1Kings, chapter 19, comments

 

1Kings 19:1 ¶  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4  But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 5  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6  And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7  And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. 8  And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

Now Ahab tells his evil influencer, his wife, Jezebel, all that Elijah has done. We previously saw that Ahab had married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and both worshipped Baal.

 She is not put off by what has just happened but threatens to do to Elijah what he has done to her prophets of Baal. Elijah, even after his incredible success and use by God he flees for his life. This event suggests to us that Elijah was strong because the Spirit of God was with him and now, in his humanity, he was afraid. When he was following God’s specific instructions, he was fearless.

He is tired and expecting his death to come at any time. This seems strange to us but God uses this scene to show us some great things about how He cares of His people who are facing difficult odds. Elijah will spend days and nights upon the mount of God, Horeb, much like Moses did, which shows you how important he is to God.

Sinai was the name of the area.

Exodus 19:1  In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2  For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

Sinai and Horeb will be used interchangeably for the name of this mountain.

1Kings 8:9  There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 31:18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God…32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Psalm 106:19  They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

Malachi 4:4 ¶  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Exodus 24:18  And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Moses and Elijah will play an important part in a scene in Christ’s life and perhaps at the end of history.

Mark 9:2  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.4  And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

Are they also the two witnesses of Revelation 11?

Forty days is a time of testing and trial in the Bible. First, we’ve seen Moses and Elijah.

It was a time for Nineveh to repent;

Jonah 3:4  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

And for Jesus to face what mankind faces; the lust of the world, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and overcome them.

Mark 1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

1Kings 19:9 ¶  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11  And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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: 12  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13  And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 15  And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 17  And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Elijah feels weak, alone, and powerless, again, quite a contrast to his boldness with the prophets of Baal and so much like ourselves after a triumph with God’s help and then another threat we feel like we are facing on our own, but he does as commanded by God. We think in terms of big events and awe-inspiring displays but God makes a point here that He often comes as a still small voice speaking to us as His words in the Bible speak to our spirit or we sense Him speaking but not in an audible voice other than our own in our head.

Elijah is given the task of anointing the next king of Syria and the next king of Israel. He also is going to anoint his successor in the office of God’s prophet, giving the prophetic statement of what they will do.

In spite of the prevalence of Baal worship God has preserved 7,000 men who are faithful. Notice what Jesus will say about the end times.

Luke 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

When we have been faithful in the face of great opposition and adversity it is not uncommon to feel alone. But we are not alone. God will always preserve Himself His own. Whether we face persecution in a forest in Africa or a city in America God has His own faithful to Him and working His will even if we don’t see them.

1Kings 19:19 ¶  So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20  And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? 21  And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

Here is the calling of Elisha the prophet to succeed Elijah. Elisha doesn’t immediately walk away from his family but is afforded the opportunity to say goodbye. Fundamentalists today would use the example of Jesus’ fishermen disciples who immediately walked away from their family business, or so it would seem on first glance of the text, but here Elijah does not condemn Elisha for saying goodbye to his father and mother. He was given no sermon on immediate walking away to be worthy of his calling.