![]() It is enough: We sense that Elijah meant, “I can’t do this anymore, LORD.” The work was stressful, exhausting, and seemed to accomplish nothing. ![]() To receive a no answer from God can be better than receiving a yes answer.Ĭ. In fact, Elijah was one of the few men in the Bible to never die! We can imagine that as he was caught up into heaven, he smiled and thought of this prayer - and the blessed no that answered his prayer. Thankfully, this was a prayer not answered for Elijah. And he prayed that he might die: This mighty man of prayer - mighty enough to make the rain and the dew stop for three and a half years, and then mighty enough to make it start again at his prayer - now he prayed that he might die. ![]() He himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness: Beyond the distant city of Beersheba, Elijah secluded himself even more.ī. 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!”Ī. Abraham failed in his faith, and Job in his patience so, he who was the most courageous of all men, fled from an angry woman.” (Spurgeon)īut he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. In Scripture, it is the wisest man who proves himself to be the greatest fool just as the meekest man, Moses, spoke hasty and bitter words. “Elijah failed in the very point at which he was strongest, and that is where most men fail. What she desired was that Elijah and his God be discredited before the new converts what had aided Elijah by executing the prophets of Baal.” (Patterson and Austel) Had she really wanted Elijah dead, she surely would have seized him without warning and slain him. “Probably Elijah had played into Jezebel’s hand. Nevertheless, Elijah went about 80 miles south to Beersheba. It is clear that God wanted to protect Elijah, but we cannot say if God wanted to protect him at Jezreel or protect him by getting him out of Jezreel. When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba: We cannot say for certain if this was led of God or not. ![]() “He probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged.” (Clarke)Ĭ. Yet her response was not to say, “The silence of Baal and the fire from Yahweh proves that I am wrong and Yahweh is God.” Instead, she responded with a vow to kill within 24 hours the man who exposed the lie of Baal worship and displayed the glory of Yahweh. 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: Jezebel heard about all that Elijah had done, encompassing the great confrontation at Mount Carmel. She thought so much of these priests that she supported them from the royal treasury, and now they were dead at the hand of Elijah.ī. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done: The report came as a great shock to this champion of Baal and Astarte worship in Israel. 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.” 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.Ī. Whereas Elijah did seven miracles in his lifetime, young Elisha, his student, did fourteen miracles, probably because he asked for a “double portion of spirit” (2 Kings 2:9).Įlmer Towns, Bible Answers for Almost All Your Questions (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003).And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. ![]() Whereas Elijah was rough and ministered in the wilderness apart from society, Elisha went into the cities, spoke to the kings in their courts, and lived with a school of prophets. What is the difference between the ministries of Elisha and Elijah? Young Elisha took the mantle and carried on his work. His prophetic mantle-symbol of office-was dropped as Elijah was carried into heaven. Apparently he did not die, but was translated into the presence of God. Second Kings tells the story of Elijah going up to heaven in a whirlwind. He ministered primarily during the time of King Ahab (1 Kings 16:29–22:40). Elijah was a preaching prophet, not a writing prophet, and his message was primarily to the ten tribes of Israel. He was rugged, abrupt, and dressed in skins with a leather girdle and a long “mantle.” The mantle was the symbol of his office. He was a prophet from Gilead, considered one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. ![]()
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