What are You Doing Here, Elijah?
1 Kings 19:1–18 NKJV
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 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.” 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.
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!”
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 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. 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.” 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.
And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
The life of the prophet Elijah has been the topic of many character sketches from the Bible. His life was full of adventure. He dared to prophesy to Ahab that the LORD would withhold the rain from the land of Israel until Elijah gave the word. We read how he was fed by ravens and drank from a wadi named Cherith, a stream which only held water during the rainy season, except that during this drought it had enough water for Elijah to drink. In this we see the hand of the LORD in preserving Elijah. We read that later, the LORD sent him to a widow woman and her son in the Gentile city of Zarephath. There, the LORD worked another miracle of provision in making the bottom of the meal barrel and the last drops of oil from the oil flask provide food for the three of them for several years, and this in the backyard of the wicked Queen Jezebel. In this we think of the words of David in the 23rd Psalm that the LORD provides a table in the midst of our enemies. We read how through the prayer of Elijah that the widow’s son who had died had been restored to life from the dead. We see how the LORD had preserved the godly servant of Ahab, Obadiah, who had preserved 100 prophets of the LORD by hiding in a cave and feeding and providing drink for them at a time in which if caught during the famine would have meant their lives. It was by the means of Obadiah that Elijah comes out of hiding at confronts Ahab to a contest between the LORD and the prophets of Baal and Asherah at Mount Carmel. Who can forget Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal as they cut themselves with stones trying to get Baal to respond. We remember that Elijah dared to have precious water poured upon the Lord’s burnt offering before calling fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice. We remember how he had the 400 prophets of Baal slaughtered. We remember Elijah praying for the LORD to send rain upon the land which fell in abundance. We later remember how Elijah was received into heaven in a fiery chariot.
Yes, we certainly remember the mighty acts of Elijah performed through him by the hand of the LORD. Like many of our Bible “heroes”, we tend to put him on a pedestal which can border upon idolatry if we are not careful. We encourage believers to be a David, but in what matter? We can see that we should be a David when he faced Goliath, but should we be a David when he us with Bathsheba. Our Bible heroes all have chinks in their armor. And Elijah is no exception. Although he did not have the moral failings of David, he was still a man. James says this about Elijah:
James 5:17 NKJV
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
The passage we are studying this morning shows that Elijah was subject to human weakness. Even though the LORD had fully demonstrated His power to Elijah and all Israel at Mt. Carmel the day before, Elijah lost heart and ran for his life when he heard that Jezebel was seeking to kill him. Never mind that the day before he had had the priests of Baal and priestesses of Asherah slain. Never mind that He had seen the LORD respond to Elijah’s prayer by sending fire down from heaven upon the sacrifice. Elijah ran for his life into the wilderness. When he got there, he was totally exhausted and despairing of life itself. He even petitioned the LORD to let him die. He felt he was no better than his fathers.
Elijah fell into a deep sleep under a juniper tree. He was awakened by an angel who had put food and drink before him. He told Elijah to eat and drink. It wasn’t the stupendous miracle of Carmel. It was instead a simple intervention to Elijah from the LORD in the behalf of a single man. Elijah was being provided with heavenly manna and water, a reminder of the travels of Israel several hundred years before in the wilderness.
The LORD repeated sending an angel with more food and drink, encouraging Elijah to partake. He would need this strength for a journey which the LORD had prepared Elijah to take to Mount Horeb (Sinai). This would be a 40 day journey in which he would neither eat or drink. We see the providence of the LORD. No matter how much Elijah ate and drank on those two occasions of earthly food, he would have died of hunger and thirst on the way. But like other times in Elijah’s life, what seemed like an impossibly small provision sustained Elijah. Elijah was sustained by something far greater than earthly bread. His sustenance came from the Word of the LORD.
When Elijah got to Horeb, he would be where the LORD had spoken to Moses and the Children of Israel. Exodus 19 tells us that lightning, fire, smoke, and thunder was experienced by the congregation which put Israel in great fear. this was an awesome display of God’s power. Yet for all that demonstration of power, Israel would soon make a golden calf to worship. We can think of all the miracles of Jesus who healed many and even raised several from the dead. Yet for all these signs and wonders, many did not believe. They even crucified Jesus!
When Elijah arrived at the Mount of God, the LORD spoke unto Him: “What are you doing HERE Elijah?” This is a puzzling question because the answer to that question is that the LORD had sent Elijah there for a reason. The reason Elijah was there so the LORD could teach him something. Elijah’s answer was basically a complaint against the people of Israel. They had torn down the LORD’s altars, forsaken the covenant the LORD had made with Israel, and killed the prophets. Elijah was zealous for the LORD’s cause. He felt he was the only prophet left, and Israel was trying to get rid of him also.
The LORD replied to Elijah’s complaint by commanding him to stand before the mount. The LORD appeared in three powerful manifestations, a strong wind which shattered the rocks, then a great earthquake, and, finally, a fire. Surely, the LORD must have been in these three powerful events. Yet, the text tells us that the LORD wasn’t in any of these manifestations. But then there was a quiet voice, and Elijah recognized that this was the presence of the LORD and he covered his face with his mantle in response. Then the LORD asks again: “What are you doing here, Elijah? And, again, Elijah repeats his complaint. The LORD responds to him by telling him to go ad do three tasks. He was to return through the wilderness Damascus and anoint Hazael king over Syria. Then he was to anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, king over Israel. Then, he was to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat to take his place. Of these, the text only mentions Elijah performing the third task which has led to some speculation that he was so exited about being relieved of duty that he skipped the other two tasks. They would have presented some danger to Elijah, to go to a foreign nation and anoint a replacement for their king. But the LORD is not just the LORD over Israel and Judah. He is LORD of all the nations and sets up and deposes rulers at His pleasure. He also would have provided safety and access to Elijah to perform this task. The second task was equally fraught with danger. He was anointing someone who was not even of the 70 sons of Ahab to replace him. Ahab, and his wicked wife Jezebel, who had just threatened to kill him, would not be pleased with this. Yet, Hazael would come to rule over Syria, and Jehu would destroy the house of Ahab as well as Jezebel.
The LORD also reminded Elijah that he was not alone. The LORD had reserved seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. We also heard earlier about Obadiah hiding one hundred prophets of Yahweh in the cave. As much as he felt alone, he was not alone. What is even more important is that the LORD was with Elijah, even in the quiet times.
There are several things we can learn from this passage. I would now like to bring out a few of them. first of all, the LORD is sovereign. This means that the LORD is not just directing our lives, but even His enemies must submit to His will. If the LORD controlled the leadership of the external enemy, Syria, by cutting down Ben-Hadad and promoting Hazael, we realize that those who oppress us are limited to what havoc they might wreak upon us. This also is true with those within our nation who hate the LORD and despise and threaten us. Ahab was to be deposed and his seed destroyed, and Jehu would be raised.
The Sovereign LORD cares for us. He provides both earthly and spiritual bread to sustain us. This sustenance might come by different means, both natural and supernatural, by the hands of other people, angels, or directly from the LORD Himself. The greatest of these provisions was to become our heavenly food in Jesus Christ, His Son, who died on a cross for our sin and rose again. The same Jesus is ascended to the right hand of the Father. From the view of the heavenly throne, He sees all. It is He who is providing us a place where we might be with Him forever.
There are times we feel alone and isolated. We mourn that we see so many in the Church who lack any sort of zeal. This causes us to despair like Elijah. We despair even of life and hope for rapture where we might escape. It is true that zeal can be misplaced, but it is equally true that God uses people who have zeal for Him, even if this zeal has to be corrected or even transformed. The zealous Saul, the Pharisee, is transformed to the most zealous of His Apostles. Can the LORD use people who lack and passion for Him?
Even though we often have to stand alone, we need to remember that we are not alone. We have the LORD. But we have other people to support us. We can think when Adam was alone in the Garden of Eden, He was not alone. He talked with the LORD every evening. But, still, the LORD said that is was not good for Adam to be alone, that is without human companionship. This is why He created a help meet for him in Eve. This is why He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply, Two was still not enough. Likewise, it is not good for a Christian to be alone. He needs a help meet for Him, even though the LORD is with and within the Christian. Two is better than one, but many is better. This is what the Church is to provide. As Hebrews reminds us, in difficult times we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together but rather all the more seek out Christian fellowship as the days become more evil. (Hebrews 10:25) The seven thousand the LORD tells Elijah of is a perfect number, and not to be taken literally, necessarily. Rather it refers to a very large number that the LORD has reserved for Himself to give us company on our journey here and to enjoy in heaven forever with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Finally, let us consider what Elijah’s feeling of inadequacy mean? Elijah felt Himself no better than hs fathers. All to often, after we sigh and the corruption we see within the church, we examine ourselves and like Paul have to exclaim “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) If Elijah could cry that He was no better than his fathers and wanted to die, and if Paul felt such despair that his body was one of death, where to we stand. Are not these men our Christian heroes? We should indeed realize our plight but also realize that despair is the means to a great deliverance. Think of how Paul responds. He makes an anguished cry, but it is immediately answered by “I thank God through our LORD Jesus Christ.” A few words later Paul tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1). The answer to our despair does not necessarily come from the big events and miracles. The LORD does not necessarily respond to our cries with earthquake, fire, or wind. It usually comes from the Word of God read in quiet which encourages our heart. The only hero in the Bible is God. It is He who works in us both to will and do for His good pleasure, whether these tasks be small or great. (Philippians 2:13) So let us encourage one another in these times by listening to the voice of the LORD.
