The Lord speaks to Elijah

1 Kings Chapter 19

When King Ahab got home and told Jezebel that Elijah had slaughtered all the prophets of the false god Baal, she sent a message to Elijah telling him that God could kill her too if she had not failed to take Elijah's life by the next day.

Elijah fled to Beersheba in Judah and left his servant there. Then he went alone into the desert, traveled all day and sat down under a broom tree and prayed he might die because he said he was no better than his ancestors. He lay down and slept, but as he slept an angel touched him and told him to get up and eat. He looked round and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and told him to eat more because he had a long journey ahead. So he got up and ate and had enough strength to travel forty days and nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he found a cave and spent the night.

The Lord spoke to Elijah and asked what he was doing there? Elijah replied that he zealously served the Lord, but the people of Israel had broken their covenant, tore down the altars and killed all the prophets and he alone was left and being hunted down.

The Lord told him to go stand before God on the mountain, and as he stood there, the Lord passed by and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a blast that the rocks were torn loose, then there was an earthquake, then a fire, then a gentle whisper. Elijah wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance. Again God asked why he was there and again Elijah explained how the people had broken the covenant. Then the Lord told him to go back and travel to Damascus and anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then he told him to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat to replace himself as prophet. God said, "Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha. Yet I will preserve 7 thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal."

So Elijah went and found Elisha plowing a field. Elijah threw his cloak over him and walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing in the field and ran after Elijah and asked that he could go kiss his mother and father good-bye, then follow Elijah. Elijah replied, "Go back! But consider what I have done for you." Then Elisha killed his oxen and used the wood from the plow to build a fire and roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to other plowmen and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Jezebel was enraged about the death of her prophets because they always told her things she wanted to hear. Now she lost her supporters and her pride and authority was damaged and the money she had invested in them was also lost. So long as God's prophet Elijah was around, she could not carry out the evil she wanted.

Elijah experienced the depths of fatigue and discouragement after two great victories of defeat of the prophets of Baal and the answered prayer for rain. So God let him rest and eat then confronted him with a mission, because there was still work to be done. God gave Elijah the special strength to travel over 200 miles without additional food.

By killing his oxen, Elisha made a strong commitment to follow Elijah because he destroyed his own livlihood. His meal of oxen was an offering of thanks to the Lord for choosing him.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? I just adore the fact that God chose to whisper to Elijah, just as he whispers into our hearts with a quietness. He humbles us with his whisper. I hope you are listening. Step back from the noise of your everyday life and listen quietly for his guidance. It may come like it did to Elijah, when you least expect it.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Gabe, Wanda, Janice Long’s parents, and Arlene’s nephew David. Pray for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life. Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer. Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS. Pray for Cyndi Sullivan who was given 14 months to live with cancer, but has made it six years. The pain has returned and she needs our prayers.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has 90 percent of her speech back and is home from the hospital and having rehab for the paralysis on one side of her body. Continue to pray for her recovery.
Pray for Robert Sargent with lung cancer and Marthaline Sargent with serious health issues. Update on Stella: She has shed the feeding tube and is taking formula on her own! But breathing problems are still with her, though improving all the time. She continues to have a long road, so prayers are still needed. She has been moved to a St. Louis hospital.
Pray for Carolyn’s friend Margaret and her husband who were in a car accident. As elderly drivers they may face a life change which may cost them their independence. Let’s all raise our voices to God to hear our prayers.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake,those who need jobs, those who are about to lose or have lost their homes. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.