Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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. 1Ki 19:11-12  

 

The Elijah We Have Known

This is an apt summary to the story of Elijah. He first appeared to us as a quiet, lone man laboring in the LORD’s work.

We met him by the brook Cherith where he drank its waters and the ravens fed him there. We met him next with the widow of Zarephath, whose faith he restored, and her son also who had died. We met him next on his way to meet Ahab again.

And it was at this meeting which led to the showdown at Mt. Carmel where the prophets of Baal were defeated, and God sent down rain.

Ahab was there and saw it. And he went home (even as it began to rain) and told his wife Jezebel, who swore to kill Elijah (“wrath hath no fury”…). It is this incident which plunged Elijah into depression as he ran for his life.

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 to morrow about this time. 1Ki 19:2  

God Meets Us in Our Own Wilderness

Elijah ran into the wilderness where God met him next.

And often that is where God meets us too. From here the angel of God fed him, and next sent him into a great journey. It is from here that the LORD spoke next to Elijah.

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 1Ki 19:8-10 

God Encourages Elijah

And it is from a mountain that God encourages Elijah. Are you discouraged? Go to the mountain.

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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. 1Ki 19:11-12  

The Meaning of a Still Small Voice

From high up on the mountain God comforted Elijah. He usually does not break upon our brokenness in wrath and fury but in mercy. “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory” (Mat 12:20).  

One also can detect a foreshadowing of the New Covenant in the above verse.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jer 31:31-33  

God in Old Testament worked majestic deeds. God in the New Testament often works in “a still small voice.” At Pentecost God’s Spirit was poured upon his disciples as he had promised.

Today we hear him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is come, and behold everything is now new.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Heb 1:1-2  

Hearing God Depends on the Heart

We all hear the still small voice. For some it is a major haunt all their lives. They hear it. They know the source of it. But they shut it down.

And other times we might be mistaken in our hearing and believing like the men on Mars’ Hill.

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Act 17:22-23  

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Act 17:30 -31 

It is a humbling experience to be struck by the mercy of God. In our new “smallness” we see quite far. God opens our eyes to behold things we didn’t know before.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer 33:3  

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Psa 95:7-9 

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

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. 1Ki 19:4  

How the Despair of Giants Encourages Us

There’s something about the despair of a giant which makes the heart flutter with hope.

It is when I read the rejections famous writers went through that I get encouraged. And it is when I read the despairs of great prophets that I know God is true.

I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. Num 11:14-15  

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;  Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Job 3:20-22  

Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Job 6:8-9 

Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Jon 4:3  

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Mat 11:2-3 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mat 27:46  

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:  Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. 2Co 1:8-10  

Despair can reach us all, whether strong men of faith or weak ones. “Let us also go, that we may die with him” stammered Thomas Didymus, and his echo has rung down the annals of time.

Hope maketh not ashamed, fellow brethren, and it is perfectly alright to feel discouraged sometimes. But it is testimonies (bare facts) such as these that make me believe that God is true.

From Mt. Carmel and Into the Valley

We are all prone to be weak, and more so after a Mt. Carmel experience. There is no man Elijah feared (in the sight of God), but a woman called Jezebel stopped his blood cold.

For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Heb 12:3  

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Heb 12:12-13  

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. 2Co 4:7-9 

But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses. 2Co 6:4 

Why Do We Despair?

It’s a fast world. Sometimes we despair because we love too much, and other times we despair because we are not loved too much!

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Rom 7:18-19  

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Rom 7:24  

What is the Cure for Despair?

Christ is the answer.

Because in him there’s no condemnation, and he knows me by name. With him by my side it is possible to be perfectly at peace even in the midst of a storm.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isa 45:22 

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 8:1  

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1 

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psa 61:2  

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Php 1:6 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28 

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Php 4:7 

Lastly we despair because the enemy fights back. So we watch out when the fight is on, and we watch out again after the battle is over.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 1Co 16:13  

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mat 26:41 

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning. Luk 12:35 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:13 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1Pe 5:8