1 Kings 19:1-21

God’s lessons from history

1 Kings

Philip Smith

Chapter 19

God speaks to Elijah at *Mount Sinai

v1 Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done. He also told her that Elijah had killed all the *prophets of *Baal. v2 She sent a message to Elijah and it said this. ‘I promise to kill you as you killed those *prophets. I will kill you by this time tomorrow. If not, I pray that the gods will kill me.’

v3 Elijah saw what was happening. So he ran away in order to save his life. He came to Beersheba in *Judah and he left his servant there. v4 Then Elijah walked for a day into the desert. He came to a tree and he sat under it. He prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough *Lord’, he prayed. ‘Take away my life. I am no better than my *ancestors.’ v5 He lay down under the tree and he slept there.

Suddenly an *angel touched him and spoke to him. ‘Get up and eat.’ v6 He looked round. He saw that the *angel had baked bread on the coals. And a jug of water was near his head. He had some food and drink and he lay down again.

v7 The *angel of the *Lord came back the second time and woke him up. ‘Get up and eat. Otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ v8 So he got up. He ate and he drank. The food gave him enough strength to walk for 40 days and 40 nights to Sinai. This was the mountain of God. v9 Then he went into a cave to spend the night.

Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done. He also told her that Elijah had killed the *prophets of *Baal. Jezebel sent a message to Elijah. She said that she intended to kill him. In fact, she had made a serious promise to do this. She was very angry and she wanted Elijah to be afraid.

Elijah saw that he could not remain in *Israel. He was not afraid to die, as verse 4 mentions. But he did not want Jezebel to kill him. If she did, all his efforts would be in vain. She would say that she had overcome Elijah by the power of her gods. Therefore, she would say that her gods had defeated the *Lord.

It is a *sin to test the *Lord (Deuteronomy 6:16). So Elijah could not remain in a dangerous place where he would be forcing God to protect him. Elijah would not be trusting God, because God had not told him to remain there. So Elijah ran away. He came to a place of safety in Beersheba which the king of *Judah ruled. But even there, Elijah still felt great strain. Of course, he had a great experience on *Mount Carmel. But that experience was also a great struggle. Then he had run in front of Ahab’s *chariot. As a result, his body was very tired. The message from Jezebel was too much.

Elijah expected that the events on *Mount Carmel would turn the *Israelites back to God. He even hoped that he could persuade Ahab to *worship the *Lord. But Jezebel’s message proved that wicked people still controlled *Israel. Elijah saw that he was no better than the *prophets before him. They had been unable to turn the *Israelites back to God. And Elijah felt that he was unsuccessful too.

Elijah could not go on any longer. He ran away so that Jezebel would not kill him. Now he asked God to allow him to die. Then he slept.

God sent an *angel who twice gave food and water to Elijah. This gave him sufficient strength to walk about 300 miles to *Mount Sinai. This was where God had given the Ten *Commandments. It took Elijah 40 days to reach the mountain. This was like when the *Israelites walked in the desert for 40 years. Some people think that the ‘*angel of the *Lord’ was the *Lord Jesus Christ himself.

In Philippians 4:13 Paul says this. ‘I can do everything by him (God) who gives me strength.’ Sometimes Christians today feel great strain, as Elijah did. We should encourage them to trust God completely. When we work for God, sometimes we feel great strain. Our task seems too difficult for anyone to achieve. But, if we are really working for God, we do not achieve his purposes by human effort. It is God who uses us in order to achieve his purposes. Elijah felt that his task was too hard. But his duty was simply to do what God ordered. The *Lord would achieve the results that he intended.

Then God spoke to Elijah. ‘What are you doing here?’

v10 Elijah replied, ‘*Lord God, you are the commander of heaven’s armies. I have tried very hard to serve you. The *Israelites have not obeyed your *covenant. They have broken down your *altars. They have killed your *prophets. I am the only one who is still alive. Now they are trying to kill me.’

v11 The *Lord said, ‘Go and stand in front of me on top of the mountain. The *Lord will go past you.’

Then a strong wind blew. It was so powerful that it split the hills. And it broke the rocks into pieces. But the *Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, the earth suddenly moved with great force. But the *Lord was not in that. v12 Then there was a fire, but the *Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. v13 When Elijah heard that whisper, he pulled his coat over his face. Then he went and stood in the entrance to the cave.

Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here Elijah?’

v14 He replied, ‘*Lord God, you are the commander of heaven’s armies. I have tried very hard to serve you. The *Israelites have not obeyed your *covenant. They have broken down your *altars. They have killed your *prophets. I am the only one who is still alive. And they are trying to kill me.’

v15 The *Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way that you came. Go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, pour *olive oil over Hazael’s head. Appoint him king of Syria. v16 Also pour *olive oil over the head of Jehu son of Nimshi. Appoint him king of *Israel. Pour *olive oil over the head of Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah. Appoint him to become a *prophet after you. v17 Jehu will kill anyone whom Hazael is unable to kill. Elisha will kill anyone whom Jehu is unable to kill. v18 But there are still 7000 people in *Israel who are loyal to me. They have not *bowed to *Baal. They have not kissed his *idol.’

Centuries before, Moses saw the *glory of God. Moses had this wonderful experience when he was in a cave on *Mount Sinai (Exodus 33:12-23). Elijah travelled to that same mountain. And perhaps he was in the same cave. And in that special place, God spoke to Elijah. God asked Elijah what he was doing there.

Elijah replied that he had tried very hard to serve God. He wanted to bring the *Israelites back to *worship God. The events on Carmel had shown God’s power, but the people had not really changed. Elijah thought that he was alone. He considered himself to be the only person who still followed God. That was how Elijah felt. But we know that it was not accurate. Obadiah, the palace official, was still loyal to God. And the 100 *prophets whom Obadiah protected were loyal to God. Soon God would tell Elijah about many more *Israelites who were serving God.

Moses had gone into the cave when God’s *glory passed by. Elijah came out of the cave and he stood on the mountain. He heard a strong wind and he saw the movement of the earth. Then there was a fire. But God did not speak by any of these events. Of course, God can use powerful events. For example, he sent fire earlier, on *Mount Carmel. And he sent a storm when Elijah prayed for rain. But often, he speaks in a very gentle manner. In other words, his message comes quietly into our hearts, our minds or our spirits. If we allow strong emotions to control our thoughts, we shall not hear his message. Perhaps that is why Elijah did not hear God’s word immediately. Perhaps Elijah needed to wait until his heart was calm enough to receive God’s message.

At last, Elijah heard ‘a gentle whisper’. Then he covered his face. He knew that God was present. God repeated his question and Elijah gave the same answer. God heard Elijah’s list of problems. But God did not reply to them all. Instead, God gave Elijah a list of instructions. Sometimes, in our prayers, we try to tell God what we want to happen. But we must always remember that we are God’s servants. And he is our master and our King. He will decide what he wants to happen. And it is then our duty to obey him.

The instructions that God gave to Elijah were very important. God was making great changes that would affect the entire region. God was appointing two new kings. Each new king would organise a revolution to overcome the government in his own country. But God also gave personal instructions to Elijah. Elijah should appoint a man called Elisha to be *prophet in *Israel. Elijah did not have to do everything himself. Elisha would continue Elijah’s work. God would appoint the people whom he chose to carry out his work.

So God told Elijah to go and to appoint Hazael. Hazael would become king of Syria. Elijah must also appoint Jehu to be king of *Israel and Elisha to be a *prophet. Elijah did not appoint Hazael and Jehu himself. Elisha did. But Elijah did appoint Elisha.

God also explained that he would punish the *Israelites for their *sins. This would happen by means of a foreign enemy (Hazael), war (Jehu) and Elisha’s word.

Finally, God mentioned something else that would encourage Elijah. Elijah thought that he was the only follower of God. In fact, 7000 other *Israelites were still loyal to God. ‘The *Lord knows those people who are his.’ There are more Christians in the world than we sometimes think. God’s love is larger than people’s love. Matthew Henry was a British man who wrote a Commentary (a book to explain the Bible) about 300 years ago. He wrote, ‘We will meet many people in heaven. We did not think that some of them would be there.’

Elijah appoints Elisha

v19 Elijah left and he found Elisha son of Shaphat. Elisha was ploughing with a group of *oxen. There were 11 groups ahead of him and he was ploughing with the 12th group. Elijah took off his coat and he put it round Elisha. v20 Elisha left his *oxen and he ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye’, he said. ‘Then I will go with you.’

‘Go back’, replied Elijah. ‘I have not done anything to stop you.’

v21 So Elisha left him and he went back. He took his *oxen and he killed them. He burnt his plough to cook the meat. Then he gave it to the people and they ate. Then he went to follow Elijah and to be his helper.

Elijah appointed Elisha first. Elisha was the last man that God told Elijah to appoint. In fact, Elisha would appoint the other men.

Elisha was working when Elijah appointed him. Elisha did not expect Elijah’s visit. Elisha was a wealthy farmer but he still ploughed the land. Elijah threw his coat over him. By this action, Elijah showed that Elisha would become a *prophet like him. Elisha realised this immediately. The life of a *prophet would be much more difficult than Elisha’s work as a wealthy farmer. Some people would hate him and they would oppose his message. But Elisha wanted to serve God. So Elisha considered this to be a wonderful opportunity. He did not hesitate. He left his *oxen and he ran after Elijah. And it seems that Elisha’s sudden reaction even surprised Elijah.

In the New Testament (the second part of the Bible), some men were fishing. They too did not hesitate when Jesus called them. They left their nets and they followed Jesus. See Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20.

Elisha asked if he could first say goodbye to his parents. Elijah did not stop him. He wanted Elisha to come with him because he genuinely wanted to come. Elisha had a meal in order to say goodbye to his family. But even at that meal, he showed that he would never return to his former occupation. He used his plough as fuel for the fire. He cooked his *oxen as food for the meal. Then he went and he became Elijah’s servant.

Mount ~ a short word for mountain; small mountain.
prophet ~ a person who prophesies.
prophesy ~ to speak God’s word; or, to say what will happen in the future.
Baal ~ a false god.
Judah ~ one of the tribes of Israel. The southern part of the *Jewish kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people; a family or people that have the same ancestors; family from one man. Israel came from the 12 sons of Jacob. These 12 families formed the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or a queen rules.
ancestor ~ any person from the past from whom the families of your father or mother have come.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.
Lord ~ the name of God. It can translate either of two words in Hebrew, which is the original language of this book. The word ‘Yahweh’ is God’s most holy name, and means ‘God always’. The word ‘Adonai’ means ‘master’.
ancestor ~ any person from the past from whom the families of your father or mother have come.
angel ~ a servant of God who is in heaven or who comes from heaven.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.'sin/sinful ~ an action that is wrong or wicked. It is against a religious or moral law.
religious ~ about religion.
chariot ~ a cart with two wheels that soldiers used. Horses pulled it.
Israelite ~ someone who lives in Israel; or, a descendant of Jacob.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God; to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
commandment ~ any of the laws that God gave to Israel, especially the Ten Commandments.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.
covenant ~ an agreement between two people or groups. Or, especially, the agreement between God and his people. The ‘Covenant Box’ was the most sacred object in the temple.
temple ~ the central place of worship that Solomon built in Jerusalem; or, a place where people worship a false god.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God; to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
altar ~ a table on which people offer or burn gifts or sacrifices to a god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people offered to a god.'olive/olive oil ~ a bitter green or black fruit; oil from this fruit.
bow ~ to lower the head or the body; this action shows that you respect someone.
idol ~ the image of a god to whom people give honour.
glory ~ fame and honour.