1 Kings 19:1-21
In this nineteenth chapter of the First book of Kings we see how God restores one of the greatest of God’s men — the prophet Elijah — out of a deep crisis. He restores him first physically, then emotionally, and finally spiritually.
ABOVE ALL, A HUMAN BEING
I think there is a great deal here that can help us and that we can learn. The first of these lessons is that all of us, however “great” we may be, are first of all simply human beings.
Of the prophet Elijah, at least, we can say that he was truly a great man of God. He had come onto the scene in Israel in a time of apostasy, in a time of idol worship toward Baal, and he had announced that in the coming years not a single drop of rain would fall from heaven except by a command that he issued in the name of the Lord Jehovah (1 Kings 17:1). For the people worshiped Baal and believed that Baal gave the rain. But Elijah came and said, “It is not Baal who gives the rain, but the Lord Jehovah who gives the rain! So no matter how much you pray to Baal, until the Lord Jehovah says so, you will have no rain!” After that God told Elijah to hide from the king, and he hid. And for nearly three years the king of Israel searched for him but could not find him. When the period appointed by God had run out, Elijah met with King Ahab and arranged what you might call a “contest of powers” on Mount Carmel. It was a contest between Baal and his prophets and the Lord Jehovah and his prophet Elijah. During this contest of powers Elijah challenged the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal to call on their god to answer with fire from heaven. And he had said, “The God who answers with fire from heaven, let him be God!” That was a truly serious challenge. And for almost the whole day they did everything in their power and everything they knew to make Baal answer from heaven with fire, but there was no answer (1 Kings 18:26-29). At the hour of the evening sacrifice Elijah repaired the altar of Jehovah, dug a trench around it, arranged the wood, laid the sacrifice on it, and drenched all of it with sixteen barrels of water. Everything was so soaked with water that any conjuring tricks were ruled out. Then Elijah prayed, and:
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. (1 Kings 18:38)
It was an incredible miracle and an incredible manifestation of God. In an instant it moved all who were gathered there to repent of their idolatry and to turn to God. And they cried out with one voice:
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” (1 Kings 18:39)
Then Elijah ordered all the prophets of Baal to be seized, and he killed them with his own hands, because they were false prophets. After that he prayed, and for the first time in three years a heavy rain fell.
So Elijah was a great man of God. He shut up heaven for three years. Then he prayed for fire from heaven, and fire from heaven fell. Then he prayed for rain, and rain fell! In the next chapter, chapter 19, however, we see that after all these incredible feats of faith, Elijah fell into a crisis.
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 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.” 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, 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.” (1 Kings 19:1-4)
Look at this — the very same great man of God the next moment fell into depression, fell under a spirit of death, and said, “Take my life! I want to die!” What were the occasions of this crisis of Elijah’s? I say “occasions” because the causes were surely deeper.
- Jezebel’s threat: “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 the prophets you have killed!” (v.2) — Jezebel had wanted to kill Elijah before this too, but that had not troubled him. This time, however, it was as if the last drop made the cup of his patience overflow. Verse 3 says that Elijah “was afraid.” Fear — being afraid for your life — is something human, isn’t it?
- With his own hands Elijah had killed 450 human beings: “Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword” (v.1). To say nothing of the physical effort needed to carry out such a task… But consider this: however strong you are and however convinced of the justice of your cause (for the Law of Moses commanded that false prophets be put to death), to slaughter so many people with your own hands is certainly a very heavy strain.
- A sense of disappointment and failure: “I am no better than my ancestors” (v.4). The pressure to live up to what is expected of you as a servant of God is something that can crush you. Of a pastor, for example, it is expected that he be tireless, invulnerable, spiritually perfect, coping excellently with every task set before him, and free from material needs. But think of how Elijah felt. After you have done everything you can, after you have shut up heaven for three years, after you have brought fire down from heaven, after three years of persecution and hiding, you expect that at last the king and queen will turn to God — but you see that instead of gratitude, you receive a death sentence. That is certainly discouraging, isn’t it?
Usually after great victories we relax and let down our spiritual guard. And it is precisely then, when we are most vulnerable, that Satan attacks us again. As a result of all these attacks, Elijah fell under a spirit of death. He knew he had no right to take his own life, so he asked the Lord to take it. Either way, he shut himself in on himself and “prayed that he might die.” How could this greatest of God’s men come to such a pitiful and wretched condition? We find the answer to this question in James 5:17:
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. (James 5:17)
However great he was, Elijah was above all a human being — a man who worried, who was afraid, who grew weary, who was disappointed, and who could be wounded and even fall into depression. I believe it is important to recognize the same about ourselves. We are not angels; we are not robots. We are people, and we need care and rest.
If Elijah, after his greatest victories, fell into such a deep crisis, how much more possible is it for each of us to go through a similar collapse? But what are we to do in such cases? Let us look at how God restored Elijah and brought him back to the battlefield.
FIRST THE MATERIAL, THEN THE SPIRITUAL
When we are in crisis, depression, and emotional collapse, the first thing we need is to have our physical needs met. It is remarkable that God did not begin with the spiritual, but with the material. He gave Elijah time to sleep well and took care of his immediate needs (vv.5-8).
5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 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.” 8 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. (1 Kings 19:5-8)
Notice, Elijah slept once, then ate, and then lay down again. One sleep was not enough for him; he needed more sleep. And the angel of the Lord brought him food not once, but twice. Not once but twice it is said of Elijah that he “ate and drank.” Sometimes we are so exhausted that a single “angelic visit” is not enough for us. We need more time to recharge, and more sleep, more good food, and more rest, in order to be truly restored.
In the New Testament we see that after intensive work Jesus provided his disciples with rest. In Mark 6:7-11 we see how he sent out the twelve to minister. He gave them instructions about what to do, gave them authority over unclean spirits, and sent them out two by two (vv.12-13).
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Mark 6:12-13)
This was hard work — preaching, teaching, and prayer — confronting people, diseases, and demons… In verses 30-32 we read what happened when they came back to Jesus:
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. (Mark 6:30-32)
Notice, Jesus understood the apostles’ physiological need for rest. He did not let them “work themselves to pieces” with duties, responsibilities, and commitments so that they “did not even have a chance to eat.” However important spiritual work is, it must not rob us of our rest. Because without rest we lose our strength, our effectiveness, and our ability to serve people.
Only after God had restored Elijah physically, and his strength had returned, did God begin to work with him on the spiritual level — or rather, I would say, the emotional level. For Elijah was exhausted not only physically; his soul — his emotions and his feelings — had been wounded, and he needed to be freed from the burden weighing on his soul.
TELL ME, WHAT IS WEIGHING ON YOU?
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9)
Notice, the word of the Lord came to Elijah. But it did not come with rebuke; it gave Elijah the chance to say what was weighing on him. This is exactly what we too need in order to be restored — above all, to be heard. When someone has been through a tragic incident or a crisis, he needs to tell what has happened to him, to speak out his pain.
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:10)
Elijah was angry at the very people God had sent him to serve. He had shown enormous zeal in his ministry. He had given everything he had, but all his efforts seemed to have been in vain. There was no change. On the contrary, instead of receiving his message, the very ones he served wanted his life. How could you not be discouraged by such a situation?
But notice that the word of the Lord did not answer him at once. God let him pour out his complaint. Sometimes we too need to complain — to complain about ourselves, to complain about the way people treat us… To complain about the lack of change in those we serve, to complain about the rejection and the injustices in life. And that is something normal, there is no problem with it, but we must not stay there! After ministering to him on the physical and emotional level, God moved on to the spiritual.
THE GENTLE WHISPER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Elijah was talking about his achievements, about what he had done, and about how he had been wronged. To a question in the present tense (“What are you doing here, Elijah?”) he answered in the past tense (“I have been…”). The moment we begin to look back instead of forward is a moment when we need an encounter with the Lord, a refreshing of our vision, and a rediscovery of our calling.
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12)
Wind, earthquake, fire — all these signs heralded the coming onto the scene of God himself — but it is not wind, earthquake, and fire that we need when we have fallen into a spiritual collapse and depression. What we need is the “gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.” And glory to God, Elijah knew it.
13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:13-14)
God let him again say what was weighing on him; he did not interrupt him, but he also did not leave him like a broken record to keep playing the same song over and over again. He put his thoughts in the right order, encouraged him, set him new tasks, and gave him a helper. From “Poor me!” and “What a wretched man I am!” Elijah switched over to “Here is your servant!” and “What do you want from me? What can I do for you, Lord?”
GOD’S “PLAN B”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. (1 Kings 19:15-17)
God was not finished with idolatry and with Jezebel. God had not given up. In fact, he never gives up. Even if we give up, God will never give up! He always has a “plan B” and a “plan C” — not only Elijah, but also Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. Therefore we should be encouraged. However hopeless the situation may be, God still has an answer, still has a plan; with him there is still hope!
Moreover, we must know that God will never be left without people who will seek him, who will be faithful to him, and who will desire to take part in his work.
18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)
God always has a remnant, chosen by grace (Romans 11:2-5). However despairing the situation, even today in Europe he has people who will receive the gospel, will serve him, and will be faithful to him.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. (Romans 11:2-5)
But notice the main command of the Lord to Elijah: “Go back the way you came!” — indeed, “go back the way you came” through the wilderness. Even if we fall into a crisis or depression, God does not want us to stay in that state. He has a plan for us and calls us to return to our ministry. Even if our way passes “through the wilderness,” we must walk it; we must carry our cross to the very end!
NEVER AGAIN ALONE!
It is remarkable that Elijah carried out God’s instructions in reverse order. In fact, he never carried out the first two — to anoint Hazael king over Syria and Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel. He entrusted them to his successor. It was Elisha who anointed Hazael king over Syria (2 Kings 8:7-15) and Jehu king of Israel (2 Kings 9:1-37). But God was not angry with Elijah for this. He gave him the right to organize his work at his own discretion and to entrust part of his responsibilities to his helper.
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. (1 Kings 19:19)
Notice, Elisha was quite busy. But it was precisely during the time of his greatest busyness that Elijah invited him to join him. Elisha was aware of God’s call upon his life, and he surely realized how great the cost is of being a man of God. So he tried to put off a little this truly radical decision. And Elijah did not insist. He said to him, “Ah, if I am troubling you at all, if you have work to do, never mind, forgive me for the disturbance!”
20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” (1 Kings 19:20)
But Elisha came to his senses.
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. (1 Kings 19:21)
The slaughtering of the yoke of oxen with which he plowed was a symbol of blowing up the bridges to his past. Elisha would never be the same again. He would never again be an ordinary man. He would be a prophet and a man of God. In Luke 9:61-62 we read of a similar case:
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61-62)
So, restored, Elijah returned to the battlefield — with his physical needs met, with his priorities put in order, with his calling from God rediscovered, and with a helper to care for him and assist him.
I believe God has the same restoring grace for you as well.
- First, admit that before you are a Christian who by some strange turn of circumstances also happens to be a human being, you are above all a human being who has become a Christian.
- Second, think about yourself and about your rest. However tough you are, you are not made of iron — you need recharging, restoration, and refreshing. Set aside time for it!
- Third, do not be afraid to share your pain and what is weighing on you. God and his servants will understand you.
- Fourth, stay alone with the Lord until you hear the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit. Only he can refresh your vision, reaffirm your calling, and give you guidance going forward in your life and ministry.
- Fifth, understand God’s “Plan B.” With God there is always one more way. For him there is nothing too hard or impossible. The point is, through the Holy Spirit, to look into his journal.
- Sixth, find yourself a friend who will understand and support you. If one can chase a thousand, then two can put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30).
If you are in a crisis or depression and are wise enough to do these six things, God will give you strength to return to the battlefield and to be a victor for his glory! Amen!