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I Kings
Chapter
19
{Note:
RBT uses this chapter as an introduction to Romans 11:2.}
1~~And
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done,
and
how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
{Note: King Ahab is a 'he-man' - great with chariots and horses - things of the body - but weak when it came to his wife. Jezebel was beautiful, and smart, ambitious, and very evil. Her father was a king. She married Ahab to control a larger empire.}
{Verses
2-3: Diabolical Plot of Jezebel - Attacking Elijah's
"Arrogance" - Threat Strategy}
2~~Then
Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying,
"So
may the gods/'elohiym do to me,
and
even more . . .
if
I make not your life
as
the life of one of them
{the 450 prophets of Baal who were slaughtered under orders of
Elijah}
by
tomorrow about this time.
{Note: Elijah will take 'some' of the credit of what happened in the last chapter and fall into the trap of arrogance. "I, I, I will be dead!" This is how Jezebel will attack this great man.}
{Failure
of a Mature Believer - No Reliance on God's Logistical Grace}
3~~And
when he 'was afraid'/'saw in his imagination'
he
got up and ran for his life,
and
came to Beersheba
{about 100 kilometers away},
which
belonged to Judah,
and
he deserted his servant there.
4a~~And,
he, himself, walked a day's journey into the desert,
and
he came and sat down under a broom tree.
{rethem - is a broom tree which is a leafless- dried up scrub}
And
he requested for himself that he might die.
{self-pity has now turned to being irrational - he does not really
want to die at all or he would not have ran away!}
4b~~And
said, "It is enough; now, O Jehovah/God,
take
away my soul . . .
for
I am not better than my fathers."
{referring to the Exodus Generation}
5``And
as he lay and slept under broom tree,
behold,
then an angel touched him,
and
said unto him, "Arise and eat."
6``And
he looked, and, behold,
there
was a cake baken on the coals,
and
a cruse of water at his head.
And
he did eat and drink,
and
laid him down again.
7``And
the angel of Jehovah/God
came
again the second time,
and
touched him, and said,
"Arise
and eat; because the journey is too great for you."
8~~And
he arose, and did eat and drink,
and
went in the strength of that food . . .
forty
days and forty nights . . .
unto
Horeb the mountain of 'Elohiym/Godhead.
9~~And
he {Elijah}
'came
to a cave intending to spend the night there but stayed on'
{luwn - indicates temporary lodging that has become longer term}.
And,
behold, the word/'doctrinal communication' {dabar}
of
Jehovah/God came to him, and He said unto him,
"What
are you doing here, Elijah?"
10a~~And
he {Elijah} said,
"I
have been very zealous for Jehovah/God . . .
'Elohiym/Godhead
of the armies/hosts.
{Note: When people start to make an issue out of their Zeal for the Lord, they have moved into self-righteousness. Elijah is now 'safe in a cave'. So his self-pity (why am I to die) moves to self-righteousness. Grace oriented people (Elijah is in error here) do not make an issue of themselves.}
{Self-Righteous
People Think in Terms of Comparison to OTHERS}
10b~~Because
the people/sons of Israel
have
deserted/forsaken Your covenant,
thrown
down Your altars,
and
slain Your prophets with the sword.
{Note: Elijah is saying, "I have a standard and that standard is IT." And, I am that standard and I am IT! Pure self-righteousness and it is seen all the time in the world - even more in the self-righteous Christian societies that do not understand grace. It is not true that all the people of Israel have deserted the Lord and His Word, but self-righteous people are really not interested in Truth - they want you to agree to their standards - right or wrong!}
10c~~And
I, even I only, am left . . .
and
they seek my life, to take it away."
{Note: Again in self-righteousness, Elijah is not making a correct statement - there are others who still love the Lord in Israel. And, Jezebel does not really seek his life, that would make him a martyr and more dangerous - she needed to discredit him - which she did when he ran away - her messenger would have been an assassin if she really wanted him murdered!}
{Verses
11-12: God Personally Teaches Elijah the Lesson of Grace}
11a~~Therefore,
He {God} replied,
"Get
out {of the cave} {a command}.
You
will stand on the mountain face to to face with Jehovah/God.
{Elijah is out of hiding and in the Lord's classroom now}
{Note: Principle of Grace: Human ability is no substitute for Divine Dynamics. Examples for human ability will follow first.}
11b~~And,
behold . . . Jehovah/God was passing by,
and
a great and strong wind was breaking up the mountains,
{probably a tornado like occurrence}
and
breaking in pieces the rocks before Jehovah/God . . .
but
Jehovah/God was not in the wind.
{Note: This was 'a manifestation of' or 'analogous to' great human ability.}
11c~~And
after the wind an earthquake . . .
but
the Jehovah/God was not in the earthquake.
{Note: A second example to demonstrate great power outside of that provided by God. Further examples will follow.}
12~~And
after the earthquake . . . a fire . . .
but
Jehovah/God was not in the fire.
And after the fire . . . 'a Voice of Silence'/'a Voice that says Nothing'.
{Note: d@mamah daq qowl - literally means 'a voice of silence'. D@mamah is related to adam which means dust - or atomic. A very powerful voice. This is a title for God the Holy Spirit. The most powerful voice of the universe. There is no power in noise. The only way noise can control you is through fear. Noise has been used in warfare to intimidate the enemy.}
{Verses
13-14: Elijah Failed to Learn the Lesson}
13~~And
it was so, when Elijah heard it
that
he wrapped his face in his mantle,
and
went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave.
And,
behold, there came a voice unto him, and said,
"What
are you doing here, Elijah?"
{Elijah
Shows He is Still in Self-Righteousness - Repeats His Statement of Arrogance}
14``
And he said,
"I
have been very zealous for Jehovah/God . . .
'Elohiym/Godhead
of armies/hosts . . .
because
the people/sons of Israel
have
deserted/forsaken Your covenant . . .
thrown
down Your altars,
and
slain Your prophets with the sword . . .
and
I, even I only, am left . . .
and
they seek my soul/life . . . to take it away."
{Note: Because Elijah failed to learn the lesson, God's divine plan would be accomplished by other means. Elijah will have to commission three people to take his place - a new king in Syria, Hazael, in verse 15; a new king in Israel, Jehu, in verse 16; and a new prophet Elisha, introduced in verse 17.}
15``And
Jehovah/God said unto him,
"Go,
return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.
And
when you come,
anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria.
16``And
Jehu the son of Nimshi
you
shall anoint to be king over Israel.
And
Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah,
you
shall anoint to be prophet {in your place}.
17~~And
it shall come to pass,
that
those who escaped the sword of Hazael
shall
Jehu slay.
And
those who escaped from the sword of Jehu
shall
Elisha slay.
{Pivot
of Mature Believers Still in Israel}
18a~~I
{God} have caused to remain
seven
thousand in Israel . . .
{Note: Remember Elijah told God 'only he' remained. God gave him a lesson on power without Him in it, and Elijah failed to recover from his self-righteousness, so others will replace him. Elijah PLUS this 7,000 made up the pivot of mature believers who were holding the nation together - not just ONE.}
18b~~{The
description of the pivot of seven thousand follows:} . . .
all
the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,
and
every mouth which has not kissed him.
{Note: This pivot remained faithful to God and His Word. These are the mature believers who refused to enter into the false worship of Baal.}
19
So he departed there,
and
found Elisha the son of Shaphat,
who
was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him,
and
he with the twelfth.
And Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20
And he {Elisha} left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said,
"Let
me, please/'I pray you', kiss my father and my mother,
and
then I will follow you."
And
he said unto him,
"Go
back again . . . for what have I done to you?"
21
And he {Elisha} returned back from him {Elijah},
and
took a yoke of oxen, and slew them,
and
boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen,
and
gave unto the people, and they did eat.
Then
he arose, and went after Elijah,
and
ministered unto him.
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