Ra'ah See: Elijah Sees God Series

“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed 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 do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went 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 broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.”

Jezebel is absolutely horrified by the fact that this great prophet, Elijah, defeated her false prophets, in his greatest victory for the kingdom of Israel. Elijah had been so bold in facing down all the evil in his time. But when Elijah “saw” that Jezebel was threatening his life, he ran.

And that brings us to our Hebrew word for today, “Ra’ah” which means “to see.” But there is a dual meaning here, because this Hebrew word can also mean to tremble, or to be afraid.

Elijah saw the situation with Jezebel threatening his life. And for him, this meant that he perceived something spiritually, and something physically. He perceived that his life was physically in danger. But he also seemed to perceive something spiritually. The meaning of Ra’ah is dual in that the seeing can mean worldly seeing and/or spiritually seeing. So Elijah runs for his life, but, he runs toward a spiritually defense position. He runs to mount Horeb, the mountain of God.

And that is my first point for you today. If you’re on the edge, if you’re struggling and you don’t know what to do, sometimes it’s OK to simply retreat into hiding for a while. Just make sure you retreat to the right place. Take it to God directly. Elijah ran to meet with God. To the mountain of God, mount Horeb, which was in Judah.

Are you someone who lets fear control your life? For most people of the world, they will by fear. Fear, anxiety, anxious rushing about from one thing to another, and we saw that fear on full display, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear took over, and rouse so high, it formed a hysteria that some still seem to be caught up in. Will they ever leave it? Or will they be hysterically afraid for the rest of their lives?

That’s the second point today: We can’t let fear control our lives. We simply can’t. But as Christians we will face fear. It’s a reality of this fallen sinful world. But we can’t let fear control who we are. We can’t let it define us.

We can keep fear under the control of God, by fearing God first. If we fear God, and tremble before God, we don’t have to be afraid of any person, or any situation. Yes, we will feel fear from time to time, but we don’t have to be controlled by it. Jesus Christ has broken the power of fear over us.

Elijah was afraid, but he fled toward God, not away from Him. And when He met with God, he was so disappointed in himself, in his own fear, that led him to flee from Jezebel, that he said to God, “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

1st Kings 19:4 “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.”

I have said this in my life many, many times to God. Take my life Lord. I’m no better than my ancestors. Usually it’s after I’ve stumbled into some temporary temptation, or if I outright stumble into sin, like we sometimes do as Christians, because our flesh is weak, I find myself, I think rightly saying to God, I’m no better than my ancestors. I’m no better than the people of this messed up world who do so much evil.