When Jezebel hears of the slaughter of the prophets she will swear an oath that she will have Elijah put to death. "Now Ahab had told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, 'May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them.'" (1 Kings 19:1-2) As we discussed yesterday, King Ahab has been given a marvelous and merciful opportunity to repent of idolatry and turn back to the living God. Ahab has adopted the religion of his wife and has made it the state religion but on Mount Carmel he witnessed the power and glory of Israel's God. Baal, however, didn't make a peep. This should have persuaded Ahab that if Baal exists at all he doesn't care about him or about the people of Israel. I don't know how the display of the Lord's majesty affected Ahab's heart while he was still away from the palace but his fear of the Lord paled in comparison to his fear of his wife. Any doubts he may have had about continuing to serve Baal must have faded when the weak-willed king gave his wife the bad news about the prophets of Baal. She will take an oath in the names of her gods that she will see to it that Elijah ends up just as dead as those prophets. Ahab will not oppose her.
We were told in Chapter 18 that Jezebel has been supporting the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Baal's consort, Asherah, out of the royal treasury. The entire religious system of Israel at this time is being financed by the royal household. Controlling the government and the religion of the nation gives the king and queen almost absolute power over the citizens. Jezebel does not want to let that go! I don't know whether she thoroughly believes in her pagan gods or whether she sees her religion primarily as a means of controlling the people. If she can have Elijah put to death, perhaps she can regain the people's trust in the state religion. She could then say, "Why didn't the God of Elijah protect him? This proves that Baal is more powerful than God! Surely God wanted His prophet to live but He could not protect him. Baal could have answered his prophets on Mount Carmel if he had wanted to but he was displeased with them for some reason. That's why he didn't step in when Elijah ordered them put to death. It was Baal's will for those prophets to perish; new and more faithful prophets will be appointed to serve him. But the slaughter of the prophets is no indication that Baal is not the most powerful god of all! The proof that Baal is the most powerful god of all is that the God of Elijah could not stand against Baal and keep Elijah safe."
I think Elijah expected something entirely different to happen at Jezreel. Perhaps he thought King Ahab would repent and change his ways after witnessing the Lord's power on Mount Carmel. He might have believed Ahab would stand up to Jezebel and abolish idolatry in the land. Having the king repent and turn back to the living God would have encouraged a widescale revival all across the nation. I'm not sure exactly what Elijah thought was about to happen next but it wasn't to have his execution orders signed. He runs. "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life." (1 Kings 19:3a)
I've seen a lot of scholars and pastors criticize Elijah for being afraid. They say that after experiencing the power of the Lord on Mount Carmel he should have had the faith to stand firm. I will not be criticizing Elijah and we are not going to find the Lord criticizing him either. I believe Elijah has been pushed beyond the point of human endurance. He likely fasted and prayed before the showdown on the mountain, then he spent the entire day there out in the open without food or water. We don't know whether the weather was hot but we certainly know it was dry since no rain had fallen for three and a half years. After fire came down from heaven and burned up his sacrifice, Elijah ordered the prophets seized and then he went down into the valley with the crowd to oversee the execution, then he climbed back up the mountain to pray for rain. When he saw the first rain cloud appear he ran approximately fourteen to seventeen miles to Jezreel, expecting revival to break out but being met with a very credible death threat instead. Elijah needs time to recover physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. There are times in life when the best thing to do is make a stand and there are times when the best thing to do is go someplace and get alone with God. Elijah needs to go someplace and get alone with God.
"When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep." (1 Kings 19:3b-5a) Bless his heart! I feel so much compassion for him. He is utterly exhausted in every way, and although he doesn't want to die violently at the hands of Jezebel, he does want to die. He asks the Lord to take him on home to heaven.
Have you ever been in a place where you felt so low that you wished the Lord would just call you home? You weren't making plans to take your own life and you didn't particularly want to die of a long protracted illness but you wouldn't have objected if the Lord took you home by some sudden event. I've felt that low. I didn't want to commit suicide but if the Lord had said, "Child, would you like Me to bring you on into My presence now?" I would have said, "Yes, Lord, take me out of this cruel world." That's the mood Elijah is in and my heart really goes out to him.
Elijah feels like he's failed because the king didn't repent and the whole nation didn't repent either. I'm sure some people repented but we aren't going to see a nationwide revival taking place. He feels like he's failed his people, his Lord, and himself. That's why he says, "I am no better than my ancestors." Prophets have come and gone before him and were unable to change the hearts of kings and regular citizens. He has been unable to change hearts too. He doesn't consider himself worthy to be called a man of God and I think our pastors of today often have those feelings when they preach their hearts out and no one gives their life to the Lord. But the Lord isn't disappointed in Elijah and the Lord isn't finished with him either. The Lord is going to give him the recuperation he needs and then He will give him further instructions.
"All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.' He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again." (1 Kings 19:5b-6) How did the hot bread get there? Did the Lord miraculously produce it or did some secret supporter of Elijah's slip quietly onto the scene while he was sleeping and place it there? I don't know exactly how the bread appeared but the Lord is always able through either supernatural means or by human means to provide for His children!
"The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.'" (1 Kings 19:7) The Lord doesn't intend to take Elijah's life; He intends to take him on a journey. Elijah will need strength for the journey. "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night." (1 Kings 19:8-9)
The Lord gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Sometimes He gives just enough of a boost to our strength to make it to the next spiritual meal, so to speak, and sometimes He gives us enough of a boost to go forty days and forty nights on that one experience. When we pick back up at this point in Chapter 19 tomorrow we'll find the Lord providing Elijah with his greatest spiritual experience yet.
I don't know what you may be going through right now or how low you may be feeling. I'm feeling incredibly low myself. But the Lord isn't finished with you or with me! He's going to give us what we need to sustain us. I don't know what He's going to do and I don't know how He's going to do it but our greatest spiritual experiences in this life may still be ahead of us, just like in the story of Elijah. As long as there is breath in our bodies the Lord has things for us to do and He is absolutely going to equip us to do them. I'm having to lean heavily on Him, counting on Him to get me from one "spiritual meal" to the next right now. But when I've recuperated I think He's going to pour out enough strength on me to get me a long way on my journey, just as He did for Elijah. He'll do the same for you. He's the same God today as He was then.
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