A woman in Timbuktu, Mali baking bread
This teaching is an excerpt from our Radio Antioch Podcast Episode 4.
1 Kings 19:1-4 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “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.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
Let’s take a moment to set the scene. In first Kings chapter 18, Elijah had just met 450 prophets of Baal, and 400 prophets of Asherah in a public confrontation. Each had built an Altar, calling on their God to answer with fire from heaven. Nothing happened at the Alter of Baal, but fire fell from heaven on the Lord’s altar. Elijah then destroyed the prophets of the false gods. This was an incredible demonstration of the presence and power of God. And yet immediately after this he is running for his life from one woman!
At first look, this seem inconsistent with the powerful man seen only hours before. There are likely several reasons for this:
Elijah had been specifically commanded by God to reveal himself to Ahab, and the Lord had told him that the drought that had crippled Israel for years was to be lifted. The ensuing confrontation, cleansing of the land and rain was all part of what the Lord gave Elijah to do. In acting under direct orders from God, Elijah was confident and full of faith.
I also believe that in this instance Elijah had a special gift of faith to accomplish this. In First Corinthians 12:9 one of the gifts of the Spirit is the gift of supernatural faith. I understand this gift to be an impartation of the Holy Spirit that goes beyond the level of faith that an individual may walk in daily. So I believe that Elijah, when confronting the prophets of Baal, was not only carrying out God’s plan, but had been given supernatural faith to accomplish the task.
But after that incredible spiritual high point, Elijah is alone, probably exhausted, and the supernatural faith has left. It is then that the enemy comes to attack. How many of you have had a spiritual “backlash” where it seem like everything goes wrong, as if the devil comes against you right after a spiritual high point? I certainly have. Elijah is vulnerable, and he knows it.
First, he gets as far away from Jezebel as possible! (In his despair, he said he was ready to die, but he didn’t really mean it. If Elijah really wanted to die, all he had to do is stay home and wait for the servants of Jezebel to come for him!) First he goes to Beersheeba. Somewhere along the way, he realizes that to survive he needs to run under God’s covering. Leaving his servant behind, Elijah heads out into the dessert. In his fear and exhaustion, his own natural strength carries him one day. He collapses under a tree and begins to pour out his heart to God.
1 Kings 19:5-8
Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
In the time of his great distress, Elijah reached out to God. Up until this point we don’t know where Elijah is going, only that he is heading into the dessert. He went as far as he could to meet God. He got nowhere near his eventual destination before his strength gave out. But the Lord honored his effort. The Lord knows how far away we go from him. If you need to run back to God, just head out to meet him. The Lord will honor your effort and meet you at your point of need.
I love the picture shown here. God sends an angel with food. But not just any food! Fresh, hot bread baked right there on hot coals! There’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking! Now, God could have sent the angel with any kind of food. But to have the prophet awaken to the smell of fresh bread, right there on the coals, lets him know that the Lord cares for him, will comfort him in his need and will sustain him. Elijah awakens a second time to have the angel tell him that the journey is too much for him, but that he will be strengthened by eating again. Thus fortified, Elijah heads into the desert.
Are you weary? Reach out to the Lord with the strength that you have. He will answer you. Is the journey too much for you? He knows where you are going. Run to the Lord and He will sustain you along the way.
Next Time- Into the Desert
Photo by Dave Lantner, used with permission.
