1 Kings 19

Introduction

Before I went on holiday we studied 1 Kings 18 together and the story of the trial at Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, when they set up two altars and Elijah invited the prophets of Baal to go first and to call on Baal to send fire on their altar. And though they prayed and danced throughout the day and even slashed themselves with their swords, nothing happened. There was no response. No-one answered. And, of course, there was no response because there was no-one to answer them, because Baal is not real. He does not exist. He is a false god. And then Elijah set up his altar and he got the people to soak the sacrifice and wood and altar with water. And so the sacrifice and wood and altar were drenched. And then Elijah called on the Lord and the Lord sent fire down on the altar which burned up the sacrifice and the wood and the altar and the soil around it and all the water.

And so, it became clear that Baal is nothing; and the Lord, he is God. He is the one, true and living God and the one the people are to worship. And Elijah ordered the people to seize the prophets of Baal, so that none of them could escape. And then they were slaughtered, in accordance with the will of the Lord, who had declared in his word that false prophets who lead the people astray must be put to death. And afterwards Ahab the king and Elijah the prophet travelled to the king’s palace at Jezreel.

And it was all beginning to look so promising, wasn’t it? The prophets of Baal were dead; and the people had discovered that Baal was nothing and that the Lord, he is God. It seemed that they were turning back to the Lord; and that, instead of worshipping false gods, they would now worship the Lord their God, which is what we were all made to do. And since the people had returned to the Lord in repentance, the Lord brought the drought to an end and it once again rained on the land. It seemed that things were changing for the better in the northern kingdom of Israel. Or were they? That’s what today’s chapter is about.

Verses 1 and 2

Take a look at verse 1 where the narrator tells us that King Ahab told Jezebel, his wife, everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. That is, he had killed all the prophets of Baal with the sword. And presumably, since he told her everything that Elijah had done, then he told her about the trial on Mount Carmel and how it had become clear to everyone who was there that Baal is nothing and the Lord is God.

And wouldn’t it be great if Jezebel heard her husband’s report and repented of her sin of worshipping Baal and began to worship the Lord with all of her heart? Wouldn’t it have been great if that had happened? What a difference it would have made to Israel if that had been the case. What a difference it would have made to Naboth whom we will read about in chapter 21. Do you remember Naboth who owned a vineyard which the king wanted to buy? And when Naboth refused, Jezebel arranged for Naboth to be falsely accused and killed, so that Ahab could take over his vineyard. Well, poor Naboth would not have been falsely accused and killed if Jezebel had repented of her sin of worshipping Baal and had begun to worship the Lord.

But instead of turning from Baal and worshipping the Lord, Jezebel made a vow to have Elijah killed. Do you see that in verse 2? ‘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 [that is, like one of the prophets of Baal].’ And these are not just words. This was not an empty threat. We know these are not just words, because back in verse 4 of chapter 18 we read that she had been killing off the Lord’s prophets. She had been trying to wipe out all of God’s prophets; and now she had her sights set on Elijah.

Of course, Jezebel’s unbelief in the face of clear evidence demonstrates the truth of what the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 1. Paul wrote that since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. So, the whole of God’s creation makes clear to us that there’s a God and that he’s powerful. The heavens declare his glory and skies proclaim the work of his hand. Everything around us in creation speaks to us and tells us that there’s a God in heaven who deserves our worship. And so, God has made his existence plain to us. The evidence is clear. But instead of acknowledging him and worshipping him, men and women have denied him. Paul says they have suppressed the truth by their wickedness. In other words, they have suppressed the truth about God because their sinners. If they weren’t sinners, they would acknowledge what is plain. But since they’re sinners, they suppress the truth. They push the truth out of their minds. They deny what is plainly true.

And that’s what Jezebel was doing. The evidence was clear: God revealed himself plainly on Mount Carmel. But instead of believing, Jezebel refused to believe. And she refused to believe because she was a sinner. And when people hear about God today, when they hear the good news of the gospel, they respond in the same way. They do not believe. And they do not believe, not because the message is untrue, and not because there’s something wrong with the way we present the gospel to them. They do not believe, because they are sinners who are sinfully inclined to deny God.

Does that mean no-one will ever believe? No, it doesn’t mean that, because we know that God enabled us to believe. And we also know, because the Bible tells us that before the creation of the world, God chose a people for himself who will live with him in glory. And then God sends his chosen people someone to tell them the good news; and he also sends his Spirit to enable them to repent and believe. And in this way, God overcomes their sinful inclination to deny him and he gives them the ability to believe and to trust in Christ for salvation.

But then, he leaves others in their sin and unbelief. And that seems to be the case with Jezebel, because she refused to believe what she heard about Elijah and about Elijah’s God, who is the one, true and living God.

Verses 3 to 9a

And how did Elijah respond when he heard Jezebel’s death threat? If you take a look at verse 3, you’ll see that it says that he was afraid and that he ran for his life. However, if you’ve got an NIV Bible in front of you, you’ll see the little footnote indicator beside the word ‘afraid’. And the footnote says ‘Or Elijah saw’. I won’t go into the reasons for it, but some commentators believe that that’s what our narrator really wrote. So, he didn’t write, ‘Elijah was afraid’; instead he wrote: ‘Elijah saw’. If that’s the case, what did Elijah see? He saw that Jezebel still did not believe; and that things were not going to change in Israel. Because of Jezebel’s evil influence on her husband and on the people, they would continue to worship Baal and they would continue to disregard the Lord. If Elijah had hoped that a reformation of life and worship would take place in Israel, he was sadly disappointed. Nothing was going to change, despite what happened on Mount Carmel.

And seeing that this was the case, Elijah left. The NIV’s ‘ran for his life’ suggests he left in a panic and in haste. But that’s not the best translation of the Hebrew. The narrator is simply telling us that he went away. And he went a long way, because we’re told that he came to Beersheba, which was about 100 miles away and was in the southern kingdom of Judah. And even when he got to Beersheba, he hadn’t finished his journey, because he left his servant there and went a day’s journey into the desert. And eventually he sat down under a tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord. Take my life.’

Now, many of the commentators are tempted to psychologise what is happening here. They speculate that Elijah was suffering from a kind of depression or that he had become disillusioned with his ministry and was overwhelmed with a sense of self-pity. And so, he wanted to die, because he was fed up with the Israelites and he was disappointed that his ministry was having so little effect on the people. And so, suffering from depression, or being overwhelmed with self-pity, he sat down and asked the Lord to take his life away.

That’s one way to interprete Elijah’s words when he said to the Lord, ‘I have had enough.’ But another interpretation occurs to me, which is connected to what happens in the rest of the chapter. So, we read in verse 5 that Elijah fell asleep, but was awakened by an angel who touched him and told him to get up and eat. And there, by his head, there was some bread and water for him. Remember how the Lord had sent ravens to feed Elijah when he was hiding in the wilderness before? And remember how the Lord caused the widow’s flour and oil not to run out when Elijah was staying with her? Here’s another occasion when the Lord provided for Elijah in a miraculous way. And Elijah ate and drank and lay down to sleep. And once again, the angel woke him and told him to eat. But this time, the angel went on to refer to a journey. It seems that Elijah is not just wandering aimlessly. And he’s not lost. He’s on a journey; and he’s got a definite destination in mind. And since the angel of the Lord seems to know about his journey, it’s possible that the Lord sent Elijah on this journey.

And it occurred to me that when Elijah complained that he had had enough, it’s possible that he meant that he had had enough of the journey. He had travelled so very far and now he was exhausted. He can’t go on. He can’t take another step. He’s too weak to go any further: ‘I’ve had enough of this journey and I’d rather die in the wilderness than take another step.’ And he adds that he is no better than his ancestors. He’s no better than his ancestors, because the Israelites were tired and weary when they were in the wilderness in the days of Moses and they wanted to go back to where they had come from.

But the Lord sent his angel to Elijah to give him food and water to refresh his tired and weary body so that he would have the strength to keep going on his journey. And sure enough, after resting and after taking the bread and water, Elijah was able to travel for forty more days and nights. And what was Elijah’s destination? Where had he been heading? We read at the end of verse 8 that his destination was Mount Horeb, the mountain of the Lord. And you perhaps know that Horeb was another name for Sinai. So just as the Lord brought Moses to Sinai, so now he has brought Elijah to the same place. And we’re told that Elijah went into a cave and spent the night. Some of the commentators speculate that this cave was the ‘cleft in the rock’ where Moses once stood when the Lord passed by.

Verses 9b to 21

And according to verse 9, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ That sounds like an accusation, doesn’t it? It sounds as if the Lord is asking for an explanation from Elijah. So: ‘I didn’t send you here, so what are you doing here? Explain yourself!’ It sounds like an accusation. But if — as I have suggested — the Lord has sent Elijah to this place, then the Lord’s question is not an accusation. He’s not demanding an explanation from Elijah, but he’s asking Elijah: ‘Why do you think you’re here? Why do you think I’ve brought you here?’

And Elijah responds by saying that he has been zealous for the Lord. And he has been zealous for the Lord. And he says that the Israelites have rejected God’s covenant. And they have rejected it. And he says they have broken down God’s altars and killed his prophets. And they have done those things. And he says that he is the only one left. We learned in the previous chapter that there were other prophets of the Lord, who had been kept safe from Jezebel. But they were in hiding. And so, it’s possible he means that he’s the only active prophet left. The others are in hiding and he’s the only one who is out in the open. And the Israelites are now trying to kill him. And that’s true: Jezebel was trying to kill Elijah. So, everything Elijah says here is true. But he hasn’t answered the Lord’s question yet.

But before he does, the Lord comes to him in a way that recalls what happened at Mount Sinai in the days of Moses. Remember? The people gathered at the bottom of Mount Sinai. And then there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud and a loud trumpet blast. And there was smoke and fire and the mountain shook. And then the Lord descended to the top of the mountain. That’s what happened in the days of Moses. And in 1 Kings 19, there was a great and powerful wind; and there was an earthquake; and there was fire. And after all of these things, there was a gentle whisper. So, the Lord had come down from heaven to speak to Elijah, just as he had come down from heaven to speak to Moses. And once again the Lord asked Elijah: ‘What are you doing here?’ In other words: ‘Why do you think you’re here? Why have I brought you here? And what have you come to do?’ And Elijah repeated what he had said earlier.

And it’s here that I should explain what’s going on. This is a kind of court case. Elijah has come to the place where God had met with Moses and where he had established his covenant with his people, whereby he promised to be their God and to protect them; and they promised to be his people and to worship and obey him. And Elijah has come to the same place to act as a kind of prosecutor and to bring charges against the people. And Elijah charges them with having rejected the covenant. They have broken the covenant, because instead of worshipping and obeying the Lord, they are worshipping Baal, a false god. And they have broken the Lord’s altars and they will not listen to the Lord’s prophets. And since they have rejected the covenant, and disobeyed the Lord’s commandments, then they deserve to be punished. Elijah has come to Mount Sinai to bring charges against God’s unbelieving and sinful people.

And look how the Lord responds to the charges in verses 15 to 18. He tells Elijah to go back and to anoint three people: Hazael as king over Aram; Jehu as king over Israel; and Elisha as prophet in place of Elijah. Now, Elijah doesn’t anoint any of these three people. And so, it’s likely the Lord’s words are meant to indicate what’s going to happen in the near future. In the near future, Hazael will become king of Aram; Jehu will become king of Israel; and Elisha will succeed Elijah. And God will use them — especially Hazael and Jehu — to punish his people for their sinful rebellion. We’ll read more about that in 2 Kings.

However, since the Lord is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love, he will not destroy his people completely. Although they all deserve to be destroyed for their sinful rebellion, he will graciously and freely keep 7,000 Israelites for himself. In other words, while he will punish many of the Israelites for their sinful rebellion, he will save some.

And as a kind of guarantee that all of this will take place, we have the story which follows of how Elijah went from there and found Elisha, who was busy ploughing in a field. Elijah went up to Elisha and put his cloak around him. It’s as if he was putting the prophet’s uniform on Elisha. And Elisha understands what was happening. And so, he killed his oxen and burned his ploughing equipment. He was done with the farming life. And from now on, he would be one of the Lord’s prophets.

And so, he was appointed to succeed Elijah. And in due course, Hazael would become king of Aram and Jehu would become king of Israel. And while God’s judgment would fall on many in Israel, God would graciously and freely save some.

Conclusion

Elijah accused the people of being covenant-breakers. And they were covenant-breakers: they had broken the covenant which God made with them in the days of Moses at Mount Sinai. And we are all covenant-breakers. Let me explain.

In the beginning, God made a covenant with Adam, promising him everlasting life in the presence of God, so long as Adam obeyed the Lord’s command concerning the Tree of Knowledge. And God also warned him of everlasting death away from the presence of God, should Adam disobey the Lord’s command concerning the Tree of Knowledge. And we all know what happened: Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command. And so, he broke the Lord’s covenant and forfeited the right to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in the presence of God. And so, death came into the world.

And since God made that covenant, not only with Adam, but with all of Adam’s descendants, then that means we are all covenant-breakers. Because of Adam, we are all born into this world as covenant-breakers. And every day we disobey the Lord our God in thought and word and deed. Sinful rebellion comes naturally to us. And so, like the Israelites, we all deserve to be condemned by God and punished forever. We all deserve to face the wrath of God, because all of us are covenant-breakers because of Adam and we disobey the Lord every day.

But the Lord is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. And so, he sent his Only-Begotten Son into the world to make peace between God and us by giving up his life on the cross to pay for all that we have done wrong. And through faith in Jesus Christ, who bore the punishment we deserve, we are pardoned by God for all that we have done wrong; and God promises to bring us into his presence where we shall eat from the Tree of Life and live forever.

Just as God graciously and freely promised to save some of the Israelites in the days of Elijah, so he graciously and freely promises to save all those who trust in his Son as the only Saviour of the world. And if Jesus Christ is your Saviour, if you trust in him, then you can rejoice before the Lord today and every day, because though you are by nature a covenant-breaker, who deserves to be condemned and punished forever, God has promised not to hold your sins against you and not to treat you as your sins deserve, but to pardon you and to give you everlasting life in his presence through Jesus Christ our Saviour.