1Ki 19:4 | KingComments | STEP | 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.

‏ 1 Kings 19:4

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.