Elijah’s Low Point, God’s High Purpose
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Rock Bottom’s Series. Through this series of sermons, I wish to share the stories of individuals who encountered God and tasted His love while experiencing the most terrible moment of their lives.
Application. The terrible experience you are going through, the enormous problem that is tormenting you, will not be able to keep your Creator away from you.
Is there a cure for depression? Yes. But it is not in us. It is in God. The cure is to seek God’s face, so ours will not be downcast, which is what the psalmist does.
James Montgomery Boice
Here is what the prophet Isaiah declares:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Psalm 91 reminds us:
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
Historical context. The biblical passage in question recounts the deeds of the prophet Elijah, called to denounce the idolatry of the Kingdom of Israel.
On the throne of the Northern Kingdom sat a wicked man, king Ahab.
King Ahab had married a woman who was nothing short of wicked: Jezebel, an evil witch who promoted idolatry in Israel (450 Baal prophets and 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah) and killed many prophets of the Lord.
The fallen hero. In chapter 18, Elijah challenges Jezebel's 950 false prophets, proving that YHWH is the one true God:
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.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Yet, despite this great show of strength, Queen Jezebel not only does not repent, but decides to kill Elijah.
The queen's threat sends the prophet into a panic. The man capable of facing the king of Israel and all his false prophets flees before the intimidation of a woman.
The hero, the prophet Elijah, flees far away, deep into the desert, but God never loses sight of him.
On the contrary, God will reveal Himself to Elijah at his worst moment as a loving God, capable of raising his servant up.
Sermon outline. From this passage, I would like to consider the three key moments that characterize this episode:
1. The Jezebel's threat;
2. Elijah's reaction;
3. The Messanger ofGod.
N.1 - The Jezebel’s threat
N.1 - The Jezebel’s threat
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.”
The Threat. The queen is furious and promises revenge. Regarding her threat, I wish to consider two elements:
1A. Ahab's account (1 Kings 19:1). Jezebel's threat against Elijah stems from Ahab's account.
It is a distorted account, tainted by Ahab's spiritual blindness, as it never mentions God or the fire that came down from heaven to consume the offering.
Ahab could not accept God's sovereignty and omnipotence, so he placed all the blame for what had happened on Mount Carmel on the prophet Elijah.
Application. There are many who, like Ahab, despite having seen God at work, harden their hearts.
Even Pharaoh was an eyewitness to God's miracles, yet he hardened his heart:
Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
What a tragedy it is when God works while our attention is focused on minor, marginal aspects...
Even in our services, this can happen: God works, He speaks, the Lord blesses and delivers, while our attention is captivated by a single negative element.
1B. The damage caused by Elijah (1 Kings 18:19). Jezebel's hatred stems from the fact that Elijah had killed the false prophets who ensured the queen's power, influence, and dominion over the people of Israel.
Feeding nearly 1,000 people every day was a huge expense! And now, thanks to Elijah, Jezebel has lost all the false prophets who ensured her power.
Application. God's children are causing great harm for the enemy. Let us remember this morning: our faith in God, our obedience to His commandments, is causing enormous damage to the enemy army.
Paul and a female slave. Arriving in Philippi, Paul and the missionary team begin proclaiming the gospel. A demon-possessed woman tries to harass Paul, who, through the authority of Jesus, frees her.
Here's what happens next:
When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
This is what happens when a disciple of Christ arrives in the city: all authority and hope of hell disappears!
If you've received a threat from Jezebel, it means you're doing a good job!
N.2 - Elijah's reaction
N.2 - Elijah's reaction
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 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.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
The Reaction. These verses certainly do not seem to describe a hero, but rather a coward, capable only of retreating in the face of danger.
It is also true that Elijah's reaction revolves around a powerful emotion: fear.
When we act out of fear, we can do more harm to ourselves than we fear:
300 Illustrations for Preachers Burning His House down to Kill a Spider
A man afraid of spiders spotted one in the laundry room of his West Seattle home. In order to get rid of it, he grabbed a lighter and a can of spray paint. There is no report about the fate of the spider, but the house caught fire, causing about $60,000 worth of damage. That is a lot to get rid of one spider.
Fear can make us act irrationally. We have fears that keep us from effectively serving the Lord, and the messes these fears get us into are often worse than what we were afraid of in the first place. “Fear not,” God says. “I am with you.”
—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell
Regarding this reaction, I would like to consider:
2A. An isolated man (1 Kings 19:3). According to rabbinic tradition, Elijah's servant was the son of the widow of Zarepheth, whom the prophet had resurrected in 1 Kings 17:22.
Tradition also claims this servant was the prophet Jonah.
No one can confirm this thesis. What we can say with certainty, however, is that Elijah deliberately abandoned his servant, separating himself from him.
Elijah seeks isolation, desires solitude; his fear of Jezebel leads him to marginalization and detachment.
Elijah's experience reminds me of what the Hubber telescope discovered in January 1997:
As scientists peered at a cluster of some 2,500 galaxies called Virgo, they saw for the first time heavenly bodies that had been theorized for some time. What they saw, writes John Noble Wilford, were lone stars without a galaxy to call home. These isolated stars drift more than 300,000 light years from the nearest galaxy—that’s three times the diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy.
“Somewhere along the way,” writes Wilford in the New York Times, “they wandered off or were tossed out of the galaxy of their birth, out into the cold, dark emptiness of intergalactic space.… There they drifted free of the gravitational influence of any single galaxy.”
Like these isolated, wandering stars, Christians can drift from the community of Christ. But God never created us for the cold of isolation. He created us to be together in deep devotion to one another. He made us for the warmth of fellowship. He designed us to live in community.
Application. Perhaps there is someone who has decided to leave everything, to live in isolation, like a wandering star in cold space, just like the prophet Elijah, heading for the arid desert.
Please, do not think you have to face all this alone!
2B. An exhausted man (1 Kings 19:4). The fear of Jezebel drains Elijah's mental and physical energy.
In fact, the distance between Jezreel and Beersheba is 160 km.
Not content, Elijah flees into the desert for an entire day. He is a man without strength, without energy, a man who has reached his limit.
Application. Sleeping well, eating well, respecting the body, and managing our energy wisely will prevent us from experiencing moments of great depression and discouragement.
We're often tempted to push ourselves beyond our limits, to let our energy be drained by this lifestyle that demands more and more of us.
Perhaps we forget that physical fatigue has spiritual repercussions. Don't make important decisions if you haven't rested and eaten well.
Let's not be tempted by the philosophy of this world that forces everyone to rush, to exhaust themselves, in order to get what they want:
Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
Examine your daily routine? Is there anything you need to change? Examine your wife's or husband's routine? Can I help with anything?
N.3 - The Messanger of God
N.3 - The Messanger of God
Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
The Messenger. Compared to Jezebel's messenger, the Messenger of God, the Angel of the Eternal, the Theophany of the Second Person of the Trinity, remains with Elijah, remains at the prophet's side.
Regarding the Messenger, I would like to consider:
3A. Listening (1 Kings 19:4). It is truly interesting to note how the Lord handles the most difficult moment of Elijah's ministry: God lets Elijah express himself, He listens to him, He lets the prophet speak, He lets His servant vent and pour out everything.
The Lord did not need to know what Elijah was experiencing, yet God lets the prophet express all his bitterness.
Application. The first step to healing is knowing how to listen, and God knows how to hear the cry of your pain.
Listening is not just passive hearing.
3B. Two meals (1 Kings 19:6-7). The Angel prepared two meals for the prophet.
The first meal was meant to remind Elijah of God's faithfulness.
In fact, the menu for the first meal is the same food Elijah received from the widow of Zerephath (1 Kings 17:13).
Through that meal, the Lord was reminding Elijah that He is the faithful God who would not abandon His prophet in the hour of defeat.
The second meal, however, was meant to remind Elijah God’s purpose for his life, a purpose, a plan for His prophet, and that Jezebel's threats would remain unfulfilled.
Application. How do you revive a fallen hero? How do you encourage a depressed believer?
This is the recipe: God is reminding you of His past faithfulness, while prophesying His purpose, His goal, His plan over your life.
And then the miracle happens: Elijah rose again, and so will we. Believe me when I tell you that it's easier to see fire falling from Heaven, as on Mount Carmel, than to see a depressed, exhausted, and discouraged believer get up and continue his journey in the Lord.
God is faithful, and God has a purpose: get up, hero, and continue to serve your God!
Conclusion
Conclusion
And the threats? Jezebel had vowed death if Elijah wasn't killed within 24 hours.
It's the same old story... Even for Paul, there were men who vowed not to eat:
Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”
Elijah, Paul, and you will continue to serve and honor the Name of the Lord.
