On the Road with Elijah
On The Road With Elijah To Beersheba
(part 1)
1 Kings 19:1-3
So far on this road trip with Elijah we’ve made three stops: Cherith, Zarephath, and Carmel. The next stop is Beersheba.
Beersheba was a city located within the land that had been given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah. Its name had been given by Abraham when Abimelech had sworn to protect Abraham's right to the water in the region. In response to that, Abraham named the place Beersheba which means "well of the oath" or "well of the seven," referring to the seven lambs that were given to Abimelech as a witness to the agreement.
John Phillips says of Elijah, "He was a mountain of a man, a giant who strode across the world like a Colossus. He was a man with a fierce passion for holiness. His fiery eye and fearless mien caused even kings to tremble. He was a Melchizedek among the prophets, appearing suddenly out of nowhere and, so far as the record goes, without father or mother, without beginning or ending of days. He appears suddenly, startlingly upon the page of Scripture. He disappears at last in a chariot of fire, caught up to heaven, as one raptured before the time."
When we think of the great men of the Bible, Elijah is one, if not the first, we think about. He is one that we tend to place very high on a spiritual pedestal. However, there is an interesting statement made about Elijah in James 5:17.
The Scripture says, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are." We may tend to think of Elijah as being in a special class of individuals, but James reminds us that he was but a man like each of us.
He was a "man." He was not a god such as we have in Greek mythology. He was a human being like each of us. He was "subject to like passions" as each of us, meaning that he was liable to the same feelings as every human being. He was made of the same cloth as everyone of us. Yes, Elijah was a great man, but he was just a man.
The reason I emphasize that is because we see that nowhere more clearly than at Beersheba. In fact, if you were completely unfamiliar with Elijah and you began your reading of his life at chapter 19, you wouldn’t be too impressed. And even for those of us who know about him, the story takes an unexpected turn here.
At Beersheba we see illustrated reactions to spiritual victories. One is illustrated by Jezebel, the evil wife of King Ahab, and the other two are illustrated by Elijah.
First, we see:
1. A Sure Reaction
You can mark it down big and put it down plain: blessings are always followed by battles. Triumphs are always followed by trials, victories are always followed by adversities, highs are followed by lows, and mountains are followed by valleys. A time of elation is often followed by a time of desperation.
At Carmel, we see Elijah at his strongest. But at Beersheba, we see him at his weakest. At Carmel we see a great man. At Beersheba we see but a man.
Now as I mentioned, the first reaction involves Jezebel. Her name means, "Where is the prince?" which is possibly derived from the Phoenician name meaning, "Baal is the prince." Her name has come to be the epitome of all that is evil and wicked. In Revelation 2:20 the false prophetess in the church were labeled "Jezebel." Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel.
Dr. J. Harold Smith, who pastored First Baptist, Ft. Smith, Arkansas told the story of a woman who was critacl, and would up punching him in the chest after church one day. He described her as “a Jezebel of the highest order”. He threatened to slap her over a pew if she punched him again. When telling her husband the story and apologizing for his reactions, the man said, “I wished she’d punch you one more time!”
Jezebel was the wife of Ahab that we have met in our earlier travels with Elijah. In the opening verses of 1 Kings 19 we see her reaction to Ahab's account of the events of Mount Carmel.
F.B. Meyer gives us an imaginary conversation between Ahab and Jezebel:
"How have things gone today? No doubt, well; the rain has anticipated your favorable reply."
"I have nothing to tell you that will give you pleasure."
"Why! Has anything happened?"
"The worst has happened."
"What do you mean? Where are my priests?"
"You will never see them again."
"Never see them again! What do you mean? Tell me quickly!"
"They are all dead. By this time their bodies are floating out to sea."
"Who has dared to do this thing? Did they not defend themselves? Did you not raise your hand? How did they die? Where is Elijah? Have the people broken into revolt?"
1 Kings 19:1
Now I’ll tell you , when I look at the report that Ahab gave to Jezebel I am first of all struck by who is ignored in his report. His explanation of the events was fully summed up in the words "all that Elijah had done."
But there was a great omission in his report. What, or rather Who, was omitted from his report is "the LORD." It had been "the fire of the LORD" that had fell "and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench" (18:38). The contest of Carmel had all about proving who was indeed God and who the people should follow. Ahab totally left God out of his report.
Why? Because the wicked have no place for God either in their life or thoughts. They’ll be damned if they’ll give God any credit. They neither recognize His works nor revere Him for who He is. He is totally omitted from who they are and in what they do.
And unfortunately, the report of Ahab sounds an awful lot like the report of churches and preachers. We love to brag on what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished. The Ahab’s in the church have been robbing God his glory and blessing for centuries.
In the report of Ahab you also see what is instigated. He not only robbed God of all the credit for what had happened, but made Elijah the black sheep of the whole affair. He knew it would greatly anger Jezebel when he told her "he had slain all the prophets with a sword" (19:1). What he had seen on Mount Carmel had not changed Ahab at all. It no doubt greatly embarrassed him and his report to Jezebel was surely motivated with thoughts of revenge.
Those who serve God can find themselves the object of distorted and vengeful attacks. Many a godly and faithful servant has found themselves the victim of an Ahab. Such people play games with the truth, never giving you the whole story, but bits and pieces that serve their agenda. Many a good person has been pulled in to the distortions and evil reports of these Ahab's.
Whenever God is blessing you can be certain the devil will be upset and be working. Sometimes, his method of attack is an Ahab.
And Ahab accomplished its objective. Jezebel was fired up with what she heard.
Chapter 19:2
Elijah had been a wanted man for some time, but now there was a death warrant issued for him. He had slain her prophets, and as Jezebel was concerned, before the sun set the next day, he would pay with his own life.
So Elijah finds himself the object of Ahab's distorted report and Jezebel's devilish desire. What’s the moral of the sotry so far?
Here it is: Just because you win a battle doesn’t mean the war is over. Carmel was a great and glorious victory. But quickly on the heels of that victory Elijah found himself being under attack. The smile of God is always followed by the scorn of the Devil. Whenever God blesses, we can always expect the devil to fight.
That is a reaction that is sure and to be expected. .
Next we see how Elijah responds to that, and I will tell you, it was:
2. A Surprising Reaction
The words, "And when he saw that," (19:3) are very interesting and speak of a surprising response on the part of Elijah.
Up to this point, Elijah has walked and acted as a giant of a man, but as James reminded us, he was but a man.
However, it is the man we have seen to this point that makes his reaction so surprising.
What was his reaction? This surprising reaction had to do with what "he saw." It was a reaction due to how he saw the things that were happening.
What he saw was the intentions of Jezebel to take his life. In the past the eyes of the Elijah had been locked on his God. But now, for some reason, his eyes are locked on Jezebel and her plans. Instead of looking above, he is looking around. This is what is so surprising.
In Hebrews 12:2, the writer speaks of, "Looking unto Jesus." The word "looking" speaks of turning your attention toward a particular object. The idea is that one takes their eyes off one object and puts them on another; in this case the Lord Jesus. Then in verse 3 the writer says to "consider Him." The word "consider" carries the idea of repetition. The meaning is that one keeps on considering Jesus. In verse 2 we are told to put our eyes on Jesus. In verse 3 we are told to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Paul said that the believer's standard of seeing is: "(For we walk by faith, not by sight)" (2 Cor. 5:7). The word "sight" that he used speaks of seeing things externally. The believer is not to base their decisions or actions of the external, but the eternal!
Judgment is greatly impaired and ones interpretation of things is greatly clouded when one sees things from an external, rather than eternal point of view. The action, rather the reaction of Elijah that we will see in a moment was one made when he was not seeing things as he should have been seeing them.
In Proverbs 3:5-6 we have the great promise, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."
The secret is letting God direct our paths. However, when we walk by sight we are letting the external direct our paths rather than God. When this is the case we never see things clearly and the danger exists of making wrong decision and taking a wrong direction.
How we look at things is very important. If our sight is misdirected the result is always a misconception of reality.
Elijah, "when he saw that" was looking at things from an personal perspective rather than an eternal. This reaction led to a second reaction that I want you to see on his part. There was not only a surprising reaction on his part, but also:
3. A Shocking Reaction
It is surprising to see Elijah looking at things the way he did, especially considering how he looked at things prior to Jezebel's actions. But even more stunning is what he went on to do. You expect to read that he came to his senses, or God sent an eagle to visit with him and remind him of who he was and the power of God.
But once he heard that Jezebel wanted him dead, "he arose, and ran for his life" (19:3). The words literally mean he sought to spare his own life.
Why did he run? Because he’s scared to death of Jezebel.
There is no other way to interpret Elijah's reaction. Is this not the same Elijah that had boldly walked into Ahab's presence and announced that it would not rain? Is that not the same Elijah that had boldly said to Obadiah, go tell Ahab I am coming? Is this not the same Elijah that boldly confronted the eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel?
I’m shocked! How stunning to find him fearful of Jezebel and her death warrant.
No one would expect this reaction from the man we have seen. Why on this occasion was the fearful for his life?
I think his fearfulness was because of his forgetfulness.
Had not God sent the ravens to feed him? Had not God kept the barrel of meal from waste, and the oil from diminishing? He had not trembled when he met Obadiah, nor when he was face to face with Ahab. He wasn’t frightened by eight hundred and fifty false prophets of Baal. Certainly Ahab and these prophets would have taken his life had they dared."
Time and time again, Elijah had looked to God and trusted his well-being in His care. But maybe for a moment he forgot God and all God had done for him in past.
Why do I think that? Because I kknow myself so well. I by no means am about to condemn Elijah for how many times have I been guilty of the same reaction.
My heart has often been filled with fear when I took my eyes off the Lord and was forgetful of His faithfulness and promises. Even though I could not point to one occasion when the Lord failed me, there have been times when I was forgetful of the Lord.
I want to tell you something: There is a whole lot about Elijah to which I cannot relate. I can’t testify to ravens personally catering my meals. I can’t testify to raising dead children. I can’t testify to stopping and starting the rain or praying down fire from heaven?
But I can sure understand his fearfulness and forgetfulness. I think that’s why God tells us the whole story of men like Elijah and Moses and Paul and Peter.
It’s sometimes hard to identify with their strengths, but the weaknesses are easy for us to understand.
It is there, most likely that we will learn the lessons God wants to teach through their lives.
The Scotch preacher, John McNeill, tells of an experience with his father in boyhood days. As a lad, he had been to town and was late in starting the six or seven mile walk home through the dark.
The night was very dark and the road had a bad name. "In the densest of the darkness," says McNeill, "there suddenly rang out a great, strong, cheery voice: 'Is that you, Johnny?' It was my father, the bravest, strongest man I ever knew."
And then the old preacher said, "Many a time since when things have been getting very black and gloomy about me, I have heard a voice greater than any earthly father cry: 'Fear not; for I am with thee.'"
God is with us, even when evil Jezebel's are against us. Like Elijah there are times when we fear and forget, but He is with us. Therefore, we need not fear and should never forget that He is with us. Elijah feared and forgot. We fear and forget. But should we?
Let the Psalmist answer for us: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psa. 27:1)
Let’s pray.
