With the conclusion of the Olympics and Paralympics, one of the most trying adjustments that athletes and spectators alike claim is an emptiness after the games. With such preparation and excitement, it really means a change of gears for people.
Likewise, the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19 was coming off a great high. Through God, he had just defeated 450 prophets of Baal, performed great miracles and even brought someone back from the dead. But now, he was facing an enemy desiring revenge. He was physically and mentally exhausted and desired solitude.
Solitude brings together all the previous spiritual disciplines that we have seen thus far in Bible study, giving, prayer and fasting. But its practice is so foreign in our interconnected busy culture.
Elijah is a case study in the need for solitude and what God can accomplish in someone through it. In 1 Kings 19:1-18 we can see 1) The Straining from a lack of Solitude (1 Kings 19:1-4), 2) The Strengthening from Solitude (1 Kings 19:5-8), 3) The Searching from Solitude (1 Kings 19:9-14), and finally, 4) The Sending from Solitude (1 Kings 19:15-18)
1) The Straining from a lack of Solitude (1 Kings 19:1-4)
1 Kings 19:1-4 [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 may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." [3]Then he was afraid, and 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 broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers." (ESV)
Elijah was won a mighty battle on the mountain, but a still more formidable opponent than Ahab awaits him in the form of Queen Jezebel. Victory now becomes defeat as Elijah retreats, both physically and mentally, and ultimately arrives not a Mount Carmel but at another mountain to confront not Baal but the Lord himself, whom Elijah serves but whose ways he only partly understands and accepts (ESV Study Bible. 1 Kings 19:1-21. Crossway Bibles. 2001).
In verse two we see that Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to threaten him that by this time tomorrow if he did not depart out of the kingdom, the same thing shall be done to him as he had done to her priests on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-40).
• The need for solitude comes from various circumstances. Some of the most dramatic, in the form of a crisis point.
In verse three, Elijah saw clearly how matters stood; he perceived that he could no longer remain here, as he had wished and hoped, and that he could not carry his work of reformation through to the end.
Since he did not as on a former occasion (chap, 18:1) receive a divine command to hazard his life, i. e., to remain in spite of the threat, he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba., which is a city located 100 miles. S of Jezreel (18:45, 46) in the Negev, it marked the southern boundary of the population of Judah (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:3). Nashville: Word Pub.).
“He arose and ran for his life” can also be translated “he arose and went for his soul.” Since in the next verse Elijah pleads with God to take away his life, he obviously was not afraid to die. He may have fled to the wilderness not so much to escape Jezebel’s threat as to engage in a spiritual retreat for the benefit of his soul. He wanted to be alone with God in order to pour out his troubles, recommit his soul to the Lord, and see what God would say to him (C. F. Keil, The Books of the Kings, Biblical Commentary of the Old Testament, ed. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, vol.4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1950), 252.).
It is difficult to believe that the man who a few hours earlier had witnessed God’s convincing fire at Carmel, who could vividly remember the miraculous drought, the providential ravens, the widow’s oil and her risen son. Elijah has shown himself to be a man of faith and courage who trusts God for miracles and, above all, moves to locations only in response to God’s commands (cf. 17:2-5, 8-10, 18:1-2). But the world of the Lord is absent and does not reappear until verse 9 when it takes the form of a question, clarifying that Elijah’s journey on this occasion was not divinely initiated (ESV Study Bible. 1 Kings 19:3. Crossway Bibles. 2001)..
He just been standing all alone over against the whole people, the king, and 450 priests of Baal (chap, 18:22), who especially appears as an unequalled prophetic hero in the history of Israel, have become all at once afraid of a woman as Jezebel? She had a constant track record to disposing of the Lord’s prophets (cf. 18:4, 13) and was to be taken seriously
While at Beersheba, he left his servant there because he wished now to be entirely alone, as people often do in times of sorrow or discouragement; therefore he sought solitude.
Solitude is different from loneliness in that loneliness is marked by the all-important component of anxious desire for relationship. There is such a thing as healthy loneliness in that people occasionally need a respite from active relationships in order to gain perspective in life. Storr (1988) supports this concept by suggesting that solitude can represent a retreat from daily habits that can lead to greater self-understanding and contact with one’s deeper being. However, even solitude, which presumes the absence of human contact, has some aspect of relationship embedded within the experience. This can take the form of a retreat in which individuals might attempt to clarify and enhance their relationship with God or to attempt to gain greater self-understanding. Davies (1996) notes that throughout history clergy would retreat into monasteries to spend focused time upon God. History is filled with the accounts of Christian mystics (e.g., Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila) and other historically famous individuals (e.g., Admiral Byrd, William Keats) who reported regular benefits from solitude. Solitude may be represented by the physical absence of a human relationship, but oftentimes a mental or a spiritual relationship is highly present.
Western culture tends to discourage the practice of solitude due to such intrusive elements as the cellular telephone, which we can now take with us into even the remotest parts of the world and still be in touch. Noise tend to be ever-present in our Western culture, the skies filled with the sounds of jets passing by or automobiles on the highways. Storr (1988) offers that this kind of intrusiveness is so present that people can feel uncomfortable with the absence of it. Nevertheless many benefits can be derived from engaging in solitary reflection that can nourish one and serve as a wellspring for such things as greater spirituality and creativity (Benner, D. G., & Hill, P. C. (1999). Baker encyclopedia of psychology & counseling (2nd ed.). Baker reference library (698). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).
In verse 4 he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, namely, the Arabian, through which the people of Israel had once been compelled to wander. He sought refuge under a broom plant, that is the most longed-for and most welcome bush of the desert, abundant in beds of streams, and valleys where spots for camping are selected, and men sit down and sleep, in order to be protected against wind and sun” (Robinson, Palestine I. p. 203). It is a desert bush that grew to a height of 10 feet. It had slender branches featuring small leaves and fragrant blossoms (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:4). Nashville: Word Pub.).
Elijah has expressed that he has had enough that he has now lived long enough. That is why he says that he is no better than his fathers, which forms the ground of his request. He is asking God to take his life. Long life, old age, is looked on, under the old covenant, as a special gift of God (Ps. 61:7; 102:25; Prov. 3:2; 4:10; 9:11; 10:27); Elijah, therefore, means to say: that he does not deserve nor desire to be distinguished and favored above his fathers by an especially long life.
Please turn to Numbers 11
Since Israelites believed that suicide was an affront to the Lord, it was not an option, whatever the distress. So Elijah asked the Lord for death (cf. Jon. 4:3, 8) because he viewed the situation as hopeless. Job (Job 6:8, 9), Moses (Num. 11:10–15), and Jeremiah (Jer. 20:14–18) had also reacted in similar fashion during their ministries (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:4). Nashville: Word Pub.).
Numbers 11:10-15 [10]Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. [11]Moses said to the LORD, "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? [12]Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ’Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? [13]Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ’Give us meat, that we may eat.’ [14]I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. [15]If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness." (ESV)
It is possible that Elijah made his request from a weak-minded weariness of life” (Thenius), or “with a murmuring heart” (Krummacher). But if that had been the case he would have deserved a reproof or a correction; but instead of this the Lord sends a heavenly messenger, who strengthens and refreshes him, and speaks to him only encouraging words.
• The are certain crisis points in ministy, and a point of Biblical solitude is to pour our heart out to God, and express our frustrations.
Elijah’s whole life and labor had no other aim than to bring Israel back to their God; to this end were directed all the hard work to which he subjected himself. When he believed himself to have finally reached this end on Carmel, suddenly there came an incomprehensible turn of events; he saw himself deceived in his holiest and most blessed hopes, king and people abandoned him, the labor and struggle of a lifetime appeared to him fruitless and vain; the deepest, most bitter sorrow pervaded his soul. In this frame of mind he began the journey into the wilderness, and as he now sits down there wearied and exhausted by the journey, bowed down by sorrow and grief, what was more natural and human than for this man, who besides was already well-stricken in years, to pray his Lord and God to take from him the heavy burden and let him come to the longed-for rest;
• Elijah seeks God’s word, after giving of his life in a great way. He prays to the lord after a period of fasting.
Illustration: A South Korean couple recently let their 3-month-old baby starve to death at home while they spent all their time at Internet cafes—raising a virtual child.
The British Telegraph reports, “Leaving their real daughter at their home in a suburb of Seoul to fend for herself, the pair, who were unemployed, spent hours role-playing in [a] virtual reality game, which allows users to choose a career and friends, granting them offspring as a reward for passing a certain level.”
Kim Yoo-chul and Choi Mi-Sun would go home once a day to give their real baby powdered milk, and then go back to lavish care and attention on their online child. The virtual daughter was named Anima; the real daughter was never given a name.
Finally, they came home one day after a 12-hour session to find their baby dead. They were arrested after an autopsy showed that the unnamed little girl had died of prolonged malnutrition. Tragically, on the other hand, the virtual girl is probably doing just fine.
Like me, you’re probably feeling a little sick to your stomach and outraged, and wondering what on earth could possess parents to do such a crazy thing. It’s tempting to write them off as just plain crazy, or some kind of extreme example of Internet addiction or other mental illness. But the disturbing fact is that every one of us who has ever indulged in any kind of prolonged escape from reality carries the seeds of this kind of addiction inside us.
William Saletan puts it this way in the online magazine, Slate: “Look in the mirror. Every time you answer your cell phone in traffic, squander your work day on YouTube, text a colleague during dinner, or turn on the TV to escape your kids, you’re leaving this world. You’re neglecting the people around you, sometimes at the risk of killing them.”
Saletan explains that gaming websites aren’t just games, they’re worlds—and those worlds “are becoming ever more compelling.” When real life gets to be too much to take, we can now log on to a world where everything goes smoothly and circumstances are easy to control. So we become more and more susceptible to being lured out of the real world into the artificial ones. (http://www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/14782-war-of-the-worlds).
• Solitude isn’t escapism. It is a temporary withdrawal in order to deal with reality.
We have seen 1) The Straining from a lack of Solitude (1 Kings 19:1-4) and now:
2) The Strengthening from Solitude (1 Kings 19:5-8),
1 Kings 19:5-8 [5]And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat." [6]And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. [7]And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you." [8]And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. (ESV)
Thus far, Elijah has only been responding to Jezebel’s messenger. Now it is God’s turn to take the initiative with an "angel" or messenger of His own. God makes the first move in leading Elijah back onto the pat from which he has strayed. In verse 5 an angel touched Elijah. Constant with the angelic role of providing assistance in times of crises, in verse 6 the angel provides a cake baked on a stones. After the first awakening Elijah had eaten only a very little, on account of his great weariness, and had fallen asleep again. In Verse 7 the angel makes note that the journey is too great for Elijah.
• In solitude we gain or regain perspective. We realize that through our own power we are not able to accomplish the tasks that God has for us, but in Solitude, we are strengthened by Him to accomplish His mission.
God often provides in ways we do not understand:
Deuteronomy 8:3 [3]And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (ESV)
Christ is this ultimate fulfillment
John 7:37-38 [37]On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38]Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ’Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’"
Verse 8 notes that Elijah’s trip took over double the time it should have taken. Therefore, the period had symbolic meaning as well as showing literal time. As the people of Israel had a notable spiritual failure and so wandered 40 years in the wilderness (Num. 14:26–35), so a discouraged Elijah was to spend 40 days in the desert. As Moses had spent 40 days on the mountain without bread and water, sustained only by God as he awaited a new phase of service (Ex. 34:28), so Elijah was to spend 40 days depending on God’s enablement as he prepared for a new commission from the Lord. As Moses had seen the presence of God (Ex. 33:12–23), so Elijah experienced a manifestation of God. (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:8). Nashville: Word Pub.).
It is significant that verse 8 places the action in Horeb about 200 miles south of Beersheba. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where God first spoke the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel (Exodus 19-20). (ESV Study Bible. 1 Kings 19:8. Crossway Bibles. 2001).. It was here that God appeared to Moses in the fiery bush and called him to bring forth Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 3:1–15); it was here also that he made the covenant with the chosen people, “talked” with them, and gave them through Moses the law, the testimony of the covenant, the foundation on which all further divine revelations rest. Horeb is the place of the loftiest and weightiest revelation for Israel (Deut. 1:6; 4:10–15; 5:2; 1 Kings 8:9; Mal. 4:4). Horeb is not more than 40 geographical miles from Beer-sheba (according to Deut. 1:2. there are only eleven days journey from Kadesh Barnea, situated somewhat to the south, to Horeb), verse 8 says that Elijah went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. This is a time of nourishment before a fast.
The cave specified in verse 9 into which Elijah went was, according to most commentators, that in which Moses once waited while the Lord passed by (Ex. 33:22); this view is favored also by the definite article. According to Ewald it must have been the cave “in which at that time wanderers to Sinai commonly rested.”
• In solitude, we meet God in a special way and can be refreshed both physically and spiritually.
Poem: An unknown poet crystallizes Elijah’s situation when he wrote,
We mutter and sputter; We fume and we spurt;
We mumble and grumble; Our feeling get hurt,
We can’t understand things; Our vision grows dim,
When all that we need is a moment with Him.
We have seen 1) The Straining from a lack of Solitude (1 Kings 19:1-4) 2) The Strengthening from Solitude (1 Kings 19:5-8), and now:
3) The Searching from Solitude (1 Kings 19:9-14)
1 Kings 19:9-14 [9]There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD 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 hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your 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 out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And 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. 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 the sound of a low whisper. [13]And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" [14]He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." (ESV)
While Elijah was spending the night in a cave, verse 9 notes that the word of God came to him.”
He has just been tenderly encouraged by an angel and wonderfully strengthened, in order to be able to continue the journey still farther. Although Elijah had indeed no divine command to flee into the wilderness, but still less had he any command to remain in Jezreel and bid defiance to Jezebel, as formerly (chap. 18) he had the command to show himself to the irritated king.
• We cannot wait for the writing on the wall to seek solitude. We do not have to respond with obedience to everyone who demands of us, but must withdraw at times to seek a clearer voice from God.
When now during his journey, weary in body and soul, bowed down with grief and sorrow, he prayed that his end might come, but this prayer was not answered as he desired.
• It is often in periods of solitude we come to understand answers to our prayers in ways that we would otherwise dismiss. Often the business puts blinders on our eyes to only see in one direction.
In verse 10, the words: I have been very jealous, form the introduction to a fourfold accusation against the people of Israel: (1) They have fallen away from the covenant relation; (2) they have thrown down the altars still remaining here and there, dedicated to God (3) instead of listening to God’s servants who admonished and warned them, they have slain them; (4) Finally, Elijah, believing that he is the last remaining prophet, his enemies are seeking his life.
Just as God’s question is not to be considered a censure or rebuke as against Elijah, so also Elijah’s answer is not to be considered a justification or a reproach as against God. It is rather, as the Apostle expressly declares, an indictment of Israel (Rom. 11:2:
Romans 11:2 [2]God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? (ESV)
When Elijah says: I have, he believes that he has used every means that he knows to accomplish his assigned task , but all in vain; and therefore asks what then is now to be done, what will and should be brought about?
The complaint of the prophet was at the same time again a question to the Lord, to which he then receives a twofold answer (with signs, vers. 11, 12, and with words, vers. 14–18). He speaks of his zeal, moreover, not in order to boast or bother himself about his fate: “God’s honor and Israel’s welfare were of far greater value to him than his own honor or welfare; he mentions his own person and his own need only in so far as they stood in necessary and most intimate connection with the cause of God and the truth, and so his complaint was a holy one, as all his sorrow and sadness were holy” (Menken). He mentions his zeal in order thereby to confirm and strengthen his accusation against Israel.
In verse 11, God commands Elijah to Go out. Just as Moses desired to see the glory of God, whereupon he receives the answer from God: “I will make all my glory (èåÌáÄé) pass before you, (Ex. 33:18, 19, 22; 34:6). Elijah complains here of Israel that they have broken the covenant, as they did once in the wilderness through the golden calf. God will reveal himself to Elijah as he did once to Moses, and show him what He is in his essence..
Please turn to Psalm 18
The emphasis on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-40) had been on God’s spectacular ways, particularly His use of fire. The emphasis here is on God’s quiet ways. He is not to be found in the spectacular elements of the storm outside the cave, but instead in a low whisper. The great and strong wind, earthquake, and fire, are awe-inspiring natural phenomena, are in the Old Testament especially signs and attestations not only of the absolute power of God, but particularly of His anger, i. e., of His penal justice against His enemies, the ungodly. Thus they appear in connection with one another:
Psalm 18:8-18 [8]Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. [9]He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. [10]He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. [11]He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. [12]Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. [13]The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. [14]And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. [15]Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. [16]He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. [17]He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. [18]They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
Psalm 18 and 1 Kings 19:11ff talk of these events happening one after the other in regular succession, they plainly indicate a succession of punishments differing in degree and kind. The great and strong wind points to the rending, scattering, and turning to dust (Is. 17:13; 40:24; 57:13), the earthquake to the shaking of the foundations and the falling down (Is. 24:18 sq.;Ps. 18:8, 16; Jer. 10:10), the fire to the complete consuming (Is. 66:15 sq.;Ps. 18:9; 97:3). The 3 phenomena, wind, earthquake, and fire, announced the imminent arrival of the Lord (cf. Ex. 19:16–19; Ps. 18:7–15; Hab. 3:3–6).
This theophany, or appearance of the Lord, reminds readers of Exod 33:18–22, where Moses desires to see God’s glory and is rewarded by being allowed to view “the back” of the Lord’s splendor. God places Moses in the rock and covers him with a divine “hand” to protect him. Here, Elijah waits for God’s word through tearing wind, ground shaking earthquake, and roaring flame. The Lord does not speak, however, through these natural phenomena. Certainly Elijah has experienced God’s sovereignty over nature, and has benefited from miraculous fire, but what he needs now is a definitive word from the Lord (House, P. R. (2001). Vol. 8: 1, 2 Kings (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (223). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
In 1 Kings 19:11 when it says that God “passes by” the significance of the whole phenomenon is accordingly this: the God of Israel, will indeed display His punishing, destroying might to His despisers and enemies, but His own true and innermost essence is grace, rescuing, preserving, and quickening love, and though Israel has broken the covenant of grace, yet God maintains this covenant, and remains faithful and gracious as He promised.
The punishments come indeed from God, pass before Him and bear witness of Him; but God Himself, that which he is, his essence (name) is not to be discerned in them;
to this corresponds, rather in contrast with those destructive phenomena of nature, the gentle, soothing, refreshing, revivifying breeze after the storm.
We are to see this like Job did:
Job 4:15 [15]A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. [16]It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice (ESV)
During the storm in 1 Kings 19:12, of wind, the earthquake, and the fire, Elijah was still in the cave, and he came out of it only at the sound of a low whisper. The Lord’s self-revelation to Elijah came in a faint, whispering voice (v. 12). The lesson for Elijah was that Almighty God was quietly, sometimes imperceptibly, doing His work in Israel (v. 18) (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:11). Nashville: Word Pub.).
• In the business of our regular lives we often look for the dramatic messages. The noise all around us deafens us to the low whisper of God. It is often only in solitude that we hear it.
• Solitude also allows us to be free of distractions that might cause us to miss the direction of God’s work.
In verse 13, in obedience to the command to go out in verse 11, Elijah wrapped his face in his cloak. God did not pass by in visible shape, Elijah did as Moses once when the Lord appeared to him in the fiery bush, “for he was afraid to look upon God” (Ex. 3:6; cf.33:20, 22). Even the Seraphim stand with covered faces before the throne of the Holy One (Is. 6:2).
Elijah’s repetition of his complaint in verse 14, previously expressed in verse 10 can have only this reason, that he does not yet feel satisfied with what has happened to him (vers. 11–13), because it is not clear to him what this is intended to signify.
• For us who are so used to noise, Solitude will not come easy, nor will answers often quickly come.
God works in more ways than we can see. We should not assume as Elijah did in verse 14 that he only was left.
• We often fail to seek times of solitude for fear the work will not get done. But it is often the busyness that prevents us to be productively used.
Illustration: In his book When You’re All Out of Noodles, Ken Jones writes about a lesson he learned one day at the office.
[When I walked into my office,] I noticed something I had never seen before. It was round, about the size of a dessert plate, and plugged into the wall, giving out a constant noise. It wasn’t a loud noise, just constant. What in the world is that thing? I thought as I stopped to stare.
I finally asked the receptionist about it. She said, “It’s an ambient noise generator. If it’s too quiet in here, we can distinguish the voices in the counseling offices, and we want to protect their privacy. So we bought the noise generator to cover the voices.”
Her explanation made perfect sense to me, but didn’t it have to be louder to mask the conversations, I asked. “No,” she said. “The constancy of the sound tricks the ear so that what is being said can’t be distinguished.”
Interesting, I thought. Very interesting. One kind of noise to cover the sound of another. It made me think and pray. No wonder, Lord. No wonder I strain to hear what you have to say to me. … The constancy of sound—little noises, soft, inward, ambient thoughts and fears and attitudes—tricks the ears of my inner man and masks your still, small voice.
God isn’t silent. We just have trouble hearing him (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (235). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
We have seen 1) The Straining from a lack of Solitude (1 Kings 19:1-4) 2) The Strengthening from Solitude (1 Kings 19:5-8), 3) The Searching from Solitude (1 Kings 19:9-14) and finally:
4) The Sending from Solitude (1 Kings 19:15-18)
1 Kings 19:15-18 [15]And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. [16]And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. [17]And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. [18]Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him." (ESV)
God’s plan in verses 15-18 shows Elijah God’s inner workings. His command is to go to the wilderness of Damascus which is the Syrian Desert South-East of the city of Damascus, the city located to the North-East of Israel (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (1 Ki 19:15). Nashville: Word Pub.). The wilderness/Desert of Damascus (was not so much another place of refuge, but like Galilee in Jesus’ life, a springboard for the next tasks which for Elijah related to the threat to Israel from Aram (Wiseman, D. J. (1993). Vol. 9: 1 and 2 Kings: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (185). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
• It is often at crisis points that solitude is most useful. We see it repeatedly in Jesus life from His time in the desert of Galilee (Mt. 4:1-11), to busy times in ministry (Mt. 14:13-21) to times of crises before His death (Gethsemane: Mt. 26:36-46).
Elijah therefore receives now a reply in definite words in verse 15; and it appears from other cases also that revelations are made to the prophets first in sensible signs (symbols) and then in definite words (cf.Jer. 19:1–13; 24:1–10; Ezek. 5:1–12; 12:1–12; 15:1–8; 37:1–14). But in this case the verbal revelation is constantly not merely an explanation or interpretation of the symbolical revelation, but it carries the latter out still further by showing how that which the phenomenon attested rather in a general way concerning the person of God, is to be historically verified in the special case under consideration.
What is curious with this story in 1 Kings 19:15-18, is that historically, Elijah anointed neither Hazael nor Jehu. Hazel was not anointed at all. not even by Elisha (2 Kings 8:11 sq.), Jehu in verse 16 was anointed long after the departure of Elijah by a disciple of the prophets, and therefore certainly not by Elisha, and Elisha, mentioned in verse 17 himself was indeed summoned to be the successor of Elijah, yet not by being anointed, but by being covered with the prophet’s mantle (ver. 19).
Still it is to be supposed that Elijah executed literally what the Lord commanded him, since he was expressly told to go to Damascus for the purpose of anointing Hazael. For reasons which are not known to us, this anointing may have been kept secret, as was the first anointing of David by Samuel (1 Sam. 16), and, just as in the case of this king, the anointing of Jehu may have been repeated at a later date by Elisha, when the moment for Joram’s downfall had come.
To “anoint” a person or thing means simply to bring them into the service of God. Thus not only kings and priests, but also implements of worship (Ex. 29:36; 30:26 sq.), yes, even stones (Gen. 28:18) were anointed, because they were to serve for the fulfilment of the divine will. Here too the word is used in this sense; it signifies not the actual outward anointing, but what the anointing means, just as in Judges 9:8. All three, Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, are to serve for the execution of God’s will and counsel, and each, indeed, in a different way.
• The purpose of Solitude is not merely to feel refreshed, or receive new guidance, but to bring us into the service of God
In verse 18, the seven thousand reference is symbolic. Seven is the symbolical numeral sign of holiness, the covenant and ceremonial number (cf. Symbol des Mos. Kult. I. s. 193); and it marks those who are left as a holy company, faithful to the covenant, as the “holy seed” of the covenant people (Is. 6:13; cf.Is. 4:2; Rom. 11:7). In like manner the expressions, all the knees, etc., and every mouth, etc., are a figurative rhetorical description of those faithful to God.
Now the prophet understood why the still, small voice was preceded by the desolating storm, the devouring earthquake, and the consuming fire; and beyond all, the anxiety, terror, bloodshed, destruction which were contained therein for Israel. His heart received abundant consolation from the further revelation of the Lord; for this gave him now, in addition to the still, small voice of the Spirit of Life, a disclosure touching the mercy of the Lord to Israel, that infinitely surpassed all his hopes and expectations: and if the revelation of the wants and plagues which were to come upon Israel produced in him the same feeling as the destruction and ruin of threatening storms, still by this disclosure he felt himself encouraged and quickened, as in the refreshing blessed coolness after the storm.” In the Return (5:15) there is contained therefore anything rather than a rebuke for the prophet; but it is the expression of comfort and encouragement.
The instructions from God in verses 15-18 show that immediate victory over God’s enemies will not come only as a result of obviously spectacular demonstrations of divine power (wind, earthquake, and fine) as at Carmel (18:20-40). It will arrive not as a result of Elijah’s efforts but as a result of the efforts of others. Elijah’s role is to prepare the way for these others who are only a few of many servants of God who have not bowed to Baal or kissed him.
• Solitude helps us find perspective. We may come to realize that we are not to do everything, and perhaps our role in life might be to seek out others to continue our work.
Please turn to 2 Corinthians 4
The Bible has a great deal to say about discouragement, fainting, falling away, and losing heart. Even the apostle Paul had to struggle with Elijah’s malady himself, and he mentions it in 2 Corinthians 4:1
2 Corinthians 4:1 [4:1]Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. (ESV) "Keep your place in 2 Corinthians".
• Paul overcame discouragement and discovered strength for endurance by becoming involved in a significant ministry. He could not give up or disengage, because his task was too important. It was the significance of his task that kept Paul traveling, witnessing, and preaching in spite of persecution and disheartening opposition.
In like manner Elijah was aroused out of his despair by being given another important task by God. That significant task helped him overcome his negative mood (v. 15). On Horeb’s mountain, God turned Elijah’s eyes away from his own problem and refocused them through a period of solitude on others. The prophet needed to begin thinking about the faithful remnant who had not bowed the knee to Baal; he needed to be concerned with Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, who were waiting for his prophetic word. The vision of need injected the prophet with new enthusiasm for the task (Dilday, R., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1987). Vol. 9: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 9 : 1, 2 Kings. The Preacher’s Commentary series (206–207). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
Paul’s ultimate weapon against discouragement was his certainty of God’s power in his life. In 2 Corinthians 4:7ff., Paul said:
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 [7]But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. [8]We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9]persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; [10]always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. [16]So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17]For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18]as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (ESV)
(Format Note: Some base commentary from Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Bähr, W., Harwood, E., & Sumner, B. A. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : 1 Kings (217–222). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
