1 Kings 19
At the end of my last post on the previous chapter we left king Ahab racing the prophet Elijah from mount Carmel to the city trying to stay ahead of the rain. (The first for several years as it happens, but that is another story)
Ahab told his wife, the infamous Jezebel, that Elijah had killed the priests of Baal and in a dramatic demonstration shown that God is the real god.
Jezebel in outraged and issues a death sentence against Elijah with the oath "May the gods deal severely with me if I don't make Elijah like my priests" so Elijah does the sensible thing and runs for his life!
He left his servant in Beersheba in southern Judah and he himself went further south into the wilderness.
In despair and sheltering under a broom tree Elijah prayed to God that he has had enough and wants to die "Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors". He then fell asleep under the tree.
He is awakened by an angel with some bread and water and told to eat. This happened twice the second time "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you"
Having rested and regained his strength Elijah journeyed to Mount Horeb, which is another name for Sinai and is in the south of the Sinai peninsula.
Finding a cave, Elijah stays there overnight.
The next bit I'm afraid I cannot read without thinking of a line from the old radio show - The Goons, written by Spike Milligan - I'll explain the link which may not be entirely obvious.
In the Bible God (or the word of the Lord) came to Elijah while he was in the cave and asked "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Elijah responds that he has been zealous for God, the Israelites tear down the alters to God and rejected the covenant and murdered all the prophets that God has sent and he is the last one standing and they are trying to kill him too.
In the Goon show there is a character called "Eccles" a bit of a simple chap played by Spike Milligan. When Neddie Seagoon (Played by Harry Secombe) finds him in an unexpected place demands "What are you doing here, Eccles?"
To which the reply is "Everybody's got to be somewhere"
Elijah is told to stand in the mouth of the cave as God is about to pass by in person.
First there was a tremendous and powerful wind
Second there was an earthquake
Third there was a fire
God was not in any of these things that insurance companies like to term "Acts of God"
Finally, in the aftermath of the destruction there is a very quiet whisper, and that is God.
Again God asked "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Having heard Elijah's complaint, God gives Elijah some very specific instructions and told Elijah that he has actually got 7000 fellow countrymen and women that have not worshipped other gods and he really is not alone.
Elijah obeyed and he annointed Hazael as king over Aram and also Jehu as king over Israel to overthrow Ahab and destroy the wicked family line.
Elijah also called Elisha to be prophet
There are some quite interesting points in this chapter -
Elijah obviously needed some time out of the public eye and safe from the threat of Jezebel, rest, food and drink were what he needed to start with. Elijah went without further food and water for 40 days by the way - one of only 3 people in the Bible recorded as fasting for 40 days.
Many critics of faith and religion will point to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and bush fires out of control and say "Where is your God in this situation?"
Guess what - the bible tells us that God is not in the earthquake, winds, volcanic eruptions and other devastating natural disasters. I believe that God IS present in the aftermath where the aid agencies go in to make things better as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately it seems that to live on a planet that supports such wonderful life, disaster and death simply cannot be avoided for without them the planet would surely be uninhabitable
Finding a cave, Elijah stays there overnight.
The next bit I'm afraid I cannot read without thinking of a line from the old radio show - The Goons, written by Spike Milligan - I'll explain the link which may not be entirely obvious.
In the Bible God (or the word of the Lord) came to Elijah while he was in the cave and asked "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Elijah responds that he has been zealous for God, the Israelites tear down the alters to God and rejected the covenant and murdered all the prophets that God has sent and he is the last one standing and they are trying to kill him too.
In the Goon show there is a character called "Eccles" a bit of a simple chap played by Spike Milligan. When Neddie Seagoon (Played by Harry Secombe) finds him in an unexpected place demands "What are you doing here, Eccles?"
To which the reply is "Everybody's got to be somewhere"
Elijah is told to stand in the mouth of the cave as God is about to pass by in person.
First there was a tremendous and powerful wind
Second there was an earthquake
Third there was a fire
God was not in any of these things that insurance companies like to term "Acts of God"
Finally, in the aftermath of the destruction there is a very quiet whisper, and that is God.
Again God asked "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Having heard Elijah's complaint, God gives Elijah some very specific instructions and told Elijah that he has actually got 7000 fellow countrymen and women that have not worshipped other gods and he really is not alone.
Elijah obeyed and he annointed Hazael as king over Aram and also Jehu as king over Israel to overthrow Ahab and destroy the wicked family line.
Elijah also called Elisha to be prophet
There are some quite interesting points in this chapter -
Elijah obviously needed some time out of the public eye and safe from the threat of Jezebel, rest, food and drink were what he needed to start with. Elijah went without further food and water for 40 days by the way - one of only 3 people in the Bible recorded as fasting for 40 days.
Many critics of faith and religion will point to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and bush fires out of control and say "Where is your God in this situation?"
Guess what - the bible tells us that God is not in the earthquake, winds, volcanic eruptions and other devastating natural disasters. I believe that God IS present in the aftermath where the aid agencies go in to make things better as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately it seems that to live on a planet that supports such wonderful life, disaster and death simply cannot be avoided for without them the planet would surely be uninhabitable
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