1 Kings 19:1-21, Acts 12:1-23, Psalms 136:1-26, Proverbs 17:14-15
Today is the 18th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is a joy and an honor to be here with you today around the Global Campfire as we just kind of step away for second. There’s always plenty of distraction and there’s always swirling thoughts that can kind of pull us away and lead us down paths that lead us in a funky mood or whatever. There’s always something, but this little space that we’ve created each day is an oasis. We just kind of step away from it all. It’s not going anywhere. We…we might change in the process and approach it differently when we return, but this is just permission to allow God’s word to speak into our lives and just rest in that knowing that we’re not alone. If you’re listening to this right now, you’re not listening alone. Nobody ever is. Ever. So, we just ease back, relax, and let God’s word speak. And that will take us back into the book of first Kings. Yesterday we had a showdown in a place called Mount Caramel which still exists until this very day. It’s a mountain. And there’s a king in the North, his name is Ahab and there’s a prophet in the North and his name is Elijah. And there was a showdown between the God of Israel and the prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal are no longer with us, but Elijah is. God showed up with fire from heaven, loosed the skies so that rain, which had been absent for three years is coming upon the land. Ahab the king is in his chariot racing back to Jezreel. Elijah’s running and running faster than the chariot to outrun this storm. Meanwhile, Ahab’s wife, her name is Jezebel, is about to find out that all her prophets are dead. She doesn’t know it yet. And that’s where we pick up the story. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. First Kings chapter 19 today.
Commentary:
Okay, so we can’t skip by first Kings because this is such an amazing story, it’s such an interesting turn. So, Elijah has prophesied to the King of Israel Ahab that there’s going to be no rain. Ahab searches for Elijah for three years all over the known world trying to find him because there isn’t any rain. Elijah shows back up on the scene and confronts the king, summons the prophets of Baal to mount caramel and essentially throws down a challenge that the God who answers from heaven by fire is the true God. Of course, the people were like, “yeah that sounds like a good deal. The God who answers by fire from heaven, that would be the most powerful God. That’s a good deal.” And, so, this all happens, the prophets of Baal spent all day cutting themselves and the whole thing. And then God answers by fire. The prophets of Baal are killed. Rain comes back to the land. Ahab the king is racing back in his chariot to his wife Jezebel who’s in the city of Jezreel. Jezebel finds out that her prophets are dead even though fire came from heaven and the people’s hearts are returning to the God of Israel. She’s not Hebrew. She…she…she married the king for an alliance. So, the Hebrew God and the Hebrew traditions and the Hebrew way of things, this isn’t so important to her. She’s very upset and she sends a note to Elijah that says, “may God punish me very severely, even kill me, if I don’t kill you by tomorrow, basically, “if your heads on your shoulders tomorrow then may God judge me.” And it’s really interesting what happens there because Elijah had just…I mean…the miraculous was all around him. The things that God had just done to affirm him as His prophet, the power that had just been displayed, like he should be walking, you know, a foot off the ground in confidence and the people’s hearts are returning to God. Like he should be…like, this is…this is a big thing. But he gets this is note and he freaks out and he runs away. The prophet who had just called down fire from heaven runs away out of fear from Jezebel. And he doesn’t like just run and hide, he seriously actually flees, he runs far. So, he is in the northern kingdom of Israel near Mount Carmel, which is kind of somewhat of a coastal mountain. It’s not right on the ocean but it’s not that far from the Mediterranean coast. This is…this is the Jezreel Valley. This is fertile territory. He runs south all the way to Beersheba, which is in the transition zone of the desert, the southernmost border city of ancient Israel, now Judah. So, Elijah crosses an international border from Israel into Judah, keeps fleeing south to Beersheba, leaves his servant and then goes into the no man’s land of the desert, not just camping out and hiding in the desert but continuing in the desert all the way into Egypt. All the way to Mount Sinai where we spent so much of our time earlier in the year where the law was given. I’ve never…I never measured. Like I’m guessing here, but I’m thinking that to drive from Mount Caramel all the way to Mount Sinai, even with like with no delays whatsoever at all, that’s gotta be like 10 hours just moving steadily in a car. And that’s if there’s like interstate. Like we’re talking about barren wilderness, empty desert here. And he’s on foot. So, this is a very long way that he’s running. And he gets back to this mountain and it’s beautiful that he would go. Like he…he really feels alone here. And, so, he’s making this journey. It’s just interesting. He gets to Mount Sinai and he’s in a cave and he’s waiting, and God shows up and God says, “what are you doing here, Elijah?” That is so interesting. Elijah, of course, pours out his heart. Like he’s the only one. There’s nobody left, He’s the only one that’s true, everybody’s trying to kill him. He's…he’s at the bottom, right? He’s really, really low and he’s kind of gone on almost a pilgrimage to make some sense of all of this and God tells him to come out to meet him on the mountain. And that’s when it’s really really fascinating because all the power is displayed on the mountain. I mean the same kind of power that was shown up at Mont Carmel - fire from heaven and everything. So, there’s a windstorm and rocks are falling off the side of the mountain and God’s not in that. And there’s an earthquake and that shakes the whole land and God’s not in it. And there’s fire and God’s not in it. Like it’s not in all these fantastic displays of power that you would expect. That’s what we’re looking for, the signs and the wonders. Instead it’s just in the whisper. Elijah knows that God’s out there waiting now in the still small voice. And he goes out and God asks him again, “what are you doing here?” And Elijah then pours out his heart. Like I’m the only one. There’s nobody left. This…this is why I’m here. Like everybody has abandoned you and everyone is trying to kill me. And that’s when God tells him, “it’s not true. Go back the way you came. You have to appoint a new king. Like my plan isn’t finished. What’s happening here isn’t over. Your job isn’t done. You have to appoint your successor as well, a new prophet in Israel. Your work isn’t finished.” Man, I…I love the story because it's…you know…we have a very, very good narrative. It’s a very well reading story. It’s a beautiful story to behold. But once it becomes a mirror it’s a pretty serious story to penetrate deep into our own hearts because how many times have we been this character in this story? How many times have we heard from God, obeyed God, walked in the confidence of the Lord, seen God move in our lives until somebody is offended and we get a text, we get a nasty note, and then we run, run, run, run, run until we’re out in the wilderness again, wandering again, alone again. And it’s like God comes to us in His kindness and mercy and says, “what are you doing here?” And maybe that’s the question for the day. Maybe that’s the question for this season. Maybe that’s the question that needs to be asked. What are you doing here? And maybe you got here because you were looking for God chasing signs and wonders looking for him to show up in his power and majesty when He never left you, he never forsook you. He was always there, the still small voice. He was never absent from you. And maybe He’s saying, “go back the way you came. Your work is not accomplished yet.” It’s funny, no matter how many times I think about that story there’s never a time that I can’t think of some area in my life that that does not apply to. And I think of lots of times in my lives…life in years well gone by where clearly…where looking for God in the wilderness was sort of the way I lived, wandering around in the barrenness looking for something. And I am so grateful that…that God comes to each one of us at one point or another with the same question, “what are you doing here?” And, so, may we stir some of that into our cup today and sip on it as we ponder.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into that. I mean it’s true. We’ve spent plenty of our lives wandering in the wilderness. We’ve spent plenty of our lives on the run from things. We don’t often slow down enough to search for You in…in all of this. We’re usually waiting for You to move things out of our way so that we can just walk on…on a path. We’re just waiting for…for You to show up and do things for us, not expecting that You might show up and say, “what are You doing here?” So, we invite You into that. We need Your leadership, we need Your counsel, we need Your correction, we need Your rebuke, we need Your kindness, we need You. And, so, we open ourselves to You so that You might lead us in the steps forward from here. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.
Song:
Sanctuary - Chris Rodriguez
Seems I left the innocence of Eden long ago
Tempted by my heart to go it on my own
Beyond the garden, somehow through the desert
Of my wanderings alone, You have never let me go
I turn from You and still You cover me
I fall so far, You find me in the deep
Anywhere I am, anywhere I am
You sanctuary me
I have felt the separation deep within my bones
Brought me to my knees, crying out for hope
Beyond the garden, somehow through my tears
You heard the words I could not speak, You were there to rescue me
I turn from You and still You cover me
I fall so far, You find me in the deep
I lose my way, You’re reaching out to me
Anywhere I am, anywhere I am, You sanctuary me
I turn from You and still You cover me
I fall so far, You find me in the deep
I lose my way, You’re reaching out to me
Anywhere I am, anywhere I am, You sanctuary me