SERMON OUTLINE:
(a). The characters concerned (vs 1-4):
• (1). The Weak King: Ahab (vs 1).
• (2). The Dominant Queen: Jezebel (vs 2).
• (3). The Discouraged Prophet: Elijah (vs 3-4).
(B). The Lord and Elijah (vs 5-18):
• (1). The Lord Reveals vs 5-14).
• (2). The Lord Commissions (vs 15-18).
(C). Elijah and the blues:
• (1). He had the Wrong Perspective.
• (2). He became Isolated.
• (3). He was experiencing ‘Burn out’.
SERMON BODY:
Quote:
• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that 30 years ago,
• The greatest fears of grade school children were:
• (1) Animals, (2) Being in a dark room, (3) High places, (4) Strangers, (5) Loud noises.
• Today, kids are afraid of the following:
• (1) Divorce, (2) War, (3) Cancer, (4) Pollution, (5) Being mugged.
Ill:
• One summer night during a severe thunderstorm,
• A mother was tucking her small son into bed.
• She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice,
• "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?"
• Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly,
• "I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room."
• A long silence followed.
• And the little boy said, "The big sissy!"
Fear is something we all have or will at times experience:
• Most of us experience it in mild forms,
• Some folks experience it in extreme forms.
• In our passage this morning we see Elijah afraid,
• In fact very afraid!
(a). The characters concerned:
• 1 Kings chapter 19 revolves around three key people: Ahab, Jezebel, and Elijah.
• Let’s look at the impact each had on the other.
(1). The Weak King: Ahab(vs 1).
“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything ELIJAH had done
and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword”.
• Ahab reported to his wife Jezebel;
• All the events that you looked at in last week service (chapter 18 of 1 Kings);
• If you do not know the story;
• Elijah the prophet of God took on 450 prophets of the false god Baal in a contest;
• It was a winner takes all challenge;
• And Elijah won!
• Note: Although the people saw God at work through a sensational miracle;
• (He sent fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice placed on an altar).
• Ahab didn’t, according to verse 1:
• He seemed to have missed the point of what had happened on Mount Carmel:
• Even though Ahab had witnessed God’s power;
• Notice that he did not attribute it to the true God;
• He attributes it to Elijah,
• And he has the nerve to blame him for the death of the prophets of Baal.
• Sadly instead of turning to the God of Elijah;
• Ahab turns instead to his dominant wife,
• Who eagerly and sadistically charge of the situation.
(2). The Dominant Queen: Jezebel (vs 2).
“So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them”.
• Now if you know the story of Ahab & Jezebel:
• You will know that Ahab may have been the king on the throne;
• But it was Jezebel the queen who really ruled.
• Quote: “Ahab wore the pants but Jezebel told him which ones!”
• Quote: “Ahab was the boss and he had his wife’s permission to say so!”
Ahab may have been defeated by Elijah but Jezebel would not be:
• So enraged at Elijah for humiliating her husband and her religion,
• She declared her revenge on the prophet Elijah.
As you read verse 2: Two questions naturally arise:
• Why ‘tomorrow’ and not today?
• Why send a ‘messenger’ and not a battalion of soldiers?
Answer:
• Jezebel was very craftily preparing a psychological trap for Elijah;
• Jezebel wasn’t only an evil woman; she was also a shrewd strategist,
• She knew how to make the most of Baal’s defeat on Mount Carmel.
• Her husband Ahab may be a quitter, but not his wife!
• Elijah was now a very popular man.
• If Jezebel transformed the prophet into a martyr by killing him,
• He might influence people more by his death than by his life.
• So Jezebel had a more cunning and evil way to diffuse the situation;
• She knew that the people were waiting for Elijah to tell them what to do next;
• So Jezebel knew that if she could remove him from the scene of his victory?
• That is if Elijah disappeared, then so would his influence;
• And she may lure the people back into worshiping again.
(3). The Discouraged Prophet: Elijah (vs 3-4).
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, 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”.
• Sadly, Elijah fell into Jezebel’s trap;
• He allowed himself to be intimidated and frightened by this wicked woman.
• Her message achieved its purpose and Elijah fled from Jezreel.
• In a moment of fear,’ he forgot all that God had done for him the previous three years,
• And allowed the intimidation and irrational fear of this woman get to him.
• So Elijah took his servant, left Israel, and headed for Beersheba,
• The southernmost city in Judah; which was about a hundred miles south of Jezreel.
• In other words as far away from Jezebel as he could get!
• And once there he just kept on running;
• His living on the philosophy; “If God wanted us to be brave, why did he give us legs?”
• For Elijah he just keeps on running;
• From Beersheba, he decides to leave his servant behind;
• And go even farther into the wilderness,
• We have come a long way in these verses;
• From the brave heights of victory in chapter 18;
• Elijah is now in the depths of fear, depression and self-pity.
(B). The Lord and Elijah (vs 5-6):
“Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, Get up and eat.
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.”
• It is beautiful to see how God,
• Who remember does not need either sleep nor nourishment,
• Knows that we do and he cares for the physical needs of His people,
• Notice too that the Lord didn’t rebuke or scold Elijah;
• He simply sent an angel with warm food and cool water.
• And he met his physical needs!
Notice 2 things:
(1). The Lord Reveals vs 8-14)
“So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.”
• When Elijah finally arrived at Mount Horeb,
• “There he went into a cave and spent the night”.
• Mount Horeb is also known by another name: Mount Sinai.
• Then the Lord Himself spoke to him (vs 9),
• “And the word of the LORD came to him: What are you doing here, Elijah?”
• Notice it was not in anger that God spoke to Elijah; i.e. ‘Get you act together’,
• There is no hint of a rebuke in his words.
• Instead God asks him a probing question:
• "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
• The Lord is causing Elijah to think, to engage brain, to ponder:
• In essence he is asking him: ‘Why aren’t you holding My banner high in Israel?’
• ‘Why have you run away, Elijah?’
• ‘What do you want at My mountain, Elijah?’
Elijah has no real answer to God’s question:
• So in verse 10 he replies in a tone of death and despair;
• Concerning the raw deal he has been dealt!
“He replied, I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too”.
Once again the Lord deals with him kindly:
• He could have just given him the facts;
• That he wasn’t the only prophet of God left;
• That his situation wasn’t all doom and gloom;
• That actually circumstances were not out of control.
• But instead of a rebuke the Lord would deal with him in grace:
• Verse 11:
“The LORD said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered 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 came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.”
• In the Old Testament Wind, earthquakes, and fire;
• Were all associated with the Lord’s power and often His judgment.
• This would have been especially true on this mountain;
• When God met with Moses on this mountain we are told (Exodus chapter 19 verse 18).
"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire;
and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently"
• But this time, the Lord didn’t choose to reveal Himself in those elements.
• Instead, He chose something Elijah did not expect but recognized just the same:
• Verse 12b: “And after the fire came a gentle whisper”.
• After all the dramatic displays of power, there was “a gentle whisper”,
• "a still small voice," or " a gentle breeze."
• ill: Simon & Garfunkel song: “The sound of silence”
Whatever the exact sound might have been:
• The point is it was more of a whisper of grace;
• Than a storm of judgment.
• Lightning bolts of judgment might have been what Elijah was hoping ;
• After all he liked the dramatic and powerful (i.e. Mount Carmel in chapter 18);
• Maybe Elijah was hoping and praying that Lord would just zap Ahab and Jezebel,
• With fire from heaven!
• But God’s ways are not always our ways:
• The Lord frequently chooses to work quietly rather than with spectacular miracles.
• This is something the disheartened prophet was apparently reluctant to grasp.
Note: For a second time the Lord asks Elijah the question: "What are you doing here?"
• The prophet’s reply didn’t really answer the question the first time (in vs 11),
• So the Lord asked him the same question a second time.
• “Out of the full silence, the Lord again asked him,
• "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
And once again in verse 14 Elijah gives to the Lord the same answer as before:
"I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."
• Despite his encounter with God;
• Elijah is still caught in a web of fear and despair.
• He has just had an experience that most people would give everything for;
• An encounter with the living God.
• And he is still not happy;
• He is still taken up with himself and the raw deal that life has dealt him!
• He obviously needs a restored perspective and sense of purpose,
• Which is exactly what the Lord provided for him next.
(2). The Lord Commissions (vs 15-18)
• In these verses (15-17):
• The Lord reassures Elijah that He is sovereign;
• And he is sovereign, the supreme ruler not just over Israel but over all nations,
• The Lord commissioned him new generation of political and religious leaders."
The LORD said to him, Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
• Elijah is about to learn that God has plans that were bigger than him;
• Plans that would continue long after Elijah had disappeared from planet earth.
• In the intervening time Jezebel may appear to have won the battle;
• But in the end, God will win the war!
Ill:
A visitor was walking around a building site;
• He came across a carpenter and said; “Excuse me what are you doing?”
• The carpenter replied; “I am cutting some wood”.
• He came across a stone mason and said; “Excuse me what are you doing?”
• The stone mason replied; “I am shaping this stone”.
• He came across a labourer pushing a wheelbarrow & said; “Excuse me what are you doing?”
• The labourer replied; “Sir, I am building a cathedral!”
• Like that labourer Elijah needed to see the bigger picture;
• To get his eyes of himself and refocus them on his God.
• But Elijah needed to see that,
• Although God had a place and a purpose for him in His plans,
• Elijah played only one part;
• The Lord of Hosts did not depend on him entirely.
• The situation in Israel was not out of control;
• The Lord had preserved a assembly of people who were faithful to Him.
• Elijah was part of that collection,
• And much of his focus would now turn;
• To preparing the way for those who would do the Lord’s work after him.
• So with this commission from the Lord,
• It was time for Elijah to get back to work.
• He had a ministry to fulfil,
• And his first task was to ordain his successor – verse 19:
So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.
Application: Elijah and the Blues:
• Though most of us won’t become depressed from a wicked queen’s threat to kill us,
• All of us at times will face times of discouragement in our work for the Lord.
• So it may be helpful for us to look at some of the factors,
• That probably contributed to Elijah’s depression.
• Because by becoming aware of them and the ways God dealt with Elijah,
• We can learn second-hand some important truths in overcoming fear and depression.
Note:
• 3 insights from the passage;
• 3 reasons why Elijah became ineffective and a disappointment
(1). He had the Wrong Perspective.
• The reason Elijah became fearful was he was not thinking realistically or clearly.
• After all was Jezebel stronger than the true God? Of course not!
• Was Elijah the only believer left? No!
• Quote:
• “Fear: How many birds have ever been killed by scarecrows?”
• But the fear of the scarecrow hinders the bird from pilfering the field.
• Elijah became fearful was he was not thinking realistically or clearly.
• Jezebel was not stronger than the true God!
• And Elijah was not the only believer left in Israel!
• In fact we are told that there was a hundred prophets hidden in a cave;
• (chapter 18 verse 13);
• And the Lord revealed to Elijah (chapter 19 verse 18)
• That there were another seven thousand who had remained faithful to Him.
Elijah allowed fear to distort his thinking, and he panicked instead of praying:
• ill: A well known example from the New Testament;
• Of someone losing perspective is Simon Peter.
• When he had the right outlook, when he was focussed on the Lord;
• He was able to get out of the boat and actually walk on the water!
• But as soon as he took his eyes off the Lord he began to sink;
• When he lost perspective his circumstances got the better of him.
• Christian if you are struggling with doubt, fear or depression;
• Get your eyes back on the Lord!
• Take time out to seek him – (a personnel tip - read & pray through the Psalms);
• Realise again that God is great, God is good, and that God has a plan for your life!
(2). He became Isolated.
• Did you notice how Elijah had separated himself from relationships that strengthen,
• Elijah even left his servant at Beersheba and journeyed into the wilderness alone.
• The servant was faithful in tough times he didn’t abandon Elijah,
• But Elijah abandoned him.
• Part of Elijah’s "I alone am left – just little old me",
• Was partly due to his own making, his own choosing.
• Notice to get him out of his depression and self-pity;
• The Lord gave him Elisha as a companion.
• God directed Elijah to take on Elisha as an apprentice and partner.
• This would give him the encouragement that a companion brings;
• And as he focussed on helping Elisha his own self –pity would start to dissolve.
Ill:
• During a lecture on mental health someone once asked Dr. Carl Menninger:
• "What would you advise a person to do if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?"
• Most people thought he would say,
• "Go see a psychiatrist immediately," but he didn’t.
• Much to everyone’s astonishment, Dr. Menninger replied,
• "Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks,
• find somebody in need, and help that person."
• To overcome discouragement,
• "Don’t focus on yourself, get involved in the lives of other people."
God knew Elijah needed to find friendship:
• This would give him the encouragement and purpose;
• And as he focussed on helping Elisha his own self –pity would start to dissolve.
Ill:
• A rooster minus a hen equals no baby chicks.
• Kellogg’s minus a farmer equals no corn flakes.
• If the nail factory closes what good is the hammer factory?
• Beethoven’s genius wouldn’t have amounted to much if the piano tuner hadn’t showed up.
• A cracker maker will do better if there’s a cheese-maker,
• The mort skilful surgeon needs the ambulance driver who delivers the patient.
• Just as Rogers needed Hammerstein
• You need someone and someone needs you!
Ill:
• There is no room for Lone Rangers in the work of God;
• We are all called to be team players;
• And anyway even the lone Ranger had Tonto!
• You need someone and someone needs you!
(3). He was experiencing ‘Burn out’.
• Quote: the ancient church fathers used to say to their disciples,
• "Beware of human reactions after holy exertions."
• After the encounter with 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (chapter 18);
• Elijah was physically exhausted and emotionally spent.
• After his greatest triumph he was at his most vulnerable!
This passage shows us the concern and love of God:
• Before God did anything else notice that he met Elijah’s physical needs;
• Because what happens to us physically;
• Will help determine what happens to us spiritually!
• When the Lord came to Elijah in verse 6:
• He gave him food and gave him time to rest, to sleep.
• In his depleted state, all he could do was sleep.
• And the Lord let him.
Notice the gentle, patient care God gave to Elijah.
• The prophet slept twice,
• Ate two angel- provided meals,
• And met God in quiet stillness.
Application:
• When you run into depression,
• You must pay attention, be disciplined and make sure you get the sleep you need?
• Quote: Vance Havner who used to say that if we didn’t come apart and rest,
• Then we just come apart!
• Nothing will ever be right when you’re exhausted.
ILL:
• A woman who had recently moved into a small village in Wiltshire,
• Was in the backyard hanging out the washing on the line.
• When an old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard.
• She could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.
• As she walked into the house, the dog followed her in,
• Sat down under the kitchen table and fell sound asleep.
• An hour later, he woke up;
• Went over to the door and she let him out.
• The next day he was back.
• He took up the same position under the kitchen table and slept for an hour.
• This continued for several weeks. Curious, she pinned a note to his collar:
• "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
• The next day the dog arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
• "He lives in a home with 6 children - he’s trying to catch up on his sleep."
Note:
• Just as important as sleep is diet – nourishment;
• As the old saying says: “You are what you eat”.
• And if you are suffering from exhaustion, depression, self-pity etc;
• A healthy diet will help you make major steps to recovery!
• Some regular exercise (even a fifteen minute walk round the block):
• And some good healthy food will speed up your healing considerably.
• If you do not believe me:
• Then just ask Elijah!
