IT’S NOT YOUR CAVE—-PUT IT AWAY October 2019
Reference: I Kings 19: 1-16 NKJV
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So, he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place….”
Man’s basic need for food, clothing, and shelter must be met. Otherwise, man’s life deteriorates. Survival is the heart-cry of everyone, therefore, when our very existence is at risk, we seek solutions. A mother hen shelters her chickens when she perceives danger. (Matthew 23: 37) How much more should we trust our Heavenly Father to protect us!
Israel was entrapped by idolatry, but Elijah exposed the false prophets. On Mount Carmel, he proved to them that Jehovah is Supreme. He also prayed for rain during a famine, and it rained. Crops began to flourish; animals could find water and people began to exalt God. That seemed like a positive change for any society, but the enemy does not celebrate the successes of God’s children.
When Jezebel got wind of Elijah’s actions, she was furious. She vowed that he would be a corpse by the end of the following day. Elijah took this threat as an opportune time to hide, as opposed to seeking God’s help. It was an opening for him to join the people who had said, “The Lord, He is God.”
Elijah had outrun a chariot, so now he was trying to outrun Jezebel’s threats. Instead of reflecting on pervious victories, Elijah succumbed to fear, and ran. Wasn’t God, the power behind Elijah’s accomplishments? There was no need for him to recount to God all that he had done for the Kingdom’s sake. It was time to realize that divine help was available again (Isaiah 59:19b), but he sought what he thought would be a perfect refuge.
The Israelites also forgot God’s miracles and so they engaged in idol worship. God had divided the Red Sea and provided food and water in the Wilderness (Exodus16:8-15), yet they panicked when Moses, their leader, did not return from Mount Sinai in a timely manner. Does this remind us of some junctures along our journey? What might be our story if we recall Hebrews 13: 8? Do we believe it? How so?
What may have been Elijah’s actions had he focused on his most recent triumph? Adrenaline kicked in when he had to get to Jezreel before the expected, abundant rain. Now, he saw Jezebel as a gigantic monster from whom he had to escape. That is a picture-perfect portrait of us, when we focus on our realities.
In the process of escaping, he left his servant at Judah, which is representative of praise. When we quit praising God, our peace is disturbed, and the enemy seizes the opportunity to torment us with our realities. Then, we forget that God has our best interest at heart. If we exalt Jehovah Jireh and continue to praise Him, it pleases Him, and confuses the Enemy.
Elijah then travelled to the wilderness, a lonely place. In this isolated existence, He became prey to various mind attacks. He then wished to die. Wait a minute, wasn’t he trying to save his life from Jezebel’s intent? He wished for the very thing that Jezebel promised. That was a sure sign of muddled thinking. That’s what anxiety causes. He needed to be encouraged. He found a broom tree where he reasoned with the Lord, saying he was at the end of his rope. His stress level had exceeded the chart and in case God was not aware of that, he said, “It is enough, Oh Lord.”
We empathize with Elijah because at one point or the other, we have also declared that our situations were far too strenuous. In answer to that, the Word says, “Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you, (Psalm 55: 22).
Elijah may have thought that he had found an excellent resting place where he would be free from the cares of life. Surprise! An angel told him otherwise. He was weak and burdened by the path he was on. The angel provided food and told him that the journey was too difficult for him. A reasonable thought could have been that he should remain there and let the angel feed him continually, but that was not to be the end of his journey. That path was not what God had ordered for Elijah, but defeat caused him to be there.
Look at God’s intervention. Elijah had to be reminded twice that he should get up and get going. After being fed the first time, probably he became complacent in the moment and decided to stay there. The angel fed him again and prompted him to eat again and leave that place instead of resigning himself to fate. He chose to obey and the nourishment that he got from his meal sustained him for the duration of this testing period.
Elijah continued until he arrived at Horeb, The Mount of God, but instead of communing with God, he entered a cave. Can we hear him breathing a sigh of relief? He just knew that no one would find him there. It had been at least forty-one days since he dismissed his servant at Judah and there was no sign of Jezebel’s pursuit. This perfect hideout proved to be where he heard God’s voice. We cannot hide from God (Psalm 139:8). It is also impossible to escape the troubles of life.
The question was, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God knew Elijah’s concern. The purpose of the question was so that Elijah would remember that the God who provided when he was under the broom tree had not changed. It was also to show him the futility of his action. Still, Elijah did not grasp the real question. He reminded God of what he had done in his ministry in Israel. He did not confess that he was seeking a getaway from Jezebel.
Elijah needed to confront the reality that he did not belong in that place of seclusion. He was not merely avoiding Jezebel’s threat. His action demonstrated that: he was no longer displaying his faith to the nation of Israel; he was esteeming Jezebel’s threat above God’s power; he was trusting in his own ability; and magnifying who he saw and what he heard. Could he honestly verbalize that response to God? If we are to advance spiritually, we must admit that God desires truth in the inward parts. (Psalm 51:6). Examine all that Elijah experienced because he hid in a cave.
From what Jezebel are we trying to escape? What cave have we found? Caves may appear in the form of drugs, alcohol, immorality, people, the past, and or socio-economic status. They provide temporary sanctuaries, but moments extend into reality. Then we realize that unless we find a place to call home, the search continues. Job 14: 1, II Corinthians 10: 4. Job 5: 7.
Even if we remind God about our accomplishments for the Gospel’s sake, His response is, “Go! Leave the cave in which you have found yourself.” We must mantle ourselves in God’s power and listen to His still, small voice. He has a purpose in telling us to proceed.
He commissioned Elijah to return on the path and continue to minister. His new job was to anoint kings and prophets. We may never know whose life we are expected to influence. If we remain in the cave, we cannot blaze the trail, we miss God’s assignment and fail Him. It is NOT YOUR CAVE. PUT IT AWAY and GO!
Dr. O. A. James
REFLECTION
Discuss: How does our cave retard God’s further plan for us?