1Ki 19:1-4 | KingComments | STEP | Ahab tells his wife Jezebel everything Elijah has done. He gives testimony of the work of Elijah , but that is the work of God with a mighty result. It has no effect on Ahab itself. Nor does he speak about the rain, but about the prophets whom Elijah killed with the sword. Jezebel represents the papal power, a power that we see especially in the Middle Ages. We see this in the church history given to us in Revelation 2 and 3 and specifically in the church in Thyatira, where Jezebel is mentioned by name ( ). Just as the popes ruled over kings, so does Jezebel rule over Ahab. In Revelation 17 we see the woman sitting on a scarlet beast ( ). This symbolizes that she has the kings in her power. When Jezebel hears her husband’s report, she sends a messenger to Elijah to announce the death sentence to him. She is only possessed of one thing: Elijah must die. This she lets him know. Elijah is not far away. The messenger does not have to look far. The message is clear and very threatening. We may wonder why Jezebel, if she really wanted to kill Elijah, did not immediately do so. Did she fear reactions from the people? Or was she afraid of Elijah himself? In any case, she wants to threaten him, perhaps with the hope that he would flee. She doesn’t tolerate him in her surroundings. If she has indeed had the intention to frighten Elijah and thereby chase him away, she succeeds in her intention. Elijah has had his peak. What a great service he did on Mount Carmel. But now that he is confronted with death, that threat is too much for him. When he hears the message of Jezebel, he flees, afraid of his life. Where is the fearlessness of the man who dared to stand up for God against 850 false prophets and an ungodly king and the mass of a doubting people? This only happens when you start thinking about yourself and no longer about God. It happens when you get disappointed with the results of your service. Now he has brought the people back to God and the only answer is that they want to kill you! Elijah is the disappointed servant. Is this not recognizable to all who may serve the Lord? It says that Elijah “saw” (as the Hebrew text may read) what Jezebel is planning. He ‘sees’ the great danger hanging over his head and he only sees that. He does not look to the LORD. And because he does not see the LORD, but only the danger for his life, he flees. The man with an enormous spiritual victory falls prey to the fear of a woman. What happened to Elijah here also happened to Peter when he walked on the water. “But seeing the wind” ( ) he did not see the Lord anymore, and so things went wrong. He then no longer lived in faith but by sight (cf. ). This is also happening with Elijah. The Spirit of God writes to us what kind of man Elijah is: “A man with a nature like ours” ( ). He who has been afraid of nothing becomes afraid of his life. So it is with every servant. They have their peaks, followed sometimes by a low point, a breakdown. What is the reason for this with Elijah? Is it because of disappointment in the reaction of the people or of Ahab? It seems that he forgets that the LORD brought him to that great deed. He also forgets that he has to leave the consequences to the LORD. The result is that he is only occupied with himself. The Lord Jesus also knew disappointment ( ; ), but how different is His reaction ( ; ). There is no self-pity with Him, but He gives everything and Himself over “to Him who judges righteously” ( ). He experiences everything with His God and takes everything out of His hand. Elijah comes to Beersheba, which means ‘well of the oath’. However, it does not remind him of it. He leaves his servant there. But God does not leave His servant, and follows Him.

‏ 1 Kings 19:1-4

Elijah Runs for His Life

Ahab tells his wife Jezebel everything Elijah has done. He gives testimony of the work of Elijah, but that is the work of God with a mighty result. It has no effect on Ahab itself. Nor does he speak about the rain, but about the prophets whom Elijah killed with the sword.

Jezebel represents the papal power, a power that we see especially in the Middle Ages. We see this in the church history given to us in Revelation 2 and 3 and specifically in the church in Thyatira, where Jezebel is mentioned by name (Rev 2:20). Just as the popes ruled over kings, so does Jezebel rule over Ahab. In Revelation 17 we see the woman sitting on a scarlet beast (Rev 17:3b). This symbolizes that she has the kings in her power.

When Jezebel hears her husband’s report, she sends a messenger to Elijah to announce the death sentence to him. She is only possessed of one thing: Elijah must die. This she lets him know. Elijah is not far away. The messenger does not have to look far. The message is clear and very threatening. We may wonder why Jezebel, if she really wanted to kill Elijah, did not immediately do so. Did she fear reactions from the people? Or was she afraid of Elijah himself? In any case, she wants to threaten him, perhaps with the hope that he would flee. She doesn’t tolerate him in her surroundings. If she has indeed had the intention to frighten Elijah and thereby chase him away, she succeeds in her intention.

Elijah has had his peak. What a great service he did on Mount Carmel. But now that he is confronted with death, that threat is too much for him. When he hears the message of Jezebel, he flees, afraid of his life. Where is the fearlessness of the man who dared to stand up for God against 850 false prophets and an ungodly king and the mass of a doubting people? This only happens when you start thinking about yourself and no longer about God. It happens when you get disappointed with the results of your service. Now he has brought the people back to God and the only answer is that they want to kill you! Elijah is the disappointed servant. Is this not recognizable to all who may serve the Lord?

It says that Elijah “saw” (as the Hebrew text may read) what Jezebel is planning. He ‘sees’ the great danger hanging over his head and he only sees that. He does not look to the LORD. And because he does not see the LORD, but only the danger for his life, he flees. The man with an enormous spiritual victory falls prey to the fear of a woman. What happened to Elijah here also happened to Peter when he walked on the water. “But seeing the wind” (Mt 14:30) he did not see the Lord anymore, and so things went wrong. He then no longer lived in faith but by sight (cf. 2Cor 5:7). This is also happening with Elijah.

The Spirit of God writes to us what kind of man Elijah is: “A man with a nature like ours” (Jam 5:17). He who has been afraid of nothing becomes afraid of his life. So it is with every servant. They have their peaks, followed sometimes by a low point, a breakdown. What is the reason for this with Elijah? Is it because of disappointment in the reaction of the people or of Ahab? It seems that he forgets that the LORD brought him to that great deed. He also forgets that he has to leave the consequences to the LORD. The result is that he is only occupied with himself.

The Lord Jesus also knew disappointment (Isa 49:4a; Mt 11:20-24), but how different is His reaction (Isa 49:4b; Mt 11:25). There is no self-pity with Him, but He gives everything and Himself over “to Him who judges righteously” (1Pet 2:23). He experiences everything with His God and takes everything out of His hand.

Elijah comes to Beersheba, which means ‘well of the oath’. However, it does not remind him of it. He leaves his servant there. But God does not leave His servant, and follows Him.

Under a Juniper Tree

Elijah goes into the wilderness, sits down under a juniper tree and wishes to die. In his wish to die, it already sounds that he thinks he is better than his fathers. God does not answer his prayer, for God has other, higher plans for his end on earth. This is how God often deals with our prayers. In the meantime, however, Elijah still has to learn and do a few things, learn about himself and God, and do something about his succession. A servant has never ceased to be taught and service must be transferred. God will continue His work, even when we no longer have faith in it.

Elijah is at the end of its strength. Many servants know that feeling. It makes you despondent when there is no result or when expected results fail. It can also be the same with the prophetic service in the meeting. It is about the servant introducing God to the church and not himself. It is exhausting to maintain oneself and to be important oneself. Elijah considers himself better than his fathers. Whoever is allowed to perform a certain service must be aware that he is no better than others.

When Elijah had to hide from Ahab, God used ravens and a widow to take care of him. Here God uses an angel, possibly it is the Lord Jesus Himself. This is how God is toward His servant who is completely down. There God comes to him. God is personally busy taking care of Elijah. He gives him food and grants him his sleep, just as He has given food and rest to a whole people for forty years.

The angel touches him and Elijah wakes up. It is a gentle touch. There are no words of reproach, but words of encouragement to get up and eat. Elijah gets a bread cake, not meat. The bread cake speaks of the Lord Jesus in His life on earth, of His humanity. It is a bread cake baked on hot stones. It represents the Lord Jesus, tried by God in the circumstances of life. The grain offering speaks of the Lord Jesus as Man on earth, which we see in Psalm 16, which we can call ‘the psalm of the grain offering’, presented in a special way.

There is also a jar of water for his refreshment and also for cleansing. The water is a picture of the Word of God. By reading God’s Word we are refreshed and our thoughts are also cleansed of self-pity. Water in a jar represents the Word of God in our lives.

God makes sure that Elijah gets the strength to go further. He encourages him to eat twice what he has prepared for him. God always gives us the strength to do what He asks of us. Spiritual food gives strength for the way; we cannot go without it.

Food gives Elijah the power to go “to Horeb, the mountain of God”. Elijah is on his way to God through the wilderness, a journey of forty days and forty nights. The Lord Jesus was also in a wilderness, forty days and forty nights, but He was there with the devil.