1 Kings 19:1-8

I. THE GREAT SPIRITUAL CRISIS 19:1-21

In view of the triumph on Carmel, one might expect to read in chapter 19 about a great religious reformation in Israel. Such is not the case. Not until the extirpation of the house of Omri was Yahwism to gain unquestionable ascendancy over Baalism in the North. Upon learning of the defeat of her god and the death of her prophets, Jezebel publicly vowed that she would see Elijah dead. This unexpected turn of events caused Elijah great discouragement and trepidation. In a moment of spiritual weakness he resigned as it were from his prophetic ministry, packed his bags, and fled the country. The present chapter narrates (1) Elijah's flight from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-8); (2) his reassurance from God (1 Kings 19:9-18); and (3) his call of Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21).

A. ELIJAH'S FLIGHT FROM JEZEBEL 19:1-8

TRANSLATION

(1) And Ahab told Jezebel all which Elijah had done, and that he had slain all the prophets with the sword. (2) And Jezebel sent a messenger onto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do and even more if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one from among them. (3) And he feared, and arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah where he left his servant. (4) And he went on in the wilderness a day's journey to die, And he said, Enough! Now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers. (5) And he lay down, and slept under a juniper tree. And Behold this angel was touching him, and said to him, Rise up; eat! because the journey is too great for you. (6) And he looked and behold there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. (7) And the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, Arise, eat, for the journey is too great for you. (8) And he arose, ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto the mountain of God, Horeb.

COMMENTS

It was no doubt with mixed emotions that Ahab related the account of the Carmel happenings to his headstrong consort. On the one hand, the king must have been excited and anxious to relate the matter to his wife; on the other hand, he must have been trepidant as he anticipated her incredulity and rage. One might think that the account of the total defeat of her deity in the Carmel contest would have brought her under conviction. But no amount of evidence could sway this implacable foe of truth and persecutor of prophets. She listened to Ahab's story, but her one thought was of revenge (1 Kings 19:1).

A messenger was dispatched to the city gate to find Elijah and convey to him the queen's solemn vow in the name of the gods she revered that she would have his life within twenty-four hours (1 Kings 19:2). But if Jezebel meant to slay Elijah, why forewarn him by means of this messenger? Perhaps she felt that she would find no one that night who would be willing to carry out the execution order against a man whose supernatural powers had been so widely heralded. The dispatching of the messenger was more an act of rage than of rationality. In her exasperation she had to give vent to her impotent wrath. Her husband may have been convinced and even converted by what he had seen, but she was unconquered and unrelenting.

Sudden panic seized Elijah when the messenger delivered Jezebel's threat. Momentarily he lost his faith in God or else he would certainly have waited for the word of the Lord which on previous occasions had given him guidance. No doubt profound depression mingled with the fear in the heart of the prophet. He had expected the contest on Carmel to settle the issue of who was God in Israel. His Utopian dream of Israel in the fold of fidelity was smashed by the defiant declaration of the queen. Utterly dispirited and broken, Elijah fled for his life.

At Beersheba, ninety-five miles south of Jezreel on the southern boundary of Judah, the prophet dismissed his faithful servant (1 Kings 19:3). The journey to that point must have occupied at least three days. Elijah probably left his servant at Beersheba because he wished to be alone with God; possibly because the boy was too exhausted to go further, and there was no reason why he should be subjected to the uncertainties and privations of desert travel. Why Elijah did not seek security within the territory of Judah cannot be ascertained. One might think that Jehoshaphat of Judah might grant him asylum. However it is obvious that Jehoshaphat had an alliance with the Omri dynasty, and it is probable that the treaty between the two lands had extradition provisions.

The prophet himself went on from Beersheba into the great and terrible wilderness of Sinai. It was not merely for personal security[441] that the prophet plunged into the barren wastes. He needed time to think, to meditate and to be alone with God. Had he done right to run away? Should he have accepted the challenge of Jezebel and continued his struggle to the bitter end? Probably Mt. Horeb was his destination from the very beginning. Like his predecessor, the great lawgiver Moses, the law restorer Elijah was fleeing to the land of Midian where he too might have a face to face encounter with God.

[441] The theory has been advanced that Elijah still felt insecure even in Judah on account of the cordial relations between Jehoshaphat of Judah and Ahab. But would Elijah have had anything to fear from godly Jehoshaphat? Would he have left his faithful servant in a place of danger?

When Elijah came upon a juniper tree, he sat down to rest. The desert juniper, called by modern Arabs, the broom tree, was a most welcome sight for the desert traveler because its bushy branches provided shelter from the desert sun and wind. There Elijah sat alone, exhausted physically and depressed psychologically, and requested that he might die.[442] He who was destined never to see death was pleading that his life might be taken from him. But why this agonizing outcry: I am no better than my fathers? (1 Kings 19:4). He had thought himself to be a special messenger of God, raised up mightily to bring the people of God to repentance. So long as he had a ray of hope that he might influence the moral and religious life in Israel, nothing was too difficult for him. But under that juniper tree Elijah came to feel that his life was fruitless, that he had failed in his mission and hence had nothing further for which to live.

[442] He requested his life to die indicates the Hebrew conception that life proceeded directly from God and consequently belonged to Him. A man might wish to die, but he was not at liberty to commit suicide. See Gray, OTL, p. 408.

The pathetic prophet closed his eyes and prayed that he would never open them again. But God had other plans for this man. An angel awakened him and directed him to arise and eat (1 Kings 19:5). Elijah probably had eaten little or nothing during his journey from Jezreel, and probably had fasted for some time before the Carmel contest. His profound depression may have been due largely to his physical weakness. Therefore, before God could deal with his spiritual problem He had to take care of the man's physical problem. Opening his eyes, Elijah found near his head a cake of bread and a cruse of water. After partaking, the prophet dozed off (1 Kings 19:6). Again the angel of the Lord awakened Elijah and bade him partake of the food which God had provided, for he yet had a long journey before him (1 Kings 19:7). Probably the prophet because of physical and mental fatigue had eaten but little the first time. Some commentators think that the idea of going to Horeb was first suggested at this time by the angel.

Elijah did eat of the food God provided, and from it gained sufficient strength to sustain himself for forty days and nights.[443] Like Moses before him (Deuteronomy 9:9) and Christ after him, Elijah fasted for forty days and nights. These three great fasters met gloriously on Mt. Tabor on the night of the Lord's transfiguration. The journey from Beersheba to Mt. Horeb is about a hundred thirty miles, and thus the entire forty days were not spent traveling. Rather the forty days and nights include the entire time the prophet stayed in the wilderness.

[443] The primary reference is to the forty days and forty nights that Moses spent in Horeb, during which he neither did eat bread nor drink water (Deuteronomy 9:9). According to Psalms 128:25 Israel was sustained for forty years in this same wilderness by angels-' food.