1 Kings 19:9-18 Introduction After Jezebel put out a contract on Elijah s life, he fled. I. Elijah at Horeb. A. Now while he was alone in the cave, possibly thinking that he was forsaken, God asked him, 9 What are you doing here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:9). 1. God was right there with him in spite of all the fear and strain that Elijah had labored under. 2. The passage says that the word of the Lord came to Elijah. 3. In the midst of it all, God speaks to him. B. The question What are you doing here, Elijah? was an appeal to the conscience. 1. This type of question leads to self-examination.
2 2. Elijah was to examine himself, and in so doing examine what God has been doing with him as well. 3. We should open our hearts to the Lord and let Him ask this same question of us. 4. He has a right to ask, What are you doing here? 3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (Prov 16:3) 9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chron 16:9) C. Elijah s answer to God s inquiry was very frank. 1. He did not seek to evade the question. 2. 1 Kings 19:10 10 He replied, I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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) 3. Everything he said was true,
3 but he did not know the truth about everything in connection with his own life. 4. He was not aware of God s far-reaching plan for himself and Israel. 5. His myopic view had led him to this cave. 6. He had to learn that God does not necessarily fulfill His whole plan in the lifetime of one man. a. One servant may add one part to God s work, and another may add another part. b. All of these parts put together make up the whole. c. This was what God was getting ready to teach Elijah. d. We should learn the same truth;
4 e. we must trust the LORD to see it all the way through to the end. D. God s reply to Elijah s answer was to go on. 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) 1. Elijah remained in the cave during the time of this great storm and earthquake and fire, all of which demonstrated the power of God. 2. Verse 11, for the LORD is about to pass by 3. God, however, did not speak in the wind or in the earthquake or in the fire. 4. The still, small voice speaks of God s grace.
5 a. Now the Lord is ready to re-commission him. b. Though God spoke through the great demonstrations of nature, He was still going to speak to His people in grace. c. Too often we seek great demonstrations, crowds and all kinds of activity, but God brings about revival through dealing with the individual in the quietness of grace. E. Elijah is Re-commissioned By God (19:13-18). 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, broken 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) 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.
6 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. (1 Kings 19:15-16) 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 all whose mouths have not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:17-18) 1. God spoke to Elijah as He did in order to prepare him for a new commission. 2. He was to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: This man was going to be a rod to chastise Israel. 3. He was also to anoint Jehu to be king over Israel: What Hazael left, Jehu was to finish. 4. The third part of the commission was that Elijah was to anoint Elisha to be a prophet in his place. 5. Elijah s work was not yet finished, but God had chosen a particular person to carry on the work that he began.
7 F. Elijah and Elisha Laborers Together. 1. The fact that no one sees all the plan of God and no one sees all the fruit of his labors for God in his lifetime is taught very clearly in Hebrews 11. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. (Heb 11:37-38) 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. (Heb 11:39) 2. Though they were all faithful and true to the Lord, they did not see the complete results of their labors in their lifetime. 3. It takes all of God s people from the beginning of time to the very end to fulfill all that He has planned.
8 4. Elijah was not consciously running from God, neither was he bitter. a. He was disappointed and down because he saw no national revival among the Israelites. b. He did not see the future as God saw it. c. Others would reap where he had sown. 5. Once Elijah was restored to fellowship with the Lord, he was re-commissioned. a. Elijah had to go back the way he had come to fulfill this commission. b. He had a long journey ahead of him. c. This is true of anyone who has temporarily stepped out of the direct will of God. d. They must go back to the place where God s will can be followed once more.
9 Conclusion e. Elijah s journey would take him back through the desert, on through Jezebel s homeland and all the way to Damascus. God uses various instruments to do His work. Hazael, the king of Syria, brought ruthless judgment upon Israel. Jehu became a scourge to the house of Ahab and to the followers of Baal. Elisha, by his use of the Word of God and the power of God, slew the enemies of the Lord and comforted His people. God sometimes uses wicked men to discipline His own children, but when these men overstep the boundaries God has set for them, judgment falls on their heads also. God also reminded Elijah that there were 7,000 persons left who had not bowed to Baal.
10 This was all in God s dealing through the still, small voice of grace. It brought comfort to the prophet s heart. It assured him that the good work he had begun would be consummated under the hand of God and in God s time. Elijah did not see the fruit in his day, but he was promised a fruitful harvest for the future. Invitation