God is Love

A reflection on I Kings 16:29 - 19:18  

The central passage is I Kings 19:9-18

Note:  This is a little longer post – but it's about one of the greatest stories in the Bible.  I think it's worth taking the time.  However, if it's just too danged long, then read the central passage and skip down to the "Commentary" section.

Background

King Ahab.  In I Kings 16:29, Ahab becomes king of Israel.  Ahab wasn't a particularly good king; indeed, he was quite the opposite.  Were we to read ahead to chapter 21, we'd see that Ahab was like a self-absorbed, petulant child.  

Elijah.  In I Kings 17:1, we are introduced to Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, perhaps second only to Moses. We don't know much about Elijah except that he came from Tishbe, which is a city about 10 miles (16 km) north of the Sea of Galilee. 

The Drought. Elijah comes to King Ahab and makes a prediction:  Per God, there will be no rain for the next few years.  Now, a drought was a serious thing in an agrarian society.  No rain equals no food.  Famine, and death, would soon follow, perhaps bringing the entire nation to ruin.  It's also significant that Elijah dared come to King Ahab.  A king's rule was absolute.  Make the king mad, and you were liable to lose your head – literally.  If king took a dislike to you, you were a dead man.  But Elijah, confident in God, delivered his message.

The Flight, Part 1.  Warned by God and at God's instruction, Elijah took off, first into the desert, and then to Sidon, another country.  God miraculously took care of Elijah throughout despite the drought and famine.

The Enemy.  In the third year of the drought, Elijah goes back to King Ahab, even though King Ahab has been trying to hunt him down.  He instructs the king to call the people from all over Israel to Mount Carmel.  He also instructs the king to call the 450 prophets of the god Baal.  Now, Baal was not the God of Israel.  Indeed God, the god of Israel, had specifically said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," in the Ten Commandments.  In other words, the prophets of Baal were the enemies of Elijah, the prophet of God.  

Notice also that Elijah, essentially a nobody, is giving orders to the king.  One did not give orders to the king, not unless one were tired of life.  Why does Ahab even listen to Elijah?  Ahab is desperate.  If the drought continues, he and his nation are ruined.  He hates Elijah, but he's willing to go along with what Elijah says if it'll end the drought.

The Contest.  Elijah, basically, says to the prophets of Baal: "Let's both build altars to our respective gods and call on them.  Whoever's god answers with fire from Heaven, he's the real God."  The people of Israel think this is a fantastic idea.  I mean this is going one heck of a show, right?  Grab the popcorn; let the show begin!  And a show it is.  The 450 prophets of Baal work themselves into a frenzy, from morning all the way to evening!  Baal doesn't answer at all, let alone with fire.  

And little lone Elijah?  He utters a simple prayer, and – Boom! – instant fire from Heaven!  And not just a little spark or something, but the sacrifice on the altar, the altar itself, and even the ground under the altar are gone in a flash.  There's nothing left but a smoking crater!  The people have never seen anything like this.  They're terrified!  Elijah calls out to God, and God answers! Whoa!  Elijah is the prophet of God!  Look out!  

The Death Sentence.  "Seize them!" Elijah orders re the prophets of Baal.  "Put them to death."  The people fell all over themselves in their haste to comply.  Yes, the king, the protector of the prophets of Baal, was standing right there, but the people (probably including the king) were more afraid of Elijah!   A death sentence might seem harsh to those of us who live in a time where freedom of religion is valued, but Baal worship at times involved the sacrifice of one's first born child.  Child sacrifice is something that God absolutely hates.  And recall also that God had a plan and a purpose for the nation of Israel.  God wasn't about to just stand idly by while Israel fell into debauchery any more than a modern-day parent would if their child were falling into heroin addition.

The Rain!  Elijah tells king Ahab:  You'd better get back to your palace – before you can't.  It's about to rain.  God had made his point to Ahab:  I am God.

The Other Death Sentence.  Meanwhile, back at the palace, Ahab's wife, Queen Jezebel, gets wind of what Elijah has done.  Jezebel even more than Ahab honored the prophets of Baal.  Jezebel sends a little (ahem) "love note" to Elijah:  "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them."  Elijah is a walking dead man.

The Flight, Part 2.  Elijah is terrified.  He runs for his life.  Where does he run?  Mt. Horeb, A.K.A. Mt. Sinai, the very spot where Moses received the Ten Commandments.  

The Encounter.  This is the central passage, so I'll quote it verbatim here.  The citation is I Kings 19:9-18:

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?”

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.”

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. 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.”

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. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Commentary

Elijah, mighty prophet of God human being.  Elijah has been part of one of the greatest displays of God's power in all the Bible.  Elijah serves God in front of the people, the prophets of Baal, and even the king.  Yet now he's terrified.  He runs away!  At one level, I just don't get it.  I mean, c'mon, Elijah.  You just saw an amazing demonstration of power!  You know God's got your back.  What the heck are you afraid of?  You can face the king and 450 enemy prophets, but you can't face Jezebel?  Hunh? 

But at another level, I totally get it it.  Like me, Elijah is human.  Actually, I take comfort from Elijah's fear.  Elijah doesn't do the work of God perfectly – yet God works with him anyway.  Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Elijah's Lament.  When God asks why Elijah is there at Mt. Horeb, Elijah responds:

• Israel has:
• Rejected your covenant
• Torn down your altars
• Put your prophets to death
• I'm the only one left
• Now they're trying to kill me.

In summary, Elijah responds that there's no hope.  

The Plan – and the Secret.  Ah, but never count God out.  God does not have limitations the way we do.  Even death doesn't have the final word with God.  God has a plan:  He's going to arrange for Hazael to become king of Aram (Syria); he's going to Make Jehu king of Israel; and he's going to have Elisha succeed Elijah as prophet.  Between Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, Israel will be rid of Baal worship, hopeless as it may seemed at the moment in Elijah's eyes.  Further, God reveals a secret:  Elijah is not alone.  There are still 7,000 followers of God in Israel.

The True Father.  In a sense, Elijah has failed.  Elijah ran in the face of the enemy.  However, God doesn't subject him to bitter criticism.  God doesn't lose his temper.  Quite the opposite, God "comes alongside" Elijah, reveals to him the path out of the current mess, and, perhaps even more importantly, reveals that Elijah is not alone.  Like a true father, God bears with Elijah's weakness and stands by  him.  

God, revealed.  Best of all, God revealed himself.  God was not in the wind, unimaginably powerful as it was.  God was not in the earthquake, as literally earth shattering as it was.  Neither was God in the fire.  God came in a whisper.  God does not overpower.  God comes along side and lets us be who we are.  Notice that God didn't say, "knock off the whining, Elijah.  Get back to work."  No, actually, he let Elijah have his say; he let Elijah have his feelings.  That's pretty impressive that someone as important as God would take the time to hear Elijah out.  Just as Jesus would later so emphatically confirm:  God is not power; God is love.