In Despair, Trust the Lord

Date: July 17, 2022

Scripture: 1 Kings 19

Theme: In Despair Trust the Lord.

Introduction: Our passage takes up a rather difficult topic today: what do you do when, following a seeming victory, you experience a setback? For those of us who are the go-getter type, we are likely tempted to brush it off and keep moving forward. While this mindset has its own set of temptations, I know that for myself the temptation is to focus in on the setback, not seeing any resolution in sight. The challenge for us then concerns how do we combat this myopic vision of setbacks? Today, I want us to understand that … In Despair Trust the Lord.

In Despair Trust the Lord to Provide. (1 Ki 19:1-8)

Unmet expectations can lead to despair. (1 Ki 19:1-2)

Jezebel’s response should surprise us!

According to 1 Kings 18:37, Elijah prayed to the Lord fully expecting widespread repentance by the people.

We see the fruits of this following the Mt. Carmel incident, albeit a temporary repentance.

Hence, with Ahab returning to Jezebel, likely soaking wet, we would expect Jezebel to join with the people in their repentance.

Instead, Jezebel’s statement affirms her sworn loyalty to her idols.

Jezebel’s anger is understandable because the Lord has just publicly humiliated her.

She had invested in those prophets by providing their food.

Jezebel was the driving force of Baal worship in Israel with deep family roots in this tradition.

Her father’s name, Ethbaal, means “Baal lives” and, according to Josephus, was a priest of Baal.

Jezebel’s name is deeply connected to the Baal religion, reflecting the belief that Baal died and rose back to life in the translation of her name as “the prince exists”.

In other words, the Lord through Elijah has just attacked Jezebel’s fundamental identity.

This is no different from what we see in others today.

When the truth meets one’s established identity that they have invested in, whether abortion, sexuality or otherwise, we’re seeing exaggerated if not sometimes violent responses!

When our expectations of how people should respond to the truth do not meet reality, our hope for change should rest solely on the Lord.

Jezebel’s response is only further indicative of her hardness of heart that no miraculous demonstrations can penetrate.

Instead, such hearts need to be broken by the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit to repent of sin.

While there is a temptation to expect immediate change by virtue of hearing a message, that responsibility for change rests with the Lord, not the messenger.

There’s a temptation to think that just because the messenger has shared a message that such efforts will automatically produce change.

However, the change through the message is produced by the Spirit; hence, it’s all the Lord’s work.

This is rather liberating because it means that we are responsible for proclaiming the message and the Lord is responsible for producing the change.

Despair can tempt us to abandon responsibilities. (1 Ki 19:3-4)

Elijah’s actions here contradict the message that he gave to the widow at Zarephath, encouraging her to not be afraid. (1 Ki 17:13)

Here, the widow had responded in fear to Elijah’s request to make him a loaf of bread, when she was about to prepare her family’s last meal.

What’s fascinating is the fact that this city is part of Jezebel’s homeland and thus involved in Baal worship.

Thus, the miracle that the Lord performs through Elijah demonstrates that the Lord is God instead of Baal who cannot provide during a drought.

Hence, Elijah had good reason to trust the Lord instead of flee and abandon his responsibilities.

Notice how Elijah expresses his despair over his circumstances.

He wishes that the Lord would take his life because his efforts have not made any difference than what his predecessors attempted in combating idolatry.

We could say that Elijah is despairing because he is hopeless.

A sense of hopelessness arises out of a belief that there’s no reason to believe that circumstances are going to change.

However, what Elijah’s hopelessness really communicates is that God is either not in control or has stopped working in the lives of His people.

To combat despair, our hope is in Christ that we will live with Him forever, the One Who died and was raised never to die again.

In Despair, Trust the Lord to Provide for our Needs. (1 Ki 19:5-8)

Notice first how Elijah is exhausted.

After he prays to the Lord to take his life, he falls fast asleep.

Our physical condition can also factor into our mood that will influence our perspective on circumstances.

We can identify with this as we know how we can get if it’s getting closer to supper time.

An administrator when I was in undergrad mentioned to us as a student body that you are as sanctified as you are rested.

Consider next how the Lord responds to Elijah.

The Lord did not have to choose to graciously provide food for Elijah, but He did anyway.

However, this is not the first time that the Lord has miraculously provided for Elijah’s sustenance.

The Lord provided for Elijah first at the brook Cherith and then with the widow in Zarephath.

Hence, the Lord is acting consistently with His prior faithfulness to Elijah.

However, there are other implicit pieces of evidence of the Lord’s past faithfulness in this passage.

This centers on the fact that Elijah is in the wilderness and the length of travel from the wilderness to Mt. Horeb.

The Lord sustained Moses, His prophet, and the nation of Israel on the mountain for 40 days and in the wilderness for 40 years, respectively, so the Lord would faithfully sustain Elijah.

Furthermore, Mt. Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai, where the Lord gave His people the 10 Commandments following the Exodus from Egypt, thus pointing to the ongoing relevance of God’s faithful Word.

In other words, in the midst of despair, we must remind ourselves and others of the faithfulness of the Lord.

The Lord’s faithfulness will look different from place to place.

At the brook Cherith, it looked like a brook and ravens.

At Zarephath, it was through a widow.

Here in the wilderness, it was through the Angel of the Lord, possibly the preincarnate Christ.

However, we can remain confident that the Lord is always faithful, regardless of the circumstances.

Transition: Elijah’s temptation to despair highlights for us how we can be tempted to despair. It’s only when we adjust our expectations to trust the faithful Lord that we can begin to combat despair. Yet, …

In Despair Trust the Lord to Speak. (1 Ki 19:9-18)

Notice how the Lord speaks to Elijah here.

The Lord asks Elijah what he’s doing at Mt. Horeb/Sinai twice.

Remember, the Lord did not direct Elijah to go to Mt. Horeb/Sinai, this was Elijah’s doing and still considered part of his fleeing from Jezebel’s threat.

This sort of question reminds us of when the Lord confronted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Instead of condemning Elijah for cowardice and lack of trust, the Lord uses a simple question to prompt Elijah to speak what is on his mind.

While the Lord already knows these things on Elijah’s heart and mind, we as the readers do not.

Hence, the purpose of sharing the glimpse into Elijah’s thinking is to help us as the reader to understand and identify with Elijah.

Notice also how Elijah responds, both times.

He asserts his lonely position.

However, was Elijah really the only prophet in Israel?

No!

There were at least the 100 prophets that Obadiah had saved!

Additionally, Elijah had apparently forgotten that Baal’s prophets had significantly shrunk recently!

What this points us to concerns how despair can cloud our thinking concerning reality.

Despair prompts us to create a certain narrative that only feeds into hopeless thinking.

However, just as the Lord spoke to Elijah, we need to combat hopeless thinking with the truths of God’s Word.

Before the Lord gives His Word, some strange things occur in vv. 11-12.

Each of these elements were traditionally associated with Baal, the storm god.

With the emphasis that the Lord is not to be identified with either the wind, fire or earthquake demonstrates the Lord’s power and control over these forces.

Hence, while the circumstances of Elijah’s life as associated with Jezebel may seem out of control, the Lord is the One who exercises authority over those forces attributed to Baal.

In other words, Jezebel’s threats made in the authority of her gods are proved to be inept.

Thus, the Lord is reminding Elijah of His sovereign power over all things.

The Lord’s control, then, supersedes even the threats of the powerful.

With the reminder of the Lord’s sovereign power over even Jezebel’s threat, the Lord transitions into giving Elijah His Word.

What’s fascinating concerns how each of these individuals will carry on the war against Baal that Elijah was involved with.

In 2 Kings 10:32, Hazael, the future king of Aram, would be used by the Lord as an instrument of punishment against Israel for their idolatry, and their Baal worship in particular.

Jehu, the future king of Israel, will eventually destroy Ahab’s dynasty, Baalism, and Jezebel herself.

Elisha will assume Elijah’s place as prophet and continue proclaiming God’s Word to the people.

Moreover, the Lord has left a remnant of 7,000 in Israel who have not given their loyalty to Baal; thus, encouraging Elijah that he is not alone.

The combined ideas of bowing and kissing were common demonstrations of allegiance to an idol.

Bowing demonstrating in a physical way one’s submission to the idol.

Kissing shows to the idol that one has given such its devotion.

While we can think of such actions as being foolish, it is no more foolish than the ways in which we rely on things in our own day for security (relationships, wealth, or possessions).

Transition: The Lord’s gracious interaction with Elijah demonstrates for us how He seeks to kindly deal with us by giving His Word built upon past demonstrations of His faithfulness. This then prompts us to …

In Despair Trust the Lord with the Future. (1 Ki 19:19-21)

Notice how Elisha is uniquely equipped for this task.

His name means “My God is Salvation”.

As Elisha is going to continue the fight against Baal, the significance of his name points to salvation found in the Lord alone and none else.

Elijah’s action of throwing his mantle or cloak over Elisha is meant to indicate the transference of prophetic authority from Elijah to Elisha, whose significance is not lost on Elisha.

While the translation of Elijah’s response seems a bit harsh, it actually is meant to indicate that Elijah is not standing in the way of Elisha’s wishes to say goodbye to his parents and his former occupation.

Finally, Elisha takes steps to ensure that nothing, not even his former occupation, stands in the way as an obstacle to his future ministry in serving the Lord.

Conclusion: Elijah’s despair, only compounded by his need for nutrition and rest, was met with God’s compassion towards his circumstances. The answer for hopeless circumstances is to trust the Word of the Lord instead of ruminating on our circumstances. The difficulty involved with this concerns the fact that our circumstances loom large in our face. Here is where we need to practice the discipline of turning to God’s Word and entrusting the future to His purposes that we know are going to work out for His glory and our good to become more like Jesus Christ.