“WHEN YOU ARE DISCOURAGED.” 1 KINGS 19: 1-18.
1 KINGS 19: 1-3, 4-9a, 9b-13a. 15-18.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 1 KINGS 19.
The Life Question is, what should we do when we are discouraged?
Discouragement can strike anyone at anytime. It is experienced in all areas of life, including the spiritual realm. God’s servants are not immune to discouragement. Spiritual discouragement can come quickly and leave slowly. One of the clearest examples of discouragement is fund in the life of the great prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19.
When this chapter is read along with chapter 18, we see Elijah at the peak of his powers, filled with exhilaration because of victory over the prophets of Baal. In chapter 19 we see him at the lowest ebb in his life.
Elijah’s hopelessness came from a sense that wrong had triumphed over right and that the quest to turn the people around was futile. Elijah obviously knew something about God’s power, as he had called down fire from heaven. And yet he needed to be reminded that God was in control.
Specifically, God’s sovereignty is revealed in these chapters in two ways: first, that the wicked would not escape, and second, that God in His mercy preserved a remnant. The certainty of punishment is shown in the fire from heaven in 1 Kings 18:38 and the choice of three agents of God’s wrath in 1 Kings 19: 15-17. The certainty of God’s mercy and the preservation of a remnant is in the soft whisper of 1 Kings 19: 12-13. God is sovereign: the apparent triumph of evil in the world is a lie.
In our society, the word depression is used to describe both the kind of low spirits that everyone feels from time to time and the illness called clinical depression. The latter is a serious illness that can impair a person’s ability to function in social situations and at work.
The causes of clinical depression are complex. Genetic, biological, and environmental factors can contribute to its development. Surveys show that many people view depression, as a sign of personal weakness, but it is a real illness.
Do not belittle depression and do not attempt to diagnose the disease or its treatment. Get professional help. The other kind of depression is more accurately called “discouragement.” This lesson deals with the kind of discouragement that all people experience from time to time, not with clinical depression.
Today, we American Christians may consider ourselves to be an oppressed and diminishing minority. The story of Christ is attacked or lampooned in movies and television programs. Slowly but steadily, the radical social agenda for homosexuality and abortion makes headway. Radical Muslims routinely carry out acts of terror, but no criticism of Islam, or of its claims about the Koran, are tolerated in the mainstream media. We consider with dread what society may look like in 20 to 40 years. We hear the voice of despair in Psalm 11:3: “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Elijah suffered from exactly this kind of despair. He fled Israel because of exhaustion and hopelessness, but his journey led him to a new encounter with God. Elijah’s story is a model for us when we feel that upholding biblical teaching is a lost cause.
PLEASE READ 1 KINGS 19: 1-3.
The year was approximately 857 B.C., and Ahab was king of Israel. Ahab was the son of Omri, who had seized the throne of Israel by violence, establishing the capital of Samaria, and raised he country to new heights of power and international prestige.
Omri also strengthened ties between Israel and the Phoenician city of Sidon (located north of Israel on the Mediterranean coast) by entering into a marriage alliance, with Ahab marrying the Phoenician princess Jezebel.
This accelerated the process of apostasy in Israel, as Jezebel was devoted to the worship of Baal and used her position to do missionary work in Israel for the Baal cult.
She personally sustained 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Baal’s consort, the goddess Asherah. She also sought to suppress the worship of the Lord by persecuting His prophets.
She was regarded as a sorceress, and she showed how ruthless she could be in the affair of Naboth’s vineyard. That episode also showed how pliable King Ahab was in his building of a temple to Baal in the city of Samaria.
Elijah’s status as a prophet of the true God had just been vindicated in a most spectacular way. He had confronted the prophets of Baal in a kind of religious contest on Mount Carmel, a rise located on the Mediterranean coast of Israel (maximum height 1,739 ft.). There he had challenged Jezebels 850 prophets to call down fire from heaven, which of course they were unable to do.
When Elijah did call down fire from the Lord, the people shouted that the Lord was the true God and at Elijah’s command slaughtered the prophets of Baal and Asherah. In addition, Elijah declared that there would be a drought until he himself gave the word for it to end.
A three-year drought did ensue, and at Elijah’s word it came to an end with a great rainstorm. One might think, therefore, that Elijah had every reason to feel justified and enthusiastic about the prospects for his ministry in Israel. Surely everyone would now see that the Lord was the true God, Elijah could have reasoned.
But things did not go that way at all. First, Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done. We do not know anything about the tone with which spoke of these things to Jezebel. Was he impressed by the Miracles? Did he suggest that Elijah might after all be right? Was he angry at Elijah? We do not know, but the verse suggests that Ahab was reporting back to Jezebel, almost as though he were her subordinate.
Ahab clearly did not look at the miracles of Elijah as a sufficient reason for him to turn away from Jezebel and oppose her.
The message of Ahab focused on one thing, at least as far as Jezebel was concerned: Elijah had killed all the prophets with the sword.
Whatever was in Ahab’s report, Elijah’s miracles seem to have gotten little attention. Jezebel was evidently entirely consumed by the fact that Elijah had slaughtered her beloved prophets.
She sent him a message that he would be the next to die. May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. Elijah knew that she meant what she had said and that he had to put as much distance between himself and her as possible.
We may ask why Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life after he had been the agent for so dramatic a display of God’s power. Did Elijah show a sinful lack of faith and courage? Several factors should be taken into account. First, Elijah apparently could
not call down fire from heaven at will. The events of 1 Kings 18 were extraordinary, and for most of his life Elijah lived as a normal man. The threat to him was real.
Second, flight from persecution is not sinful; the Apostle Paul did the same thing in Acts 9:23-25.
Third, Elijah was mentally and physically exhausted. For three years he had been in hiding as he endured the bitterness of being blamed for Israel’s drought and troubles. He had stood alone and relatively friendless against a ruthless and powerful government.
Although from a distance we can look at his confrontation with the prophets of Baal as a great victory, for him, in the thick of the fight, it must have been a day of enormous stress and even some sadness. One does not put 850 people to death without some distress.
For us the lesson is that the strain of spiritual battles and the bitterness of seeing apostasy and evil all around us take its toll. There comes a time when we need to escape the fight. If we do not, fatigue, anger, and frustration will cause us to lose sight of the love of God and of why defending the truth really matters.
From 1 kings 19:1-3 we have learned these important lessons. 1. Spiritual victory is often followed by trouble and danger.
2. Even godly people can be tired, afraid, and distressed.
This episode in Elijah’s life came at the end of a remarkable series of events in the prophet’s life. As chronicled in 1 Kings 18, Elijah presented himself to Ahab and offered a challenge to prove Yahweh’s power over the false prophet, Baal.
Throughout its history, Israel fought the temptation, often without success, to worship idols. The gods Baal and Asherah were common in the land because the people of that region worshiped these gods prior to Israel’s arrival.
He Bible has many stories of people God used in mighty ways but who also found the path of service for God difficult. Consider Moses, Job, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist. In the words of Jesus in John 16: 33,”You will have suffering in this world.”
Jesus Himself found the cup placed before Him a bitter one and prayed in Matt. 26: 39, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Let’s recognize that serving God can be discouraging. Serving God’s people in any capacity is hard. While God does not protect us from every test, He uses the test to strengthen us for future service. That is what we will see as we continue Elijah’s story.
PLEASE READ 1 KINGS 19: 4-9a.
After leaving Beersheba, Elijah went another day’s journey into the wilderness, south into the kingdom of Judah. Totally exhausted and deeply discouraged, he sat down under a juniper or broom tree. He prayed that he might die:” “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers.” “I am no better than my ancestors’; probably means that as they served God in their day and endured their quota of pain, so had he, and he deserved no longer life than they.”
Some have suggested that if he really wanted to die, he should have not fled and Jezebel would have done it for him. However, Elijah would have viewed that as a shameful death: he had in mind the Lord calling him home.
What caused such discouragement in the prophet who had won such a victory only a few days earlier? He was not by nature a pessimists. They always expect the worst. Nor was he a coward. He had shown his courage many times.
Why then was Elijah so discouraged? For one thing, he was emotionally and physically drained. Recall what he had done. First, the events on Mount Carmel were exhausting; the challenge to the prophets of Baal, the call for decision by the Israelites, the contest to call down fire from heaven, the slaughter of the false prophets, the prayer for rain, and he run down to Jezebel. These were followed by the trip to Beersheba and another day’s journey into the wilderness. He had come a long way in a short time with little or no rest.
Some discouragement comes from emotional and physical exhaustion. There is a difference between being weary in the Lord’s work and being weary of his work. Elijah seems to have been both. Thus the first thing God did to help His discouraged servant was to provide food and rest.
After sleeping, Elijah awoke to find bread and water. After refreshing himself, Elijah slept again. It was as if the Lord had told him, “There’s no need for you to stay awake. I’ll be here all night.” “Indeed the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.” (Ps. 121:4). The next morning the angel told Elijah to eat and drink because he had a long journey ahead. He went forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God, which is Sinai.
The
important point of this passage is that although Elijah may have
given up on himself, God had not. In Elijah’s lowest time God
sustained him and enabled him to find his way to a divine encounter.
If we serve God, there may be times when we despair of life itself.
Devotion is no guarantee against depression: to the contrary, the sin
that surrounds us can drive us into despondency. But the angels of
God are watching over us and they will guide us back to the roots of
our faith.
There will be times when we will give up on ourselves
as God’s servants. But God does not give up on us.
In addition to physical exhaustion, Elijah seems to have three other reasons for feeling discouraged. For one thing, the prophet felt he had failed. He felt God had called him to halt and defeat the scourge of Baal worship and to restore the worship of the Lord to Israel.
Elijah had believed that a great victory on Mount Carmel would help accomplish this or at least greatly aid it. He believed this until he ran down to Jezreel and received the threat by Jezebel. Elijah realized that evil still ruled the land. He believed he had failed in the one task to which God called him. That is a terrible feeling and results in discouragement and despair. It was not so much Jezebel’s threat that bothered him: it was that she was still in a place of authority to make such a threat and to carry it out.
A second factor in Elijah’s being discouraged was his feeling that the people had let him down. He had counted on a religious renewal.
When he spoke to the people on Mount Carmel, he challenged them, “How long will you hesitate between two opinion? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.”
Of course after the Lord sent fire to burn up the sacrifices the people cried, “Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!” But where were they when Jezebel made her brazen threat against Elijah’s life? He was alone. The people were not with him. He felt they had failed God and him.
And it is possible that Elijah suspected that the Lord had let him down. If the Lord could send fire from heaven to give a victory over the prophets of Baal, why didn’t He deal with the chief instigator of Baal worship?
Jezebel was still on the throne seemingly untouched by divine judgment. Why did God allow such an evil person to exercise such power? This question has been asked throughout the centuries. It often leads to doubt and discouragement.
Consider the case of John the Baptist when he was in prison. He was put there by evil rulers, including Herodias, who had much in common with Jezebel. John had preached that the Messiah would judge evil, yet Jesus had not brought down Herod Antipas and Herodias. The evil pair was on the throne and he, the preacher of righteousness was in prison.
John sent a question to Jesus in Luke 7: 19,” Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” John was having some of the same feelings Elijah had. God was not operating on their time schedule or in ways they expected.
When Elijah arrived in Horeb, he came thither into a cave, and lodged there. Some have speculated that this might have been the famous “cleft of the rock” where God placed Moses as He passed by and revealed His glory in Ex. 33: 22. This is unlikely, although in each case the Lord made a revelation of Himself. When he did, He answered the causes of Elijah’s discouragement. Believers get discouraged when they feel that they have failed God, when they think others have failed them, and/or when they think God has let them down.
PLEASE READ 1 KINGS 19: 9b-13a.
The Lord spoke to Elijah and asked a question. In fact, He asked it twice in vs. 9 & 13. “What doest thou here, Elijah? What did God mean? If the emphasis was on the word “here” as opposed to “there,” God was asking the prophet why he was at Horeb instead of in Israel. The prophet was supposed to be facing down the apostate rulers of Israel, and here he was in a cave, far from his place of service.
Elijah’s answer is somewhat rehearsed:
I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.
He used precisely the same words when asked a second time why he had come here.
God had been giving Elijah clear instructions about where to go and what to do, but there seems to have been no command to flee from Israel. So the Lord may have meant something like this: “What are you doing here at Horeb instead of in Israel. The last command I gave you was in Israel. Who told you to flee from the place where I assigned you?
Elijah, still despondent about the value of his life’s work, wanted to make sure he got his point across to God: “I have been faithful, but those people are so obstinate that nothing I have done makes any differenced. Therefore, we might as well call the whole thing off.”
If the emphasis was on the word doest, the question focused on his words of despair, “What are you dong having a pity party? This is not worthy of a prophet of the Lord. What are you doing with your life and mission? Possibly God’s question had both meanings.
The prophet’s answer shows he was still discouraged. His answer made three points. He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God.” He showed some pride in his service for God. He contrasted his righteous zeal with the actions of the people and their rulers: “The Children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets.”
Jezebel was the root of the problem, but the people were not blameless. Elijah honestly believed that only he was left as a faithful servant of the Lord. I, even I only, am left.
Elijah felt that Jezebel was only the ring-leader of those who were trying to kill him.
“At the bottom of his complaint was a complaint about God Himself. The Lord had not treated him well by allowing him to experience such things. Despair had made Elijah self-centered.”
What follows is one of the most famous episodes in the O.T. The Lord did something that challenged Elijah’s feeling that God had let him down. He called the discouraged prophet to stand upon the mount before the Lord. And the Lord passed by, and a strong wind swept by—so strong that it broke the rocks. But the Lord was not in the wind. The mighty wind was followed by a great earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then there was a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire.
At times past god had used each of these to make some deliverance or revelation, but not on this day. God was trying to show Elijah that bringing in the kingdom requires something other than wind, earthquakes and fires.
After the fire was a still small voice. A soft whisper. We are not specifically told that the Lord was in the gentle Whisper, but Elijah’s response of covering his face in holy reverence showed that he knew God was in this voice.
We are not told what, if anything, Elijah heard or what the gentle whisper said. The message seemed to be in the form of the message. God was not always present in the powerful and dramatic. He did not always work though the sensational or the overpowering.
The supreme revelation of God took place at the cross. To the world it seemed a defeat, but God showed it to be a victory. God’s kingdom comes not through fire from heaven but from self-giving love. James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans in Luke 9: 51-56, but Jesus showed how to win enemies by his actions in John 4. Thus this was God’s answer to the feeling of Elijah that the Lord had let him down. Victory over evil comes not through displays of power but through love. God’s power that overcomes evil and changes lives is not in outward acts of power but in the inward working of self-giving love.
PLEASE READ 1 KINGS 19: 15-18.
Part of Elijah’s problem was that he felt he had been a failure and that his ministry was over. God countered that feeling by giving him three specific assignments. This was God’s way of saying: “Life is not over. I’ll come for you when your work is over, but before then, I have important work for you to do.” Many people as they grow older think their lives are over and there is nothing they can do. An older person or someone whose health is a problem may not be able to do all they once did. They may not be able to do those things as well or as quickly, but they should not resign. Rather, they need to “re-sign” or reengage their tasks.
Thus Elijah was told, “Go and return by the way you came.” He was to retrace his steps as he went forward to do God’s will. What about Jezebel and her threats? Nothing is said about her, but before the Lord called Elijah home, He allowed Elijah to pronounce divine judgment on the guilty pair.
Elijah played a key role in all that God did through Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as his successor as prophet, All three would bring divine judgments on Ahab and his family. This was one way the Lord showed Elijah that he was not a failure.
The only way a dedicated believer becomes a failure is by giving up. Elijah had work to do. God was not through with him, and he was assured that after he was gone, others would carry on God’s work. “God doesn’t fail and the man who walks with Him will not fail.
He may not accomplish his ambition. He may not realize many of the great hopes of his life, but if he lives in the secret place of the Most High his life will never be a failure.
Elijah heard one more significant word of encouragement from the Lord. Elijah had claimed that he was the only servant of the Lord who remained faithful to Him. In vs. 18 God informed him that he was not alone. There were seven thousand in Israel who had not worshiped Baal. God was preserving a faithful remnant in Israel.
Wouldn’t Elijah have been helped if he had met with some of this group for prayer and mutual encouragement? This is one reason we urge each believer to be an active member of a church where fellow believers bear one another’s burdens and encourage one another. Even if you feel let down after a deep spiritual experience, know that God still has a purpose for you. A fresh vision of God’s glory and purpose helps believers deal with discouragement. Today’s lesson should help us find God’s help when faced with overwhelming situations by evaluating the causes of your discouragement and then desiring a fresh vision of God’s glory and purpose.
THE BIBLICAL TRUTH IN 2 KINGS 5 IS THAT GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR ILLNESSES AND HE COMPASSIONATELY HELPS THOSE WHO HUMBLY TRUST HIM. A.V. DAUGHERTY <altav@swbell.net>