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Lessons from the life of Elijah the Prophet — dealing with discouragement.
Excerpt - God usually uses men to set forth His Word to man. Elijah was one of these messengers. In 1 Kings 19:1-18, we see the repentance of Elijah, which is one of seven pictures of repentance in his ministry. In addition to Elijah's mission to Israel, his general ministry and career depict better, or heavenly, things for the Gentiles of a later day.
Through man's fall in the Garden of Eden he acquired a conscience which introduced him into an inward warfare from which he cannot escape. The outcome of this conflict depends upon his response to the moral illumination given to him.
This light from God's Word comes in the form of principles. Repentance is one of the first.
"And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there" (1 Kings 19:1-3).
Elijah had demonstrated to Israel who the true God was in contrast to Baal. As a result of the drastic judgment upon Baal, Elijah's life was threatened by Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. It was she who had introduced Baal into Israel.
Elijah had previously been occupied with others and their ways, bad or good, but now the arrow is pointed toward him. Perhaps this was a new position for him. "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small" (Prow. 24:10).
Here was a man who could say, "As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (1 Kings 17:1). He could slay the prophets of Baal and the groves. He called fire down from heaven. He raised the widow's son from the dead. He could provide with ease twelve barrels of water in the midst of drought. The barrel of meal and the cruse of oil did not fail for three years, even though there was only a daily supply.
Had not Elijah appeared to Ahab face to face after Ahab had sought for him in every nation in order to kill him?
Now the great prophet Elijah, whose fame was spread abroad, runs for his life from an angry, idolatrous woman. "He... went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there" (1 Kings 19:3).
Elijah's lesson must be learned alone with God in quietness. It matters not if it be Job, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, or ourselves; certain deep lessons are to be learned about ourselves in order to know our God.
Athough the Lord valued His servant, public power was not the most in importance, though at times necessary. After the disciples of Jesus had returned to Him and told Him of the public display of power on their part, Jesus showed them that this was not the subject for joy, but rather that their names were written in heaven (Luke 10:20).
The exhibition of power, even for God, tends to turn the heart to pride and self. Spiritual pride is the worst form. We cannot rightly estimate our own state of soul or abilities. "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool" (Prov. 28:26). The evil nature inherited from Adam has proved to be an ugly tenant within, but the soul that abides in Christ will be preserved so that the contrary nature may not manifest itself. To walk in the Spirit is our only safeguard.
"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers" (1 Kings 19:4).
We behold here a strange paradox, Elijah running for fear of death and at the same time asking of God that he might die.
Discouragement is not faith, even if it is found in a mighty servant of God.
Enoch and Elijah were the two men who went to heaven without dying. "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Heb. 11:5).
This was not said of Elijah. Enoch departed quietly, having walked with God down here, now walking up there. What a happy picture of the assembly! That day of our departure will soon be here. Do we have doves' eyes for Christ and home?
Elijah closed his career as he lived. A chariot of fire accompanied the whirlwind which took him up.
"I am not better than my fathers" gives away the secret deep down within this mighty man of God. Whatever our reputation among men may be, only God can form the character of our lives. Character is what we are before God.
It was only as he stood before the Lord God of Israel that he had power. In himself he must confess, "All flesh is grass" (Isa. 40:6). As Elijah's fathers had failed, so had he. Elijah had to learn that triumph is reserved for One alone.
Christ will yet bear all of the glory of His Father's house, and His servants will share in it. Elijah surely will.
Restoration is through repentance for Israel. Is it not the same for Elijah? The fig tree represents Israel as a nation, but the leaves (glory) follow the fruit (repentance).
Sleeping for sorrow under a wild broom tree in the wilderness is not continuing in the land with the people of God. Either we go on with God's people in all of their weakness, and ours, or we live in a spiritual wilderness alone.
The prophet is a long way from the refreshing stream of Cherith where the ravens fed him, the place God chose for him. Here the prophet has chosen his own way, and God finds him in the wilderness. There is no resource except God. Is it not a comfort to our hearts to know that no matter where our wanderings take us, God is still there? Even if our eyes close in death, "When I awake, I am still with thee" (Psa. 139:18).
"It is enough" (1 Kings 19:4)
Elijah was ready to give up and die. John the Baptist manifested some of the same characteristics under trial. Not only would Elijah never die, but God would not give him up. His promises are yea, and amen. The wider the wilderness, the closer he is drawn to God.
Elijah had known the fullness of God's provision while serving Him in the path. He had yet to learn the provision that God would make while he was out of the path.
"And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again" (1 Kings 19:5,6).
Perhaps the wind was blowing just enough to raise the dust and sand. The branches of the wild sages and brooms were sending an endless, monotonous sound on the desert to add to the solitude encircling this forlorn prophet.
"I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled" (Jer. 4:25).
Circumstances may be unbearable, the spirit depressed, and natural resources gone. For Elijah the battle had been for others, but in his new experience he had self to contend with, alone in the desert. The question is, "Does God care?" God never sends a servant without providing for him all of the way.
It was as Elijah lay and slept that "THEN an angel touched him" (1 Kings 19:5).
This was a touch of heaven. No artist, poet, or minstrel could describe the soul experience of Elijah at this moment. Scripture is silent as well. Could our prophet have felt, while calling down fire from heaven, the mellowing warmth which gripped his soul at this moment? Deep, lasting impressions, unknown before, now stirred the senses of this man of God. He had known something of the power of God, but did he know God?
There is little on our part that pleases God more than the sense of felt need in His presence. Little by little Elijah is passed into this rich stream of refreshment. "Waters,... to the ankles,... to the knees,... to the loins,... to swim in, a river that could not be passed over" (Ezek. 47:3-5).
"Whom have we, Lord, but Thee,
Soul-thirst to satisfy?
Exhaustless spring! The waters free!
All other streams are dry.
"Our hearts by Thee are set
On brighter things above;
Strange that we ever should for-
get Thine own most faithful love."
(Little Flock Hymn Book, No. 153)
No one can teach as God can. Would that we were alone with Him more! If you were to look for Jesus when He was here, you would find Him where there was need. Are we learning the precious lessons that can only be learned here in this world which has become a wilderness to faith?