Tuesday, January 30, 2024

1 Kings 19:9

1 Kings 19:9 says, 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?  While Elijah was hiding in a cave from fear of Jezebel, God's word came to him again asking him what he was doing there.  We have no record of Elijah asking God what to do about Jezebel's threats, nor do we have any record of God just telling him to go hide.  Sometimes, God may have to ask us what we as followers of Christ are doing, especially if we are hiding in fear of the world.  Verse ten adds, 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.  Elijah began by bragging on himself a little bit.  He said he had been jealous of or faithful to God while everyone but him had deserted God and torn down His altars and killed God's prophets.  I believe he was speaking out of self-pity.  We should never reach the point where we believe we are the only one following God's will, especially if we are hiding out in fear without looking to Him for direction.  Verse eleven continues, 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:  Elijah was told to go and stand on the mountain, and when he did God passed by and a strong wind and an earthquake occurred, tearing the mountain to pieces, but we are told that God was not in the wind or the earthquake.  These were some mighty displays of power, and even though he was there when they occurred, Elijah was not hurt.  We may be looking for mighty displays of power today to prove God is at work in the world, but just because we see them doesn't mean that God is always at work through them.  Verse twelve concludes, And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  After the earthquake, there was a fire, but God was not in the fire either.  I will state again, God may not always be in great displays of power in the world, though we often attempt to attribute all natural disasters to His judgment.  After the wind was a still, small voice, and this is how God will often speak to us, or at least that is the way He usually speaks to me.  Verse thirteen states, And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?  After all this, Elijah returned to the cave, and God's voice came to him again asking him why he was there.  He had just witnessed mighty displays of God's power, even though he did not find God in them, and he was once again hiding from Jezebel in a cave.  We as Christian often acknowledge the great power of God but still hide away in fear of the world.  Verse fourteen adds, And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because 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.  Elijah repeated what he had said the first time, still not putting his faith in God.  Hopefully, if we are hiding from the world in fear and God asks us what we are doing and we see the proof of His power, we will not return to hiding in fear once more.  Verse fifteen declares, And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:  God told Elijah to return to the wilderness of Damascus and when he got there to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.  We might wonder why God was not working through His chosen people but must remember they had deserted Him.   We need to pray that God doesn't have to work through non-believers today to get His people, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, to follow Him.  Verse sixteen adds, And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.  Elijah was then told to also anoint Jehu as the king of Israel and Elisha as the prophet in his room or to be Elijah's successor as prophet.  God was not only going to work through Syria, but He was also going to work through Israel, His chosen people, to bring them to repentance.  As Christians, we need to be the one's that God works through today.  Verse seventeen continues, And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.  God said that He was going to work through all three, a king who was not a part of God's chosen people, a king who was, and God's prophet to punish His sinful people.  I believe that God still has that power today, and all we as Christians need to do is put our faith in Him no matter who is in power in the world.  Verse eighteen concludes, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.  God told Elijah that he was not alone in serving and worshipping God, and neither are we today.  The remnant was small, but it was there.  Verse nineteen says, So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.  Elijah first found Elisha plowing a field and put his mantel on him.  Verse twenty adds, And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?  Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah.  We may have to leave what we have been doing and even the place where we are doing it in order to obey God's calling.  Then, Elisha asked Elijah for permission to go and kiss his parents before he followed Elijah.  When God calls us to do something for Him, we should never allow anything to keep us from following His will, even our parents. God must come above everything else.  Elijah told Elisha to go back again and asked what he had to do with Elisha.  Of course, we know that God had told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his replacement, so he did have something to do with Elisha.  Verse twenty-one continues, And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.  Elisha returned, killed his oxen, and used them to feed the people.  When God calls us, we need to leave everything behind and begin to feed people with the gospel of Christ.  We should not attempt to hang on to the things that we had before but should give everything to God to be used for His purpose.   

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