*1 Kings 19:1-21
Fearing Queen Jezebel’s threats after defeating the prophets of Baal, Elijah flees to Mount Horeb where God reassures and commissions him for future tasks.
- Elijah’s Flight from Jezebel:
- Following the showdown at Mount Carmel and the execution of the prophets of Baal, Elijah receives a message from Queen Jezebel threatening to kill him within twenty-four hours.
- Fearing for his life, Elijah flees from Jezebel’s threats and travels to Beersheba in Judah, leaving his servant behind, and continues into the wilderness alone.
- Elijah’s Despair and Prayer:
- Alone in the wilderness, Elijah becomes despondent and requests for his life to be taken, feeling overwhelmed by his circumstances and lamenting his perceived failure.
- He lies down under a broom tree and falls asleep, exhausted from his journey and the emotional toll of his recent experiences.
- God’s Provision and Encouragement:
- An angel of the Lord appears to Elijah and wakes him, providing him with bread and water to sustain him on his journey, demonstrating God’s care and provision for His servant.
- Elijah eats and drinks, strengthening himself for the journey ahead, and rests once more before continuing on his way to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Elijah’s Encounter with God:
- Elijah travels to Mount Horeb and finds refuge in a cave, where he spends the night in prayer and meditation, seeking God’s guidance and reassurance.
- The Lord appears to Elijah and asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” prompting Elijah to pour out his heart and express his feelings of loneliness and despair.
- God’s Manifestation and Elijah’s Commission:
- The Lord reveals His presence to Elijah, passing by the mountain in a powerful windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire, but the Lord is not in any of these manifestations.
- Instead, the Lord speaks to Elijah in a gentle whisper, comforting him and renewing his strength, reassuring him of His presence and faithfulness.
- Elijah’s Renewed Purpose:
- God commissions Elijah to return to Israel and anoint Hazael as king over Aram, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as his own successor as prophet.
- Elijah obeys the Lord’s command and sets out on his journey, finding Elisha plowing in a field and anointing him as his successor, symbolizing the continuation of God’s prophetic ministry.
- Elijah’s Encounter with Elisha:
- Elijah approaches Elisha and throws his cloak over him, symbolizing the transfer of authority and the call to ministry, and Elisha leaves everything to follow Elijah and serve as his assistant.
In 1 Kings 19:1-21, Elijah feels exhausted and discouraged, but God meets him with kindness, providing food, rest, and gentle reassurance. This reminds us that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but we should turn to God for strength instead of giving up. Just as God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper, He often guides us in quiet moments rather than dramatic signs. When we take time to rest, pray, and listen, we can find the encouragement we need to keep moving forward in faith.
1 Kings 19:1-21 (WEB)
19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”3 When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs 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. Then 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 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat!”6 He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The LORD’s angel came again the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”8 He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, God’s Mountain. 9 He came to a cave there, and camped there; and behold, the LORD’s word came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD.”Behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake a fire passed; but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”15 The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place. 17 He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and put his mantle on him. 20 Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”21 He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, killed them, and boiled their meat with the oxen’s equipment, and gave to the people; and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.