When
we last encountered Elijah, the prophet of the Lord God of Israel, he was
challenging the prophets of Baal to a showdown on Mt. Carmel. Vastly outnumbered, he showed no hint
of fear. So sure was he of the
results of the impending contest that he gave Baal’s prophets every
advantage. He gave them choice of
the sacrificial bulls. He let them
go first and take practically all day in trying to coax Baal to rain down fire
on their sacrifice. He was “so
bold as to openly and sarcastically mock them”[1]
saying—“perhaps your god is sleeping, shout louder to wake him up.”[2] So confident in God’s desire and
ability to fire up his sacrifice, Elijah drenched it with 12 large jars of
water. When we last encountered
Elijah, he was praising God for the magnificent display of fire from heaven
that consumed his sacrifice—the magnificent display that proclaimed to all
those gathered on Mt. Carmel—that the Lord God of Israel is indeed the one Lord
God Almighty.
So
what happened between the end of chapter 18 and the beginning of chapter
19? For today, we meet, not a
plucky prophet but a fearful fugitive. Jezebel—the foreign born queen who brought
Baal-worship with her to Israel when she married its King Ahab—has placed a
price on Elijah’s head. The
prophet who relied on the Lord God Almighty on Mt. Carmel is now afraid of a
human—Jezebel. Fearing for his
life, Elijah runs—he runs into the wilderness where even Jezebel’s power does
not reach. He runs until he can
run no more. Then he
collapses. In the shade of a broom
bush, he awaits death and, exhausted, he falls asleep. In his sleep, he is visited by a
heavenly messenger who gives him just what he needs. Awaking he finds fresh-baked bread and a jar of cold
water. Appetite sated, thirst
quenched, he falls asleep again.
And in his sleep, he is visited again by the heavenly messenger who
gives him just what he needs—food, water, and a mission. Nourished by the 2 heavenly meals,
refreshed from his 2 long naps, Elijah sets out on a long journey, a journey to
Mt. Horeb, a journey to meet with God.
At
Mt. Horeb, Elijah waits in a cave for the Lord God of Israel. A great and mighty windstorm buffets
the mountain. The wind, the ruach
of God—which breathes life into creation, which blows us where God wants us to
go—the wind encircles the mountain.
But Elijah remains in the cave.
A terrible earthquake shakes the mountain; rocks slide; cliffs crumble. The awesome power of God rumbles the
earth. But Elijah remains in the
cave. A fire engulfs the mountain. The refining fire of God that burns
away impurities and transforms the old into new, the drab into bright, the
common into the rare—the refining fire of God consumes the mountain. But Elijah remains in the cave. Then, a sound—thin, quiet. Elijah emerges from the cave—head
bowed, hands clasped, face shrouded—Elijah emerges from the cave to meet
God.
“Why
are you here?” God asks. Elijah
responds, “I have been passionately faithful to you—standing up to King Ahab, Queen
Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal.
I find myself all alone. There is no one else faithful to you—the Lord
God of Israel. I am all alone. I
am spent.” Then God commands
Elijah to go to Damascus. In
verses after our reading, God assures Elijah there are others who have been
faithful, others with whom he can continue to serve God, others from whom he
can draw strength. God assures Elijah he is not alone. Elijah obeys—traveling to
Damascus—going on to the next thing God has planned for him.
Have
you ever felt like Elijah? One
minute you were on top of the world, basking in success from work,
relationship, school, or play and then something happens and it all seems to
tumble down. You get the wind
knocked out of you. One minute you’re confident and brave, the next minute
you’re unsure and fearful. Have
you ever felt like Elijah—as if you are standing alone in your
convictions? Rather than face the
powerful—all alone—you’ve run away?
It’s not easy to stand up to power—all alone—to political power that
uses the ins and outs of the system to guard possessions at the expense of
people. It’s not easy to stand up
to power—all alone—to the power of peer pressure that ostracizes the transfer
student, the new employee, the not-from-around-here neighbor. It’s not easy to stand up to power—all
alone—to the power of management when your boss or your co-workers whose
proposal will earn the company more prestige and money—but will hurt people and
kill programs.
Elijah
thought he was standing alone in his convictions and so he ran—he ran
away. He ran until he was
exhausted, ready to give up—completely.
In his exhaustion, in his despair, God provided. God provided sleep, food, and water—a
double dose. God nourished,
watered, and refreshed Elijah. Then
God called Elijah on to the next thing.
Elijah was not alone. God
was with him.
God
did not berate Elijah for losing confidence. God did not berate Elijah for being afraid. God did not berate Elijah for running
away. No, God provided what Elijah
needed. Then he called him on to
the next thing—where he would find he was not standing alone in his
convictions. For at the end of
chapter 19, we learn there were 7000 more Israelites who had remained faithful
to God in spite of Jezebel. At the
end of the chapter, God brings Elijah a helper who will work with him and later
succeed him as the Lord’s prophet in Israel.
Like
Elijah, we are not alone. God is
with us . . . in our spectacular successes— like day camp. And God is with us when just one or two
people show up for a Sunday School class. God is with us when our energy and
creativity spur us to plan fellowship activities like Friday’s well-attended movie
night and today’s all-church picnic. And God is with us, when we’re tired and
think we can’t do one more thing.
God is with us when we are confident in the mission and ministry we are
engaging in together. God is with us when conflict arises, and we feel like
running away or hiding. The good
news in today’s scripture, the good news that runs throughout all of scripture
is that God is with us—providing for us—giving us rest, feeding us, and
renewing us—so we’ll be ready for the next thing.
May
we, like Elijah, realize we are not alone—that we are instead accompanied by
God—surrounded by his grace. May
we realize we are not alone but are surrounded by the communion of saints—other
believers in all times and all places—other believers faithfully seeking to
follow God. May we, like Elijah,
take the nourishment that God offers and be renewed. May we, like Elijah,
listen for God’s voice—through the noisy din and the thin quiet—may we listen
for God’s voice and then obey God, following where God guides us.
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