Bible Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18 |  

“Elijah’s View,” 1 Kings 19:9-18

Open:  After a forty day fright-flight, Elijah hides in a cave at Mount Horeb.  He wants to die.

I.       Location, Location, Location

          A.     (v9) “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

                  1.      Elijah’s list of exploits and God’s miraculous provisions during a three year drought.

                  2.      Why did his courage fail him?  Why did he flee toward Mt. Horeb [aka Sinai]?

                  3.      Where do we go when we are afraid?

          B.     (v10) “I have been very zealous for the LORD, God of hosts.”

                  1.      Shouldn’t there be an umbrella policy for good behavior?

                  2.      Israel has “forsaken your covenants” and “killed your prophets.”  What’s up with that?

          C.     Elijah’s sense of isolation and futility

                  1.      “I, even I only, am left, and THEY seek my life.”

                  2.      When the THEY seem overwhelming and god and his resources seem meager.

II.      A Conference Call

          A.     (v11) The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.”

                  1.      Was this a call to courage similar to Joshua 1:7 and 9?

                  2.      God was not in the strong wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire.

          B.     (v12) “After the fire the sound of a low whisper.”

                  1.      (v13) “When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood…”

                  2.      Why did Elijah recognize the LORD in the whisper?

          C.     “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

                  1.      God repeats his question and Elijah repeats his answer.  Nothing has changed.

                  2.      God sends Elijah to anoint a foreign king, to commission a coup, and to anoint his successor

                  3.      To his cred, Elijah has seen enough to gather his courage and go.

Conclusion:   ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab.  Communism, corruption, poverty, bigotry, hedonism.

         Addictions, broken marriages, debt, environmental destruction.

         What can one person do?

         Psalm 142:5, “I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge.’”

            Psalm 142:7, “The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.