WHEN
ELIJAH JUST WASN'T HIMSELF
MF Blume
April 13, 2003
Exodus 19:16-19 And it came to pass on
the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and
a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud;
so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. (17) And
Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they
stood at the nether part of the mount. (18) And mount Sinai was
altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly. (19) And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long,
and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
1 Kings 19:1-3 And Ahab told Jezebel all
that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the
sword. (2) Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying,
So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life
of one of them by to morrow about this time. (3) And when he
saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth
to Judah, and left his servant there.
1 Kings 19:8-16 And he arose, and did eat
and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights
unto Horeb the mount of God. (9) And he came thither unto a cave,
and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said
unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? (10) And he said, I have
been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it
away. (11) And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before
the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent
the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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) And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face
in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And,
behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
(14) And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts:
because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine
altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left;
and they seek my life, to take it away. (15) And the LORD said
unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou
comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: (16) And Jehu the
son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son
of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
When Moses was given Law for Israel atop Mount Sinai, in Horeb, the scene
showed lightning, thunder, earthquakes and thick clouds.
- Elijah saw the same
scenes when he fled to Horeb, the same mountain range.
- As Moses was there forty
days and nights, Elijah fled there for forty days and nights and hid in a
cave.
- While in the cave God
spoke to him and told him to stand on the mount outside the cave.
The reason he fled to Horeb
from jezebel was because God would most likely be seen there in the fury and
might as in the days when Moses was given law.
- Elijah wanted wrathful
vengeance meted out upon Israel who chased him out of the land.
And God appeared to Elijah
on that mountain, but not in the exact manner Elijah expected.
In the cave, God spoke to Elijah in a vision, telling him to leave the cave
and stand outside on the mount.
- And Elijah experienced
the wind, quaking, and fire.
- It was all there as
it was in Moses' day on that same mountain!
- BUT GOD WAS NOT IN ANY
OF THAT!
God had been in wind many
other times.
Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and
great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his
way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his
feet.
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the
whirlwind, and said,
He was also in the quakes.
Psalm 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens
also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence
of God, the God of Israel.
Exodus 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether
on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof
ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
And his angels are like flaming fire.
Psalm 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits;
his ministers a flaming fire:
The Jews believe that these sorts of winds are actually angels of the wind.
- They also teach that
there were angels of commotion in the quakes at Sinai, and angels of fire.
- So these angels were
present with God on Sinai when Moses received the Law.
- They represent the fury
of God's wrath and the terribleness of His power.
- God's law demanded obedience
at the pain of His wrath in the Old Testament Law, so these powers were manifested
in Law's giving.
- God can show Himself
in these things if He so chooses.
- But God surprised Elijah.
God was not in any of those
things that day with Elijah, although Elijah was shown what he expected to
see.
- But God's angels went
before God, Himself.
- But God was not in that
chariot this time.
- He came following behind.
- And what God was in
was a still small voice.
- The Hebrew implies the
voice was almost musical and soft and gentle.
- "The sound of still
softness."
Elijah sensed God was not
in the former sensational manners.
- But there was something
in that still small voice that caught his spirit and and he knew God was in
that!
- There was God!
When Elijah heard that voice,
he wrapped his face in his mantle and stepped out of the cave.
- God, Himself was there
now, in a more personal manner, although He spoke to Elijah in more of a vision
in the cave.
- And Elijah was to stand
before His presence, much like Moses did, too!
Then Elijah reiterated the
self-pity with which he spoke to God in the cave.
- God ignored those words
and told him to anoint other men, including Elisha, who would take his place
as prophet.
- Elisha was responsible
to take out Ahab, for he would not run as did Elijah.
Elijah's name means "GOD
IS GOD".
- He lived forth his name
in days gone by.
- He proved God really
was God.
- He called fire down
from heaven and showed all Israel on Mount Carmel that Baal was not god at
all, for only Israel's God cast fired down from the sky at Elijah's request,
while the prophets of Baal failed miserably in having Baal do it.
But Elijah lost his namesake
in a sense.
- He began acting out
of order.
- God was supposed to
be God.
- But Elijah began taking
things into his own hands.
- He felt God should strike
when he wanted God to strike.
- He whined about his
self-pitiful state of being chased by Jezebel after proving God was God.
- And demanded God lash
out in fury of the law's wrath, as demonstrated that day atop Mt Horeb.
- He pitied himself as
though he were the only good pro-phet left alive in the world, in hopes of
instigating God to judge Israel viciously.
- It was time for God
to reinstate the Law for Israel, and put a fear of God into the nation as
God did in Moses' day.
- And perhaps Elijah felt
he should be the new Moses!
- But God chose not to
do that.
Before he ran to the mountain,
Elijah had given up his ministry in fear.
- He asked God to kill
him.
- Rid him of the trouble
of life.
- An angel was sent to
give him food and preserve his life, instead of slaying him, and sent him
on his journey.
- Instead of heeding Elijah's
pitiful words to slay him, as though to be instigated to avenge Elijah, God
simply told him to go out and stand before God on the mountain.
- And God was in a still
small voice.
Elijah was not himself.
- God is God?
- It looks like Elijah
was calling the shots.
- He lost perspective
of doing God's will.
In Luke 9, we read of the
same similar theme that had to do with Elijah's ordeal -- SELF.
Jesus once rebuked James and John for their harsh desire to see fire fall
and slay the Samaritans who refused to see them.
- These people did not
heed James and John's words to ready themselves for Jesus' ministry.
- But Jesus told them
He did not come to destroy.
- He came to seek and
save the lost.
Luke 9:51-56
And it came to pass, when the time was come that
he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
(52) And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered
into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. (53)
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go
to Jerusalem. (54) And when his disciples James and John saw
this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven,
and consume them, even as Elias did? (55) But he turned, and
rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
(56) For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to
save them. And they went to another village.
God was telling Elijah, in effect, to not take things so personally.
- Sometimes we get all
fired up and seek wrath on people, when God is more "mature" than that!
- He is bigger than that!
But even when God spoke
to Elijah in a still small voice, Elijah was undaunted.
- God was trying to tell
him, there is bigger fish to fry.
- More serious things
to deal with.
When Jesus rebuked James
and John, He told them that they were actually upset at being personally insulted.
- They were not truly
seeking God's desires when they ask for fire to come down on the Samaritans.
- Jesus said they did
not even realize they were actually being vengeful.
- They convinced themselves
they were being considerate of God's desire, but Jesus said they did not even
know their own spirits and how selfish they really were.
- We can convince ourselves
that we have pure motives when we actually do not at all!
- That's a fearful thing
to think about.
- But it happens!
- They did not even know
their own spirits!
Jesus then tells them to
be like Him.
Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come
to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Who comes to destroy?
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus came to give Life!
Elijah means God is God.
- He was to prove to all
that God was God.
- But even he took things
too personally.
- Self began to adulterate
his ministry.
- He felt his ministry
was over.
- But God decides that,
not us.
Its so easy for Christians
to get personally hurt when sinners do not respond to their witness.
- Our hearts can be so
deceptive that we actually convince ourselves that we seek God's will in wanting
them judged, when we do not really care about God's will at all.
- Its more our selves
that we are concerned about.
- "They rejected US!"
James and John thought about
how Elijah called fire down on the enemies of God!
"Aha! That is what we will do, since they rejected us!"
We then read some more interesting words, following HIs words to James and
John that show us various reactions to Jesus being God -- God is God.
Luke 9:57 And it came to pass, that, as
they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee
whithersoever thou goest.
Some people are so quick to follow Jesus when they have not even been called.
- Jesus wants us all saved,
but He never called this man to go wherever He would go in ministry.
- SELF was this man's
motive.
- So Jesus deterred him
by telling him...
Luke 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of
the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
There is sacrifice to do what the man asked.
Another was called by Jesus, next.
Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow
me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
The opposite!
- But this man hesitated
as though other things were more important.
- SELF was the problem
here as well.
- But in a different way.
Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go
thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Another man was dealt with next.
Luke 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but
let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
This man said he'd go.
- But this man takes us
back to Elijah and Elisha, since he requested to return to his home, as Elisha
was given permission to do by Elijah.
- He wanted to bid adieu
to his family.
- However...
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Obviously Jesus knew that this would not be good for THIS man to do, although
Elijah allowed Elisha to bid his folks farewell.
he knew the man would see his family and home, and get too attached and
desire to not follow the Lord at all.
SELF.
All these issues deal with SELF.
Back at the incident with James' and John's experience with the Samaritans....
- Jesus could have influenced
all of Samaria if He had given in to them and not looked to be obviously going
to Jerusalem, which would cause the prejudiced Samaritans, who despised the
Jews, to show disregard for Jesus.
Luke 9:52-53
And sent messengers before his face: and they
went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
(53) And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he
would go to Jerusalem.
But Jesus does not give in to our SELF and it's selfish desires.
It is supposed to be NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE, LORD.
And then note what is said after this series of events.
Luke 10:1-2 After these things
the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his
face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. (2)
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but
the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
"The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few"
Why is the harvest lacking labourers?
- Too much SELF-concern
in so many people.
- Self is too much of
a problem with people, and many believers.
- This self regard that
is put above regard for God's will hinders God from using us.
Paul was so self-less that
he said...
1 Corinthians 4:3 But with me it is a very
small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I
judge not mine own self.
He would not even judge himself!
- So he did not care if
people judged him erringly.
- Most of us would jump
up and down and scream until the person knew what we were REALLY LIKE, after
the person accused us and attacked our self.
- We're too concerned
about SELF.
- But when we let SELF
go, we will not care what people think, so long as God knows what we are like.
- But SELF interest makes
us want to make sure everyone knows we are not as bad as they think.
God's kingdom is not the
way Elijah thought.
- He was only concerned
about SELF.
- But his name meant GOD
IS GOD.
- He was acting quite
out of character compared to his namesake.
We're supposed to be CHRISTIANS.
-- CHRIST-LIKE.
- And Christ said, "Not
my will, but thine be done, Father."
- Let's pray and believe
God that we not act out of character, as Elijah did.... WHEN ELIJAH JUST WASN'T
HIMSELF!
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