65 toward the people. He could not love them for the sake of Obadiah and the hundred faithful prophets, but God could. His heart was true to God, but his faith was not equal to the trial. Then there was the reaction. The physical strain upon Elijah had been tremendous,— the all day test, the sac rifice of the priests, the prayer for rain, the long run, the anxiety for a success ful issue. He suffered from want of sympathy. He 'had no friend to look to. Even the poor widow would have been a com forter. He was human; would have been glad of anybody to whom he could tell the story of his disappointment. Jesus longed for this sympathetic fel lowship and found it in the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. He was out of work. Had no em ployment for mind or body, no word from God, no demand from the king for his services. He was discouraged. His hopes were blasted. After years of waiting, and a full test that satisfied the king and the people, Jezebel was unmoved. Taking counsel with his own fears, he became a discouraged, disappointed man and ran for his life, then called upon God to take it, as did Jonah (Jonah 4:3-8), —Abraham, Moses, Job, Jonah, Peter, Elijah,— all men of like passions. Elijah fled to Beersheba, a hundred miles distant, and then a day’s jour ney farther. He lay under a juniper tree, and desired that he might die. “ I am not better than my fathers.” He had a poor enough opinion of himself. Nothing to do, no outlook, he seeks re lief in oblivion. (2) THE PROPHET DIVINELY DIS COVERED, vs. 9-14. For three and a half years God had been teaching Elijah dependence upon Himself. Dependence calls for faith,— day by day, enough for a meal, a little handful, yet enough. So it is in spiritual things: He never
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S The Weakness of Elijah: He had passed a remarkable day. No prophet had ever stood a severer test. None had ever wrought a more signal victory than that accomplished when, in an swer to his prayer, the heavens had poured out refreshing showers and he had run alongside Ahab’s chariot. He had every reason to rejoice. Was not Jehovah the God of Israel? Were not the people convinced, and was not Ahab himself a witness? The influences which operated to bring about Elijah’s defeat were many. In the first place, he failed to call upon God. Every step of a believer ought to be ordered of the Lord. He was bold when in communion with the Lord, as witness his words to Ahab : “ As the Lord liveth before whom I stand." But his eyes for the time seemed to be off God and on Jezebel, like Peter (Matt. 14:30): “B u t w hen lie saw the w ind boisterous, he w as afraid ; and beginn in g to sin k he cried sayin g, Lord, save me,” If Elijah’s eyes had been upon the Lord Jezebel would have had no terrors for him. He had forgotten the name God gave him, “ Elijah” (the strong Lord; Jehovah is my Mighty One). In stead of standing before God he was standing before Jezebel. He had his eyes upon results. He was self-conscious, and this made him self-confident. He began to asso ciate the victory with himself, thus de tracting from God’s glory. It is always dangerous for a servant to dwell upon his part in God’s work. It is not the instrument but the hand that uses it, that does the work. It was thus that Moses failed at Merdbah (Num. 20:10). “A n d Moses and A aron gath ered the con gregation togeth er before the rock, and he said nnto them ! H ear now y e rebels; m ust w e fetch yon w ater out of the r o ck !” (Cf. T. IO, “I, even I” ). (3 Cor. 12:7-9.) There is a danger in the energy of the outward life of faith, when the in ward life is not sustained by faith in proportion to the outward testimony. Elijah did not understand God’s grace
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