T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
505
Mount Horeb and hid in a cave. Here God speaks to him and in stru cts him by a parable,—-the wind, th e earth quake, the fire, the still small voice. The m ighty elements were not the g reatest expression of power. Israel was not to be restored by m ighty move ments. Judgm ent would overtake them , and yet E lisha should come with his “ small voice.” The world must be reached— so far as it can he reach ed— by love., God’s work in the h eart is the g reat work. The real force in th e world is th e divine life. This is th e secret of fo rc e. in n atu re, and in the life of th e believer. (Zech. 4 :6 ). “T h is is th e w o rd o f th e L o rd u n to Z eru b b a b e l, saying» N o t by m ig h t, n o r b y p o w er, b u t b y m y s p irit, s a ith th e L o rd o f h o sts.” (4) EL IJAH ’S PHYSICAL TRANS LATION. The Lord had work for E lijah, “ Go, re tu rn .” So the man th a t ran for his life from a woman, and prayed th a t his life m ight be taken, was spared to be tran slated . E lijah had been a man of fire in his deeds and his words. F ire is a type of judgment, and E lijah was a prophet of judgment. His tra n sla tion was a fitting term ination to an eventful life. How God loved him! Only th ree tran slation s are recorded in Scripture— Enoch, E lijah, Christ. Enoch prophesied of th e coming of the Lord. Moses and E lijah, on the Mount of Transfiguration, are a type of th e sleeping and waking saints. (1 Thess. 4:13-18). E lijah is to come again be fore the day of the Lord (Mai. 4 :5 ). PERTINENT QUESTIONS (1) Was th ere boldness of faith in E lija h ’s first message to Ahab? (1 Ki. 17 :1 ). (2 ) W hat was the chief ch aracter istic of E lijah? (Rom. 4:20, 21 ). (3) Was the faith of E lijah tested? (1 Ki. 17:2-7). (4) W hat value is th ere in th e tria l of faith? (1 Pet. 1 :7 ). (5) Should we rejoice in th e test-
E lijah did not und erstand God’s grace tow ard th e people. He could not love them for the sake of Obadiah and th e hundred faith fu l prophets, bu t God could., E lijah ’s h ea rt was tru e to God, bu t his faith was not equal to th e trial. Then th e re was the reaction. The physical strain upon E lijah had been trem endous,S -the all day test, the sacrifice of th e priests, th e prayer for rain, th e long run, th e anxiety for a successful issue. He suffered, too, from w an t of sym pathy. He had no friend to look to. Even Jesus longed for sympathetic fel lowship and found it in th e home of Mary and M artha and Lazarus. He was ou t of work. He had no em ployment for m ind or body, no word from God, no demand from the king for his services. He was discouraged. His hopes were blasted. A fter years of w aiting and a full te st th a t satisfied the king and the people, Jezebel was unmoved. Taking counsel w ith his fears, he became a discouraged, disappointed man and ran for his life; th en called upon God to take his life, as did Jonah (Jonah 4 :3 -8 ). He fled to Beersheba, a hundred miles distan t, and th en a day’s journey farth er, where he lay under a jun ip er tree and desired th a t he m ight die, “I am not b etter th an my fath ers.” (3) EL IJAH ’S PRESERVATION THROUGH TRUST IN GOD. F o r th ree and a h alf years God has been teaching E lijah dependence upon Himself, and He, will not desert him now. He provides first for his physical needs and sets before him a royal meal, prepared by angel hands. Ravens, a widow, an angel, all were God’s mes sengers (Psa. 103 :13 ). “L ik e a s a F a th e r p itie th h is c h ild re n , so th e L o rd p itie th th e m t h a t f e a r h im ; fo r h e k h o w e th o u r f ra m e ; h e rem em - b e re th t h a t w e a r e d u st.” Refreshed, E lijah journeyed for nearly two hundred miles fa rth er to
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker