The encounter between Elijah, one of Israel’s greatest prophets and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel should have marked the climax of a life of triumph for a prophet who served the one true God and a time of celebration throughout the land as God had finally through the prophet showed the people who is real and who is fake. Not so fast. The story moves on to reveal the prophet Elijah running for his life in utter fear and trepidation.
The people of Israel had for a long time fallen into a life of disobedience to God and even worse idolatry under the reign of several kings who did not follow the ways of the Lord, so much so that by the time of king Ahab it was difficult to say that these were indeed God’s people and the nation was a godly and righteous nation. Everything was far from that state and the time had come for the prophet to challenge what had slowly but surely become the norm of the people of Israel, a people that had rejected God and replaced him with idols and false gods. Ezekiel the prophet would no longer have it. It was time for the people to be called into what I would regard as the Joshua moment, the time to decide who they will serve. (See Joshua 24:15) The moment of decision was now.
Elijah called the prophets of Baal to a contest of sorts to ultimately prove whose god was real with the expectation that the God who prevailed would secure the loyalty of the people thereafter. This was easier said than done. The rest of the story we know well. God displayed his power in such a complete and unmistakable way while the prophets of Baal could not conjure up a response from their gods no matter how they tried. For all intents and purposes, the argument was settled. There was indisputably only one true God in Israel. Not so fast. What happens next is the crux of the message to us today. Elijah then orders the killing of all the prophets of Baal which probably wasn’t the wisest thing for him to do. Was he carried away by the moment of grand success that he was enjoying? Possibly so, but in doing so he earned the ire of Queen Jezebel, a faithful worshipper of Baal who promised to do the same to him as he had done to her prophets. Now it is obvious that Ahab was a weak king and Jezebel was the real power behind the throne. It was also obvious that she did not make idle threats and so the prophet is now running for his life.
We follow Elijah as he flees to the desert. What an appropriate image to symbolize his situation. He is now in a desert not just physically but even more so emotionally and spiritually. He is alone and like the desert he is feeling empty, wasted and barren. Here he prays not to be saved but to die. The first thing we must take from this is that Elijah’s feeling of emptiness and despair is one we can all relate to at one time or another of our lives. How many times have we wondered whether all that we did or have been doing was of any consequence at all or whether it made any difference. How many times have we felt that we have been so buffeted by the swirling winds of life that is to say so many things are working against us that we feel like just giving up. Here Elijah says in verse three (3) “I have had enough, Lord” (1Kings 19:3 NIV) Have you ever got to the point of utter frustration that you feel that you have had enough. Everyone of us has at one time or the other. Sadly some people who get to this point have opted out of life, because they simply have had enough of this world. What are the situations and life experiences swirling around you now that are making you feel sometimes that you have had enough. Has it been ill health? Has it been a financial struggle? Has it been a difficult family situation? Has it been the lack of a job or perhaps the ingratitude of people you have been constantly trying to help? Is it something spiritual? Have you had enough of a God who doesn’t seem to be listening to your cries? Have you had enough of everybody putting you down and belittling your efforts or simply saying that you’re not important.
At those times, one of the most potent and instinctive feelings we have is to run away, to get away from everyone and everything that is bearing down on us like a heavy weight. We want to get away from those things that are defeating us. We want to escape. Sometimes in order to escape we go even further into despair, further into the desert. We lock everyone and everything out. This is not always a good place to be.
However while we are in that desert, physically and emotionally and even spiritually, the blessing is to know that we are not alone. God is still with us. If you read the earlier part of the chapter you notice that while he was in that desert, Elijah was being cared for. He was not really left alone. It is important that we remember that even in our darkest times, we are still being held and nourished by God. He has not deserted us even though we may feel so alone. The same God who it seems has deserted us, who it seems has allowed us to experience all kinds of pain and sorrow, the same God who we feel has not been answering our prayers, that same God now shows himself not because he was away from us but because it is at this moment we are ready and in the best position to listen, to hear His voice, that still small voice.
Elijah hears the voice calling to him but it is not asking how are you or what can I do for you. The voice of God calls and asks him, “What are you doing here Elijah?” It almost sounds like a reprimand. Is the Lord asking you that very question today? What are you doing here in church? What are you doing here at this job or in this farm or in this pub or in this nightclub or in this marriage or in this relationship or among this crowd or in this neighborhood? What are you doing here? Note Elijah responds by recalling how faithful he has been and his reward for being faithful to God is essentially a death threat. We may not face death threats but how often have you felt like giving up precisely because you have given so much, you have sacrificed so much for others and yet it has all gone unnoticed and unrewarded. In fact the reward you probably have gotten is not necessarily a death threat like Elijah, thank God for that, but your reward has been the ingratitude of others or a demotion or being passed over for others less experienced and in your opinion less qualified than you or been cursed by the very same people you have strived to help. Now you are at the point where you are basically saying I am done with this and hopefully God will agree but instead the voice asks you what are you doing here, a subtle message that you are not where you should be. Instead of sympathy and understanding what Elijah gets from God is a challenge, a command, “Go back the way you came…” (1Kings 19:15 NIV) What a challenge. Elijah probably must have said in his mind, What! Are you crazy? This is the last thing anyone would want to hear. After all, the very reason you have found yourself in the desert is to escape the turbulence, the strife, the threats against you, the pain you have been bearing. Why would anyone want to go back to the source of trouble and suffering? As it turns out, Elijah was being sent back the way he came because God had more work for him. There was unfinished business. His unfinished business was to appoint the persons that God had chosen to continue his work including Elisha who was to succeed him as prophet. This command indicated two things to Elijah. First of all, God’s timeline is not the same as any person. You are not done until God says your work is finished. Secondly, in contrast to Ezekiel’s claim in verse 14 that he was the only servant of the Lord left, God had other persons waiting in the wings ready to take up the mantle and do his work. In verse 18 we hear God saying to Elijah, “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (See 1Kings 19:18 NIV) That should cause us to pause and reflect for a moment about our own service to God. We must never forget that God alone knows when you have carried out your purpose in a specific role or even here on earth and it is time to leave. It is not up to us to tell God when we are finished especially when we are in His service whatever the position you hold whether in church or in the world at large. We must also never forget that nothing ever depends on you alone. Many people both in church and in their worldly endeavours tend to feel that there are things that only they alone can do or do well enough. They feel that others are totally dependent on them. There was a man in a church that I pastored many years ago that suggested that the church would not exist if it was not for his work in the church. He has since died and the church still continues. There are people who feel that they are indispensable to a certain job or institution. Retirement or death help us to remember that none of us ultimately are indispensable. God has his own way of making the work continue after we have left the scene. Our job and purpose is to make sure that succession planning takes place.This is what Elijah is being called to do. He must go back because the work is not yet finished. Is God calling some of us here to go back the way we came? Might it be that you have unfinished work and the Lord wants you to finish it before he calls you home? Is it possible that you cannot move into your season of flourishing or prosperity until you go back and tie up those loose ends or complete the mission that God has given you to do?
What are the things you need to consider going back to finish? Is it to reconcile a broken relationship? Is it to go back and give more time to a job that you failed to complete? Is it to give yourself more time in the work at church that you gave up too early? Is it even to reconcile your relationship with God that you have ignored for a very long time or completely abandoned? Going back to unfinished business is never easy or comfortable especially if it caused you great pain and distress in the first case. But the message today is that you are not going back the way you came alone. You are going back with God and in his strength you will stand secure. Let us allow the Lord to be our “strength and stay” in the words of the late Queen Elizabeth the Second as we recommit ourselves to his purpose here on earth knowing that no matter the trials and struggles you face, He will keep you through to the very end. Amen.