Elijah fleeing from Jezebel

https://odb.org/2024/10/18/scraped-butter

In the Transfiguration, Jesus met Elijah and Moses. Spiritually, Jesus represented the New Covenant while Moses represented the Old Covenant and Elijah the Prophets. Or seen in another perspective, Jesus represented the grace of God, while Moses represented the Law, and Elijah represented the power of God. Besides Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the forefathers of the faith and Moses, the bearer of the Mosaic law, Elijah can be considered as one of the key and major figure of the Old Testament. He performed miracles with the power of God, foretelling the coming of Christ and the latter’s healings, signs, and wonders.

In 1 Kings 18, at Mount Carmel, Elijah called fire from the heavens and consumed a drenched bull followed by rain during a long period of severe famine and drought. The 450 prophets of Baal tried from dawn till dusk to call fire and failed. With the victory, Elijah killed all the 450 prophets of Baal. When Queen Jezebel, the patron of Baal during the reign of King Ahab, heard the news, she vowed to kill Elijah. Elijah, just fresh from the highest peak of his career as a prophet of God, feared for his life and ran as quickly and as far away as possible from Jezebel. After reaching Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant behind and travelled one day into the wilderness, and then as he laid down to rest, he asked God to take his life. He confessed to God that he was no better than his ancestors.

The LORD did not take his life but sent an angel to later wake and feed him twice. After that, he travelled 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Horeb and, in a cave, met God in a still small voice, a silent whisper. God was not found in the wind or the earthquake. In the process, the LORD relieved Elijah of his calling and instructed him to mentor and pass on his anointing to Elisha.

The preplexing thing about arguably the most powerful prophet of God as recorded in the bible is that despite his witnessing of God’s mighty display of power before his very eyes, he feared for his life when he was threatened by Jezebel. After proving that Baal was nothing compared to Yahweh at Carmel, he ran for his life. He admitted that he was no better than his ancestors. He was afraid and fell into depression despite being one of the most powerful of prophets.

I feel that the lesson for us is that no matter what we may have achieved for God in our lives, we may still reach a stage when we may suddenly feel we are unworthy of God’s love. We may feel God is not there for us anymore. Or that we have exhausted God’s grace or anointing. Or that we are a spent force or have burnt out. We may, like Elijah, fall into depression. It may not be as soon as Elijah, so soon after his peak. Nevertheless, depression may come.

None of us are immune from depression. We need to be watchful and always go back to God. In Elijah’s case, God nursed and stregthened him back to strength. Later, the LORD met him at Mount Horeb and gave him a new commission. If we are ever in such a situation, seek out Jesus for Him to give us rest and perhaps a new calling and commission. We will then have a new lease of life in God. From Carmel to the wilderness to Horeb! Amen!