BIBLE CHARACTER: Elijah – A Man Just Like Us
Discover why James tells us this…..
One of the most encouraging things to discover when reading the Bible is that the characters recorded on its pages were really human after all. The only perfect Man to walk upon this earth was God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The others made their mistakes. In His wisdom God has seen fit to record the failings of some of His children so that we might learn from them.
In James 5:17 we are told that “Elijah was a man just like us,” (NIV). If the Old Testament had recorded only his adventures on Mount Carmel, we would have difficulty with the statement made by James. From 1 Kings 18 we might think that Elijah was a spiritual giant. God had responded to his prayer before all the people, causing them to exclaim: “The Lord, He is the God!” (v.39). What a victory! We might well feel that Elijah was some sort of “superman”. Not so! James tells us that Elijah is not one apart but alike. Although he knew the exhilaration of victory, he also knew the exhaustion of defeat. We can therefore read the Old Testament narrative with confidence, knowing that we shall be able to identify fully with the contrasting experiences of this man of God.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Perhaps at the seaside you have watched a windsurfer riding majestically on the crest of a wave. His poise seems perfect, and for a moment you envy his skilful control of the sailboard. Then, for some reason unknown to you, the sailboard slips into a trough and the champion (as you thought him) topples into the sea.
Often we cannot understand what it is that causes us to lose our spiritual poise or to reach the point where, with William Cowper, we have to lament,
“Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord?” (1)
Elijah became depressed, dejected, and deluded- just as we can. As we consider both the causes for this and the cures from 1 Kings 19, we may be able to trace analogies that will help us in our spiritual pathway.
DISCOVERING THE CAUSES
At the end of 1 Kings 18 Elijah, empowered by the Spirit of God, is seen running ahead of Ahab’s chariot. A distance of at least 16 miles was no small achievement for a man of his age! Yet, as Chapter 19 opens, we find a remarkable contrast. Instead of running before Ahab’s chariot to the glory of God, we now find Elijah running for his life. Bravely, he had stood all alone on Mount Carmel to challenge the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, and the Lord had wrought a mighty victory. Now the same prophet is terrified by the threats of one woman and thinks nothing of running almost a hundred miles with his servant from Jezreel in the north to Beersheba in the far south! Then, as if he had not gone far enough already, on he goes alone “a day’s journey into the wilderness,” (v.4). In a state of dejection Elijah sits down under a juniper tree and prays, “Now, O Lord, take away my life.”
CONFUSED!
Poor Elijah was terribly confused! If Jezebel had intended to take his life, she could have done so instantly without issuing a warning beforehand as she did (see verse 2). After escaping for his life, Elijah now asks the Lord to take away his life! Any reasonable person might ask, “What is the point of escaping a hundred miles, only to request to die at the end of the journey?”
The root of the problem was that Elijah had taken his eyes off the Lord. Earlier, when sent to Cherith, Zarephath, and even to King Ahab, he had obeyed the Lord implicitly (2). Regardless of the circumstances – however distressing they may be – the person who is trusting in the Lord will be kept “in perfect peace” (3) by Him. Instead of trusting in the Lord for safety, Elijah trusted in his own ingenuity and fled as far as he could. However, it was not simply a spiritual problem that he had. Physically, Elijah must have been tired even before commencing his “escape”. His experience on Mount Carmel must have been extremely demanding, and the subsequent 16 mile run must have left him drained of energy. In one sense therefore it is hardly surprising that he should pray as he did in verse 4.
Remembering that Elijah was “just like us” (James 5:17, NIV) we need to apply these important lessons to ourselves. We are told: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov.3:5). If we take our eyes off Him and obtain instructions apart from Him, things will soon go wrong. We must also remember that our physical condition can affect our spiritual feelings and can result in us praying the wrong kind of prayers. Have you ever realized that Elijah’s prayer in 1 Kings 19:4 was never answered? God took His servant home to heaven, much later, without dying! God always has the last word!
THE RIGHT CURES
In his excellent book on Elijah, Theodore Epp writes:-
“Our inner life is very sensitive to our outward condition. Rest is very important to all of us. Proper exercise is also important. We sometimes forget this, but God does not.” (4)
How very thankful we should be for our Father’s constant care! “As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Ps.103:13-14). God fully understood His servant’s thoughts and feelings and had the appropriate remedy for him. It may surprise us to realize that He catered for Elijah’s physical needs before ministering to him spiritually. In view of the tasks that lay ahead, Elijah needed rest. “He giveth His beloved sleep” (5), and so Elijah “lay (down) and slept under a juniper tree,” (v.5). That was just what he needed. Some hours later he could have testified, “I laid me down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me” (6). It was then time to receive refreshment. An angel of the Lord provided him with a nourishing cake before he slept again in preparation for the 200 mile journey to Horeb, the mountain of God (v.8), where he was to receive his spiritual tonic.
Like Elijah, all Christians experience periods of spiritual depression at one time or another. Although we can determine certain causes (physical and spiritual) accounting for Elijah’s despair, we must not blame him; indeed, he is to be commended for turning to the Lord in prayer when things went wrong. Do we?
Rested and refreshed, Elijah is now able to commence his arduous trek to Horeb. This time he steps out with resolute purpose. He is no longer escaping for his life but is heading deliberately towards the very place where, years before, the Lord had appeared to Moses and had commissioned him after his failure (7). A similar work was now about to be done with Elijah.
A NEW COMMISSION
It is said that Elijah could have covered the distance to Horeb in about a week, yet it took him forty days. We are not given any reason for this, but it does remind us of the Israelites’ long time in the wilderness (8). There on Hebron’s lofty heights, far from any human distraction, the Lord asked him that deeply searching question, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” (v.9). The same challenge comes to us today. What are we doing for him just where we are? Elijah replied very honestly, but his words in verse 10 did not tell the whole truth. Although he had been “very zealous for the Lord God of hosts” (NKJV), he was not the only one left. The dejection seen earlier in the chapter had passed, but there still remained a delusion for the Lord to deal with. Indeed, Elijah was so convinced that he stood alone that when the Lord repeated the question he reiterated his answer verbatim (v.13-14)! Little did he realize at this moment that there were “seven thousand in Israel” who had not bowed down to Baal, (v.18).
Do we ever suffer from a similar delusion? Have you ever felt alone in your work for the Lord? Often we fail to realize that the Lord has many other servants whom He owns – perhaps even in our own neighbourhood! We should therefore never be discouraged like this.
GOD’S SERVANT REINSTATED
A great demonstration of God’s power followed (wind, earthquake, and fire) but it was the “still small voice” that moved Elijah (v.12). Today many Christians are seeking spectacular, convincing displays as evidence of God’s presence. Like Elijah we must learn the truth of Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” It was not in the thunderings of the Law but in the gentle whisperings of grace that the Lord recommissioned Elijah with the words, “Go, return…” (v.15). There on the mountain He unveiled His plans to His troubled servant. Hazael and Jehu were to be anointed as instruments of judgment, and Elisha was to be anointed as prophet to continue Elijah’s ministry. What an encouragement it must have been for this disappointed man to realize that the Lord had not rejected him! Already He had marked out a younger man who was to be trained by Elijah before maintaining the prophetic voice in the land himself.
Are you feeling weary and discouraged? The devil is always doing his utmost to render our lives ineffective for the Lord. Reflect upon the experiences of Elijah – this man who was just like us. The Lord can meet your physical and spiritual needs and recommission you to serve Him with purpose too. He has a personal plan for your life. Whatever your circumstances, why not make the last verse of John Greenleaf Whittier’s beautiful hymn your own prayer?
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb – let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm! (9)
END NOTES:- (1)Hymn 404 in GOLDEN BELLS: Oh, for a closer walk with God. (2)1 Kings 17:3,5,8-10a; 18:1-2. (3)Isaiah 26:3. (4)Elijah: A Man of Like Nature, by Theodore H. Epp; Back to the Bible, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1965, (page 106). (5)Psalm 127:2. (6)Psalm 3:5. (7)Exodus 2:12,15; 3:1. (8)Deuteronomy 1:2-3. (9)Hymn 402 in GOLDEN BELLS: Dear Lord and Father of mankind.