that, he arose and he ran for his life. Now again, yeah, he was probably concerned for his life to be sure. But when we get to verse 4, he's not concerned for his life.
How do we explain that? I think it's very simple. He doesn't want to die at the hands of Jezebel because that means she's the victor. And that just obliterates the whole Elijah venture into Israel at this particular time.
He has no problem asking Yahweh to take his life. It's not that he's coveting and craving a 95-year birthday. It's that he doesn't want to die at the hands of the Baalists, because then that will show that they have supremacy over him. I suggest that how we ought to interpret, specifically, verses 4 and following, is the brokenness of the prophet.
Not over his own state, not over his own what appears to be ineffectiveness, but over the condition of Israel. The further journey, notice, he drops his servant off in verse 3, and then in verse 4 he goes a day's journey into the wilderness. He's not afraid of Jezebel at this particular point. If I drive a hundred miles from here to get away from you because I fear that you're going to get me, not drive, that even makes it...
I mean, we can drive a hundred miles, but if I go a hundred miles and then I then depart and go a day's journey, at some point I'm not really fearing you anymore. The distance here isn't because he's afraid of Jezebel. The idea is that he's getting away. He is running for his life, but he doesn't want to die at the hands of this wretch.
The prophet was broken over the conditions in Israel, not over his failure, nor was he having a crisis of faith. To read the commentators, Davis is right. It's as if Elijah was psychotic. that he was this mixed up, messed up specimen of a human being that is now walking by sight instead of faith. Let me just give you a few samples.
Wallace, a particular commentator, said, Elijah cracked up. As we read on, we see the man at whose courage all Israel had marveled fleeing before the threat of a mere woman. Now, I don't know that anybody would concede that she was a mere woman. He was a woman, but she wasn't a mere woman.
Those bedazzled eyes were hiding wicked countenance that was filled with malice and rage. But he goes on to say, we see the man who had spoken as if he had but to raise his hand, and God would send legions of angels to aid him in the battle, now floundering about for some prop by which to hold himself up. we see the man who had been the most spectacular political success suddenly sink into a mood of despondency and gloom. Again, I think he's despondent. I think he's depressed.
I think he's sad. But it's not because of him. Listen to what wise man says. He's not too wise in this particular quote.
He exhibited symptoms of manic depression, wishing for death, together with loss of appetite. Where do they get that from the text? He wakes up and there's bread and water there. What does he do?
He eats it. He doesn't have a loss of appetite, an inability to manage, and with excessive self-pity. Now, I'm going to bring it a bit closer to the reformed home. A.W.
Pink, and I love A.W. Pink. Please don't go and blog and say Butler ripped on Pink. This is just amazing.
Up to this point, Elijah had been sustained by faith's vision of the living God. But now he lost sight of the Lord and saw only a furious woman. I think the rest of the chapter manifests that this is patently false. That's not what's happening.
He says, this merely underscores the disastrous consequences of walking by sight. I mean, if we ask the question, why did he run and hide in the first place in verse 3? Well, Yahweh had shown him that such was acceptable in certain situations. Remember chapter 17, verse 1, he brings the heat to bear upon Ahab, tells him there's going to be no dew nor rain.
And God says, go hide by the brook Kerith. And in chapter 18, verse 10, we learn that Ahab had been surveying, scurrying the whole nation, trying to find him. So the Lord had set the example that in some situations, it's okay to go and hide. Pink goes on to say that Elijah went for his life, but not for God, nor for the good of his people, but because he thought only of self.
Brethren, that's unfortunate to pin that on this brother based on this section. Again, verse 3, he runs for his life. Verse 4, take my life. How do we explain that other than he doesn't want to die at the hands of the Baalists.
He has no problem if Yahweh takes him. In fact, he asked for Yahweh to take him. So it's not his life that is paramount in his concern. He says, not for God, not for the good of his people, but because he thought only of self.
That is just unfortunate.
Elijah Under the Broom Tree
Now notice, specifically in verse 4. He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough. Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's." Now, we see a whole myriad of ways God answers prayer in this section. 18, 36, and 37, Elijah prays, God answers.
Later on, he prays for the rain seven times. No answer. Thankfully, he answers no to this prayer request of Elijah in verse 4. Elijah says, he prays that he might die and said, it is enough.
Now, Lord, take my life for I am no better than my father's. Now, the probable reasons for his, well, let me just read a quote by a good guy named Alan. All these other guys are good too. You know, all guys get it wrong from time to time.
Alan says, "...he wanted to die, for he was broken. He did not wish to die at Jezebel's hand, for that would be judged her victory, hence his flight. But south of the proverbial southernmost city of the southern kingdom, in the wilderness of Judah, where none would give Jezebel credit for his death, there he begged Yahweh to take his life." So he is indeed a broken man. He's a discouraged man.
He's a depressed man. If we ask the question why, I think the probable reasons suggest themselves. The recognition that the contest at Carmel didn't work. I'm sure that Elijah had that sort of concept that you and I have.
We do things because we think there's going to be a specific result. And if we do that thing under the blessing of God and there's no specific result, what happens? We can get discouraged. He sees the power of God manifested in the fire consuming the bullet.
He sees the nation of Israel, at least for a time, bowing down and confessing, Yahweh is God, Yahweh is God. And yet, it didn't work. I would imagine this brought some discouragement. the recognition that the end of the drought didn't work. Surely once they start to drink water, and once they start to get crops again, and once they start to prosper from the good of the land, then they'll give praise and glory to God.
You see, He has every reason to be discouraged. I suggest that we ought never to come to chapter 19 and try and psychoanalyze Elijah and forget the reality that Elijah there is probably doing a whole lot better than you or I would. I mean, I get the smallest discouragement and I'm ready, you know, to flee to Beersheba. Elijah is not the pathetic man painted by many of these commentators.
Now, the contextual indicators that his wasn't a self-centered pity party. We're going to jump further into the chapter, but we're going to expound it next week. But I just want to give you some argument as to what's happening in this particular situation. So I said, when Elijah's in Horeb, God asks specifically in verse 9 and verse 13, what are you doing here, Elijah?
See, most commentators read it critically, like, what are you doing here, Elijah? You're at Horeb, and you're supposed to be on the field of battle. Get back at it.
Divine Authorization for Horeb
In the first place, he's at Horeb by the Lord's prompting. Notice specifically in verse 7. Verse 7, it says, "...the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." This can't mean the journey back to Jezreel. He's already done that.
He knows how to make it from Jezreel to this particular location. But he's talking about the journey to Horeb. Verse 8, So he arose and ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. So the journey to Horeb was at the prompting of the Lord.
Davis makes this observation. He goes to Horeb with divine authorization. He says the map suggests we are dealing with plan rather than panic. panic would have been, I don't know what I'm going to do, I'm going to just end up in Horeb. He's not out finding himself.
He's not hitchhiking across Palestine looking for, you know, dishwashing jobs until he can get himself right with, you know, the powers that be. There is a plan here. He is prompted by the Lord God Most High to go to Horeb.
God's Questions: Burden, Not Rebuke
Secondly, the questions posed by Yahweh in verses 9 and 13. What are you doing here, Elijah? Verse 9. Verse 13.
What are you doing here, Elijah? This is not God's upbraiding the prophet for being where he's not supposed to be. It's God giving the prophet opportunity to express his burden concerning the situation. Horeb is Sinai.
Horeb is the covenant mountain. Elijah's functioning as prophets function to bring a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. What better place to do this than at Horeb? And God sanctions this.
God responds favorably to him. It's not the case that he's just wandering around and finds himself in Horeb. Here he's very similar and very parallel to Moses in many ways. In fact, the cave that he stands in, many scholars believe, is the Cleft of the Rock, good song choice tonight, where God hid Moses when he passed by in his glory.
There is a theological purpose for Elijah to be where he's supposed to be. And so for persons to interpret verses 9 and 13 and say, well, God's reproving him because he's here at Horeb and he should be out fighting Jezebel and Ahab. No, you're missing the point of the narrative. God is giving him, expressing to him the opportunity to lay out his burden before Yahweh.
And that is precisely what he does. Davis, again, makes this observation. Is he despondent? I think so.
Over what? Over Yahweh's interests, His covenant, His altars, His prophets. Notice the responses in verses 10 and 14. Think back just for a moment to A.W.
Pink. Not for God, not for the good of his people, but because he thought only of self. Look at verse 10. I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts.
For the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take away my life. If it's self-centered for Elijah to say, I alone am left, then it was self-centered in chapter 18 at Carmel for Elijah to say, I'm the only prophet here. There were other prophets.
Obadiah had hid them. The point of the passage is he's the only prophet standing in public opposing the false prophets. Obadiah hid the 100. You see, he's the only prophet in terms of a challenge sanctioned by God against the royal court.
He's not self-centered, self-pitying, narcissistic Elijah, just having a pity party. Same thing in verse 14. and they seek to take my life." Now, why twice? Why 9 and 13 question and 10 and 14 answer? Well, Davis suggests the first is informal.
When he actually arrives at Horeb and he's in the place where God tells him, it's formal, it's official, and it's on that basis that God then responds to him favorably. It is not the case that he is what he is described. The function of the prophet in Horeb, Sinai, the mountain of God, was to function as a prosecutor in a covenant lawsuit against Israel. Now note, the Lord responds favorably to Elijah.
If this was a pity party, if it was all about Elijah, if it was all about his narcissistic feelings of woe, then why would God answer him favorably? Why would the Lord treat him the way the Lord treats him? The Lord is good, the Lord is kind, the Lord is merciful. Notice, he specifically renders the verdict with reference to the lawsuit involved.
There will be judgment upon the wicked, verse 17, and there will be mercy toward the remnant, in verse 18. One commentator says the theophany, that means the manifestation of God. God coming to Elijah in this still small voice. This theophany is thus not meant to chide the prophet, but quite the contrary.
It is a full endorsement of his zeal in behalf of Yahweh's sole kingship. You see, he's not chiding him, he's not reproving him, he's not upbraiding him. He answers the very specific thing that Elijah presents beforehand. I am here, God, because the rest of the nation is treating you as if you do not exist.
And so the Lord says, go, return, and this is what you're going to do to employ my judgment. Hazael, external threat to the internal blessing of Israel. Jehu, the internal threat to the internal stability of Israel. And boy, did he really become an internal threat.
And then Elisha. You see, that's the still, small voice. God can thunder with the earthquakes. God can come with the wind.
God can send fire down upon a bullock and consume an offering at Carmel. But oftentimes, He comes in the still, small voice. He comes through historic means, like Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. So the purpose of the theophany is not to reprove Elijah, but rather to bless him, to hear what he has to say, and then to render the verdict accordingly.
So I suggest, brethren, that what we have in terms of this whole, Elijah is just this basket case, is just not accurate.
God's Provision: Food, Rest, and Strength
So let's just finish up looking at verses 5 to 8. So we have him in verse 4. He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, came and sat down under a broom tree, and he prayed that he might die, and said, it is enough. Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's.
Again, we look at that and say, how dare him? Really? You guys never ever feel this way? Maybe you don't actually ask God to take your life, but is there a broom tree in your life?
Now I'm going to psychoanalyze you. Do you have a broom tree that you ever sit under and you just weep and struggle and travail? God, deliver me from the mess that I've created. Deliver me from the mess that others have imposed on me.
That's the heartbeat of the prophet. And look at what he's just witnessed. In fact, this account serves, I think it's in Spurgeon's minister's fainting fits. He cautions ministers of the gospel that one of the times they're most susceptible to a fainting fit is after great success.
What greater success could you have had than Carmel? If, of course, you were Elijah. You can't say that for the 450 prophets of Baal that met their end with Elijah's sword. But that was a high, brethren.
And so now he comes back and Jezebel the wretch wants to kill him. Of course that's a buzzkill. Of course that's going to bring you down a few notches. And of course, in your depression and your discouragement, you might just say, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's.
I just think that's typical biblical Christianity. I don't think there's any manic depression or, you know, he's out of touch with himself or he's too much. That's all just psychobabble, and I think we see it in the way that God deals with it. Verse 5, then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, rise and eat.
God doesn't yell at him. He doesn't reprove him. He doesn't rebuke him. He doesn't say, how dare you ask me to take your life?
No, Elijah, you need some rest and you need some food. This is our God, brethren. This is a good God. This is the opposite of Baal.
Those poor wretches were cutting themselves and bleeding on themselves or dancing naked before Baal, calling on him, calling on him and nothing. And then Elijah gets under the broom tree and says, Lord, I'm ready to be done. And God gives him food and rest. Verse 6, he looked and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water.
Isn't this Yahweh's way with Elijah? through ravens, through the widow, and now through this angelic means. God continues to feed His prophet. God continues to sustain His prophet. Verse 7, And the angel of the Lord came back the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.
So he arose and ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Horeb, the mountain of God." So the supernatural power of God in sustaining him. He eats a meal in verse 7, and he doesn't eat again for these forty days and forty nights. That's the mercy, kindness, power, and goodness of God. Certainly, if he wanted to answer Elijah's prayer, that verse 7, food, would have wore off in the, what, four days?
How long can you live without food? Four, seven days? Gotta have water, or three days, I think that's the way, isn't it? Am I nuts?
Three days, no water, you die. I guess with food, you can go a bit longer without, but 40 days without, you're gone. So God could've answered verse four prayer and just said, okay, enjoy your last meal, Elijah. I hope you like bread, cake baked on coals in a jar of water, because that's it for you.
So you see the Lord deals with them graciously, the Lord deals with them kindly, and then what transpires in verses 9 to 18 is God's revelation to the prophet in terms of what he's going to do to Israel. And then the call of Elisha fills the void specifically, and it all just flows together. We don't need to see a nutcase in chapter 19. We just need to appreciate that after a great contest at Carmel, He's down, he's discouraged, he's a bit of a negative nelly, but the Lord God nevertheless deals with him graciously.
Application
Well, just a couple lessons and then we close. In the first place, we have seen and considered a bit the prayer of the prophet. It is indeed the lifeblood of his ministry. You know, apart from James 5, or let's say there wasn't a James 5, or I hadn't reminded you of James 5, where James points to Elijah as a pattern or as an example of prayer.
I mean, when you think of Elijah, do you think prayer? Maybe not. When I think of Elijah, I think finger in the face of Ahab, you know, mocking those prophets of Baal. I got 1827 in my head when he mocks those prophets of Baal.
That's the larger-than-life picture of Elijah I carry with me. But he was a man of prayer. It was his lifeblood. As well, it was grounded in his confidence in God.
Verse 41, he knew that the rain was going to come. Based on that reality, he prayed. Isn't that all Jesus teaches us in Matthew chapter 6? Your Father knows what you have need of before you ask, therefore in this manner pray.
You see, God's sovereignty and God's promise, whether general or specific, does not remove the place of prayer, but rather it grounds prayer. It is the foundation of the basis for prayer. So, knowing these things ought not to keep us from prayer, but ought to send us to prayer. It is marked by humility, and we ought to appreciate this with reference to both Elijah and to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can be a truly humble man and get in the face of false prophets. You see, I think if Elijah or Jesus lived today, and Jesus does live, and so does Elijah, but I mean, if they were physically present on the earth today, they would not be esteemed for their manner and methodology. Elijah actually mocked people in 1827. Jesus actually called the religious leaders hypocrites and brood of vipers.
These were humble men. You see, this idea of humility doesn't mean doormat. Humility doesn't mean, you know, go lie down under the table and let everybody walk all over you. Humility can be coupled with great courage and strength for the living and true God.
We see that with both Elijah and the Lord Jesus. As well, it is an expression of his faith. And it is answered differently than his prayer on Carmel. Davis, again, I'll quote here, he says, he answered Elijah immediately in one case and apparently after extended pleading in another.
In another case, he will refuse Elijah's request altogether, 19.4. We must simply live with the mystery and allow it to teach us caution. I think especially of those saints who are so keen to write God's script for him and seem to assume that he provides a one-size-fits-all conversion experience. He doesn't.
You talk to 10 people on how they came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the elements will certainly be present. I'm a sinner. Jesus is a Savior.
But beyond that, the differences, the circumstances, the places, the times, the period, all that's going to differ. Why? Because God's not dull. God is not a one-size-fits-all God.
He goes on to say, or that He has a uniform way of answering prayer, if only one has enough faith, or that He follows one pattern in giving guidance in circumstantial matters. But God is not so dull. Sometimes prayer is relatively effortless, sometimes extremely agonizing, and who really knows why? The answer is we don't, right?
We don't. God is sovereign. We cannot put him into a box. He is not Baal.
You don't just manipulate him and control him and cause him to perform in a particular way. He is God and there is no other. As well, we see the discouragement associated with ministry. In this particular instance, it is the prophetic ministry.
The contest at Carmel did not produce lasting repentance. The rain from heaven did not produce lasting repentance. The sinfulness of men is greater than any prophet ever realized." You see, I don't know that Elijah bargained for that. This whole concept of, I'm going to go up here, I'm going to challenge these 450 prophets of Baal, God is going to bring fire down to consume my bullock, and everybody's going to get saved.
If I was him, I would be thinking that, but it doesn't always work that way. There is discouragement associated with that sort of ministry. So the tendency toward discouragement, It's not just ministry. Obviously we get discouraged throughout our Christian life, but here specifically is the prophetic ministry.
We ought not to neglect that. We ought not to castigate the guy and say, wow, he asked for God to take his life, so cast him out of the prophetic ministry. God doesn't do that. God feeds him.
God allows him to have some rest. God gives him a bit of a sabbatical from the contests and from the wretched Jezebel. God rests him and enables him to get revitalized and restored. And then finally, we see in all of this the goodness of God, His provision of rain for Israel.
I mean, Davis makes this observation, I actually emailed him today, because especially his comments here in chapter 19 helped me personally very much so, and I really appreciated that. But he makes this observation that we so often take things for granted. Rain, I mean, we really do, don't we? But he uses the analogy of a screen, a screen on the window.
He said that the screens were developed in 1880. I think that was the date. What happened before 1880? Every bug that was out there was in here.
It's so easy to take such things for granted. God sent rain. Baal didn't. Baal couldn't even keep his foolish prophets alive.
It's the Lord God Most High that delivers the goods. And that's what we need to see in this passage. He provides rain. He engages in mercy toward Ahab.
And this won't be the last time. In the Naboth incident, it's incredible. Ahab gives a glimmer of repentance. It's not real, it's not legit.
And God says to Elijah, did you see that? In a good way. So he shows this mercy in 1846 by sending Elijah ahead of him to teach, to call him, to invite him to a right relationship with Yahweh. Follow the prophetic word, follow the mouth of God, follow the voice of Yahweh.
That is merciful. And then his kind dealings with Elijah, both here and God willing, as we'll see, in the rest of the chapter next week. The Lord is indeed good, and He does good. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your Word, and we thank you for the exciting narratives that we have here in Kings, and God, I pray that we would receive the lessons that you would have for us. We thank you for your goodness and your mercy manifested, and we thank you, God, for the kindness that you showed to Elijah, the kindness you showed to Israel, the kindness you showed to us each and every day. Help us to count our blessings and to take nothing for granted. but give us grace to have a theological mindset and to interpret things properly. Go with us now, we pray, in Jesus' name.
Amen.