Friday, February 18, 2022
“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” (1 Kings 19:14 KJV).
Was the Prophet Elijah really “the only one left?”
Having put the prophets of Baal to death in chapter 18, Elijah now flees for his life in chapter 19: “[1] 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.” After his glorious mountaintop triumph on Carmel (northern Israel), fearful Elijah absconds, down through southern Israel, all the way to Mount Horeb/Sinai some 300 miles (500 kilometers) away (verses 4-8)!
Today’s Scripture in context: “[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…. [13] And it was so, when Elijah heard [a still small voice], 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.”
Elijah is terribly mistaken….
Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who are the ‘confectionaries’ in 1 Samuel 8:13?”
333 Words of Grace 