When Elijah Ran Away

In I Kings 19, Elijah received news that Jezebel was seeking his life. In fear the prophet fled Israel and went to the land of Beersheba where he fell asleep under a juniper tree. While sleeping an angel provided him baked cakes and water. He woke, ate the meal, and returned to his sleep. The angel woke him up, telling him to eat once again. He reminded Elijah that he needed his strength because of the long journey that lay ahead of him.

Forty days later, Elijah ended up on Mt. Horeb, where he built a shelter in a cave. In I Kings 19:9 the Lord said, “What doest thou here Elijah?”

Elijah responded in vs.10, that Israel had forgotten the Lord, and he was all alone. In vs.18 the Lord told Elijah this was not true, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed.”

Elijah returned to Israel, and Jezebel never took his life. As a matter of fact, Elijah never died a physical death. In II Kings 2:11, Elijah is taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. The fate of Jezebel was very tragic. She fell victim to a blood thirsty name Jehu. He asked her eunuchs to toss her out the palace window. The eunuchs honored his request, and the dogs consumed her corpse. All that was left of the evil queen was her skull, hands, and feet.

From this story we see that Elijah’s fears never came about. He regained his courage, returned home, and was victorious over his enemies. This applies to us today. It appears that evil people are obtaining great victories in our nation, and in the world. Many good people are afraid to make a stand because of fear. By submitting to fear, victory can never be won. When standing for what is right we are never alone. God makes us a promise in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

More to come.