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Turn in your Bibles to the book 
of 1 Kings, specifically 1 Kings chapter 19. Last Sunday night, 
we looked at the darkness of depression from the book of Proverbs. And one of the mentions or one 
of the persons mentioned in that study was Elijah. Elijah certainly 
had depression or he had an episode of depression or what we might 
call melancholy or sorrow. And one of the other things stated 
last week was, as those who deal with people suffering or struggling 
with depression, there are right ways and there are wrong ways. 
And I want to make sure that we handle Elijah in a right way. He does not manifest the sorts 
of things that many commentators suggest in this particular passage. His depression, his sorrow, his 
melancholy is legit. Not to suggest that everybody 
else's is not, but we need to understand why Elijah is the 
way Elijah is in 1 Kings chapter 19. So I'll begin reading at 
verse 1. And Ahab told Jezebel all that 
Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets 
with the sword. Then 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 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. 
The Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. 
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, Mahola, 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 has not kissed him. Amen. Let us pray. Father in 
heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you, God, for 
your blessedness and your holiness and your righteousness. We thank 
you for your goodness as evidence to this prophet, and we pray 
that you'd help us to understand 1 Kings 19 in the life and the 
ministry of this prophet. Help us, Lord God, to think biblically, 
to think accurately, to think rightly concerning men in their 
various downcast states, to see what it is and to see what it 
isn't. Lord, we ask for the guidance and the presence and the power 
of the Holy Spirit now. We again pray for the forgiveness 
of all of our sins, and we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, some 
suggest that Elijah basically lost it in 1 Kings chapter 19, 
that he cracked up, that he had an episode of self-pity. He had an episode of selfishness. He had an episode wherein he 
stopped looking to God. He no longer walked by faith. 
Rather, he was fearful, he was full of trepidation, he feared 
the thought of Jezebel, and so he ran. He ran far, far, far 
away so that he could evade this murderous queen, and so that 
he could evade the various things that he had interpreted that 
were all working against him. In fact, listen to the way that 
some of these men write about Elijah. One says, 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. 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 or of despondency and gloom." Again, he does, but not for the 
reasons suggested by this particular commentator. The very worst way 
you could deal with somebody who's going through or has undergone 
depression is put a spin on it that has no basis in truth whatsoever. We need to be kind to Elijah. We need to respect Elijah. We need to understand what's 
happening with reference to Elijah. Another commentator said, he 
exhibited symptoms of manic depression, wishing for death, together with 
loss of appetite, an inability to manage, and with excessive 
self-pity. Again, not discounting some gloom, 
not discounting some despondency, not discounting some melancholy 
and some depression, but nevertheless, not the way this fellow suggests. In fact, even one of our heroes, 
A.W. Pink, describes Elijah in 1 Kings 
19 this way, and it pains me to do this, but we need to understand 
how we ought not to deal with those who've undergone depression. He says, up to this point, Elijah, 
quote, 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. This merely underscores the disastrous 
consequences of walking by sight. Our brother is suggesting that 
in 1 Kings 19, Elijah is only walking by sight, that he has 
abandoned, essentially, faith in God, and now he is on the 
road, not to apostasy, but he's certainly not in a good place. He stresses the fact that Elijah 
went for his life, verse 3, but not for God, nor for the good 
of his people, but because he thought only of self. Now again, as much as I esteem 
and love and revere our dear brother A.W. Pink, that is a 
bad take on what's happening here with reference to the prophet 
Elijah. If you want to ruin people that 
suffer melancholy, depression, sorrow, or seasons, or episodes 
of such things, put a spin on their situation that has no basis 
in reality, and you will, in fact, exacerbate their problems. So let's look at what the text 
actually does say concerning Elijah. Notice in the first place 
this flight from Jezebel in verses 1 to 8, and then we'll notice 
in the second place the revelation at Horeb in verses 9 to 18. Now 
remember, Elijah has just witnessed amazing things. Chapter 18 was 
the God contest at Carmel. Remember that scene where the 
prophets of Baal were told to prepare their offering and to 
call upon Baal, and then Elijah would prepare his offering and 
call upon Yahweh. The God who responded by fire 
was in fact the true and living God. Well, the prophets of Baal 
danced and cut themselves, they gashed themselves, they go into 
a frenzy all day long, calling upon Baal, but there's no voice, 
there's no response, there's nobody to come and consume their 
offering. Elijah, conversely, prepares 
his sacrifice, prays a simple short prayer, and God sends fire 
down and consumes the sacrifice. Elijah saw the manifestation 
of God's glory in a most powerful way. On the heels of that particular 
episode, Elijah then saw the end of the drought, and God communicates 
to his servant his faithfulness in terms of bringing an end to 
that particular drought. Now both Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones 
highlight that depression, just to go back to that theme from 
last week, Sunday night, depression oftentimes or episodes can follow 
seasons of great usefulness. it can follow a time of great 
blessing. In other words, after revival, 
more often than not, in the wake of it, there is depression and 
melancholy. We're not seeing the sorts of 
displays that we saw yet a week ago, and that sinks us into a 
bit of despondency. Whether that's what's happening 
here with reference to Elijah or not, I simply offer it for 
your consideration. Be on guard. When you experience 
a season of great blessing, it doesn't mean the rest of your 
life is going to be a season of great blessing. Sometimes 
when we've gone high, we fall especially low, and we need to 
be aware of that with reference to our own emotional well-being. 
But now notice with reference to this flight from Jezebel. 
In verses 1 and 2, notice Ahab told Jezebel. Now for those of 
you who are coming late to the game, Ahab and Jezebel are terrible 
people. They're miserable specimens of 
human beings. Ahab is the king in the northern 
kingdom and he marries this woman Jezebel. We even use that name 
today to speak of a woman who's just, you know, bad. She's bad 
news. She's a Jezebel. Well, there's 
a reason for that, because Jezebel really was bad news. She was 
a bell-worshipping, pant-wearing person that called the shots, 
essentially, with Ahab. Ahab would kowtow to Jezebel 
and engage in decisions based on her particular desires and 
whims. You'll see that in 1 Kings chapter 21. But here, he basically 
tells Jezebel all that has transpired. Remember that Elijah's only had 
interactings with Ahab. He's not had any interactings 
with Jezebel. Jezebel and Elijah haven't hung 
out, they haven't spoken, they haven't discussed, so Ahab is 
filling her in on the situation. And now notice what we see. Verse 
1, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he 
had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then 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. So you see her response to the 
contest at Carmel. We have to take out Elijah. We 
have to stop this prophet. We have to kill the troubler 
of Israel. We cannot allow him to continue 
on. Because as Elijah continues on, 
he continually presses people to stop looking to Baal and to 
only look to Yahweh. And so Jezebel has a vested interest 
in spilling the blood of Elijah. Now notice verse 3. It's important 
that you follow the argument that I'm about to make. The translation 
of verse 3 is most important. The ESV and the NIV, all non-King 
James sort of tradition texts, say that Elijah was afraid at 
the beginning of verse 3. And Elijah was afraid. Now, that 
little interpretation or translation then colors the interpretation 
of the text following from that vantage point. Just suffice to 
say, I think the King James and the New King James is accurate 
here. It's not that Elijah was afraid, but 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 you see 
where he runs for his life. That's what drives A.W. Pink 
to say he wanted to spare his life, not the glory of God, not 
all these other things. Yes, he wanted to spare his life, 
but verse 4, he asks that God takes his life. I want to suggest 
to you that in verse 3, Elijah's not afraid. He doesn't have a 
trepidation concerning Jezebel and her threats of having him 
done in. No, Elijah sees what happened. There's been no change in the 
royal family. There's been no policy change 
in Jezebel or in Ahab. After the display on Carmel, 
after the end of the drought, two things that anybody would 
think would work to convince Israel to give praise and worship 
to God alone didn't work. So Elijah sees the way things 
were are the way things are. And so Elijah runs for his life, 
not in the sense that he is egocentric, that he's full of self-pity, 
that he's only concerned about himself. He doesn't want Jezebel 
to kill him. Because if Jezebel kills him, 
then Jezebel won. What Elijah is motivated with 
is not Elijah. It's God. It's Yahweh. If Jezebel 
spills his blood, then Jezebel's God is to be feared and glorified. So Elijah sees the situation 
and Elijah runs for his life. Now, he goes a long way. He goes to Beersheba. Yes, the 
Dan and Beersheba of the common familiar reference. It's in the 
southernmost part of Judah. So Elijah goes a long way from 
her. He leaves his servant there and 
then he goes another day's journey. He's not afraid of Jezebel. He 
is sufficiently far from Jezebel. When he leaves his servant and 
he goes and he gets under that broom tree, we do see something 
of his gloom. We do see something of his despondency. We do see something of his melancholy 
and his sorrow. But again, the larger context 
indicates for us that it's not egocentrism, it is not self-pity, 
but rather it is jealousy for the glory of God Most High and 
the pure worship of that God within the confines of Israel. That's what makes him sad. That's 
the circumstance that provokes this response. It's not him, 
it's God. It's not him, but it's the glory 
of God. It's not him, but it's the condition 
of his fellow countrymen that have witnessed glorious things 
from Yahweh and nevertheless are still bowing to Baal, the 
god of the heathen. Notice verse four, 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. Interesting 
prayer from a man that only wants to spare his own neck, isn't 
it? Interesting prayer from a man who is so driven to protect his 
own eye. He's asking God to take him. 
Again, it's not death that scares Elijah. It's not death that troubles 
Elijah. It's Jezebel killing him that 
troubles Elijah. And not because he will die, 
but because she will have gotten the victory. This is still a 
God contest as far as Elijah is concerned, and that's what 
sends him to the broom tree, and that's what causes him to 
say to the Lord, he prays specifically to the Lord, 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. One man said 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 for Yahweh to take his life. 
And again, I'm not suggesting this is a legitimate response 
in times of sorrow and depression, but I am suggesting it is a realistic 
response in times of trial and depression. We don't try to kill 
ourselves. Suicide is murder. It is forbidden 
by the sixth commandment. Notice he doesn't take a knife 
to his own throat. He doesn't ingest poison plants, 
but rather he asks God for God to take him. Now, this is the 
depths of despair and depression. Brethren, persons get to this 
particular point. And how do we respond to that? 
Do we reprove them? Do we rebuke them? Do we tell 
them to pull up their bootstraps? Do we tell them to put on their 
big boy pants? Do we tell them to march right 
in there and face Jezebel? No, we tell them to have a nap, 
to get some rest, and to eat some food. Because that is precisely 
what Yahweh does with His servant in this particular instance. 
The recognition that the contest at Carmel didn't work, the recognition 
that the end of the drought didn't work, produced a despondency 
in the prophet such that he says, it is enough. Now, Lord, take 
my life, for I am no better than my father's. God's response is 
to provide rest. God's response is to provide 
food. God's response is to allow the 
prophet a season of refreshment, a season of restoration, before 
a season of reconstruction. That's the way God deals with 
his servant in this particular instance. Notice verse 5. Then 
as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel, This 
may be a capital A angel, namely the angel of Yahweh vis-a-vis 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Then as he lay and slept under 
a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 
arise and eat. Now brethren, you have to appreciate 
the goodness and the kindness and the mercy of God here. What 
would you say to your friend if he says, oh, it's enough. 
I want the Lord to take me now? We'd say, well, you shouldn't 
talk that way. And there's a place for us to say you shouldn't talk 
that way. But would we say, you just need to get some rest? You're 
not thinking properly. You see, that's a reality. Persons 
shouldn't make life-altering decisions when they're not well-rested. People shouldn't make life-altering 
decisions at 2 AM. People should make life-altering 
decisions when they're well-rested, when they've well thought through 
things, when they've looked at consequences, and they've counted 
the costs. You see, God the Lord comes to 
his servant, and he says, I want you to rest, and I want you to 
eat. Verse 6, 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. The text is very conspicuous 
here, isn't it? It doesn't just say in the next 
scene we see Elijah on Horeb having covenant dealings with 
his God. No, it leads us by the hand to show us the kindness 
of the God who leads his prophet by the hand. Arise and eat. He provides the food for him. 
There's a freshly baked loaf. Elijah eats and Elijah rolls 
over and he goes back to sleep. This is that holy inactivity 
that Spurgeon speaks of. This is that pious recreation 
that Spurgeon speaks of. These are the needful hours for 
a man to refresh himself so that he can engage with what God has 
called upon, or God called him to do. Now notice in 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." Now, we need to deal again with some 
of the sorts of ways that persons look at this passage and see 
bad Elijah. They say, why is he going to 
Horeb? This just shows his place. This just shows his mindset. It just shows that he's pursuing 
isolation. He's pursuing his own high. He 
has no more thought concerning God and his expressions to God. Only evidence is whining, his 
grumbling, his sniveling, and his sort of God complex that 
he alone is the only one in Israel. Now, brethren, he's already safely 
far away from Jezebel. Remember, Jezreel's in Issachar, 
right? Tribe of Issachar. We've got 
Jezreel. And then you've got Beersheba, which is a long ways 
away. Now, notice who tells him to go to Horeb. Some suggest 
that he went to Horeb of his own bidding. He didn't go to 
Horeb of his own bidding. It's the angel who told him, 
eat this food because you're going to make a 40-day-a-night 
trip. Horeb is 200 miles away from Beersheba. This was not 
Elijah's choice. In fact, I would argue at this 
point, there's no more despondency, there's no more melancholy, there's 
no more sorrow. You don't walk 40 days and 40 
nights when you're melancholic and sorrowful. You find a broom 
tree and you sit under it and you ask the Lord to take you. 
I think he's been healed of his melancholy and now he's on a 
mission. When he goes to Horeb, it's at 
the bidding of the angel of God. Eat this food because you have 
a long trek. In other words, he's directed 
to Horeb, not based on his pity, not based on his self-love, not 
based on his desire to evade Jezebel, but based on divine 
direction. God sends him to Horeb. Now, let's think about Horeb. We know it more commonly identified 
as Sinai. And when we think of Sinai, we 
ought to think covenant. Because it's at Sinai that God 
has covenantal dealings with Moses and Israel. That's what's 
happening here at Horeb. It's not a prophet who's pitying 
himself. It's a prophet who is functioning 
as God's prosecuting attorney that is going to engage in a 
lawsuit against the nation of Israel. This is covenantal dealings. Now, some say, well, God asks 
him twice why he's there. And if God is asking him twice 
why he's there, that's because God is chiding him. No, I don't 
think that's it at all. Let's look at the text and see 
what happens here at Horeb. The common understanding is that 
it's a self-centered pity party. One man says, what a contrast. Elijah, the hero on Carmel, victorious 
over Baalism. Elijah, the coward of unbelief 
at Horeb, self-occupied, utterly discouraged, wishing to die, 
praying against rather than for God's people. If you ever function 
that way toward your fellow when you don't know the facts or the 
truth, you are doing serious damage to your fellows. We should 
not treat Elijah that way. We should not lambast the prophet 
that way. We should rather labor to understand. 
And it's not real hard. When I say labor to understand 
it, it's not going to take a whole lot to understand what's happening 
here at Horeb. It's not what this man describes, 
but rather it is God's raising up or rather establishing this 
prophet as the one engaged in this covenant lawsuit against 
Israel. Notice, the journey to Horeb 
came at the prompting of God. You can't miss that. He didn't 
just wander there on his own. He went because God told him. 
The question posed by God are questions in verses 9 and 13. 
Why twice? You know why? Because verse 9, 
God says, I want you to unburden your soul to me. That's how good our God is. Doesn't 
Peter say that prayer is an act of casting our burdens upon God 
because he cares for us? That's what we have in verse 
9, when he says, why are you here? It's simply wrong to read 
it this way. Why are you here in Horeb? You 
should be back in Jezreel facing Jezebel and scaring her. That's 
not why God says, why are you here? He says, why are you here? 
So that the prophet can open his heart. He says, why are you 
here? So that the prophet can unburden 
himself. When he asks the question later 
in the chapter at Horeb, when he says it a second time, that's 
when the complaint is formalized. That's when we've entered into 
the realm of covenant lawsuit. But here specifically, when God 
says, why are you here? What are you doing here, Elijah? 
It's wrong to read it that way. What are you doing here in Horeb? 
Why is it? But God, you told me to come 
to Horeb, right? We see that in verses 7 and 8, 
eat this food because you got to take a 40 day and night trip 
and you got to go on the strength of this food because you're going 
to Horeb. So if God didn't know why Elijah was there, it's really 
messed up in terms of what God is because God told him and supplied 
him with the food in order for him to get there. But notice 
when he says, what are you doing here, Elijah? It's an opportunity 
for the prophet to do what he does in verse 10. 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. Well, there it is, I alone am 
left. That egocentric, God-complex 
prophet. No, he says the same thing in 
1 Kings 18. He knows there's additional prophets. He knows that Obadiah had spared 
the additional prophets from being slain by Jezebel. He knows 
that there are fellow prophets, but there's no fellow prophets 
standing up to Jezebel the way that Elijah is. So he's honest 
and he's accurate. I am the only one facing down 
this terrible specimen of a human being. I'm the only one that's 
getting close enough to see the rouge on her cheeks, to see the 
lipstick on her lips, to see the heavy, you know, eye shadow 
on her eyes. I'm the only one, God. It's not 
complaining in the sense that I've got this God complex sort 
of thing. No, his interests are God's interests. How could we ever conclude, based 
on this, that Elijah is not walking by faith? That Elijah has no 
longer submitted to the Lord Most High. What are his interests? 
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. That's him unburdening his soul. 
That's him casting his burdens upon the Lord because the Lord 
cares for him. Davis says, is he despondent? 
I think so. Over what? Over Yahweh's interests, 
his covenant, his altars and his prophets. To read into this 
some sort of a messed up episode in the life of Elijah, it's just 
bad. And notice God doesn't upbraid 
him for what he says in verse four. God doesn't say, how dare 
you ever say such a thing to me? And we also ought to appreciate 
God's answer to prayer in the negative. We don't like the negatives, 
but the negatives are good. We don't like the no answer, 
but here's a display of God answering no for the benefit of Elijah 
and for the benefit of Israel. Elijah asked God, take me. God 
said, no, I've got work for you to do. I want you to eat. I want 
you to rest. I want you to go in the strength 
of this food to Horeb because it's at Horeb that we're going 
to deal together. It's at Horeb that I'm going 
to show you what we're going to do. It's at Horeb that I'm 
going to reveal to you my plan and purpose for this otherwise 
apostate nation. The fact that God answers his 
prayers, the fact that God leads him by the hand, the fact that 
God deals with him the way that God deals with him in this passage, 
completely and utterly demolishes the idea that we have a crisis 
of faith. We have a man who's fearful of 
Jezebel. We have a man that has this God complex. Nothing could 
be further from the truth. Let's be kind to Elijah. In Romans 11, 2, the apostle 
says, or do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, 
how he pleads with God against Israel saying, and then notice 
the Lord's response in verses 15 to 18 demonstrate his approval 
of what Elijah is doing. When Elijah denounces the nation 
of Israel, when Elijah denounces the state of worship and religion 
in Israel, God in verses 15 to 18 assures him that through God's 
justice and through God's grace, he's going to deal with the very 
problem that Elijah's mentioned. He doesn't say, are you crazy, 
Elijah? Everything's great. Are you nuts, Elijah? Everything's 
wonderful. No, he provides this particular 
plan. Verses 15 to 17, justice. Verse 18, grace. That's God's 
way to deal with the crisis of faith, not in Elijah, but in 
Israel. That's what's in view in Horeb. Now note this revelation, this 
wonderful passage that I'm sure we're all familiar with in verses 
11 and 12. And just if you want to strengthen 
the covenant connection, Elijah's like Moses here, isn't he? There's 
a lot of Moses-Elijah parallels going on. They're both at Horeb. 
They go there 40 days, 40 nights. We see the references that Moses 
is hidden in the cleft of the rock while God passes by and 
Moses is able to witness the the hind parts, as it were, of 
God. There's theophany present with reference to Moses. That's 
a manifestation of God to Moses. We have theophany here in Horeb 
with reference to Elijah. Elijah's not having a crisis 
of faith. Elijah is being informed by Yahweh concerning Yahweh's 
plan for Israel in this crisis concerning Baal and Ahab and 
Jezebel. But notice in verse 11, then 
he said, go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. 
So before he had been in the cave, according to verse 9, he's 
in the cave and that's where God says, what are you doing 
here? And he pours out his heart. Now he's standing on the mountain 
before the Lord, covenant mountain before the Lord. This is official 
business. That's why there's repetition. 
That's why twice. The first was his unburdening 
of his heart. The second is the formal charge against Israel. And that's what we see here. 
He said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. 
And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and 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. Now, I think as we move 
through this particular section, we ought to appreciate this. 
The emphasis is upon the Word of God. The contest at Carmel 
didn't change men's hearts. The end of the drought didn't 
change men's hearts. It's the Word of God that shapes 
history. It's the Word of God that moves 
people. It's the Word of God that raises 
men up and puts men down. It is that still, small voice. 
God doesn't need to manifest Himself in the wind. He doesn't 
need to manifest Himself in the earthquake. He doesn't need to 
manifest Himself in the fire. He can certainly do that. He 
can do what He does in 1 Kings 18. But the emphasis, with reference 
to the prophetic contact in this point, is on the voice of God. It is on the Word of God. John 
Gill says, which emblems, the powerful, the mighty, may represent 
the power of God, the terribleness of his majesty, and the fury 
of his wrath, which he could display, if he would, to the 
destruction of his enemies. But that still small voice is 
the way that he is going to reveal himself. Davis comments here, 
might this suggest that God will not be giving many dramatic overt 
proofs of his reality as at Carmel, now that such revelation has 
been officially rejected? Instead, his presence and reality 
will primarily be seen in his ongoing work of judgment and 
grace, which through his voice and his word he has disclosed 
to his prophet. The quietness of Yahweh's work 
does not mean he is not at work, but rather that the kingdom of 
God has gone into its mustard seed mode. He's not going to 
do what he did at Carmel, but he's still present. He's still 
active. You see, I think there's a great word for charismatics 
and Pentecostals and for the rest of us here as well. We like 
the wind, we like the earthquake, we like the fire, we like the 
visible manifestation and demonstration of the power of God. Why don't 
we like the still small voice? Why don't we respond to that 
still small voice the way that we respond to that majestic display 
of the glory of God? Now again, I'm not suggesting 
God doesn't reveal himself in the wind and the earthquake and 
the fire. He most certainly does. He does what he does there in 
1 Kings chapter 18. He does what he does there in 
Acts 5, 1 to 11. That was no still small voice 
when Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead before God Most High and 
his church. But brethren, if we don't see 
the great displays of God Almighty, we ought never to conclude that 
there are no displays of God Almighty. He comes in the still 
small voice in the same way that he comes in those thunderous 
episodes. And we need to have ears to hear 
and hearts to receive. So God then asks him officially 
what his issue is in verse 13. Notice that Elijah hears it. 
He wraps his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the 
entrance of the cave. Pink is excellent here. He says, the 
wrapping of his face and his mantle betoken two things, his 
reverence for the divine majesty and a sense of his own unworthiness. So again, God asks him, 13b, 
what are you doing here, Elijah? Again, verse nine, unburden your 
soul. Verse 13, we're gonna formalize 
the complaint and I'm going to answer and I am going to show 
you the program I have established to deal with the situation in 
Israel. So Elijah rehearses or Elijah 
repeats what 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. 
Now, it seems to me that the only way those other guys could 
be believed concerning their sort of emphasis on Elijah's 
self-centeredness is if verses 15 and 18 weren't here. But for 15 to 18 is God's response. 15 to 18 speaks specifically 
to the situation that Elijah's just outlined. 15 to 18 is how 
God is going to neutralize the threat of Baalism and Jezebelism 
and Ahabism within the Northern Kingdom. It is God's response 
to the prophet, and it's a favorable one that should indicate for 
us that whatever is happening at Horeb, it is not some episode 
of self-pity, walking by sight rather than by faith, and basically 
a prophet who is cracking up under the pressures of the prophetic 
ministry. That's not it at all. God answers 
him. And then notice, as I mentioned, 
justice and grace. Justice will come via Hazael, 
Jehu, and Elisha. God's judgment will come through 
those three individuals, the king of Syria, the king of Israel, 
and the prophet Elisha. You see this, right? Everybody's 
with me? God answers favorably. You get 
that? The prophet was sorrowful, the 
prophet was melancholic, the prophet was depressed. Not because 
of his own interest, but because of Yahweh's interest. God refreshes 
him with rest and with food. God then calls him to Horeb, 
where God allows him to unburden his heart. And then God says, 
okay, let's get down to business and let's fix the problem. and 
I'm going to fix the problem with these three men. You anoint 
Hazael. That king of Syria is going to 
be a thorn in the flesh of the northern kingdom. You ordain, 
or rather anoint Jehu. Jehu is going to be a great enemy 
of Baal. Jehu is going to distinguish 
himself as one who eradicates Baalism from the northern kingdom. And then Elisha, the prophet, 
he's going to be the ecclesiastical arm of God's judgment upon the 
nation of Israel. But it's not just judgment. Verse 
18 assures the prophet Elijah that there's grace. Verse 18 
highlights, and again, this is quoted by the apostle in that 
same argument in Romans chapter 10. Yet I have reserved 7,000 
in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and every mouth 
that has not kissed him. Maybe this is a little bit of 
a, not chiding, but a gentle reminder to Elijah, you're not 
alone. You're not it. Sometimes the 
people of God can feel that way, can't they? Oh, we are the only 
ones that know the truth. No, we're not. God has 7,000. He's reserved them. He has kept them. They are recipients 
of His grace. We're not alone in this world. 
Brethren, that's why in our Sunday morning prayer meetings and at 
our Wednesday night prayer meetings, we try to lift up our eyes and 
look at the fields that are white under harvest. It's good to hear 
about what God is doing in Africa. It's good to hear about what 
God is doing in Korea. It's good to hear about what 
God is doing elsewhere. We can become quite parochial 
and quite fixated upon our own little neighborhood and forget 
that God has a vast number of people out there that have not 
bowed the knee to Baal. You see, he affirms this to the 
prophet to assuage the prophet's fears that all is lost and all 
is bleak and all is dismal. No, the justice of God through 
Jehu, Hazael, and Elisha is going to root out Baalism, at least 
for a time, in the northern kingdom. But as well, Elijah, when everything 
looks bleak and dark, realize that I have my faithful remnant 
that have not bowed the knee to Baal, have kissed him. It's not the episode that some 
would suggest, but it is nevertheless an episode where a man, a godly 
and a good man, goes through those melancholic waters and 
we see the mercy of God in sustaining him in the midst of We see the 
mercy of God in answering his prayer favorably, not to take 
his life, and we see the mercy of God in answering the specific 
prayer and the specific burden that he has with a program to 
correct the very things that the prophet Elijah has bemoaned 
before his God. So it's not the case that he 
is this cracked-up, crackpot prophet that's lost it, he's 
gone off the reservation, he's in Horeb, and he's just not doing 
what he's supposed to do. That's just not accurate. You 
can't read the text that way. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
a few thoughts. First, the faithfulness of Elijah. Notice, not the perfection of 
Elijah. Faithful people can suffer depression. 
Faithful people can undergo melancholy. It's no character defect. If 
somebody's, you know, aching along or limping along, or they 
say, yeah, I'm just really down right now, don't reprove them 
as if they're in sin. Well, come on, you should be 
16 ounces to the pound all the time. You're a new covenant believer. There should be a spring in your 
step. There should be a smile on your face. And that old favorite, 
well, the apostle tells us to rejoice always. Again, I will 
say rejoice. Yeah, depressed people love to 
be reminded about that. It's great. It's just fantastic. They'll tell you, that's exactly 
what I want to do, but I'm having trouble doing it. Don't yell 
at me and tell me to do something. I'm just having a tough time 
doing it. And may I just say, Paul has 
to repeat that a lot. Why? Because it's not native 
even to the New Covenant Christian. It's not the case we all walk 
around with a spring in our step. It's not the case that we all 
have a big smile on our face. It's not the case that we're 
all dispositionally given a predilection to joy and happiness. We need 
to be told to rejoice. Why? Because we need to be told 
to rejoice. Faithful people suffer depression. So the fact that Elijah is under 
the broom tree is no indicator whatsoever of any ethical failure 
on his part. To suggest that he is no longer 
walking by faith, but rather by sight, is to do positive harm 
to a champion of the faith. How dare we come and Monday morning 
quarterback first Kings 19 and then get it dismally wrong? put him on the psychoanalyst's 
couch rather than having gone to Horeb at the very direction 
of Yahweh himself. So he was a faithful man that 
suffered depression. He saw the great demonstration 
of God's power on Carmel. He saw the end of the drought, 
but he also saw that Jezebel and Ahab were still there. See, 
that's another thing that I think adds to our depression or it 
can add to our melancholic spirits. Things that we surmise should 
work don't always work. We think like pragmatists. If 
it was right, then it'll work and everybody will change. That's 
not always God's way. God has a purpose and a plan. 
It involves Hazael, it involves Jehu, and it involves Elisha. It wasn't the case that 1 Kings 
18 was designed by God to clean everything up. And yet for Elijah, 
he saw 1 Kings 18, and it looked surely that it would clean everything 
up. You see, brethren, we need to 
learn to think God's thoughts after Him. We can't be looking 
for the wind and the fire and the earthquake if God chooses 
to reveal Himself in a still, small voice. As well, the prophet 
saw the rejection of these displays of God's power by Jezebel, by 
Ahab, and as we learn, as we move through 1 Kings, by Israel 
as a whole. And the prophet was affected 
by that. I remember last week, one of 
the purposes or one of the causes of depression that I offered 
from the Proverbs was hope deferred makes the heart sick. Well, here's 
some hope deferred making the heart sick. Why don't the commentators 
cut the brother some slack? Why do they got to pound him 
over the head because he had this despondency, which by all 
intents and appearances was perfectly legit. Would any of us been thrilled 
at that time? Would any of us witness 1 Kings 
18 and the contest at Carmel and see the execution of the 
false prophets and see the dust settle and Israel continue in 
their faithfulness to Baal and not been affected? So I would 
suggest if Elijah does not respond the way Elijah does here in chapter 
19, there's possibly something wrong with Elijah. You see, hope 
deferred does make the heart sick. And the people of God feel 
that keenly at times when they see these expressions or displays 
of God not coming to fruition among the people of God. The 
prophet was despondent, not because of his own interests, but rather 
God's interests. Now, I'm sure that when I taught 
this material at the Wednesday night Bible study, I did address 
the point, too, that I have here, the discouragement associated 
with ministry. But I will spare all of you those 
grisly details and just move in, finally, to the glory of 
God. The glory of God is absolutely, 
positively, shiningly displayed in this passage. I would suggest 
that little cake next to Elijah's head is a demonstration of the 
glory of God. I would suggest that the prophet 
got to eat that cake and roll over onto his other side and 
sleep some more is a display of the glory of God. I would 
suggest that God's bidding him, no, God's commanding him to go 
to Horeb is a display of the glory of God. that God's allowing 
himself, in verse 9, to pour out his heart to God, is a display 
of the glory of God. I would submit that what we find 
in terms of the theophany, in terms of this wind and fire and 
earthquake, is a display of the glory of God. But as well, this 
still small voice that Elijah's supposed to listen to, that Elijah's 
supposed to respond to, and Elijah's supposed to operate according 
to. I suggest that the plan and purpose of Yahweh through these 
three historical figures vis-a-vis Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha is a 
display of the glory of God. And that verse 18 reality, that 
I have 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal nor kissed him, 
is a display of the glory of God. You see, the backdrop of 
Elijah's despondency is the showcase for the glory of God. And then 
the revelation, I'm sorry, excuse me, in terms of that statement 
in verse 18, I just wanna finish with a quote from Davis again. 
What he says, yet I have reserved 7,000 in Israel, all whose knees 
have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. 
Davis says, it is the Old Testament equivalent of Jesus, I will build 
my church. Isn't it? Elijah, I have 7,000 
that haven't bowed, that aren't going to bow. Some interpret 
the tense as a future. It's a future tense. I'm going 
to have 7,000. In the midst of this sort of 
exercise of justice and judgment to purge the northern kingdom 
of the Baalism, there's going to be, alongside of that, this 
remnant that will not bow the knee to Baal. Whether it's a 
past, a present, or a future, the idea or the point is that 
God has 7,000. But he says, it is the Old Testament 
equivalent of Jesus's, I will build my church. Grace will have 
a remnant. The God of grace insists on it. 
Yahweh, so the text teaches, will always have a people, even 
an Israelite people, to worship him upon the earth. He has decided 
that He will have a true people, and He will have them and keep 
them, and there is nothing any Jezebel can do about it. It is 
the infectious assurance, the defiant certainty, the holy dogmatism 
of this text that keeps some of us on our feet. And if you 
are not a believer here tonight, the tendency in your heart is 
to bow the knee to Baal. It is to kiss Baal. Now you say, 
well, I don't know anything about the ancient Near Eastern deities, 
so I don't know a whole host of things about Baal. Well, the 
Baal that was worshipped back then is the same sort of guy, 
or the same sort of God that is worshipped today. A God who 
brings you whatever you want. A God who delivers the goods 
insofar as you use the right formulas. The God who is akin 
to a holy horseshoe or a four-leaf clover. The God that's just there 
for you to do your bidding. It's the God that most people 
manufacture in their minds. That's who Baal is. And if you 
are not a worshipper of the true and the living God, then I would 
encourage you to believe the gospel, to look unto Jesus, to 
turn from this useless idol, Baal, to the true and living 
God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Him, bow 
to Him, kiss Him rather than Baal, rather than any competitor 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is graciously given 
by God, and those who believe will know it. Those who believe 
will taste and see that the Lord is good. Well, let us close in 
a word of prayer. Father, thank you for your word, 
and thank you for this snapshot that we get of Elijah, first 
in Beersheba and then in Horeb. God, we thank you for the way 
that you dealt with the prophet. We thank you for the way that 
you deal with us. Certainly, it is the case that we are better 
than we deserve, and we give all glory to you on that account. Help us to be mindful of depressed 
people around us. Help us to be mindful of our 
own melancholic spirits. Help us to use the strategies 
afforded to us by the Word of God, and help us to be those 
who aren't like that man who sings songs to heavy hearts. 
Like that man who takes away a garment in cold weather, pours 
vinegar on soda, but give us a kindness and a love and a compassion 
as we deal with one another who suffers through these things. 
Go with us now, we pray, and help us to glorify you in this 
coming week. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.