Dublin, OH
Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
19:1-21 Elijah and the Lord. Elijah has won a mighty battle on the mountain, but a still more formidable opponent than Ahab awaits him in the form of Queen Jezebel. Victory now becomes defeat as Elijah retreats, both physically and mentally, and ultimately arrives not at Mount Carmel but at another mountain to confront not Baal but the Lord himself, whom Elijah serves but whose ways he only partly understands and accepts.
19:1-2 Jezebel sent a messenger. Jezebel has a consistent track record of disposing of the Lord's prophets (cf. 18:4, 13) and is to be taken seriously when she threatens to take Elijah's life.
19:3 he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life. Elijah has shown himself to be a man of faith and courage who trusts God for miracles and, above all, moves to locations only in response to God's commands (cf. 17:2-5, 8-10; 18:1-2). But the "word of the Lord" is absent in 19:3 and does not reappear until v. 9, when it takes the form of a question, clarifying that Elijah's journey on this occasion was not divinely initiated. The shock of Jezebel's resistance after Mount Carmel has led Elijah to forget to think theologically, so he flees from Jezreel in the north to Beersheba in the far south of the Promised Land--as far away from Jezebel as he can get. The distance from the top of Mount Carmel to Beersheba was about
19:5 The broom tree is a bush with many branches and twigs, small leaves, and clusters of flowers. an angel touched him. Elijah has been responding so far only to Jezebel's "messenger" (Hb. mal’ak, v. 2). Now it is God's turn to take the initiative with an "angel" or messenger of his own (also Hb. mal’ak). It is God's first move in leading Elijah back onto the path of faith from which he has strayed.
19:7 the journey is too great. Elijah thought his journey was over; he has had "enough" (Hb. rab, v. 4). But now he is to fortify himself for a further journey, which will otherwise be "too great" (also Hb. rab). Food is God's response to Elijah both when he cries "enough" and when he needs "enough."
19:8 he arose . . . and went . . . to Horeb, the mount of God. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where God first spoke the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel (Exodus 19-20). The forty days and forty nights of Elijah's travels recall Israel's own wandering in the wilderness (Num. 14:33-34) and Moses' first sojourn on this same mountain (Ex. 24:18; see also Ex. 3:1; 19:3). Will Elijah, like Moses, see God (Ex. 33:12-23); and if so, will it make any difference to his current attitude? This journey from near Beersheba to Mount Horeb was about
19:10 I, even I only, am left. Elijah seems to have partially forgotten his past: miraculous provision, the raising of a dead child, mighty acts of God on mountaintops. He mentions none of these, but talks only of Israelite apostasy and prophetic casualties. The resistance of one person (Jezebel) has turned massive victory into overwhelming defeat, in Elijah's mind. He is certainly not the only one left, but that is how he feels.
19:11-12 not in the wind . . . not in the earthquake . . . not in the fire. The emphasis on Mount Carmel had been on God's spectacular ways, particularly his use of fire. The emphasis here is on God's quiet ways. He is not to be found in the spectacular elements of the storm outside the cave but instead in a low whisper. The Hebrew is literally (see ESV footnote) "a voice/sound, a thin silence" (qol demamah daqqah), i.e., the same "voice" (Hb. qol) that speaks to Elijah in v. 13. On this occasion (but not always; cf. Isa. 30:27; Nah. 1:3-5) God reveals himself in quietness.
19:13-14 What are you doing here, Elijah? The point of the demonstration on the mountain was presumably that Elijah would answer this question differently on the second occasion of its asking (cf. v. 9). His answer is, however, exactly the same as before (I have been very jealous for the Lord; cf. vv. 10, 14); the entire point of the demonstration seems to have passed him by. There is in fact a suggestion in the text that he does not particularly wish to understand what God is saying through these events. He has always claimed to "stand before the Lord" (Hb. ‘amad lipne YHWH; 17:1; 18:15); but here on Mount Horeb, in spite of the command of 19:11 ("Go out and stand . . . before the Lord," Hb. ‘amad lipne YHWH), he apparently stays in the cave until the storm is over and he hears the "whisper" (v. 12). When he does go out, it is with his cloak over his face, which makes it difficult for him to "see."
19:15-18 Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. These words indicate the real point of the "low whisper" (v. 12). God gives Elijah new instructions: whereas he has run south in despair to the desert of Beersheba, he must now return to the very north of Syria-Palestine in obedience and anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. A new political and religious order is to succeed the old, and this order will bring about the final victory over Baal worship. Total victory will come as a result of an ordinary political process (a "whisper"), as God removes certain kings and sets up others; it will not come only as a result of obviously spectacular demonstrations of divine power (wind, earthquake, and fire) as at Carmel (18:20-40). And it will arrive not as a result of Elijah's efforts but as a result of the efforts of others. Elijah's role is now to prepare the way for these "others," who are only a few of many servants of God who have not bowed to Baal or kissed him. God has ways of working other than the spectacular (though he is always free to work in supernatural ways).
19:19 he departed from there and found Elisha. Is Elijah back on track as a result of his trip to Mount Horeb? The closing verses of ch. 19 suggest not. There is no mention here or in the upcoming chapters of Elijah's ever meeting (or trying to meet) Hazael and Jehu (see vv. 15-16). One never reads of Hazael's being anointed, while it falls to Elisha to arrange the anointing of Jehu (2 Kings 9:1-13). Even Elijah's response to God's command about Elisha seems less than wholehearted. There is no mention of his "anointing" of Elisha as his prophetic successor; he merely enlists him as his assistant (1 Kings 19:21). Yet the names of the two prophets indicate the way that God's plan is nevertheless unfolding. Elijah has all but had his day--the day when it was established that "the Lord, he is God" (18:39), which is what the name "Elijah" means. The new era of salvation belongs to Elisha, whose name means "God saves."
19:20-21 Let me kiss my father and my mother. Elijah's apparent lack of enthusiasm for God's plan stands in sharp contrast to Elisha's reaction. He immediately leaves his normal employment to follow his new mentor, pausing only briefly to cut his ties with his old life. He kisses his parents goodbye and destroys his old means of sustenance (the
