Daily Devotions – Elijah meets God in the desert

Daily Devotions – Elijah meets God in the desert

 

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

1 Kings 19:2-16 (NIV)

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

Peter, James and John also saw Elijah on the mountain with Jesus. Elijah was considered the second most important person in the Old Testament (after Moses). Like Moses, he experienced God’s personal presence and heard God’s voice on Mount Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai). This occurred at a time when the wicked Queen Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah. Emotionally exhausted, Elijah falls into despair (19:4). God sends an angel to strengthen him, and leads him through the wilderness to Mount Horeb (the mountain where God gave Moses the 10 Commandments). Then we come to a very important passage, where the Lord appears to Elijah, not in a mighty wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a gentle whisper (19:11-12). This teaches us that we should not expect God to appear to us in a dramatic way. Rather, God will often speak to us in a quiet way if we sit still and listen (see Psalm 46:10).